Clary's Forest Townhouse Association

5 Ways You Can Help Improve your Community Environment

Living in a wholesome community can have many positive impacts on physical, social, and mental health. You can develop healthy habits like eating well and exercising, but it is not enough to counteract poor environmental conditions that affect our health. The more you don’t care about your surrounding environment, the more it will become polluted with contaminants that have a harmful impact on your life.

While living busy lives, helping the community is something that you should always make time for. Not only does it helps you feel good, but also makes life better for your friends, family, and other people who live where you live. Luckily, it is very easy to take immediate and significant actions, big or small, that can help to improve your community environment.

Let’s take a look at five ways you can contribute to improving the environment where you live.

1. Encourage Recycling and Composting

Most of the communities these days are experiencing problems due to the overuse of trash and the disposal of items that could have been repurposed. This type of waste has devastating effects on the environment, which can be avoided by recycling. When you recycle, you can help eliminate these negative impacts and save your community environment from contamination and pollution. Recycle and compost your waste as much as possible, and spread awareness about how to recycle at your place of work or school.

Composting can be helpful in many ways; it prevents climate change and improves our soil. It is a natural way to recycle certain food without putting it in the trash, which also provides an opportunity for you to help the environment and enrich the soil where you can grow your plants. It’s always good to encourage others in your community by showing them how easy composting is and what benefits they can derive from it. 

2. Save Electricity and Water

It won’t be wrong to say that saving electricity and water is good for the planet as well as your local environment. When you stop using excessive energy, it will reduce the demand for fossil fuels, which in result lowers the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As electrical use is the biggest household energy consumption, make sure to turn off your electronics, such as lights, computer, television, etc. when they are not in use. Use energy-efficient appliances; they will last longer and save you a bit of money.

Water is often wasted more frequently in our homes than we can see. Water is one of the finite commodities, which if not managed properly, will result in shortages soon. You should do your best to conserve water to help alleviate these impending shortages. Check your toilets for leakages, and stop using your toilet as a wastebasket or ashtray. Taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving, limiting your water usage while you wash dishes, and limiting your lawn watering are some other ways you can save water.

3. Plant Trees

Planting trees is crucial, as it makes your neighborhood healthier and more beautiful. A single mature tree can absorb more than 48 pounds of carbon from the air and produce oxygen enough to support one human for two years. Planting a tree is very simple, and you can do it no matter where you live. Find an area in your yard or around your home that would be suitable to plant new trees. They will provide a shade to keep your home cool in summer and reduce cold winds in the winter, thus reducing your energy needs.

A community tree planting event is another great way to refresh your local environment. This way, you and your neighbors can gather to plant new pieces of foliage, which will help improve air quality in your community. There is a misconception that the foliage from trees can become difficult to maintain overtime causing monthly chores. While this is true to some extend you can easily get this done by hiring your local gutter / home cleaning service. https://nedstevens.com/  

4. Utilize Reusable Bags

When you use plastic bags, they usually end up in landfills or other parts of the environment. These bags take a while to decompose and can also suffocate animals who get stuck in them. Instead, always prefer to use reusable bags that can save you money and have a positive impact on the environment. These bags are reliable, durable, and carry much more weight as compared to plastic bags.

By using reusable shopping bags, you cannot just decrease the amount of non-renewable resources needed for producing plastic bags but can also decrease the amount of money it costs each and every year for your community to clean them up. 

5. Use Your Bike

Another environment-friendly habit to live more sustainably in your community is to go green and ride your bike whenever you can. It is a pollution-free way to travel  that help the environment and your budget. Commuting to work or school on a two-wheeler can also get some exercise in.

Even if you can’t bike, you can start a carpool with your colleagues, which will take a few cars off of the road each day. You can make your regular transport greener than before this way and can also save money by splitting the cost of gas.

The Final Verdict

These were some small acts to support your community and the health of our planet. Always make some time for your community and use your voice to help neighbors by supporting their businesses or amplifying their needs. If you are still looking for more ways to make a positive change, then here are five great tips you can follow to improve the community environment year-round:

Search for volunteer opportunities in your community
Try to pick up a piece of litter every day
Dispose of your old equipment properly
Lead a recycling drive in your neighborhood
Participate at the local park or community garden Type your paragraph here.