April is Earth Month, and here at California Coastkeeper Alliance that means celebrating and protecting all things water. Although most of us are sheltering in place, you might be looking for ways to connect with your waterways and take positive actions to protect them. We have put together ten simple ways that you can get involved, save water, and support your community while social distancing:

1. Staying home likely means higher water bills. Review your household water use with a water audit to see where you can effectively implement conservation measures.
2. Take a tour of your yard to determine how much water your landscaping really needs, where you can capture rain, disconnect downspouts, and reduce imperviousness.
3. Revamp your outdoor space with water-wise landscaping. Getting your hands dirty outside is a great way to reconnect with nature and get the kids involved. Bonus points for growing organic!
4. Clean up your local beach or creek. If you can safely access your local waterway while practicing social distancing, gear up with a bucket and some gloves and head out!
5. Filter your fleece. Did you know your favorite loungewear might be shedding plastic microfibers into our waterways? You can help curb the pollution by washing your clothes in a microfiber filtering bag. If you are able, take it one step further and install a filter directly on your washing machine.
6. Take stock of single-use plastics in your home. Start implementing ways to reduce your plastic dependency and help prevent plastic pollution from flowing into our waterways.
7. Don’t panic-buy bottled water. An estimated one million Californians don’t have access to safe drinking water. Leave bottled water on the shelves for those who rely on it for their only source of clean water.  
8. Tell your elected officials not to rollback clean water protections. The U.S. EPA announced a sweeping suspension of environmental protection laws and regulations due to the current COVID-19 crisis, but that doesn’t mean that California needs to undermine public health & safety by giving polluters a pass.
9. Connect and engage with us. Learn more about what we are up to by signing up for our newsletter and talk to us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We want to hear about how you are keeping your spirits up, working for the environment, and finding community while practicing social distancing.
10. Educate yourself about important water issues facing our state. Read up on our efforts to enhance ocean climate resiliency, why ocean desalination should be a last resort for California, and a myriad of other water issues on our website.

We realize how challenging these past weeks have been, and the coming months will be, on our society and our economy. That’s why it’s so important that we face these challenges together and find ways to support our communities and the places we love. We’re all in this together.

Natalie Caulk

Associate Director Natalie Caulk provides operational leadership and manages the ongoing implementation of programs and partnerships of CCKA.