Good riddance 2020—hello 2021!
After the rollercoaster of emotion that was 2020, we can begin looking forward and finding new ways to make a positive impact. Helping others has never been more important, so we wanted to provide you with four great ways to reach out a helping hand to your community. Join millions of others in fulfilling a New Year’s Resolution that ensures 2021 will get off to the right start.
#1: Keep it Local and Keep it Attainable
It’s easy to make a resolution to better yourself, such as a promise to go to the gym three days a week or eat vegetarian four times a week. What about the same idea, but for your community? Bettering your community can better yourself. So, why not make a resolution this year to make your community a better place by pledging to pick up at least 5 pieces of litter every day for 5 weeks.
Resolutions don’t need to be life-changing. Their purpose is to make your life better, not turn it upside down. For that reason, try to make whatever you do something that fits into your routine. Keeping a baseline of 5 pieces of litter is a good way to keep up a good practice while making your goal attainable.. Setting a specific timeframe for your litter walks keeps you accountable. Who knows…after picking up 5 pieces of litter every day for 5 weeks you may get inspired to up it to 10 pieces of litter for 10 weeks. Make sure to sign up for the Flows To Bay Litter pledge and receive a litter prevention tool while supplies last.
#2: Clean It Up
Along the same lines of keeping your community clean, you can volunteer your time to help in a more organized fashion. There are a ton of opportunities to participate in a clean up event near your home. Organizations, such as Sea Huggers, Surfrider San Mateo, and Pacific Beach Coalition, hold these events frequently to make a large-scale impact with clean up efforts.
While it is extremely important to pick up litter on your own, you can clean up large areas with the help of these organized events. To hold yourself accountable, start by making a resolution to participate in one clean up each month. Or if that sounds like too much of a commitment then you can start with one event each quarter and work your way up to being a regular face at these events.
Check out upcoming opportunities on our calendar.
#3: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Our individual choices can make positive or negative impacts on our community and environment even when we can’t see the lasting effects. For example, when we buy products with excessive plastic packaging we contribute towards the problem of microplastics, which can get into our waterways and affect wildlife and people. When left behind or otherwise mismanaged, plastics tend to break down into smaller and smaller particles, growing into larger and larger pollution problems.. So, one thing you can aim for this year is to reduce the amount of non-recyclable materials that you purchase or use.
Resolving to carry around your own reusable utensil and straw set can eliminate the need for plastic utensils and straws when dining out. Another option is to resolve to refuse these cutlery items when ordering food for carry out or home delivery. Little actions like this can make a big difference.
#4: Quench Your Lawn’s Thirst
While Big ol’ trucks can be gas guzzlers, green, grassy lawns can be water guzzlers. As you may have seen in years past, water is an extremely important, and often scarce, resource. Droughts and increased water usage have left many areas of California in serious situations of running out of water. This year you can do your part and make a resolution to lower your water usage on your lawn/garden.
By incorporating sustainable techniques such as installing rain barrels or replacing your lawn with drought-tolerant landscaping, you can drastically reduce the amount of water that you use on your lawn. Check out this water usage calculator to see how much water your home and your yard uses on average. Then, see if any of these techniques could make their way into your yard.
If you have any questions or ideas on how to make 2021 your year to make a positive environmental impact contact us here!
