Sustainable summer tips – Enjoy your summer while doing good for the environment!

Eat local and organic. Purchase groceries from your local farmers’ market and choose food at the local grocery store.

  • When landscaping, use plant native plants. They are vigorous and hardy, they require no irrigation or fertilization, they are resistant to most pests and diseases, and they are low-maintenance plants.
  • Get a rain barrel and use the water for your garden. A rain barrel on a 2,000 sq. ft. home can capture as much as 36,000 gallons of water a year.
  • Make your yard a pesticide-free haven for birds & other wildlife. Hang up a bird feeder or build a bird house.

  • Wash your car on a lawn area to prevent dirty and soapy water from running off and down your storm drain.

  • Avoid purchasing new stuff – instead check out a garage sale. You’ll be reusing and saving money at the same time.

  • Take advantage of the beautiful weather and bike or walk whenever possible. You’ll be doing something good for your body and the environment by eliminating vehicle pollutants.

  • Put up and use a clothes line to save on energy.

  • Replace parts of your lawn with no mow grass or groundcovers to reduce mowing (lawnmowers as you may not know add a ton of toxins into the air!).