It is nature’s little surprises that most connect me with the miraculously intelligent balance that Mother Earth creates. Hiking through a spring forest provides me with more than a few little miracles I always appreciate. But what if, over time, these little surprises become fewer and fewer, due to the harmful effects of everyday living?

Along with many Natural Awakenings readers, I want to preserve a good quality of life now and for future generations by being a good steward of the Earth, yet the task can seem overwhelming. Despite my good intentions, how can I completely overhaul my life, change my job, drive carbon-free, move to a new house and create a zero-impact life? The good news is that there are a number of viable solutions and alternatives already available that I can implement to the best of my ability. Learn more in our feature story, “Live Green – Save Big.”

This month’s special Green Living issue is packed with empowering tips and local resources to aid us all in thoughtfully and lovingly embracing a more Earth-friendly and sustainable lifestyle. Simple steps, such as buying something secondhand, prevents another item from going to the dump. Other healthy choices include switching to eco-friendly cleaning products, supporting local farmers and carrying reusable bags into every store.

We do our part by printing on recycled, non-glossy paper. We invite readers to join our email list to receive the digital edition, but we also understand that the majority of our readers are overdosed on screen time and prefer the gentle, tactile experience of flipping paper pages. Historically, we know that many readers file magazines for a month or even years, so they can return later to reference advertisers, calendar events and favorite articles.

Not only do we want to help readers remember all of the valuable information they find in these pages, we are also happy to provide fun tips on other ways you can reuse past issues. Practical repurposing ranges from shredding for packing material, tearing into pieces for household compost, lining litter boxes and garbage cans, rolling into paper logs and cutting out pictures and words for a vision board. Of course, you can always resend it to the recycling center.

The crafting link at BuzzFeed.com/chanelparks/awesome-magazine-newspaper-crafts has more ideas and links for everything from making clocks, trashcans, seedling starters, frames, bowls, trivets and vases to shaping a sailor hat and a paper dress. We took a few minutes to create an envelope out of a past issue. It was fun and free.

We hope you explore and enjoy spring to the utmost and as always, remember to feel good, live simply and laugh more.

Dave Korba, Publisher