I have spent hours researching how to turn my community green. I suppose I’m a little too anxious to create change. I went directly for who I should contact locally for changing laws and such. Again, I was reminded that all things take time. One of the first things pretty much every site said about community change was that you should form a group. And it’s true, there is great strength in numbers, so here’s how to go about it.
First, look into other environmental groups in your area and make sure there isn’t one with your personal goals that is already in existence, or one that you would like to add your personal goals to. I find Google is great for this. Just type in ‘environmental green group’ and your location, and browse through a few pages. Some don’t have websites of their own, so check out Local Harvest to find a farmers market near you and go and chat with people to see if they know of any groups.
If you can’t find a group, start by posting signs at places such as libraries and churches. Here are some templates for sign-up sheets that you might want to use, and don’t forget, you can edit them anyway you like once you download them for free 😀
Whenever community events come up, go and talk to the public, be friendly, and reel them in — the most important thing to remember is that most people would do something to help the earth if they were aware of its condition and if they had guidance.
Also, don’t forget your internet resources, like Craig’s List, Back Page and Ebay-Classifieds (they’re free). In addition, try and Google your county name and ‘post events’ to see if there are any online places you can post activities specific to your area.
One good idea is to start a group that recruits people from around your local area/county and help guide them as to how to reach out to their own towns and promote green living.
So often, it seems like things are impossible. Community change? Changing the way businesses work? That’s a lot to take on, but with a person or a small team in each town, and meetings once a month or every other month, one person can lead many people towards creating important change.
Some goals you could go for:
1. Places you might like to turn green:
- Schools
- Churches
- Libraries
- Community Centers
- Restaurants
- Stores
- Businesses
2. Things you would like each facility to do to become greener:
- Install energy-saving light bulbs.
- Put into effect electricity-saving practices, turn off lights etc., & update appliances.
- Start a recycling program including metals, plastics, paper, and cartons.
- Purchase local food, humanely raised livestock, chemical free produce.
- Purchase environmentally friendly products, recycled and/or biodegradable, and chemical free.
- Implement food recovery programs, feed humans, feed animals, or compost.
- Implement green energy programs including clean fuel and electricity programs, installing solar or wind power whenever possible.
These are just the basics, more articles are to come.
For now, go and recruit!
I will be doing this in my own community so I am with you every step of the way.
If you have ANY questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments. I would love to help you in any way I can!
Image Credit: Some rights reserved by schrierc