If you want to make a difference to the planet, one of the best places to start is your own backyard. There’s plenty we can do to make our own homes and neighborhoods more eco-friendly.
With towns and cities facing major problems caused by pollution, littering, and climate change, there are plenty of issues that are negatively impacting the areas where we live. However, concerned citizens can make a huge difference.
To learn more, keep reading to find seven eco-friendly ways that you can create a more sustainable neighborhood for your children, friends, and family.
1. Start a Community Garden
A useful and fun element in sustainable neighborhood design is community gardens. Why not start one for your town?
A community garden can be started on any area of communal land, with volunteers taking turns to tend to the fruits or veggies that you plant. When the produce is ready to harvest, you could sell it at a local market, split among volunteers, or donate to vulnerable members of your community.
A garden is a delicious way to enjoy fresh, local produce, without needing to depend on big chain grocery stores, which often ship in produce from thousands of miles away. This is no good for the environment, as you want to eat local food as much as you can.
Gardening is also a fun way to teach kids about sustainability and nutrition.
2. Encourage Sustainable Transportation
Eco-friendly neighborhoods discourage residents from driving everywhere, as pollution is no good for the planet. Instead, encourage residents to take public transport, bike, walk, or drive electric vehicles.
If your town can afford it, installation vehicle charging spots in town is a huge incentive for people to ditch fuel for good. You can find out more about EV charging station costs here.
You can also lobby the town government to add more bike lanes or sidewalks, making it easier for people to get around safely.
3. Shop Local
An easy way to be more sustainable is to shop local and encourage others to do so. Supporting local businesses creates jobs, keeps money in the community, and helps the town thrive.
Many local businesses are forced to close down to chain shops coming to town, which can offer lower prices. However, this isn't always helpful for the community.
Why not organize a local business week, highlighting local businesses, restaurants, or services on social media? This can help residents discover exciting businesses that they can support.
4. Form an Environmental Committee
To help advocate for sustainability in your town, think about starting an environmental committee. A group of passionate citizens can come together to work with local or state government, helping to get funding for new initiatives.
There are also plenty of free ways the committee can help encourage green choices, such as helping with e-recycling days for electronic waste or free workshops to teach kids about the environment.
There’s power in numbers, so a committee can often achieve much more than an individual can do on their own.
5. Create More Green Spaces
Your neighborhood is sure to benefit from increased green spaces. Green areas, like playgrounds and parks, can have a huge impact on your town.
They protect biodiversity, improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and can even help mitigate extreme weather events like heatwaves and flooding.
If there are any other run-down or abandoned parks in your town, grab some volunteers and bring them back to life! Everyone in the community can appreciate green spaces, especially those who live in apartments with limited access to gardens and fresh air.
Encourage your residents to spend more time enjoying the outdoors by developing more green spaces, if you can.
6. Organize a Clean-Up Day
Eco-friendly neighborhoods can organize a neighborhood clean-up day to keep their community looking its best. Trash is no good for the environment, as it can often end up in streams, backyards, or wildlife habitats.
Plan a Saturday morning where everyone can come together for a few hours, picking up trash from parks or local areas. Then, sort out the recycling and make sure everything is disposed of properly.
It can be a fun and meaningful way to spend time with your neighbors and also help keep your community cleaner. Just be sure to thank your volunteers after with coffee and donuts!
7. Set Up Public Recycling Stations
Have you ever walked through a city and ended up throwing a recyclable item in the trash because there were no public recycling facilities available? Unfortunately, it happens often and means that lots of recyclable items don’t get recycled.
Talk to your town government about installing public recycling bins, which will encourage people to recycle more. Just make it clear which can is for trash and which is for recycling, so people choose correctly.
While there will be a small cost to the town to make the changes, it will make a huge difference over time when it comes to sustainability.
Start a Sustainable Neighborhood Today
If you want to live in a greener, healthier town, there’s plenty you can do! Use the ideas above to think about how you can create a more sustainable neighborhood.
With the help of friends and neighbors, work together to make the changes you want to see. It may take some time, but the result is a community that’s biodiverse, clean, and sustainable.
Get started today and be the catalyst for change that your community needs!
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