So today I want to write about some volunteering I did this past weekend and on Friday (Arbor Day!) Technically it's not a consumerism driven sustainable practice tip, but in a sense it could be. My next sustainable lifestyle tip is to go outside and partake in gardening, planting, or a mix of both! While it may not involve substituting one purchase for a more environmentally friendly purchase, it certainly can be seen as a sustainable and fun experience, rather than paying for a movie, or paying to go out somewhere.
At the GMU-Fairfax campus, the Green Patriots supported by our Patriot Green Fund (PFG) hosted an amazing Arbor Day volunteering event:
Reforest Mason!
Through the PFG, the Green Patriots were able to work the GMU grounds, the Office of Sustainability, as well as an AWESOME local non-profit, Earth Sangha to get the project underway. This included mapping out a location on campus that would receive newly planted trees, signing up volunteers, and procuring the trees!
While I only participated in the volunteer aspect, I can really appreciate the project as a whole. Thursday and Friday, I was able to spend my time outside by our Rappahannock Parking deck in an area that was mostly unused grass. After 2 hours on Thursday night, and over 4 hours on Friday, over a dozen new trees and shrubs were planted by volunteers on campus! This was an extremely worthwhile event and I got to meet cool students, and use sweet tools (see below).
I really hope I can come back to campus in 5 to 10 years and see my trees thriving! And I hope that Mason will have more of these events in the future. Sometimes it's just nice to work with some tools and get some dirt on your hands. :)
In addition to Thursday and Friday's Reforest Mason volunteering, I also helped work at the Innovation Food Forest (IFF) on campus. The IFF is based upon natural ecological models and uses the concepts of permaculture. I spent most of my time spreading mulch and compost necessary to allow the garden to thrive, but I hope in the future I will have more time to volunteer in the IFF since I want to learn more about all the plants in it.
Overall, I highly recommended finding something outside to work on as an activity for the day. Either with friends, or just with friends met at the event. These opportunities are definitely great sustainable lifestyle tips.
No comments:
Post a Comment