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The Earth Gratitude Challenge
Invites a Global Shift Toward Gratitude, Connection, and Care for Our Shared Home

As environmental challenges increasingly touch daily life—from the food we eat to the air we breathe—many people are searching for hopeful, practical ways to care for the planet without feeling overwhemed. The Earth Gratitude Challenge offers a welcoming response: an invitation to reconnect with the Earth through gratitude, connection, and simple, meaningful action. Join us for this community-led, solutions-oriented, global get together! Click to register now.

About H.M. Queen Diambi Kabatusuila
H.M. Queen Diambi Kabatusuila is the traditional monarch of the Bakwa Luntu people in the Kingdom of Luba, situated in the southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. H.M. is active on the global stage and is known as the “People’s Queen.”  
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Does your city offer curbside pickup? If not, is it time to visit a city council meeting and lobby to put this in place?

Other Food Waste Tips

• Eat Real Food. Much of what is tossed out is beyond the expiration date -- cans or other processed food that is long forgotten at the back of our pantry. 
• Buy Fresh. Supporting our local regenerative farmer is healthier for us and the planet. In addition to buying what we can eat over the next few days, chances are it won’t come covered in plastic or a single-use container. Check out the Soil episode of the Earth Gratitude docuseries, the film Common Ground and my interview with the Common Ground co-directors for more information.
• Walk or Bike for Local Shopping. When we limit our purchase to what we can carry in a backpack, we’re less likely to have bags of uneaten or rotten food.
• Less Than 5% of Plastic is Recycled in the U.S. In addition to that startling fact, even if plastic was recycled, it is an oil product that is toxic from its birth in an oil well to its never-ending life as microplastic. Damers First School students (ages 5-9) were able to eliminate plastic at their school, and lobbied local businesses to do the same. (Learn more in the Eco Kids episode of the Earth Gratitude docuseries and in my interview with eco educator Edd Moore.)
• Kids Love Eating Food That They Grow. When I toured the Edible Schoolyard Project at the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California, the student tour guide told me that her favorite snack was kale pesto. Plant a garden a school, at home or in your community, and have an ongoing source of great produce, while promoting greater health. Some organizations, like the Good Neighbor Gardens in San Diego, California will even cultivate and harvest your fruit and vegetables for you. 
  
  

Bottom Line
Composting is a relatively new trend for many Americans (though it was de rigueur for our ancestors). The easier we make it for businesses and residents to do the right thing, the more likely we’ll all develop the new and necessary habit of turning our food waste into soil fertilizer instead of methane gas. Citywide curbside pickup is one of the most convenient ways to compost. If your municipality isn’t onboard yet, it’s time to lobby your local authorities and representatives.   


Many of the experts mentioned in this blog are also featured in the Earth Gratitude docuseries. Read my book The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us to learn more ways to live a rich and green life, and save thousands of dollars annually in the process. Check out the 5-part docuseries at EarthGratitude.org for information on:
 

• Green Kids
• Animals and Conservation
• Food and Health
• Everyday Sustainability
• The Power of Gratitude

Email nataliepace@EarthGratitude.org if you have any questions.
 
Please use #EarthGratitude and tag us on Instagram.com/Earth_Gratitude and  Instagram.com/NatalieWynnePace, so that we can like and share your green posts. 

The Earth Gratitude project features the world's most respected experts on conseravtion and sustainability, including H.M. King Charles III (when he was The Prince of Wales), H.H. The Dalai Lama, H.M. Queen Diambi,  Sia, Ed Begley Jr., ​XPRIZE, Wangari Maathai, Elon Musk, Arianna Huffington, The Duchess of Northumberland, ​EARTHDAY.ORG, Ron Finley, the NRDC, Global Green, ​Lynne Twist, Green Our Planet, Life is Good, Master Sha, Leon Krier, Kiss the Ground, Nathalie Kelley, Alice Waters, The Edible Schoolyard Project, The Pachamama Alliance, WildlifeDirect and more. ​

Natalie Wynne Pace is an Advocate for Sustainability Financial Literacy & Women's Empowerment. Natalie is the bestselling author of The ABCs of Money (6th edition) and The Power of 8 Billion: It's Up to Us, and is the co-creator of the Earth Gratitude Project. She has been ranked as a No. 1 stock picker, above over 835 A-list pundits, by an independent tracking agency (TipsTraders). Her book The ABCs of Money remained at or near the #1 Investing Basics e-book on Amazon for over 3 years (in its vertical), with over 120,000 downloads and a mean 5-star ranking. The 6th edition of The ABCs of Money and the 2nd edition of Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is (2nd edition) are the most recent releases of these books. Follow her on Instagram. 
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Natalie Pace's easy-as-a-pie-chart nest egg strategies earned gains in the last two recessions and have outperformed the bull markets in between. That is why her Investor Educational Retreats, books and private coaching are enthusiastically recommended by Nobel Prize winning economist Gary S. Becker, TD AMERITRADE chairman Joe Moglia, Kay Koplovitz and many Main Street investors who have transformed their lives using her Thrive Budget and investing strategies. Click to view a video testimonial from Nilo Bolden.​​

Cop30: Helping the Protectors of the Rainforests. 
How do we know if we are eating rainforest beef or filling up our tank with fallen trees or mangroves?
by Natalie Pace
 
On Nov. 12, 2025, dozens of indigenous protesters forced their way into the COP30 climate summit venue. Why? According to the ANMIGA organization, “There is no climate justice without the participation of guardians of the territories and life on the planet.” Indigenous leaders and warriors are actively protecting the lungs of our planet on the ground and want to be a part of the decisions that are made at the COP conferences. While they are far away in geography from us, the reasons rainforests and mangrove wetlands are being destroyed lie very close to home – in our refrigerators and gas tanks. There is a lot of power in the people, once we understand how our consumer choices ripple around the world.
 
Here are the things I’ll cover in this blog.

What is causing the destruction of rainforests? Why are they being burned?

How can we best support the people who are protecting the rainforests?

How can we make sure we are not eating rainforest beef or destroying the lungs of our planet with our way of life?

Which companies are destroying rainforests and mangroves or distributing products that are not sustainably sourced?

What is the difference between grass-fed vs. soybean and grain-fed cattle?

Won’t doing the right thing cost more?
 

And here is more information on each topic.
 
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What is causing the destruction of rainforests? Why are they being burned?
National Geographic’s 2022 film The Territory offers a behind-the-scenes look at the struggle between indigenous people who protect the Amazon Rainforest and live a sustainable existence there from the opportunists who burn down the trees to raise soybean and grain-fed cattle to sell to the world. The U.S. is the 2nd largest importer of Rainforest (Brazilian) beef, after China. Much of Brazilian imported cattle is used for burgers at fast food joints and ground beef at the grocery store.
 
However, rainforests and mangroves are also threatened for other reasons. According to the investigative reporters at the Pulitzer Center, collagen, predatory fishing and fossil fuel extraction are also first-world obsessions that are root causes of deforestation. You can watch a 3-part docuseries on the mangroves and rainforests of Brazil and the Congo Basin at EARTHDAY’s Tree Tales playlist.  There will also be a livestream Nov. 17-19, 2025, on EARTHDAY’s YouTube, Facebook and X accounts.

How can we best support the people who are protecting the rainforests?
 
Awareness starts the journey. Do we know:
 

• Where our beef comes from?
• That polyester and plastic are both petroleum products that leech microplastics into our water and bodies?
• That collagen is part of the feedlot cattle profit model?

 
The Pachamama Alliance is a great source of information. Get more informed on how we can be the change (since the top-down approach isn’t working), by reading my book, The Power of 8 Billion: It’s Up to Us. The added upside of getting eco-smart is that we can save thousands annually and spend it on things we like a lot more than gas stations. Let’s spark the Power of the People.
 

Plastic Free July Tips

What are you doing to celebrate #PlasticFreeJuly? Are you aware that less than 9% of plastic gets recycled, or that the process is highly toxic from cradle to grave, from extracting oil, leeching microplastics, plastic pollution, forever chemicals, et al.? Did you know that plastic and polyester (and vinyl, asphalt, rubber, etc.) are all oil products? The more we know, the more we can make meaningful change. Adjusting our habits is easier than we might realize, and so much healthier for us personally, for our families and Mother Nature (upon whom we depend for our lives, nutrition, adventure, etc.). ​

Here are a few tips you might consider.
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• Take your own to-go containers to restaurants
• Bamboo toothbrush
• Carry a backpack or reusable grocery bags (A backpack makes it easy for me to walk or bike to the store.)
• Bar soap and bar shampoo
• Bulk dish soap, powder laundry detergent in reusable glass containers
• Make your own mocktail (or cocktail) or tea, instead of canned or bottled sodas or libations
• Remember there’s #NoExcuseForSingleUse
• Shop at your local bulk goods store using reusable containers. (They know how to tare.)
• Shop at local farmers markets for produce instead of food covered in plastic at the grocery store
• Wear natural fiber clothing. Polyester is an oil-product and leeches microplastics into the water every time we wash our clothes.

 
Use #EarthGratitude and tag us on Instagram, X and Facebook with your tips and suggestions. Also, check out our 5-part docuseries at EarthGratitude.org with the following episodes:

• Green Kids
• Animals and Conservation
• Food and Health
• Everyday Sustainability
• The Power of Gratitude

 
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11-Point Green Checklist for Schools
Written by Natalie Pace and Edd Moore.
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With a special shout-out to former Damers Head Teacher Catherine Smith, who is now with The Harmony Project. Catherine always found a way to support sustainability, including making room in the site plan for a kitchen, where the children can cook food they've grown and eggs they've gathered in their hen house.
 
There are so many upsides to going green at school. The students will be more engaged, and eat healthier food. Many schools can save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, which can go for enhancing the curriculum, such as adding instruments and a music program, and other resources that make learning more fun. Some schools create and sell sustainable products to raise funds for their next green goal. The children at Damers First School in Poundbury, England used proceeds from their compost and Waxtastic No Plastic product to put in a pond and nature area.
 
Even better, there are organizations that have already done the heavy lifting of creating standards-based curriculum, crowdsourcing funding and showing that all of the green tips below can be achieved over a carefully-crafted multi-year plan.
 
Below is the 11-Point Green Checklist for Schools
 
1.     School Garden
2.     Nature Area
3.     Healthy, Local and Organic Food
4.     Plastic Free
5.     Recycled Paper
6.     #NoExcuseForSingleUse
7.     Composting
8.     Energy Audit: Energy Efficiency, Human Behavior
9.     Walk or Bike to School
10.  Integrating Sustainability Throughout the Curriculum
11.  Solar Power?
 
And here is more information on each point.
 
School Garden
School gardens offer hands-on study that can span the spectrum, from science and math, to cooking and language arts. Kids who grow their own vegetables like eating them. While touring The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, my middle school guide confessed that her favorite thing to eat was kale pesto! Dr. Sherridan Ross, a co-founder of Compton Community Garden, loves telling the story of a kid who gathered up a t-shirt full of peas to take home with him after sampling one that he was initially unwilling to stick in his mouth. Green Our Planet’s student-run farmer’s market is the largest in the nation, and raised over $22,000 in 2023!
 
Nature Area
Does your school have a carpet of grass, or is it xeriscaped with native plants? Green Our Planet taps county funds to eliminate grass in Las Vegas schools, and then uses the proceeds to set up student gardens. According to Ciara Byrne, the co-CEO and co-founder of Green Our Planet, over 50 million gallons of water is being saved each year by 200 schools in the area.

Native plants offer important biodiversity lessons in science that fly off the page. Will butterflies visit your native milkweed plants?

Identifying native wildflowers and trees is important for children. In learning about nature, they also learn from nature. Year 1 Damers First School students recorded what they discovered from their own Nature Area using a Nature Journal, documenting what they found in drawings, notes and “I wonder” questions. They then used this knowledge to teach their family and friends about what they found in other places around their community. Students also took guests on a tour of the grounds naming and giving facts about what was growing. This was all part of the Nature Premium Trial by the Harmony Project to encourage children to get out into nature. Damers First School was given £1000 to use as part of this project. The findings will be shared with U.K. The Department of Education with the view that all schools across England will get funding to help children get out into nature. 

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Healthy, Local and Organic Food
Are you concerned about the nutritional value of your child’s lunch? After ripping up concrete to set up permaculture gardens, Chef Alice Waters, the founder of The Edible Schoolyard, donated recipes that the kids use to cook their own food. While transitioning from heat-and-serve meals that are served on disposable plates will require more than planting a garden, your child’s health is worth the attention, activism and diligence of your PTA.
 
Plastic Free
I joke that the most powerful green lobby in England is the 4-9-year-olds at Damers First School in Poundbury, England. Through letter writing to the companies that deliver their food (language arts skills), the students were successful in getting their food delivered without all of the excess plastic covering. Watch the Damers video at YouTube.com/@EarthGratitude, if you’d like to learn more about the awards and stellar success that Damers has had with its Green Checklist.
 
After getting rid of more than 90% of the plastic at their own school, they went out into the community to convince business leaders to do the same. Tom Amery, the CEO of Brace of Butchers, was inspired by the students to create Naked Brace, a shop that sells bulk goods and produce, including milk that is dispensed in your own reusable glass bottle, without plastic.
 
Recycled Paper
The NRDC has graded toilet paper companies in the below Report Card.
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Using recycled toilet paper is important to preserving our forests and trees (which are some of the best and only CO2 drawdown machines we’ve currently got). Schools go through a lot of paper, which should be recycled at the point of purchase and after use.
 
#NoExcuseForSingleUse
Less than 9% of plastic gets recycled. In the U.K., over 16 billion single use paper cups are disposed of each year. That means 6.5 million trees are razed, 4 billion gallons of water is wasted and enough energy to power 54,000 homes has to be drained. Globally, the total is estimated to be a staggering 500 billion cups that are used and tossed annually. Middle and high schoolers should know these facts. Elementary school students (and all of us) should know that there is no excuse for single use. 

Composting
Food thrown in the garbage ends up as methane in a landfill – a gas more harmful than CO2. Compost is not just green, as in sustainable. It can also raise funds for the school. Whether your school establishes a Compost Row, like The Edible Schoolyard (click to watch a short instructional video), or purchases a compost machine like Poundbury has, there’s a lot to learn and a lot to gain by turning food scraps into a soil enricher that can be used in the Student Garden, in addition to the gardens of the parents, teachers and administrators at the school.

Energy Audit: Energy Efficiency, Human Behavior
School energy auditors use STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) when they are educating everyone about best energy practices, and holding them accountable. Optimistic, fun and informative signage can also encourage students to do the right thing. Auditors can identify areas to improve every day sustainability, in the quest for saving money, becoming more energy efficient, and getting closer to net zero.
 
11-year-old Isla Lester (a former student of Edd Moore, the eco coordinator at Damers First School) has become such a respected green youth leader that she opened Earth Day in Poundbury, heads up her own school Waste Warriors eco-club, is the U.K. Ambassador for Funky Kids Radio in Australia, and has been featured on BBC Bite Size Radio. Students that join eco clubs, volunteer to be energy auditors and grow, harvest and prepare their own food and meals become the sustainability experts of tomorrow, while gaining confidence and improving their health.
 
Walk or Bike to School
Many students live within walking distance of their local school. Are parents taking advantage of that? The health benefits are profound and important, particularly since obesity has become a crisis in America, with 20% of students obese (and 42% of adults). Additionally, 28% of CO2 emissions come from transportation. So, getting kids out of the car (and the dreaded carpool lineup) and onto their bikes and scooters is a triple win for the planet, the family budget (less gas expenditures), and personal health.
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Integrating Sustainability Throughout the Curriculum
Creating greater harmony with our home planet is a theme that can weave throughout all of the school curriculum. The Harmony Project, which is based out of the U.K., offers teacher training and standards-based curriculum, with the aim of “putting sustainability and Nature at the heart of learning.”

Solar Power?
If you live in a sunny place, then consider powering your school with solar. Electricity is expensive and is only going to get more so. The sun has been offering power at the same price for millennia. With the low price of solar panels and the benefit of government incentives, the payback time on solar can be as low as 4-7 years. Thereafter all of the money that would have made the utility company rich can now benefit the teachers and students.
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Resources
There are free ebooks, videos and other resources at EarthGratitude.org. Many of the organizations mentioned in this blog offer outstanding models for your school to adopt.

Bottom Line

If:

* Ron Finley and Compton Community Garden can create Eden in a food desert,
* Kids at the Edible Schoolyard can grow, cook and delight in their own kale pesto (Alice Waters’ recipe!),
* Damers First School students can eliminate plastic in their school and community, compost their food waste, harvest apples from their trees, build a nature area and power with solar and anaerobic digestion,

Imagine what is possible in your neighborhood!
 
Edd Moore and I co-hosted a free videoconference on these 11 Green Tips for Schools. Watch it back at YouTube.com.
 
Feel free to reach out to our team at NataliePace@EarthGratitude.org if you’d like me to speak to your PTA about this School Green Checklist. Please be sure to put School Green Checklist in the subject line. Edd Moore is also available for private consultations. You can reach him directly at any of the ways listed below.
 
Get to Net Zero with Edd Moore https://www.facebook.com/GettoNetZero/
Edd Moore LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/edd-moore-a0369b86
Email: ewmoore@hotmail.co.uk
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