Small and Large Things You Can Do Today to be Kinder to the Earth

Save our bees, birds, butterflies, moths, and bugs!

• About “No Mow May”

  • No Mow May is not enough on its own - if your lawn is only grass that is fertilized then there is no benefit to bees. No Mow May should encourage us to create a more biodiverse space by planting native flowers and shrubs, in place of grass, which will also reduce mowing in the future. Source: Xerces.org

• Leave the leaves

  • Leaves create a natural mulch, helping suppress weeds while fertilizing the soil as it breaks down. They also provide a habitat for wildlife, including creatures that consume pests and pollinate your garden. Source: USDA.gov

• Reduce your lawn

  • Every year across the country, lawns consume nearly 3 trillion gallons of water, 200 million gallons of gas (for all that mowing), and 70 million pounds of pesticides. Sep 30, 2016 More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn - NRDC

    Use lawn space to implement raised vegetable garden beds / Add a pond! You can get as creative as you want! Changes big or small will make a positive impact. Create more biodiversity by planting more native flowers, shrubs, and plants on your property

• Grow native gardens

  • Plant Milkweed! Milkweed is the main source of life for Monarchs and is native to North America. Lupine, Cranesbill, Spotted Beebalm, Aster and Pussywillows are just a few native flowers to consider!

• Plant native & edible trees & shrubs

  • Paw paw, Hazelnut, Black Walnut, Black Berry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Christmas Fern, Alternate-leaved Dogwood, Virginia Rose, & Buttonbush are just some examples of beneficial native trees and shrubs. Check out Extapps.dec.ny.gov (New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation website) for a complete list!

• Remove invasive species

  • Invasives outcompete and displace native plants. They do this by shading them out and by changing the chemistry of the soil. Vines choke out healthy trees. Invasive plants do not provide food for native insect and animal populations. Invasives planted in suburban developments spread to local forests. Commone examples include: Bittersweet, Burning Bush, Barberry, Buckthorn, Mudwort, Japanese Knotweed, Privit, Multi-flora Rose, and Bamboo. Often you can tell a plant doesn’t belong here by the name: Norway Maple, Russian Olive, Japanese Dogwood,  etc. (Invasives versus non-natives)

• Skip lawn chemicals! Save the bees, birds, butterflies, moths, and important bugs!

  • Reality:  Pesticides are dangerous by design. They are engineered to cause death. And harms to human health are very well documented, with children especially at risk. Here are a few recent examples from the news:

    • An entire class of pesticides (organophosphates) has been linked to higher rates of ADHD in children.

    • The herbicide atrazine, found in 94% of our water supply, has been linked to birth defects, infertility and cancer.

    • Women exposed to the pesticide endosulfan during pregnancy are more likely to have autistic children.

    • Girls exposed to DDT before puberty are five times more likely to develop breast cancer.

    • The World Health Organization recently designated the key ingredient in the widely used herbicide RoundUp a “probable human carcinogen.”

    Source: Panna.org

• Plant your yard with berry and nut-bearing native plants, and provide water and shelter for birds.

  • Attracts birds to your property. Birds are extremely beneficial and control pests, pollinate plants, & spread seeds.

• Create water features to support wildlife

  • You can add bee & birds baths, or go big by adding a small pond! Creating spaces with easy-to-access water stations attracts wildlife that plays essential roles in running our ecosystems.

• Leave dead trees standing; let rotting logs lie

  • Critically important insects, birds, fungi, and microorganism all rely on the natural food and habitat decomposing logs provide.

• Protect even the smallest wetlands

  • Many amphibians are threatened. Wetlands are some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world.

• Set up bat, bee, & bird houses

  • There are many benefits to having a bat house on your property! They provide pest control as they can eat up to half their body weight in insects, and they are pollinators. Source: batcon.org.

• Keep cats inside

  • Outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year in the United States and have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild, according to abcbirds.org.

• Drive with care: Watch for amphibians & other animals, especially during spring migration and mating in March, April and May

• Don’t throw out garbage & food scraps out the car window: It attracts wildlife to roadways.

• Turn off outdoor lights, especially during migration periods in the fall

  • Outdoor lights disorient bugs and birds. Turn them off or replace them with DarkSky approved or wildlife-friendly lighting.

  Reduce your carbon footprint

• Move towards a plant based diet

  • Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer AND Finally, meat consumption contributes to climate change though deforestation and methane emissions. Food systems make up a third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity, and animal-based foods contribute twice the emissions of plant-based foods. Switching from the typical Western diet to a vegetarian diet can reduce one’s personal dietary carbon emissions by 30 percent; a strict vegan diet can reduce them by as much as 85 percent.

    Source: Scientificamerican.com

• Grow your own food / eat local

  • Join a local CSA, shop at farmers markets

• Compost food scraps

  • Approximately 40% of food scraps end up in the landfill. Composting them improves soil health, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, & makes your garden more drought tolerant. Check out Foodscraps360 for more information about composting!

• Let your body adjust to changing seasons: Lower thermostat in winter; Delay use of AC; set AC high in summer 

• Use electric or manual mower

  • According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gas-powered lawnmowers can emit as much pollution in one hour as a car driven for 100 miles. These pollutants include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).The emissions from one four-stroke lawnmower operating for one hour are equivalent to an average vehicle traveling 500 miles.

    • Using a gas-powered mower for one hour produces the same amount of emissions as 11 new cars also running for an hour.

    •  At least 17 million gallons of gasoline are spilled annually just filling these lawnmowers.

• Use electric tools (weedwackers, chain saws, snow blowers, leaf blowers)

• Avoid campfires, burning leaves, wood scraps or rubbish

  • Smoke releases methane, carbon dioxide, and black carbon into the air, all of which contribute to climate change. Secondly, the smoke pollutes the air with particulate matter – which is especially harmful to human health and has been linked to respiratory problems and aggravating existing conditions such as asthma.

• Don’t cut down trees

  • They are storing carbon and supporting wildlife. A single, mature oak tree scan support over 2,300 species of birds, mammals, invertebrates, fungi, and lichens. As keystone species, oaks provide essential food and shelter, including supporting up to 950 species of caterpillars in the U.S. and 57 unique fungi species. Source: www.oneearth.org

• Line dry clothes & sheets - they will smell wonderfully fresh!

  Reduce the Use of Single-Use Plastics

• Avoid single use plastics/reduce/recyle

• Carry refillable travel mug & water bottle

• Replace your plastic wrap, aluminum foil, and ziplock baggies!

  • Use Pyrex covered dishes, mason jars, or cover a plate of leftovers with another overturned plates (like our grandparents did!), or bees wax reusable wrap. If you stop buying it, you will quickly discover creative, healthier, and free alternatives!

• Eliminate the use of plastic garbage bags.

  • Use brown paper or reuse the plastic bags that food comes in. Freeze stinky meat until garbage day.

• Make the transition to laundry sheets; skip chemical filled dryer sheets that pollute indoor and outdoor air

• Use fully dissolvable zero plastic dishwasher pods in cardboard packaging

• Purchase liquid hand soap in cardboard containers

• Use soap, shampoo, and conditioner bars

• Avoid displosble plastic plates, silverware and cups (try bamboo!)

• Buy in bulk at the Honest Weight Food Coop. Bring your own containers.

• Recycle - bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, plastics, clothes, shoes, batteries, metal, styrofoam, furniture

  • IPH, CIty Mission, First United Methodist Church - Donate your unwanted clothes to women’s shelters, homeless shelters, & places you know they will be used. Many thrift stores throw away lots of their donations.

  Reduce Consumer Spending - “Use it up, wear it out, make it due, or due without.”

• Shop consignment shops / Maintain & recycle old clothes

  • Waste occurs at every stage of the garment manufacturing process, harming wildlife, degrading land, and polluting soil and water. The fast fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate crisis, responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

    Center for Biological Diversity

• Make homemade gifts

• Save and reuse wrapping paper and gift bags

• Use and wash cloth napkins

• Carry reusable bags

• Avoid displosble plastic plates and cups 

  Save energy

• Use shades, open windows, etc. to maintain a comfortable temp

  • Lower thermostat in winter/ Set AC temp higher in summer

• Fly less & avoid connecting flights / Take the train or bus, carpool / use mass transportation when possible

  • The average passenger car emits approximately 400 grams of CO2 per mile & about 4.6 metric tons of CO2 per year. Source: EPA.gov

• Get energy efficient & electric appliances (not gas); look for Energy Star rating

  • Reduce / eliminate use of natural gas; turn off pilot lights; buy an invenction stove;  see how your neighbors are doing

• Install solar panels or sign-up for clean energy

• Avoid gas powered tools and lawn mowers

• Plant trees for cooling

  • Urban forests are approximately 2.9 degrees cooler than urban areas without vegetation. Source: EPA.gov

Odds & Ends

• Plant native grasses & plants for water management, resilience

• Reduce paved areas / Install permeable driveways & paths

• Install bioswales to reduce runoff that pollutes streams

  • Bioswales are a type of green infrastructure facility that slows runoff velocity & cleanses water while recharging the underlying groundwater table. Source: NACTO.org

• Install a water barrel

• Shut off water when brushing teeth, washing dishes, etc.

• Approximately 4 gallons of water is used when leaving the water running while brushing teeth. When shutting off the water, approximately .25 gallons is used. Source: NYC.gov, Water Use Calculation Chart

• Move to digital subscriptions; get and pay bills online

• Use white vinegar, lemon, and baking soda instead of household chemicals like bleach and ammonia. Make natural plant care mixes.

  • And bleach does enter the environment through waterways and the atmosphere. In waterways, bleach can form dioxins, known carcinogens, which seriously harm both aquatic and wild life (and human life if they get the chance). In the atmosphere, it is associated with ozone depletion, which obviously has long-term environmental effects. 

  • Source: Planetark.org