Material Girl | Seven ways to switch off during Earth Hour 2021

This is closely followed up by searching: How many sleeps until the Easter Bunny comes?

We know it can't be long because the fish and chips shop has been positively packed out every Friday night since the beginning of Lent way back when.

Anyhow before either of those two events come into play, Earth Hour happens first, this weekend.

Started by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney during 2007, Earth Hour is now one of the world's largest grassroots movements for the environment anywhere.

Held every year on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour engages millions of people in more than 180 countries and territories, switching off their lights to show support for the planet.

But Earth Hour goes far beyond the symbolic action of switching off - it has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people and collective action.

Over the years, the lights-off moment saw entire streets, buildings, landmarks, and city skylines go dark - an unmissable sight that drew public attention to nature loss and the climate crisis.

This year - amid the current global circumstances - in addition to switching off your lights, people are invited to raise awareness and create the same unmissable sight online, so that the world sees our planet, the issues we face, and our place within it, in a new light.

On the night of Earth Hour (March 27), a video will be posted to Earth Hour's social media pages for people to share. Follow the below social pages to share your experience using the hashtag #EarthHour.

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Here's some ideas for how to power down or even switch off for a full hour on Saturday night:

Board games by candlelight. Just take care with the open flames. If your family is anything like mine, board games are a physical contest! You don't want the Monopoly money going up in flames or the Spot It card game burning down the house.

Go to bed early. I can't even remember the last time I went to bed at 8.30pm on a school night, let alone the weekend. It must have been back in the early 1980s. But one early night this weekend might be all you need to deal with the busy, pre-Easter rush yet to come!

Camp outdoors. Follow the light outside to your own little campfire. There's something mesmerising about sitting around a fire. Why wait until Easter?

Oh snap! Want to test your photography skills? Try taking portraits of your family and friends in low-light or candle-light! You can also try out "light-painting" with your camera - you'll need a tripod and a slow shutter speed. Hint: Find the tripod before you have to switch off the lights! Otherwise it's another accident waiting to happen!!

Eat dinner in the dark. This is a good idea especially if you have fussy eaters in your tribe! What pumpkin? I can't see pumpkin! Stop eating with your eyes so much!

Read to the kids by candlelight. Remember to use your best expression or you'll lose that job. Thanks to YouTube, kids don't settle for an average reading any more!

Go to the theatre. HotHouse has its last show in its season opener in Wodonga on Saturday night. There's no better place than sitting in an audience with the lights down low. Don't forget to book.

Wherever you are, come 8.30pm this Saturday, it's lights out!

Then on the following Sunday, April 4, move your clock backward one hour at 3am (Australian Daylight Saving Time).

Careful not to trip over the Easter bunny, who is also due in around that time too!

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