Furman Greenbelt Sustainable Living Community

By definition, sustainability means managing present resources without compromising the social, economic, and environmental abilities of the future. In action, sustainability aims to preserve and, if possible, improve society. As I see it though, sustainability begins with childhood education.

 

“Welcome to Sludge City –– where overflowing landfills stretch across a grimy coastline. Here, pollution has virtually wiped out most animals’ natural habitats and made it nearly impossible for most crops to grow in the barren soil. Fortunately, a thick smog cast over the city makes it difficult to notice all of these issues,” I explained as an outraged audience of kids morphed into pure frenzy.

 

As a counselor at Camp Invention, I helped 1^st through 6^th grade students tackle real-world sustainability issues with group collaboration and quick-witted innovation. With some basic school supplies and a room inundated with recyclable materials, these young inventors were encouraged to concoct the most off-the-wall solutions to problems that modern scientists, mathematicians and engineers are currently discussing. In five different classes, these students brainstormed ideas in the fields of geometry, electrical engineering, and marine biology. In one particular week, however, the challenge of revitalizing Sludge City overtook the children’s interests unlike any other class.

 

On the first day, the presented task was to restore the water quality and to filter out all of the harmful pollution. Each table first received a water bottle cut in half with the top half placed inside the bottom half like a funnel. Next, the kids obtained some glasses of dirty water, cotton balls, sand and gravel. After deliberating amongst their team of young inventors and experiencing a few failed attempts, the aspiring Edisons had constructed a miniature filtration system. Delighted, some children expressed their excitement at the end of the day by rushing to their parents to describe what they learned, while others displayed more immediate enthusiasm by drinking the filtered water.  Whether or not they realized the fact, the students accomplished much more than rebuilding Sludge City. Rather, they learned the value and enjoyment of sustainability –– a word some of them would have struggled to pronounce yet remarkably already understood.

 

If sustainability really does include looking towards the future, then we must remember to look towards our children. While those under the age of 18 represent less than one quarter of the population, they represent 100% of the future.[1] For that reason, I see no other way to look at sustainability than by equipping the youth to respond to current environmental concerns from energy management to pollution to air quality. On an individual level, this might be as simple as donating school supplies to a classroom in need or visiting an elementary school one day as a tutor, volunteer or mentor. Educational advocacy can also come in the form of political literacy through regular voting in local and state elections, attendance and participation in regional school board meetings, or researching educational issues on the web or at nearby libraries.  In any case, sustainability requires deliberate acts of compassion to help others in order to not only preserve but also enrich the future, so that future generations might one day do the same.

-Matthew Martin

[1] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216

I am a student at a small, liberal arts university in the south, and I am currently working on a sustainability initiative with a small group to get rid of the plastic straws and plastic bags in one of our dining halls. This has proven to be a challenge when thinking of how to tackle the situation because these items are used so often without being conscious of the environment. With the guidance of our professor and project tips from the article “Bagging the Disposable Plastic Bag” from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), we have been working on a game plan for implementation. Although some may be obvious, I want to share a few things I have learned along the way.

1. Research, Research, Research!
   1. Our professor recommended we look through databases for successful projects similar to ours to find out what issues ran into and how to avoid them. A simple Google search can suffice, but AASHE can quickly provide multiple relevant resources instead of filtering through a Google search trying to determine what is and is not credible.
2. Take time to study how your own campus uses plastics
   1. Find a subtle spot in the place of action to observe when plastics are being used the most. For our dining hall, most students who dine in do not get plastic tops or straws for their single-use cups, but if they are taking their food and drinks elsewhere, they are much more likely to get bags, tops, and straws, even if they do not need them. This method can help you evaluate students’ needs and target a more specific campaign to students.
3. Approach stakeholders with collaboration and conversation
   1. No one likes to be told how they should run their business. It may be easy to rattle off statistics and say, “You have to make this change; I can’t believe you haven’t done this yet,” but this can make others feel like they are being attacked. Avoid a condescending tone when giving information because you want the other people feel like they have a say and can work with you, not for
4. Gradual change
   1. Something the article “Bagging the Disposable Plastic Bag” brought to my attention was the actual timeline of taking away the plastic products. In the project described by the article, the students working on the project took away the plastic bags one day without any warning, causing students to complain, and the food provider to bring back the bags. When the students tried again, they did a countdown until the bags were taken away, and students were more receptive to this. Also, talking to your friends about this issue may give you an insight as to how the general student population would feel about it.
5. Generate excitement and interest in the mission
   1. Incorporating students into the initiative and making them feel like they are individually making a difference will help students think more positively about it. You can post facts about plastic on campus and show that your individual university is making a difference, whether you are the first university in your area to do it or you’re joining a host of other universities already participating.

-Katherine Kristinik

 

Citation:

Cammarn, Grace, et al. “Bagging the Disposable Plastic Bag.” AASHE, Association for the

Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 10 June 2016.

 

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, The Association for

the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2018, www.aashe.org/.

Every day we make decisions as consumers that affect the local, regional, and even worldwide ecosystem. Growing up, it is easy to think that you are just a kid in high school, or in college, so there is nothing you can really do to impact what we see around us, but that just isn’t true. Looking at statistics about waste and pollution can be overwhelming, such as plastic contributes to over 250,000 tons of trash to the ocean (Gourmelon), but every revolution starts as small. It is easy to think that you “living green” but there is always room for improvement, and it’s never too late to start. There are many small life style changes you can make that have a meaningful impact into helping the environment, even if you are living low-budget. And it all starts with a dialogue

America in general has an obsession with fast food. And while I’m not asking you to eliminate it, I am asking you to think about what you are consuming. The beef in your McDonalds hamburger, has one of the highest carbon footprints of any meat product, because it is a ruminant. This means that it produces methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, while the cow digests (Carrington). But the carbon footprint doesn’t stop there. As soon as your cow is killed to be ground up or otherwise processed, it must be kept at a very cold temperature to prevent any contamination and slow the spread of potentially harmful bacteria. This high level of refrigeration must be kept up for the entire duration of your ground beefs life – right up until it is cooked.

So, instead of going to McDonalds for your hamburger fix, why not hit up your local burger joint instead? Ask your favorite mom and pop shop where they get their meat. While you’re there, also ask if they have considered not serving straws any longer. Single use plastic straws are the single largest contributor to plastic in our oceans (Gourmelon), and they are completely unnecessary. As an added bonus, their restaurant can save money from not buying any.

Just by asking your local restaurants to stop using plastic straws, or ask them where they get their beef from, is contributing to change. Education is the key to revolution, and approaching people in a positive and polite manner can have a huge impact.

Other low budget options for college students could be as easy as switching their peanut butter type. Did you know that palm oil on of the leadings causes of deforestation in tropical rain forests (Rainforest Rescue)? Most people don’t. Helping this fight is as easy as checking your food products labels to see if they contain palm oil or any derivative, and switching to one that doesn’t include it. If you are say a coffee enthusiast, why not look into where your product comes from? Coffee is also grown in the tropics, and is naturally grown in the shade. Being grown in the shade, instead of a genetically modified monoculture out in the sun, acts as a corridor for migratory birds to rest in (Smithsonian Global). A simple, quick google search can show you any number of small and easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint and give back to the environment.

Leaving the local grocery store with your new rainforest friendly peanut butter and migratory bird friendly coffee, do you grab a plastic bag? The average use of a plastic bag is around 20 minutes (Greener Ideal). Used for just 20 minutes, and then where does it go? For over half of plastic bags used – it’s straight to landfills or our oceans. 20 minutes of use, followed by over a thousand years of polluting decay. All of this could be changed with a 1-2$ investment into a reusable bag.

Overall, there are many small switches anyone could make in their everyday life to live more sustainably – if only they knew. And that is why living cleaner starts with a dialogue! Any change you make will add up over time, and hopefully inspire others to do so as well. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

-Julia Clements

Many of us are lucky enough to have things that we take for granted: bathrooms, beds, automobiles, access to all kinds of technology, three meals a day — the list goes on and on. One major possession that many of us take for granted is our access to yards. In many nations, the concept of having a space that is as large and fertile as some of our front yards and isn’t used for growing crops or raising livestock is unthinkable. Meanwhile, some of us just let it sit out there looking beautiful and even consider it a burden to “have to” cut the grass once a week. Some will even leap at the opportunity to hire someone else to cut their grass when they have the funds to take the burden off of themselves. While this is a good thing for creating jobs and allowing more free time to those who have busy schedules or other conflicts, it also creates a real issue. Beyond the simple disconnect between a human being and his or her land (yes, our property is our land, though it isn’t held in such high regard for most anymore) there also emerges a new problem of severe air pollution from commercial lawn care companies.

As a novice in the lawn care business, I have already seen some of the things that are causing serious issues when it comes to air pollution, and have also seen, as a novice in the sustainability world, that there aren’t many feasible solutions to these problems. An organization called Quiet Communities presented the results of an EPA study that showed lawn and garden equipment emits over 20 million annual tons of carbon dioxide into the air.^[1] While this is a small amount compared to the 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide produced by transportation vehicles per year^[2], it is still troubling. The world has rapidly made great advances in automotive emissions issues and in creating cars and trucks that don’t create any emissions (electric, fuel cell, etc.), but when it comes to commercial lawn care, the same thing can’t be said.

Companies that mow multiple (as in 10 to 30+) lawns per day need mowers, blowers, trimmers, and other equipment that can last long enough to get the most possible work done between charges/fill-ups, and also that simply can get the work done, and there simply isn’t enough of this technology out right now. Mowers that are powered by rechargeable batteries either do not have the battery power to last as long as companies need them to, or do not provide enough power to the blades to get a quality cut on the grass. Another major problem is that the quality electric mowers are too expensive for buyers to even consider. The Mean Green lawn mowers are some of the only commercial grade, high quality electric mowers, and even have a run time of up to 7 hours, which is in a comparable range with gas powered mowers. However, the price of this mower is $14,725, which is, as you can imagine, at the highest end of prices of these mowers.^[3] While Mean Green promises that the mower costs less to operate with its plug-in-recharge compared to mowers that must be refilled with gasoline or diesel, I fear that the initial price of this mower is too high for most in the lawn care business to even be able to consider. This, along with logistics issue of having to find outlets to recharge the machine as opposed to simply being able to pour liquid from a can into the tank as with gas and diesel mowers, provide problems that most would probably not be willing to deal with.

The primary issue when it comes to lawn care is that too many people have looked at lawn maintenance as a horrible burden rather than as an opportunity and a blessing. However, since most Americans are past the days of mom or dad walking the push-powered reel mower across the yard every Saturday, and since we have moved toward big-time lawn care companies with multiple four-foot-wide, triple-blade, gas powered zero-turn mowers rolling into neighborhoods and cutting 20-30 lawns per day, it is time that we use our great advancements in technology to find a solution to the environmental problems that stem from commercial lawn care. We are on the right track with automobiles, but even if every person in the world were to end up driving a zero-emissions water powered jetpack to work each day, our nation would still have grass that needed cutting, and there needs to be an equally clean, equally affordable, and equally efficient way to get that job done.

-John Martinson

 

^[1]  Gas-powered lawn equipment emits unhealthy air pollutants. . 2015. https://www.quietcommunities.org/gas-powered-lawn-equipment-emits-unhealthy-air-pollutants/. Accessed Jan 25, 2018.

^[2] https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=307&t=10

^[3] Cxr-52/60. Mean Green Mowers Web site. http://www.meangreenproducts.com/cxr5260/. Accessed Jan 25, 2018.

 

What if I told you there’s a way to turn your death into something more than just an ending?

 

Before the solution, however, it’s important to understand the problem. Although death is difficult to face, even in hypothetical terms, we need to take a closer look at the way we carry out burials; it’s not as sustainable of a practice as we thought. Routine burial methods require large amounts of materials that are used for a short time, and every part of the process is toxic to the environment. Because of traditional embalming practices, 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde (a potential carcinogen to humans) are put into the ground annually. Additionally, in the US alone, the amount of wood used for caskets is equivalent to four million acres of forest. After the burial is over, it becomes a contributor to the one million acres of land currently used for cemeteries in the US. This land has to be maintained with fertilizer, pesticides, and massive amounts of water (Calderone, 2015). These numbers are staggering. It’s easy to see how much we’ve commercialized death.

Designers Anna Citelli and Raoul Bretzel have a solution to the toxic practices: a biodegradable burial pod that gives nutrients back to the environment and nourishes trees. They call it “Capsula

Mundi,” which translates to “world’s capsule” in Latin. The pod is made from a plastic outer shell that breaks down once it comes in contact with bacteria in the soil, and human remains are placed inside the pod (Erizanu, 2018). Because human remains release nutrients into the ground, they can be used to nourish a mature tree. When a body breaks down, it releases large amounts of nitrogen, but the plastic shell releases carbon in an effort to balance out chemical levels in the soil. Their design isn’t currently legal everywhere, but it’s allowed in North America (“Capsula Mundi”).

The designers of the Capsula Mundi pods are reimagining cemeteries as land filled with trees and wildlife. They want to help people understand that death can be turned into life by helping the environment flourish. The one million acres of cemetery land and tombstones can become wide expanses of woodlands.

For the people more passionate about ocean life than trees, there are still options for a sustainable burial- Eternal Reefs. A similar concept to the Capsula Mundi, reef pods are created from human remains and an environmentally-safe cement mixture. These pods are then used to foster new habitats for sea life. There are currently 1800 Eternal Reefs created by people in the United States, but the company is quickly growing. Families can write in the concrete before it hardens and hold a service on the water as the reef pod is placed in a location of their choosing (“What is an Eternal Reef?”).

These solutions are the first attempts to transform our idea of death and to help people dedicate themselves to helping the environment. It’s hard to grasp the idea that our lifespan is finite, but just because human life has an expiration date doesn’t mean the environment has to follow suit.

-Haley Park

 

 

References:

 

Calderone, Julia. “Burying Dead Bodies Takes a Surprising Toll on the Environment.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 4 Nov. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/burying-dead-bodies-environment-funeral-conservation-2015-10/#eco-friendly-alternative-do-exist-6.

 

“Capsula Mundi >> Project.” Capsula Mundi, www.capsulamundi.it/en/project/.

 

Erizanu, Paula. “Organic Burial Pod Turns Your Body into a Tree.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Jan. 2018, www.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html.

 

“What is an Eternal Reef? >>Eternal Reefs >> Living Legacies That Memorialize the Passing of a Loved One.” Eternal Reefs, www.eternalreefs.com/the-eternal-reefs-story/what-is-an-eternal-reef/.

We live in a very progressive society where our main goal to ensure that we leave our planet a better place than we found it. A couple weeks ago I was watching a TedTalk that discussed about how profit is not always the point. I was quite interested in this talk because I feel like in today’s society profit is always the point. If it’s not the point, then we would probably question why we decide to endeavor do it.

During the talk, an interesting quote that caught my attention arose. The quote by Adam Smith stated that, “If you continue to operate in your own self-interest, then you will do what is best for society.” When I first heard this, it was quite frightening. My first thought was if the people in society act in a selfish way, then we as society aren’t advancing towards a common goal. As the video continued, I realized that when Adam said self-interest he meant in the interest of the human population. If we put the interest of our community first, then our society will be making adjustments towards a better tomorrow.

While Harish Manwani was trying to reach corporate leaders during his talk, I hope to reach the average, normal person. The person who can make our environment better by adjusting basic day-to-day living. While Manwani was arguing that profit wasn’t the point, I think that profit is the point. See I have a different prospective. Instead of adjusting our lens to believe that profit isn’t the point, why don’t we adjust what our definition of profit is. I truly believe that in a profitable society, we strive to cut down on nonrenewable resources. A profitable society is one where we protect our forests and oceans.

I believe that in a profitable society, we are making this Earth more green- and no I’m not taking about money. Instead of settling for instant gratification, we could make efforts to install plans so that we will leave Earth a better place for future generations. What if we can make it a more profitable society by recycling plastic and composting food. What if our society is profitable by turning the lights off when you leave the room? Well it is. By doing this we are making our Earth a better place. We are contributing to a decrease in fossil fuels. By biking and carpooling we use less gas and less oil which there will be in soon enough. What if we stop littering and contributing to pollution? Instead of making a profit in money, we are saving our planet which is more profitable than all the zeroes in a bank account.

If we make an investment in projects that will make our community more sustainable, which may end up being costly now, but it will contribute to a greener and a better living environment. I believe that we have the ability to make Earth more profitable. By changing day-to-day routines, we can be very profitable.

-Fabby Gonzalez

The lens of a camera is powerful because it has the ability to capture and preserve a memory for years to come. These photographs have the uncanny ability to transport you to a whole other dimension simply by gazing into them. One day, I happened to be scrolling through the Instagram page for National Geographic when I stumbled upon a photograph taken by one of their many photographers. This particular picture wasn’t awe inspiring or breathtaking but rather it was simply tragic and heartbreaking. The picture was of an emaciated adult polar bear in a barren landscape with no ice insight, and his drooping head indicated that he had no more fight left in him. The reason for this particular polar bear’s poor health and untimely death could have stemmed from multiple causes; however, it doesn’t take an expert to know that global warming is contributing to the demise of polar bears.

Global warming is a hot topic right now, and a major source of disagreement especially when it comes to differences between political parties. Global warming is a frequent term but it is important to understand the cause of it to be able to mitigate its effects. The cause of global warming is the release of large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere where heat becomes trapped in these gases. This trapping of heat leads to a warming of the world hence the term global warming. This increase in heat can lead to melting of the ice caps which in turn contributes to rising sea levels (What is Global Warming). The melting of the ice caps in the Arctic is destroying the habits of polar bears because when it comes to their habit specialization, they “rely heavily on the sea ice environment for traveling, hunting, mating, resting, and in some areas, maternal dens” (Advani). If we don’t make changes in our day to day lives to help aid the environment in its recovery, then polar bears might not be able to adapt fast enough to their changing environment.

The picture of the dying polar bear made me stop in my tracks because photographs are extremely powerful objects. I was no longer concerned with all of the hustle and bustle going on around me, and I just focused on the one photograph right in front of me. We live in a fast paced world where we don’t have an abundance of time to stop and think, so I greatly appreciated this one moment. This moment made my heart ache and made me realize that there are countless times in life we choose to ignore the important things going on around us. Sometimes we have a one track mind and don’t worry about anything else that is going on in the periphery. I am so glad that I stumbled upon this picture because it makes the current impact of global warming all the more real. In the end, we need to realize that our actions greatly affect the environment we live in because polar bears are just the tip of the iceberg. A decline in the population of polar bears can potentially cause a domino effect down the rest of the food chain and produce unimaginable catastrophic consequences. You should care because this world is your home and we can’t relocate to another.

 

-Emily Shafer

As a massive source of public entertainment in the United States and around the world, professional and collegiate sports teams attract a tremendous amount of fans to their stadiums and arenas. In fact, the top 200 stadiums in the United States draw almost 181 million visitors per year. With this amount of people attending games and matches, the managers of these facilities hold a responsibility to manage the amounts of waste and environmental pollution created by fans both within the stadium or arena and outside its gates.[1]

Two main aspects of these sports venues that have room for improvement are stadium development and waste management. With the explosion of the popularity of sports, 66 new stadiums have been built for teams in the four major professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) over the past two decades. Some of the problems associated with building new stadiums and arenas include not considering sustainability during development as well as not considering the surrounding area and transportation systems while picking a location for the new stadium or arena. To solve these issues, developers should strive for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.[1] This certification is available to buildings that are highly efficient, green, and cost-saving.2 Stadiums and arenas that are certified are more environmentally friendly and save the teams money by consuming about 25 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than another stadium or arena of comparable size. Additionally, developers should put more thought into placing the stadium or arena in an area that is compatible with the local transportation system. If developers build the stadium or arena in a more strategic location, less energy will be used to get to the stadium or arena, and less transportation wastes such as greenhouse gases will be emitted as fans travel to the game. This change will also most likely benefit the team and make more revenue because fans will be more willing to travel to the games if the stadium or arena is in a more convenient location making it easy to use public transportation systems.[1]

Stadiums and arenas produce tremendous amounts of waste both within and on the outsides of their walls. This waste can come from items brought into the stadium, items bought within the stadium, and tailgates. Managers must take into account all of the possible sources of waste and also be aware of the local waste disposal and recycling policies. To be more sustainable, managers should advertise for sustainability and waste management within the stadium by using techniques to target fans and influence them to join the movement towards more sustainability at the games. An example of an advertising technique that is effective in targeting fans is the use of “Fan Cans,” which are recycling containers with a design on top that represents the sport played in that specific stadium or arena. Currently, there are disposable materials used at concession stands in stadiums that are not easily recyclable, such as low-grade plastics and polystyrene. Stadium managers should work to form partnerships with companies more dedicated to selling recyclable materials to sell their food at concession stands. If stadiums and arenas can all make these changes towards more sustainable practices, the sports industry can thrive while influencing fans to live more sustainable lives and making less of a negative impact on the environment.[1]

Sources:

[1]https://www.wm.com/sustainability-services/documents/insights/Stadiums%20and%20Arenas%20Insight.pdf

2https://new.usgbc.org/leed

 

-Danni Vines

Consider this: according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the “air quality within homes can be more polluted than the outdoor air” (Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). This is a scary thought—isn’t it?

Now consider this: You are scrolling through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or a Snapchat story and see the typical artsy pictures of apartment window-sills full of decorative succulents, dorm rooms with leafy green plants, and that one hipster girl from high school’s air plants. You think to yourself: Why are houseplants so cool now? Should I go to Trader Joe’s and pick up a succulent? Will this make me hipster and ‘cool’?

An example of “Instagram-worthy” houseplants. Source: @martinathornhill

First, I would like to tell you that you are hipster and cool just the way you are, and you do not need to look like an Instagram model to be loved and valued😊

Second, I would tell you that the two things I asked you to consider (air quality and plants) are, in fact, related.

Crazy, right? Indoor pollutants exist, and they come from many sources. Combustion pollutants, such as particles from water heaters, dryers, space heaters, etc., include carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide (which are both colorless and odorless) (Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). Volatile Organic Compounds are released from solids and liquids, such as certain paints and varnishes, glues, air fresheners, cleaning supplies, and cosmetics. These include formaldehyde, acetone, benzene, and more (Environmental Protection Agency, 2016).

These pollutants, which are likely floating around your home/apartment, probably sound alarming and, honestly, they should. These pollutants are associated with negative health outcomes, such as respiratory infection, damaged lung tissue, lung diseases (such as emphysema) and cancer. However, there are many things that can be done to reduce your exposure.

You can:

-open your windows as much as possible

-change filters in your home, air conditioner, and vacuum regularly

-avoid synthetic air-fresheners and petroleum-based wax candles

-use a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) air-purifier

-choose your paint wisely (use low or no VOC paint)

-use non-toxic cleaners

-get lots of green plants!!!

(Apartment Therapy, 2010).

Plants? Yes! We are coming full circle! This brings me to the third thing I would tell you– yes, you should probably go to Trader Joe’s and buy a plant! But you will be doing so not to conform to society’s standards of what is cool, you will be doing it to clean your air and to improve your health.

According to NASA, these are some of the best plants you can buy to reduce VOCs and improve the air quality of your abode:

• Bamboo Palm
• Chinese Evergreen
• English Ivy
• Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
• Florist’s Chrysanthemum
• Red-Edged Dracaena
• Weeping Fig
• Peace Lily (caution, this is poisonous for your furry friends!)

NASA recommends that you have one plant per 100 square feet. (NASA, 1989).

Thus, while indoor pollutants are a scary reality that all of us face, there are easy (and often fun) ways that we can reduce the hazard, including owning plants. You can now take artsy pictures to put on Instagram, all the while cleaning your air and improving your living space! A win-win situation! Additionally, I have included some recipes for green cleaning products that are easy to make, cheap, good for the environment, and good for your health because they do not emit VOCs! There is no reason not to make these!

 

All-Purpose Cleaner:

Equal parts vinegar and water

*essential oils can be added to change the scent*

 

Glass Cleaner:

¼ Cup of white vinegar

1 Tablespoon of cornstarch

2 Cups of Warm water

 

Homemade Wood Polishing Spray

¾ Cup of olive oil

¼ Cup of white vinegar

30 drops essential oil (such as lemon, orange, or lavender)

(Keeper of the Home, 2017).

 

Good luck, friends, and happy planting, mixing, and being green! Your body will thank you for the improved indoor air quality!

 

-Catherine Lippert

In order to build a sustainable world, the natural first step is to cultivate a love for the environment and caring for it at a young age. Though children get educated on simple scientific principles—ecosystems, the water cycle, properties of matter—they don’t really seem to be receiving encouragement to take care of the earth. If we start teaching kids as young as elementary school how to be sustainable, there’ll be a generation of children eager to learn about sustainability and ready to tackle the massive ecological issues we’re currently facing.

Children mimic adults all the time—it’s why we have to watch our language around them and make sure they don’t watch violent movies. But a great way to encourage children to live sustainably is by making sure we as adults are practicing environmentally-safe actions. Using reusable grocery bags when shopping with a child, having a compost bin at home, and gardening are all simple ways of making sure a child is able to witness sustainability in action. It can also open up for some great conversations about why sustainable actions are good for the earth and why the earth needs us to be more mindful.

There are tons of lesson plans available for teachers to use when discussing the environment. Small children are the best scientists—they want to know as much as they can and ask questions that would blow your mind. Lessons such as calculating a carbon footprint or learning how we could use solar/wind power to fuel our world could be very beneficial to getting kids thinking about these broad subjects while they’re still eager to learn.

Schools can start community gardens to help get the children outside and working towards sustainable eating practices. Plus, children get very excited over being able to say that they grew something themselves!

There are so many cool ways to reach children to teach them how to live sustainably. Not only are we not teaching kids, we’re barely encouraging students at higher levels of education or adults. Sustainability does not have to be onerous, but currently we make it so inaccessible within the education system. It can be easy and exciting, but only if adults and educators are willing to put forth the education to make it easy and exciting.

 

-Cammi Stilwell