Tips for Living Green at Home and in Your Community

As both users and admirers of Mother Nature, we have the power to come together and take action that enriches our world’s natural resources while ensuring our local communities are healthy and safe for everyone.

Environmental stewardship is the responsibility of anyone with an environmental impact, to maintain a healthy and sustainable planet while enhancing human well-being. Over a billion people come together to celebrate Earth Day and spread awareness about the significance of safeguarding the environment. The planet faces various threats like pollution and ocean acidification. Therefore, we must become a part of the solution. It is our responsibility to sustain our environment for future generations, and Earth Day serves as a reminder.

Here are some tips for living green at home and in your community:

Ditch Single-Use Plastics

Plastic is convenient for storage, but the material has led to a significant amount of waste. Since the 1980s, the use of plastic has increased six-fold, resulting in the production of about 380 million tons of plastic each year. We can reduce plastic use by opting for alternatives such as beeswax or vegan wraps, environmentally friendly food bags, reusable stretch silicone food lids, or metal water bottles. By doing so, we also reduce our carbon footprint. Less plastic means less oil, energy, and other natural resource consumption.

Challenge Yourself and Your Community to Be Waste-Free

Always remember: “Reduce, reuse, recycle.” Simple actions such as composting your food waste and purchasing products with minimal, or no packaging can help reduce waste and pollution. You can also upcycle your household items. Consider setting up community recycling and compost bins in your neighborhood public spaces as well as educating residents on best practices.

Improve Your Community Conservation Efforts

Engaging your community is essential. Consider organizing group activities such as picking up garbage, cleaning local waterways, and planting trees and shrubs to improve the area and prevent soil erosion. Spreading the word and encouraging others to participate in these efforts can have a positive impact not only in your community, but also in other places of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Get Involved with Environmental Organizations

Numerous environmental organizations operate within communities and beyond. The Chesapeake Bay Trust is dedicated to empowering diverse groups to take action for a healthier Chesapeake Bay region through conservation, education, and community restoration projects. We work with many federal partners to collaboratively support natural resource projects. Here at the Bay Trust, we appreciate all our grantees, federal, state, local, corporate, and funding partners, and our donors, all of whom enable us to expand our reach and make these projects possible. You can support our mission with your much-appreciated gift which empowers your communities to restore nature, ensuring benefits from the world’s natural resources.