I highly encourage growing a fruits and vegetables garden in your backyard. I know for some people they are not very good with plants and are unable to maintain them for whatever reasons, but it is something simple that will help our environment. If you can't grow your own garden, then at least try to buy locally-produced food. My family and I grow a small vegetable and fruit garden in our backyard. In it we grow basil, strawberries, tomatoes, and mint. We use these fruits and vegetables in our meals and it tastes delicious, and it didn't take that much effort. The website below lists the benefits of growing a small garden and how to do so.
http://www.greenchoices.org/gardening-d … owing-food

If possible, everyone should have a backyard garden! Not only is it organic and healthier, it decreases the carbon output from transportation. It is locally grown and immediately available, so it is not flown in from other regions and you do not have to drive to the store to get it. It is also beneficial to us, not just the Earth. Consuming what you make yourself can be very fulfilling. Having to take care of your plants gives you an excuse to go outside and get some sunlight and fresh air as well.

I agree with you Alyssa! This year, my family decided to try and have a backyard garden, and I really enjoy working in it! We grow fruits and a variety of herbs. It is really helpful when it comes to cooking things; it's right outside our house. We don't need to keep driving to the grocery store to buy what we need. In addition to growing our own food, we buy organic and locally grown food. Doing these has been really beneficial for my health; I'm able to get exercise, spend time outside, and eat healthier.

This is a really great idea! I sort of have a backyard garden. My dad likes to grow fruit and green onions. It is really helpful when my mom cooks. Instead of going to our local grocery store, we can just grab some from our backyard. It saves us a lot of time and money.

There are, in fact, a lot of benefits to garden, but there are four surprising benefits.
1. Improve your satisfaction with life. Considering that antidepressant use among adults over 65 has nearly tripled since the 1980s, gardening could be as useful as Prozac for warding off the blues in our aging population.

2. Lower your osteoporosis risk. It's probably no surprise that gardening, and all the physical activity that goes along with it, leads to weight loss and better overall physical health. But that physical activity can improve your bones as well. In a study of 3,310 older women, researchers from the University of Arkansas found that women involved in yard work and other types of gardening exercises had lower rates of osteoporosis than joggers, swimmers and women who did aerobics.

3. Lower your diabetes risk. One of the primary components of managing diabetes is getting enough physical exercise. Active gardeners easily get more than the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise, and those who garden just for fun get just slightly less than that, according to re search from Kansas State University.

4. Better sleep. The mental health benefits of gardening are so strong that a field of medicine called horticultural therapy has been developed to help people who have psychiatric disorders deal with their conditions. Studies of people with dementia and anxiety have found that gardening helps calm their agitation, leading to better sleep patterns and improved quality of their rest.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-fa … z3GpaRXgWu