Waste associated with grocery shopping happens on multiple levels: packaging and bagging groceries, choosing between the many options available, and actually using all the food once it's made it home, to name a few.
Luckily, there are many ways to reduce waste and shop greener; from ditching single-use grocery bags, to decoding plastic packaging labels, to choosing produce more deliberately, our choices in the aisles make a significant impact.
1. Bring Your Own Grocery and Produce Bags
Plastic never truly decomposes, but breaks down into microplastics in a process that can take hundreds of years in landfills.
Roughly 100 billion single-use plastic bags are used by Americans each year, which are difficult to recycle and often make their way into waterways after being discarded, where they are consumed by wildlife and send further microplastics up the food chain.
Forgoing this source of waste is as simple as collecting a few reusable bags (no need for anything fancy) and keeping them easily accessible for grocery trips. Leave a few in the car in case you forget them, and check out packable bags to keep in your purse, backpack, or pocket for impromptu grocery runs.
Instead of putting produce in plastic bags, invest in an inexpensive set of reusable produce bags as well, which you can use to hold loose fruits, vegetables, and herbs, opting for the package-less option in the fresh foods section.
2. Buy in Bulk
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Plastic packaging is a major source of waste, especially regarding food; packaging and containers alone account for more than 23% of all waste in landfills, according to the EPA.
To avoid contributing to this deluge of plastic, take advantage of the bulk sections found in many grocery stores, where customers can fill containers with loose, unpackaged goods, and pay by weight. Better yet, you can use your own reusable produce bags, and skip the plastic entirely.
Buying in bulk is a convenient alternative to items traditionally wrapped in plastic – especially dry goods like coffee, beans, nuts, and grains – and can reduce food waste in your home by supplying exactly the amount needed, as opposed to the pre-determined quantities of packaged foods, which might be more than you can use.
You can also research all-bulk grocery stores or filleries – stores specifically designed to sell foods in bulk without packaging – in your area to buy even more unpackaged items like spices, butter, crackers, oils, baking ingredients, pasta, eggs, and cleaning solutions.
3. Ask Your Grocery Store About Taring
Some grocery stores are also set up to support taring: weighing reusable containers brought by customers to fill with bulk goods, sometimes including liquids and other items that can't be put in a reusable bag.
Taring allows you to fill any vessel you already have: glass jars, upcycled plastic containers, Tupperware, etc. Most stores will require that customers pre-weigh the vessel and take note of the weight before filling it, which will be accounted for and subtracted from the total weight at checkout.
Even if your grocery store is not set up to support taring, ask an employee if you can take note of the weight of your container and subtract this from the total weight and price of your purchase.
4. Shop Local and In-Season
All food needs to get transported before it ends up in the grocery store aisles; often by boat, truck or plane, emitting carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane into the atmosphere.
Shopping locally if you are able cuts down on food miles – the distance a product traveled from the farm to your plate – while also supporting local farmers. Not all areas will have equal access to affordable local products, but research nearby farms that sell products or offer CSA memberships, or visit a local farmer's market to learn your options. Some farms will also sell wholesale to grocery stores, so you can purchase their crops just as easily as conventional products.
Similarly, if you're buying something out of season, it's likely to come from somewhere far away where it is in season. Check out the USDA's Seasonal Produce Guide to learn when in-season fruits and vegetables hit the grocery shelves, and try to shop according to the growing season.
5. Research Where Your Food Comes From and How It's Produced
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It's not always possible to shop locally or in-season, but you can still make a well-informed decision about what to put in your cart.
Find out who grew/manufactured the item and what their practices are, including whether they have ethical standards for raising meat, use pesticide-free pest management practices, etc.
Looking for labels is very helpful, especially USDA Organic and Fair Trade Certified. USDA Organic is a stringent certification, and guarantees that the farm has followed certain standards for pest management, additives, animal raising, etc. Similarly, if a product has been vetted by Fairtrade International, the product fulfills certain economic, environmental, and social criteria to ensure that trade is equitable and producers are paid fairly. Don't be fooled by illegitimate certifications and phraseology like "pasture-raised," "certified sustainable," or other claims that aren't based on actual, verifiable standards.
Commercial seafood production in particular has devastating consequences for oceans. Destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling – in which massive nets are dragged along the ocean floor – destroy delicate ecosystems, disrupt aquatic food chains by removing large amounts of one species, and often ensnare species (sometimes endangered or protected) that were not intended to be caught, called bycatch.
Look for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) seals on seafood to know it was produced responsibly. Seafood Watch also provides consumer guides for purchasing seafood in every region, a search tool to find the best options for a seafood product, and an app to help you find ethically-sourced seafood in your area.
6. More Fresh, Less Processed
Without the additional production and packaging undergone by processed foods items, fresh foods are often considered to have a smaller environmental impact, but this can be difficult to determine.
The sustainability of a food item depends on its entire life cycle: the processing, storing, preserving, and refrigerating needed to bring it from farm to plate. For example, buying minimally-processed foods – such as canned vegetables or dried fruit – might result in fewer emissions than fresh food that has to be prepared at home. Similarly, if eating processed foods results in less wasted food (since they last longer in the cabinet than perishables in the fridge), this might make them a more sustainable option for some.
However, many ultra-processed foods (those that contain little or no whole foods, and are mostly or entirely made with substances derived from foods and additives) contain palm and soy oils, which are associated with deforestation, degradation of natural habitats, and environmentally destructive large-scale agriculture.
Replacing ultra-processed foods with fresh, plant-based, local, whole foods is preferable, which produce relatively few emissions and retain more of their nutritional content. When grocery shopping, stick to the perimeter of the grocery story – where the fresh foods are generally kept – as much as possible.
7. Shop Ugly
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If produce is perfectly edible, yet cosmetically imperfect – carrots with multiple stalks, non-spherical apples, asymmetrical bell peppers – it'll often be rejected by grocery stores or left on the shelves, untaken by consumers.
Ugly produce subscription boxes have offered an alternative to consumers – although their ethics and place in ending home- and store-level food waste has been questioned – but you can always opt for the "uglier" options on the grocery store shelves, ensuring that they don't eventually get tossed by the store.
8. Plan Your Meals and Make a List
You might often find yourself at the grocery store without a grocery list or meal plan for the week, which inevitably leads to impulse-buying and speculating about what you might need. An average American wastes about 21% of the food they buy – equal to roughly $1,800 a year – much of which could be avoided by buying only what you know you need.
Make a list before every grocery trip, checking the fridge and cabinets to make sure you don't buy anything you already have. If you generally buy the same items, create a generic grocery list to print out each week and mark what is needed.
9. Check the Plastics
Of course, you might not be able to ditch plastic entirely when grocery shopping. Check out the labels on items packaged in plastic before buying, and choose those that are less impactful and more easily recycled. HDPE and PETE products are generally easier to recycle, so purchasing items packaged in these kinds of plastic have a better chance of actually making it to the recycling plant.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC. Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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Before getting started, address a few of the main considerations for container gardening: which type of container you'll use, where the containers will be placed, whether you'll grow from seeds or starters, and the type of soil you'll use.
The optimal size and shape of a container will vary based on what's growing inside, although the pot's material is less variable. Terra-cotta pots are more attractive, and while they might be perfect for your houseplants, they don't retain water as well as plastic planters, which are also much lighter and less expensive. Regardless, make sure whatever container you use has drainage holes in the bottom for excess water.
Before situating one of your potted plants, determine whether the appointed spot gets enough sunlight based on the plant's specific needs. Check the spot every hour over the course of a day to see how many total hours of sunlight the plant will get.
Many garden supply stores sell starters – small plants that are ready to be transplanted directly into your container – or, you can grow your own from seed, learning the specifications for individual vegetables, including when they should be planted during the spring or fall growing seasons.
Lastly, fight the urge to use normal gardening soil in containers. Potting soil – some of which is designed specifically for container gardening – provides better aeration and prevents the plant's roots from becoming waterlogged. Potting soil also helps retain moisture; unlike plants in the ground, container-bound vegetables can't send out roots to find more water and nutrients. Along with watering the plants frequently – about once a day, in most cases – keep the pots well fertilized by adding compost.
While most vegetables can be grown in containers, a few are particularly well-suited for the task.
1. Leafy Greens
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Greens thrive when grown in containers, which also prevent rabbits from helping themselves to your crops and common pests like nematodes from intruding.
Lettuce, kale, arugula, spinach, and Swiss chard all grow best in cooler weather. If temperatures will exceed 80ºF, consider using a moveable container so the leaves can be taken out of direct sunlight on hotter days. Remember that potted greens also require more water than those grown in the soil; for a lower-maintenance option that demands fewer resources (such as large pots and frequent watering), consider growing dwarf varieties.
Spinach will reach full harvest potential in only 40-45 days, while hardier leaves like kale will take a bit longer. Lettuce is quick to bolt, so harvest leaves when they are relatively young and new growth will take their place. Cut lettuce about half an inch from the soil to allow for regrowth, and harvest individual kale leaves from the stalk, pulling down to detach it without damaging the rest of the plant.
Greens will start slowing down in late June/early July when temperatures rise, but plant again in late September to harvest throughout the fall months. Kale and spinach – which grow especially well together – will continue producing throughout the winter in milder climates.
2. Peas
Snap peas, shelling peas, snow peas, and almost anything else from the Leguminosae family will grow well in containers. Most peas take somewhat long to mature – between 60 and 70 days – but require very little attention while growing.
Peas come in either bush or climbing varieties; use anything from fallen sticks to leftover PVC piping as a stake, leftover chicken wire, or a trellis (if space allows) for climbing peas to attach their vines to. Learn how tall your variety will grow before deciding on a staking method, although most varieties are climbing plants and will need support.
The roots of pea plants are relatively shallow, so a windowbox or trough will suffice and allow you to grow more plants. For taller and bushier varieties, use pots 8-12 inches in depth; shorter varieties need only 6 inches. Seeds or starters can be planted as close as 3 inches together.
Check for adequate pea development – and widening of the shell on more tubular varieties like snap peas – before harvesting. Snap peas mature faster (you don't have to wait for the pod to fill), and are a quicker option for impatient growers.
3. Tomatoes
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Tomato plants growing in front-yard planters are a common sight; these flowering nightshade plants are a rewarding vegetable to grow in whatever space you have available.
Choose the tomato variety you'd like to plant, and find a spot that will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight. To keep the plants from competing for resources, grow each in a separate 5-gallon container with good drainage holes. Tomatoes do require frequent watering – as often as once or twice a day during the hot summer months when they're more mature – and will draw on moisture for much of the day if given water in the morning.
Upside-down tomato buckets are another popular growing method for smaller tomato varieties, and can provide some decoration to a patio or back porch. After cutting a two-inch hole in the bottom of a five-gallon bucket and covering with fiberglass (slicing it like a pie above the hole so there are six triangular pieces that keep the plant in place), poke a tomato starter through the hole and fill up the bucket with potting soil. Water will drain through the hole when the bucket is hung, and the plant can be protected from getting waterlogged in the rain by putting the bucket lid on top.
4. Summer Squash
Similarly to peas, summer squashes come in either bush varieties or long vines. Either will grow in containers, but bush varieties remain more compact. Plant zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, or any of your other favorite varieties in individual pots at least 12 inches deep. Each plant can easily fill out a two-foot-wide pot; be sure not to crowd them.
In order to produce squash, the plants do need both male and female flowers, so the more flower-producing plants you can grow, the merrier, and the better your chances of a high squash yield (even several a week during peak growing months).
If you choose a vining squash, provide a stake to support the plant. Make sure the containers get plenty of sunlight (7 hours a day is optimal), and water when the top inch or so of soil is dry.
5. Green Onions
With their very shallow roots, green onions are a prime candidate for container growing. Plant seeds about half an inch deep, or, if using transplants, plant so the soil covers the white bulb of the onion. For greater assurance of a successful harvest, you can also plant onion sets: small onion bulbs for gardening, which become full onions in about three and a half months.
Leave 1-2 inches of space between the plants. Keep the onions well-watered (whenever the top inch of soil is dry), in a sunny location either indoors or outdoors, and harvest within 40 to 50 days.
When placed in a shallow jar of water, the bulbs will even grow back the green tops that have been cut off.
6. Peppers
Both in and out of containers, peppers – such as bell peppers, chili peppers, and jalapeños - are relatively easy to grow. Hailing from warmer climates, peppers all love sun and grow best in the summer months when the temperature is between 70 and 80ºF. Peppers also thrive in moist soil, and require daily watering (twice a day on very hot summer days). To give space for their roots to grow, plant peppers in pots at least 12 inches in diameter. The branches are prone to breakage once they're heavy with fruit, so use some sort of support to hold the plants upright.
Bell peppers are ready to harvest in 2-3 months; harvest when green, or allow them to ripen further until they're red, orange, or yellow. Chili peppers take slightly longer, and should be harvested once they reach their mature color. Jalapeños, chili peppers, and other small varieties benefit from pruning when they're about 6-8 weeks old, which will allow for new growth and result in a bushier plant.
While pepper plants are self-pollinating, pollinators do help the plants set more fruit. If your plant is situated where bees can't reach – such as a screen porch or high balcony – try self-pollinating your peppers.
7. Eggplant
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For this large plant and member of the tomato family, choose a pot of at least 5 gallons and 12-14 inches in diameter. Eggplants prefer sandy loam soil; create your own by mixing two parts potting soil with one part sand. Keep the soil moist (but not soaked) by watering once a day or more, and perhaps topping with some type of mulch to retain the moisture. Since the vegetables are rather large, the plants will require trellising, unless you purchase varieties (either seeds or starters) labeled as "compact" or "for containers."
Eggplants are very sensitive to cold – more so than tomatoes and peppers – and need temperatures around 68ºF or higher to germinate. Keep the containers in a sunny area and use darker-colored pots in cooler climates to retain heat. If temperatures dip at night, take the pots inside the house or another protected area.
Harvesting differs based on variety; research which type of eggplant works best for your space and preferences. Generally, however, the plant will reach maturity in about 2-3 months and the fruit will become glossy when mature.
8. Cucumbers
Like eggplants, cucumbers require large pots – ideally 5-gallon or more – which will hold more potting soil and thus retain moisture for longer, supporting their extensive root systems. When shopping for seeds or starters, look for compact varieties, or "parthenocarpic" cucumbers if you live in an urban area without many bees, as they will set fruit without pollination.
Cucumbers love to climb and will need trellising – such as tomato cages or a homemade trellis with string, wire, or wood – which also helps maximize your vertical space. They'll also need 6-8 hours of full sunlight, and consistently moist soil.
Squash bugs and cucumber beetles are common pests on cucumber plants, but can be suppressed with neem oil.
Check the plant frequently for new fruit, which can go from tiny to enormous in a matter of days. Be sure to pick cucumbers before they grow too large and become seedy and bitter. Follow the harvesting instructions for each variety, and learn how large the fruit should get before being picked. Rather than pulling the cucumbers from the vine directly, snip them with scissors or clippers to encourage new growth and avoid damaging the stem.
9. Potatoes
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Even when buried in the ground, potatoes are often grown in bags for easier harvesting, making them a great candidate for container gardening.
Some potatoes can take up to 120 days to mature – including many grocery-store favorites – so look for seed potato varieties (small potatoes for growing new plants) that are disease-resistant and mature within three months. Generally, smaller, "new" potatoes will fare better than large russet varieties in containers.
Ideally, choose a 10-15 gallon container that's 2-3 feet high; any opaque container will do, although some gardeners opt for special potato bags.
Space seed potatoes about one foot apart. Since the new potatoes will grow above the seed potato, plant them about 6 inches down to allow for growth. As the seed potato develops new rhizomes and tubers and the above-ground plant continues to grow, you'll need to use additional soil to create mounds around the plant, giving it more room to grow underground. Begin this mounding process when the plant is about 6-8 inches high, covering all but the top leaves, then repeating once it's again reached this height.
The potatoes are ready to harvest when the plant begins to flower (although new potatoes can be ready slightly before this). Dig through the soil for the potatoes, or dump the whole lot onto a tarp and remove them easily.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC. Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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How Much Do Solar Panels Cost?
The first thing to be aware of is that installing a residential solar system is always going to be expensive. Yes, saving money on your monthly utility bills can help balance that startup expense, and you can get some incentives to help undercut the cost of solar panels (more on that in a moment). But ultimately, there's no way around it: Investing in a residential solar system can be pricey.
How pricey, exactly? Your total solar energy system cost will depend on a myriad of factors, including the type of solar panels you choose, the number of panels required for your home, and the specific solar panel installation company you hire.
With that said, according to Sunrun, the average cost of installing solar panels in 2021 is between $16,200 to $21,400. And it's worth noting that this actually represents a significant drop in the price tag for solar panels. Solar installation is becoming more and more affordable, even if the startup price remains a little daunting.
Offsetting the Cost of Solar Panels
Something else to be aware of is that, over the past decade or so, both the federal government and many state governments have unveiled programs to provide financial incentives for solar installation. These programs include local and federal tax credits and other rebates. Top solar companies are usually able to help you identify and apply to any programs you are eligible for.
The current federal solar tax credit, called an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) provides a 26% credit for systems installed between 2020 and 2022. State incentives can be added on top for even more savings. However, even with numerous solar incentives, pricing and solar panel installation costs can still be steep.
How Long Do Solar Panels Last?
As you think about the initial startup investment in solar panels, another question to consider is system longevity. After you buy solar panels, how long do they last? Will they function long enough for you to get your money's worth?
Again, the answer can vary slightly depending on the specific type of solar panels you choose. As a rule of thumb, however, most residential solar systems last between 20 and 30 years and require only the most minimal maintenance and upkeep. Most of the best solar panels come backed with fairly rigorous warranties, ensuring your system holds up for at least two decades. Of course, when purchasing a solar panel system, you'll want to take a close look at the warranty information offered.
The longevity of your solar panel system can also add to the value of your home. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buyers nationwide have been willing to pay an average premium of about $15,000 for a home with a solar array. In many cases, that alone can cover most of all of your solar investment.
How Much Money Will You Save With Solar Panels?
Related to the question of panel longevity is the question of a solar power system's return on investment, or ROI. How much power is a home solar system going to generate? How much money will it save you? Will month-to-month electric bill savings mean that your solar system "pays for itself" after a few years?
The amount of money you save on your monthly utility costs can vary depending on the efficiency and power of your solar panels, as well as your household energy consumption habits. Keep in mind that your savings will be greater if you live in an area where electricity rates are higher; by contrast, if you live somewhere with a lower cost of electricity, the money you save from going solar may be comparatively meager.
EnergySage notes that, over the lifespan of your solar system, you're likely to save anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 on utility costs. This may or may not be enough for the unit to "pay for itself," though an upside of solar power ROI is that it's fairly instantaneous. Once your system is installed, you'll be able to start saving money right away.
Free Quote: See How Solar Panels Would Cost for Your Home
Fill out this 30-second form to get a quote from one of the best solar energy companies in your area. You could an average of $2,500 each year on your electric bills and receive a tax rebate.
Are Solar Panels Worth It for Your House?
Ultimately, whether solar panels are worth it will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case and home-by-home basis. Simply put, solar power is a smarter option for some than for others. The question is, how can you tell whether you're a good candidate for solar panels?
Best Candidates for Solar Power
Solar panels tend to be a better investment for homeowners who meet the following criteria:
- Ample exposure to sun: If you live in a part of the country that gets lots of exposure to sunlight throughout the year, then you'll probably get more mileage out of your solar panels. It's little wonder that solar power is most popular in places like Arizona, Texas, California and even North Carolina.
- Accommodating roof space: A good solar system will require plenty of surface area on your roof, unobstructed by skylights, chimneys or other fixtures. With a smaller roof, you can still potentially install a system, but you'll need to find the most efficient solar panels (which are often more expensive) to maximize your limited space.
- High electricity bills: The amount of money you save by going solar will be directly proportional to the amount you spend each month on electrical costs. So, if you live in a community where the price of electricity is pretty high, you stand to achieve greater savings when you go solar.
Who's Not a Good Candidate for Solar Power?
By contrast, some homes may not be as well-positioned to reap a high solar power ROI.
- Homes without much sun exposure: If you know anything about how solar panels work, it won't be a surprise that darker areas benefit less from this renewable energy source. In a place where there tends to be a lot of cloud coverage or more limited solar exposure for good chunks of the year, the jump to solar may not be as advantageous.
- Homes with too much shade: Similarly, if your roof tends to be shaded for long stretches of the day (for example, if your home is in the shadow of a larger building or a lot of dense trees), then your solar panels may not get the sun exposure they need to generate a solid ROI.
- You pay lower costs for electricity: If your electrical bills are already fairly minimal, then installing a residential solar system will yield more modest and measured savings.
- You don't have the right kind of roof: Certain types of roofs just aren't as well-suited for solar power installation. For example, older or historic homes that have particular kinds of tiled roofs and homes that have larger skylights may not be good matches for solar energy.
How to Determine Your Solar Power ROI
Is solar worth it for you and your household? There are a few steps you can take to weigh solar energy pros and cons and make an informed decision.
One option is to consult with a solar panel installation company that can assess your roof and your positioning in relation to the sun, then supply you with a basic estimate of how much money you could save by installing solar panels. Reputable installers can also provide greater detail about the different types of solar panels that are available and recommend the technology you'll need to realize a significant solar power ROI for your home.
Even before you take the initial step and meet with a solar installer, a number of solar companies offer online calculators, which you can use to estimate your monthly utility savings. We'll stress that these calculators only give a very rough estimate and should be taken lightly, but they can still create a basic sense of whether solar panels are worth it for your home.
So, Are Solar Panels Worth It? It All Depends...
The bottom line for homeowners: Solar energy represents one of the best ways to reduce your dependence on traditional utility companies. And for many homeowners, solar power ROI will be well worth it. With that said, the startup cost can be prohibitive, and not every homeowner will achieve the same bang for their buck.
As you consider whether solar panels are a sound investment for your home, make sure you take into account cost, warranty, longevity and overall efficiency, all while seeking guidance from qualified solar experts.
Rewilding restores an area to its original, uncultivated state, shifting away from the centuries-long practice of controlling and managing nature for human need. It incorporates both the old and the new, allowing wildness to reclaim an area and/or incorporating new elements of architectural or landscape design, like growing greenery on the facades of buildings.
The practice of rewilding is frequently carried out in wild areas; many projects aim to restore biodiversity in an ecosystem, often by reintroducing animal species that are high on the food chain, which in turn stabilizes lower species. One of the most famous cases of rewilding is the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
Cities too have begun rewilding; but, although these were spaces were once as wild as Yellowstone, introducing apex predators to New York City or Tokyo might not be the best method for success. Rewilding in urban areas might instead include reintroducing native plant species, building parks on empty lots, incorporating more biophilic design when building new structures, or simply allowing nature to reclaim space. A major draw to rewilding in urban areas is the proven positive impact of nature on human health – particularly for city-dwellers with less access to outdoor spaces.
Here are a few cities that have taken on the task of rewilding.
1. Singapore
Gardens by the Bay, which features the two cooled conservatories "Flower Dome" and "Cloud Forest", the Supertrees at the Supertree Grove, the Heritage Gardens, The World of Plants, and the Dragonfly and Kingfisher Lakes, on July 29, 2017, in Singapore. studioEAST / Getty Images
In an effort to increase quality of life and restore native vegetation in the city, the Gardens by the Bay have transformed Singapore from a "Garden city" to a "City in a Garden." 18 "Supertrees" are dispersed throughout the landscape along Marina Bay, some as high as 160 feet; while not living things themselves, the trees are home to over 158,000 plants and mimic the functions of regular trees by providing shade, filtering rainwater, and absorbing heat.
Built on former industrial land, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is also an example of rewilding in Singapore, incorporating elements of water-sensitive urban design and reducing the urban heat island effect in the city. The park is built around the Bishan river, which now flows freely as a natural stream system, unimpeded by man-made barriers. Within the first two years after these rewilding efforts were implemented in the park, biodiversity increased by 30%, even though no wildlife was introduced. Additionally, visitors from the surrounding cities of Bishan Yushin, and Ang Mo Kio are provided a natural respite from city life.
Beyond parks, Singapore maintains more than 90 miles of Nature Ways: canopied corridors that connect green spaces, facilitating the movement of animals and butterflies from one natural area to another throughout the city. These routes mimic the layers of the ecosystem with shrub, understory, canopy, and emergent layers, providing habitats for different species at their various heights.
Singapore has also developed a City Biodiversity Index to examine and track the progress of biodiversity and conservation projects. Thanks in part to these rewilding efforts, Singapore is now considered Asia's greenest city.
2. Nottingham, United Kingdom
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust / Influence
With the number of empty storefronts on UK high streets at the highest level in six years, the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has proposed a new vision for the empty Broadmarsh shopping center in the city: an urban oasis of wetlands, woodlands, and wildflowers.
The proposal was submitted to city council in December, and its proponents hope it will bring back native species and link the city to the nearby Sherwood Forest. The Wildlife Trust cites COVID-19 as a breakthrough in the way people view wildlife and nature, as many rushed to natural areas for solace throughout the pandemic.
Replacing these 6 acres of development – which is widely considered an eyesore by the community – could set a precedent for how such spaces are redeveloped in the future, perhaps reintroducing nature on available land rather than concrete and asphalt.
3. Haerbin, China
The Qunli National Urban Wetland. Turenscape
As climate change promises more frequent natural disasters, many cities are addressing the problem of increased flooding. The city of Haerbin, China – the capital of China's northernmost province, which sees 60-70% of its annual precipitation from June-August – has taken a creative approach: fostering a wetland in the middle of the city.
In 2009, landscape architects made plans to protect an existing 34-hectare wetland in the center of the city that had been cut off from its water sources by development, proposing that the location be transformed into an urban stormwater park: the Qunli National Urban Wetland.
The park provides invaluable ecosystem services: collecting and filtering stormwater into the aquifer, recovering a native habitat vital to the surrounding ecosystem, and supplying a place for recreation in the city with a network of raised paths and viewing towers for visitors.
4. Dublin, Ireland
One-third of bee populations in Ireland are threatened with extinction, so the country has begun retiring their lawnmowers and letting grasses grow high.
Ireland developed the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan to be implemented between 2015 and 2020, with an updated version outlining the continued plan for 2021-2025. Dublin too created a 2015-2020 Biodiversity Action Plan, aimed at reducing mowing and herbicide use in parks, roadsides, and other green spaces. By letting native plants grow instead of maintaining monocropped, chemical-laden lawns, native insect, bird, and bee populations thrive. Thanks to this initiative headed by the Dublin City Council, 80% of the city's green spaces are now "pollinator-friendly."
5. Sydney and Melbourne, Australia
One Central Park in Chippendale. Sardaka / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0
Australia has caught on to the biophilic cities movement: a different design approach that brings nature and urbanites together, welcomes back native species, and makes even the densest cities more "natureful."
The government architect of New South Whales outlines the benefits of bringing nature into cities – for human health, improved property values, and resilience against the effects of climate change – by creating more green infrastructure in The "Greener Places" framework, released last year. The biophilic One Central Park in Chippendale – a suburb of Sydney – is known for its vertical hanging gardens, which incorporate 35,200 plants of 383 different species more than 1,120 square meters of the building's surface. The apartment block also employs a drip irrigation system for the plants, a tri-generation plant for energy, and a cantilever that redirects sunlight into a nearby park at various times of day.
Just down the coast, Melbourne has taken similar action with the Green Our City strategic action plan, which outlines how nature can be brought back into the city through green walls and roofs. Construction is expected to begin next year on the proposed "Green Spine" building on the city's Southbank, which will become the country's tallest building, and the world's tallest vertical garden.
6. Hanover, Frankfurt, and Dessau, Germany
As a part of the Städte Wagen Wildnis ("Cities Venturing into Wilderness," or "Cities Dare Wilderness") Project, Hanover, Frankfurt, and Dessau, Germany have agreed to set aside plots in cities – such as the sites of former buildings, parks, vacant lots, etc. – where nature will be allowed to take over. The project is largely experimental; the hands-off approach to these green spaces means that minimal intervention will occur by participating cities, and wilderness will be allowed to reclaim the spaces unimpeded.
The resulting wildflower gardens and untamed nature will create new habitats for plant and animal species, and thus will increase the overall biodiversity of these cities. Since the project's onset in 2016, The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the Federal Ministry for the Environment have already reported greater drought tolerance of these areas and increases in the number of butterflies, bees, birds, butterflies, and hedgehogs.
Along with aiding native populations, another major goal of this initiative is to provide more opportunities for recreation and improve the quality of life of nearby citizens with greater exposure to nature.
7. New York City, United States
At first glance, the concrete jungle of New York City doesn't exactly appear particularly hospitable to wilderness. However, the city has become an example of how unused development – no matter how narrow or unlikely – can be transformed into a natural oasis. On the site of a former elevated railroad, the High Line gardens have become a staple attraction of Manhattan with a walkway stretching 1.5 miles through Chelsea along the Hudson River.
The High Line gardeners work to facilitate the natural processes occurring in this landscape, allowing plants to compete, spread out, and grow/change as they would in nature. In an environment as densely populated and developed as New York, the High Line provides a valuable habitat for native butterflies, birds, and insects – and, of course, the hundreds of plant species covering its surface.
8. Barcelona, Spain
Lorena Escuer / Hydrobiology / Handout
When Barcelonans emerged from their homes after the six-week coronavirus-induced lockdown last April, they found that the city was bursting with growth. With parks closed, nature had begun to reclaim spaces, and, after spending weeks indoors, Barcelona's citizens were eager to experience more nature in the city.
In May and June of 2020, the Urban Butterfly Monitor Scheme found significant increases in biodiversity: 28% more species per park overall, 74% more butterflies, and an explosion of plant growth during the spring rains that supplied more insects for birds to feed on.
Inspired by these changes – having had difficulty pursing rewilding efforts in previous years – the city is now working to create 49,000 square meters of "greened" streets and 783,300 of green open space. Furthermore, beehives and insect hotels have been dispersed throughout the city, as well as 200 bird- and bat-nesting towers to encourage even more biodiversity.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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This summer, take the opportunity to educate your children about the natural world, environmental conservation, and how to be stewards of the planet with a few simple, educational nature activities that will keep them entertained at home.
1. Build a Bee or Bug Hotel
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By providing a place for bugs to nest, insect hotels bring critters into your yard – or front porch, deck, or communal space – fostering a healthy, biodiverse backyard ecosystem. Make your own insect hotel to teach your kids about food chains, biodiversity, and pollination.
These structures can be made entirely with found or repurposed materials. Send the kids on a mission to find the filler material: twigs, pinecones, woodchips, bark, or hollow reeds – like bamboo – or roll up scraps of paper yourself. Use a wooden box or an open bird house as the frame, and pack the space strategically with the filler items. The goal is to create small openings for a variety of insects to nest; ladybugs, hoverflies, spiders, millipedes, and beetles all might make their homes here. You can create several small insect hotels, or build comparts within one larger structure, filling each with different materials.
As global bee populations diminish due to climate change and habitat destruction, teach your child about the importance of protecting pollinators by making room for the bees in your insect hotel. Solitary bees – that is, those who are not part of a hive – like to make their nests in small holes, which they protect with a mud "door" once an egg has been laid inside by a female. For this section of the hotel, drill holes of varied sizes in a block of wood (taking care not to drill entirely to the other side) at least 3/4" apart.
Watching the bees settle into their homes and alight on flowers in the garden provides the opportunity to teach children about pollination, and the importance of preserving bee populations.
2. Plant a Native Garden
A native plant garden is the perfect accompaniment to an insect hotel, and helps build a healthy, cohesive backyard ecosystem for kids to explore.
Teach children about native plants by planting some of your own, and watching as different species thrive in your yard. Even with only a small space, you can still grow native flowers in the ground, raised beds, or containers. To attract butterflies, plant shrubs and a mixture of annual and perennial flowers of varied heights; check out your local Native Plant Society to learn what flowers are native to your area. Demonstrate how the flowers, insects, birds, and small mammals all need each other to survive as crucial parts of the food web.
Consider alternatives to traditional turf grass – most of which is not native to North America – for your lawn as well, such as thyme, clover, and flowering perennial groundcover plants, which will attract and delight pollinators.
3. Grow Vegetables
Thomas Barwick / DigitalVision / Getty Images
It's easy to watch produce come back from the grocery store without knowing where it really comes from; take advantage of the summer weather by growing a couple undemanding vegetables. Tending to a few crops – especially high-interest plants that your kids can easily identify, like tomatoes or lettuce – is a hands-on way to teach children about the proper watering, sunlight, and healthy soil (especially if you're able to use your own compost) needed for growing, and how they're crucial for all the food that's brought to the table. Snap peas, zucchini, cucumbers, lettuce, and spinach are all easy to grow and very rewarding with high yields.
You don't even need a big yard to teach your kids about gardening: most vegetables can be grown in containers, or in pots on the windowsill. Start by creating your own starters by planting seeds in small pots in a sunny spot, tending to them frequently. Once they're large enough, help your child transfer them to the garden or containers on the sidewalk, patio, or balcony. Encourage them to water the plants, make sure they're getting proper sunlight, and watch them grow. When it's time to harvest, cook a meal together with the fruits of your labor to show them the whole process of producing food, and how we rely on our environment to feed us.
4. Propagate Plants
For those without a garden space, bring nature indoors with a few different houseplants, or propagate your own from clippings.
Monsteras, philodendron, aloe, pothos, and spider plants are all resilient, rewarding plants that thrive inside and require very little maintenance. Putting children in charge of watering and caring for houseplants not only teaches them responsibility, but shows them how to nurture a living thing (one that is relatively low stakes) for perhaps the first time.
Like watching vegetables grow in the garden, propagating new plants is a very illustrative process. Most house plants can be grown from a clipping – although research the preferred methods for whatever plant you have on hand – which, when left in water for a few weeks, will grow roots and can be planted in soil, creating even more plants for your home or to be given away to friends and neighbors.
5. Mushroom Logs
Not only houseplants can be grown inside. Available for purchase online – including from small farms like Willow Bend Farm – mushroom logs are freshly inoculated and packed with mycelium, which will eventually produce a flush of mushrooms on the outside.
Waiting and watching for the mushrooms is exciting, and, when paired with an educational book about fungi, demonstrates for older children how mycelium works under the surface of the log to produce mushrooms. The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel or We Are Fungi by Christine Nishiyama are excellent entryways into the fascinating world of mycology.
Although specifications for maintenance vary, logs should generally be soaked overnight in filtered water once or twice a month, and left in a cool, shaded area. If cared for correctly, you could harvest shiitake, lion's mane, or oyster mushrooms from a single log for several years!
6. Bird Watching
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No matter where you live, there will always be birds to look for and identify. Begin bird watching with your kids to teach them about migration and local habitats, and get them excited about nature. Birding is a great reason to get outside, and learning the names of local birds will make them feel more connected to their surroundings and the local environment.
Watch for birds right in your neighborhood or yard – especially if you've planted a native garden, where they'll come to feed and nest – or take a trip to a local park, nature preserve, lake, or hiking trail. To identify a bird, have your child look through a bird guidebook or search on an online database like the Audubon Bird Guide app, where they can input the shape, color, and habitat of birds to narrow down what it might be. Research the birdcalls and songs of local species, and listen for them together on your next birding excursion.
No matter what birds you find, your children (and you!) will benefit from slowing down and taking in the surrounding environment through sight and sound.
7. Nature Bingo
While you're outdoors, there is much more to look for than birds!
Explore resources from local conservation groups – like your regional Sierra Club chapter or parks department – that detail trees, birds, small mammals, and plants that you might find in the area. Create a bingo chart with pictures of these natural things for kids to look for on a neighborhood walk or hike, checking them off as they go (perhaps with a prize involved).
Some groups will post free games and activities on their websites or social media, or even host nature walks or other events for children; explore what options exist in your area for your kids to learn from local naturalists this summer and beyond.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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The residential sector accounts for 21% of all US energy consumption, so saving energy at home is far from inconsequential, and can be as simple as changing your laundry habits, adjusting your television settings, or unplugging some appliances on your way out the door. The average monthly electric bill for residential customers in the US comes to about $115, and taking care that no energy is wasted can also keep some of that money in your wallet.
Reducing national energy consumption and curbing climate change can be daunting prospects – but, lifestyle changes don't have to be drastic to make a difference.
Here are a few tips for cutting down on energy use at home.
1. Unplug
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The simplest solution to using less energy is turning off any appliances not in use – but, even when turned off, some devices still continue to suck up energy while they're plugged in.
A 2015 study by the NRDC found that 23% of power consumed by the average American household is "idle load electricity" – power sucked up by "always-on" energy vampires like computers, gaming consoles, and smart appliances – which costs an individual home roughly $165 a year. Many of these are appliances left in sleep mode, ready to be powered on instantly. Even phone and tablet chargers siphon off small amounts of energy when plugged in.
To cut down on this wasted electricity, make a habit of unplugging appliances when not in use. Turn off the "quick start" option on gaming consoles and TVs, and plug appliances into power strips, which can be flipped off or unplugged in an instant. For appliances you only use at specific times of the day – like a coffee maker, hot water heater/recirculation pump, or bathroom towel warmers – plug them into timers so they switch off automatically. Take special care to unplug when you're leaving home for a few days.
2. Low-Impact Laundry
Clothes dryers are one of the most energy-intensive appliances in homes, and consume as much power as a new clothes washer, refrigerator, and dish washer combined, so choosing to air dry makes a big difference. Set up a clothes line in your backyard or in the laundry room, or use a drying rack if you're short on space.
When washing or drying clothes, run only full loads and make sure to replace lint filters often so the machine runs as efficiently as possible. Utilize moisture sensors if available, which automatically stop a cycle once the load is sufficiently dry.
About 90% of the energy needed to run a washing machine goes towards heating the water, so running only cold cycles also makes a big difference and cleans your clothes just as well.
3. Adjust Your TV Settings
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Modern televisions do use less energy than earlier models, but many utilize a "quick start" feature that allows them to boot up instantly, continuing to suck up power even when turned off. Disable this quick-start feature, and enable the automatic brightness control (or ABC sensor) if your television has one; this will adjust the brightness of the screen based on light levels in the room.
In general, using internet-compatible televisions or add-on devices like Roku, Google Chromecast, or Apple TV for streaming is much less energy-intensive than using gaming consoles, which require about 30% more power.
If you use your TV to listen to music, podcasts, or the radio, be sure to utilize the blank screen feature so the display isn't using unnecessary energy.
4. Mind Your Thermostat
More than half of the energy used in homes is just for heating and cooling. Investing in an automatic or programmable thermostat can cut that energy consumption by 20-30%, and save you close to $200 in energy costs. These devices can be set to switch off the heat or air conditioning overnight, while you're away at work, or other times when it's not necessary to minutely control the temperature of the home.
Some smart thermostats are even more efficient, and often learn your schedule/habits to properly heat/cool your home, adjust the temperature in rooms based on occupancy, and connect to apps or other smart devices in the house.
However, saving money and cash on heating/cooling doesn't necessarily require complex gadgetry: open the windows to let in cool summer breezes, or throw on a sweater instead of cranking the heat. A good rule of thumb for the colder months is, for every 1°F you turn down the thermostat, 1% less energy is used.
5. Utilize Windows
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Even without an automatic thermostat – or a thermostat at all – you can control the temperature in your home.
Some homes are designed for passive heating and cooling, strategically positioning the structure and its windows to maximize/minimize sun exposure throughout the year. However, this passive approach can also be utilized in normal homes to great effect.
Open curtains facing the sun to warm your home in the winter, and keep your home cool in the summer by closing the curtains strategically: before bed for east-facing windows, during the day for south-facing, and in the late afternoon/early evening for west-facing. Think twice before cutting down deciduous trees surrounding the house, which provide shade from the sun in the summer and, when they drop their leaves in the winter, allow the sun's rays to warm your home.
Strategically placing mirrors and painting with bright colors – which reflect heat – will also brighten up a room without switching on the lights.
6. Conserve Hot Water
Water heating is a major source of energy use in homes, accounting for about 18% of total energy consumption.
Taking shorter showers (and colder, if possible) will cut down on this consumption, along with lowering the temperature of the water heater, which is often set as high as 140°F. Insulating hot water heaters and pipes can also raise the temperature of the water between 2 and 4°F, allowing you to lower those water-heating settings even further. Be sure to switch off the water heater if you're leaving the house for a while to prevent energy waste.
If you are able, consider replacing your water heater with a newer, more energy-efficient model, which will save power and money – usually enough to offset the cost of the new appliance pretty quickly.
7. Change Your Flow
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While typical showerheads use about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, many low-flow models use no more than 2 and can save up to 2,700 gallons of water a year for the average household.
Installing a faucet aerator in your bathroom or kitchen sink also cuts down on water use by mixing air into the water stream, limiting the amount of water flowing through the faucet without sacrificing its effectiveness.
Look out for the WaterSense label on showerheads and faucet accessories, which indicates that the product meets EPA criteria.
8. Use the Dishwasher
Surprisingly (perhaps), washing dishes by hand is less energy-efficient than sticking them in the dishwasher. Compared with the energy needed to heat water for hand-washing, dishwashers create fewer emissions – at least 50% fewer, according to a 2020 study published by Environmental Research Communications – as long as it's a new-ish machine.
Turning off the pre-rinsing and heated-drying settings can further save on energy consumption; scrap dishes clean before loading them into the dishwasher, and let dishes air dry after the cycle completes.
9. Improve Your Insulation
In total, the gaps around doors and windows in the average American home is roughly equivalent to a 3-foot by 3-foot hole, which can let out a whole lot of heat or air conditioning. To prevent leakage of warm or cool air, install sweeps to the bottom of doors and seal gaps around window panes with putty.
In older homes, improving insulation can reduce heating/cooling bills by as much as 20%. Insulating floors, walls and attics – which are especially important, given that hot air rises – makes a big difference, or even just covering bare floors with rugs.
Follow Energy Star guidance for identifying problems and making improvements to the insulation in your home. Some utility companies will even offer free energy audits, during which a professional can asses your insulation and make suggestions about efficiency.
10. Shop Consciously
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While reduce, reuse, and recycle is always the motto, buying newer appliances is actually important for cutting emissions.
According to the NRDC, many modern appliances use half the energy of their predecessors from 20 years ago, and, taken all together, can save a household $500 in utility costs every year. If your home contains a lot of older machinery, some upgrades might save you a lot of money and energy.
Managed by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Star program helps consumers identify products that are truly energy-efficient. Look for the Energy Star label when replacing appliances, including televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, and dozens of others, knowing they meet certain environmental and efficiency criteria.
11. Upgrade Your Light Bulbs
When replacing older appliances in your home, consider replacing your light bulbs as well.
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely considered the best bulbs for energy efficiency – much more so than incandescent bulbs, which waste the equivalent of $100 worth of electricity throughout their lifetime – but LEDs are quickly taking a front seat.
While LED bulbs can be more expensive than the alternatives, they last 2- to 4x longer than CFLs. LEDs also emit very little heat – as opposed to incandescent and CFL bulbs, which emit 90% and 80% of their energy as heat, respectively – and are more efficient than both incandescent and CFLs. So, the long term savings of LEDs certainly outweigh the upfront costs.
12. Measure Your Electricity
Learning how much electricity individual appliances in your home use is a great first step to cutting down on energy waste.
Use the Department of Energy's appliance and electronic energy use calculator to estimate the annual energy use and associated costs of specific products. Meters like the Kill A Watt also help you determine the real consumption of refrigerators, coffee pots, computer monitors, etc., and allow you to conceptualize where energy waste is occurring in your home.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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Grown in tropical regions around the equator – called the "Bean Belt" – coffee beans travel far before ending up in our cabinets. Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia are the top producers of coffee – so, for those living in the continental United States, "local" coffee isn't an option, and its impact will always be substantial.
Increased demand and the undercutting of smallholders in coffee production have led to more destructive growing practices, including monocropping and replacing shade-grown coffee with sun-grown. Extreme exploitation of labor is also tied to coffee production, and farmers typically earn only between 7-10% of the retail price of their product – and less than 2% in Brazil – according to the Food Empowerment Project.
Beyond its production, the way we choose to prepare and consume coffee can also create avoidable waste: from filters to mugs, to spent coffee grounds. Luckily, there are ways to choose and consume your coffee more consciously, from choosing the product to how it's prepared.
Here are a few tips for a more sustainable and responsible coffee routine if you can't kick the habit.
1. Choose Consciously
Doi Chaang coffee on display for sale inside a coffee shop in Chiang Rai. Artur Widak / NurPhoto / Getty Images
When perusing the coffee aisle, look at the packaging for legitimate labels and third-party certifications. Real certifications will let you know that the coffee's production processes followed specific environmental and/or humanitarian regulations.
Be very wary of greenwashing as well: many companies will stamp illegitimate certifications on their packaging – like "100% All Natural," or "Certified Sustainable" – which don't represent any real standards and mislead consumers, giving the appearance of sustainability and responsibility without any basis.
The "local" label is another one to avoid; no coffee is "local" if you live in the continental U.S., regardless of what the packaging might tell you (locally roasted, maybe, but not grown).
There are a few legitimate certifications that consumers can look for when purchasing coffee:
Shade-Grown
Shade-grown coffee employs natural processes in coffee-growing, as overhead trees drop leaves and bark that suppress weeds and deliver nutrients to the soil, while also providing a habitat for wildlife and preventing soil erosion. Because of its higher yield, sun-grown coffee – that is, coffee grown in wide-open spaces – became popularized in the 1970s, but has reduced biodiversity and necessitated greater use of pesticides and fertilizers by farmers. Deforestation is already linked to coffee production and has only accelerated with the rise of sun-grown coffee and increasing global demand.
Many of the following certifications mandate that a certain percentage of coffee produced by a farm is shade-grown.
Rainforest Alliance Certified
Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee includes environmental, social, and economic criteria. Growers certified under this label must follow a list of standards set by the Sustainable Agricultural Network, which addresses deforestation, bans the alteration of waterways and dumping of wastewater, restricts the use of pesticides, and requires farms to pay workers at least the federal minimum wage. The Rainforest Alliance certification is being upgraded this summer to address more issue areas and employ newer technologies to verify compliance on farms.
The seal has faced criticism, however, for requiring only 30% of the coffee in a package to have followed these standards, and for not including a fixed price for growers or a provision for organic cultivation.
Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center Bird Friendly Coffee
The requirements for Bird Friendly Coffee are often considered more stringent than those of the Rainforest Alliance, mandating coffee be 100% organic and 100% shade-grown. The seal aims to protect the habitats of migratory birds and requires that a farm be certified organic, maintain a healthy soil base, and employ zero use of pesticides.
The checklist requires, among other qualifications, at least 40% of a coffee farm to be covered in shade and grow 10 different tree species at a minimum to discourage monocropping.
Fair Trade Certified
Fair trade standards primarily focus on supporting farmers and workers. The major labels indicating that a product is fair trade certified are Fair Trade USA and Fairtrade America – the U.S. member of Fairtrade International. Both protect farmers against price fluctuations by setting a price floor that requires a minimum price per pound of coffee, plus additional funds for community development.
These labels have their own complications, as there are many other political and economic complications for farmers, including debts from previous price fluctuations; but, they are a step in the right direction.
The word "fair trade" is also ripe for greenwashing, stamped onto packages with no standards behind it. Be sure to verify whether a product is actually fair trade certified by one of these organizations when purchasing coffee.
USDA Organic
Like other certified-organic products, this label verifies that a farm has followed strict environmental standards, which prohibit synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Products labeled "100% organic" follow these guidelines completely, "organic" products must contain at least 95% organically-produced material, and anything indicating it was "made with organic ingredients" must contain at least 70%.You can learn more about organic coffee subscriptions here.
2. Replace Disposable With Reusable
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Given all of the complex, energy-intensive processes that go into producing coffee, the environmental footprint of your morning cup goes far beyond plastic waste – but, with 64% of Americans drinking at least one cup a day, that resulting waste is nothing to scoff at.
When brewing coffee at home or grabbing one on-the-go, consider replacing the following:
Filters
Coffee filters are like any disposable product: they require energy and resources to produce and then end up in landfills when disposed of. Many of these filters are also chemically bleached with oxygen or chlorine, which has further environmental consequences.
Compostable filters are a partial solution, as they do reduce the overall volume of waste, but still must be created and transported before ending up in your coffee machine.
Luckily, many reusable alternatives can easily replace a disposable filter in traditional coffee machines or pour-over appliances: often made of plastic, metal, or a washable fabric (usually linen or cotton), they should be emptied and rinsed between each use.
Capsules
Twenty-five percent of Americans have reported using single-cup coffee brewers, although it's no secret that single-use coffee capsules are an incredible source of waste, given that many aren't designed to be recycled or composted. If every K-cup thrown into landfills were lined up, it would wrap around the globe more than ten times.
If you can't quit the coffee-capsule method, stainless steel capsules can be purchased for most single-serve coffee machines. Some compostable capsules have been developed, but, like coffee filters, these too had to be produced and transported, expanding their environmental impact far beyond that of a reusable alternative.
To-Go Mugs
What about coffee on-the-go?
Fifty-eight billion paper cups are thrown away every year in the U.S., according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and their inner polyethylene coating is expensive to recycle, so most of those 58 billion are sent directly to landfills.
A durable, reusable mug for to-go coffee can cut out this waste – around 23 pounds of trash each year, for a daily coffee drinker – and last for years, or even decades. Collapsible coffee mugs can be easily stored in a bag for when you're in a pinch.
Buy in Bulk
Skip the single-use packaging if you can. Many grocery stores will sell coffee beans in bulk, poured into your own reusable bag, and paid for by weight.
3. Consider Your Vessel
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Besides choosing reusable alternatives to single-use items, you can also brew your coffee by methods that inherently require less energy.
Think of the energy used by a typical drip-coffee machine: the hotplate left on for hours, the digital display, and the phantom energy sucked up whenever it's plugged in. Appliances like these are usually cheaply made, and planned obsolescence will guarantee the need to purchase a newer model within a few years. Large coffee pots also produce much more than a single cup, often leading to wasted coffee down the drain.
Manual brewing methods require far less energy, such as French presses and Moka pots, which skip the disposable filters and require only the energy needed to boil the water. Pour-over coffee carafes can produce enough for multiple people and are very compatible with a linen coffee filter.
For those with an affinity for iced coffee, cold brew is perhaps the least energy-intensive of all, with time being the main component.
4. Don't Waste It
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The average mature coffee tree will produce only about two pounds of beans per year – so, given the environmental and social impacts of its production along with that low yield, it's important to make sure that no coffee is poured down the drain.
When you find yourself with leftover brew, save it in the fridge for tomorrow's iced coffee, or freeze it in an ice cube tray to add to cold brew or smoothies.
5. Compost the Grounds
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Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen and can be given a second life through composting. Some gardeners even sprinkle spent coffee grounds around their plants to repel slugs and snails without the use of insecticides.
Explore options for composting at home or in your neighborhood, and keep those nutrient-rich grounds out of landfills.
While making our morning coffee might seem as simple as pulling the grounds out of the cabinet and boiling the water, we should be aware of the complex processes that brought these beans to our kitchens, especially as climate change begins to impact our coffee consumption.
Some argue that the only truly responsible action would be cutting coffee out of our lives altogether – but, incorporating more realistic methods by which to reduce the impact of our morning cup will help ensure that both the environment and workers are being protected.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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As much as we try to cut down on food waste in our kitchens, there will always be leftover banana peels, apple cores and other things that can't be used – much of which can be diverted from landfills by composting.
Composting recycles organic material and allows for the natural processes that decompose food, yard waste and other organics to create a nutrient-rich, natural fertilizer. Compost piles heat up as microorganisms break down leaves and kitchen scraps in the presence of oxygen, giving them a second life as "black gold" to fertilize gardens, houseplants and yards. Of the waste created by the average person – generally about nine times their body weight every year – more than 30% of it can be composted.
Luckily, composting isn't only for those with spacious backyards and large outdoor composting systems; there are plenty of options for composting with limited space, even in your own apartment.
Compost Tumblers
Compost tumblers are a common composting solution, and are ideal for lucky apartment-dwellers with access to a yard, patio, or balcony. These outdoor, airtight containers don't attract pests (a point of concern for many urban composters) and trap heat, allowing decomposition to occur much faster. Unlike traditional compost bins or piles that require shoveling, tumblers can be easily turned with a crank and are attractive and discrete for common spaces.
Add yard and kitchen scraps to the tumbler over time, giving it a few turns each week. Once the tumbler is full, stop adding new material and continue turning once every few days for two to three weeks until the contents have completely decomposed. Some people even maintain two tumblers: one to which scraps are added, and one that's in the process of decomposing.
Ideally, to allow the compost to heat up properly and prevent undesirable odors, a composter should have a healthy ratio of "brown" (carbon-rich) and "green" (nitrogen-rich) waste. Brown waste can include leaves, shredded newspaper, nut and egg shells,and twigs, while green waste encompasses all fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, grains and soil. On a molecular level, an optimal carbon:nitrogen ratio is about 25-30:1, although some argue that when judging by sight, following a 3-4:1 ratio is sufficient.
Worm Composters
Also known as vermicomposters, worm composters are small, efficient, odorless, require little money and effort, and result in rich, nutrient-packed compost. A DIY-worm composter can cost less than $30, requiring only a few plastic storage bins, organic matter for bedding, and worm castings, and can live out-of-sight in a closet or under a countertop.
Darkness, drainage and ventilation are the main components of a healthy worm composter. Start by drilling a few holes in the sides and on the bottom of a medium-sized plastic bin, and placing it inside a shorter bin or one of equal size. The smaller bin should be slightly raised, which might require stacking a few plastic bottles or containers underneath to allow for optimal airflow.
Inside the smaller bin, create the bedding for your worms; soil mixed with shredded paper or cardboard should be layered and dampened before adding in the worms. A good guideline for adding worms – generally red wigglers, which can be ordered online or bought in fishing stores – is one pound (about 1000 worms) per square foot.
Worm composters have some limitations based on what the critters can digest, and the amount of food waste that should be added at once. Freezing food scraps and adding them gradually will give the worms time to do their work without overloading them with food, especially when just starting out.
Electric Composters
For those with very limited space, countertop electric composters are small, odorless and can process food waste within hours, producing a rich, dry fertilizer. While not exactly composting, these machines aerate, heat and pulverize food scraps, mimicking the process of traditional compost piles on a much tighter timeline – and, unlike traditional at-home compost piles, can safely process meat and dairy products.
While many electric composters can cost upwards of $300, their compact and user-friendly design makes them an attractive option for apartment-dwellers. Unfortunately, given the electricity needed to run them, the environmental impact of these composters is higher than more natural methods.
Government-Run Composting Programs
Some cities have taken food waste reduction into the own hands: San Francisco, California; Boulder, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon all have their own government-run composting initiatives. City-wide composting programs take different forms, but are often free or entail a small fee similar to trash and recycling. Residents usually fill a container with food scraps throughout the week and leave it on the curb to be replaced with an empty bucket, or bring scraps out to a designated bin alongside trash and recycling that's collected at regular intervals. Seattle and San Francisco have even made composting mandatory for all homes and businesses.
As you begin composting, it's a good idea to check whether your city already has a program in place for its residents.
Community Composting and Privately-Owned Collection Services
In the absence of city-wide composting programs, many non-profit and privately-owned organizations have stepped up to the plate.
In New York City, where curbside compost collection was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19-related budget cuts, Big Reuse – a local non-profit – partners with community organizations to host free weekly drop-off sites. If tumblers and worm composters aren't for you, research compost drop-off locations in your city where you can bring your scraps for free. Some community gardens and farms might accept composted materials as well.
Composting has also become a lucrative business, especially in cities without government-run programs. CompostNow in North Carolina, Bootstrap Compost in Boston and WasteNot Compost in Chicago all charge a fee for pick-up services, offering a very convenient option for those without the time or space to compost at home.
Countertop Storage
Between trips to the compost tumbler or drop-off site, you'll need somewhere to store your scraps.
While a simple Tupperware container or glass jar would do, many countertop compost bins are attractive and discrete while controlling odors. Some are even dishwasher safe or use replaceable filters to prevent any smells from escaping.
When the pail fills up, scraps can be stored in the freezer until drop-off or pick-up day. Designating a container in the freezer specifically for compost can also keep things tidy and organized.
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As you begin your composting journey, make sure you know what items can be composted. To prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, meat and dairy products should be kept out of most small-scale composting systems, although larger composting facilities – where compost piles reach very high temperatures – might accept them.
Once your food scraps have completed their journey from "trash" to fertilizer, you'll have plenty of black gold to use. If you have limited outdoor space, or no garden on which to spread your finished compost, use it to fertilize house plants or window boxes, or offer it to friends and neighbors who might need it for their own gardens.
Apartment-composting requires some creativity! Consider all of the options in your area – whether it be a drop-off location, pick-up service, or city-run program – as well as your personal limitations and desires. Even with limited space, you can lower your environmental impact and give your waste a second life through composting.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC.
Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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When COVID-19 hit, I too found myself spending much more time in my apartment. Living in New York City during a pandemic presented fewer opportunities to safely get out into nature – an unfortunate struggle for myself and many other outdoorsy urbanites.
Yet, when I began birding, I found myself paying more attention to the nature that was, in fact, all around me. I noticed the European starlings perching in the holes of London planetrees, red-tailed hawks circling above the park, and a persistent red-bellied woodpecker with a penchant for the wooden post in my backyard. Looking for birds was a way to appreciate and acknowledge nature wherever I was; I could be excited about spotting birds anywhere – even outside my Brooklyn apartment, when I was forced to slow down and look around.
Spring is an excellent time to begin bird watching in earnest. While many common birds we come to recognize are "permanent residents" – such as starlings, mockingbirds, juncos, house sparrows, and black-capped chickadees – springtime might bring some new feathered friends into view as populations travel back north for the season. There are different types of migration, but birds generally travel north-south in North America (northbound in the spring, southbound in the fall), primarily in search of nesting locations or food.
A Coeligena helianthea hummingbird is photographed during a birdwatching trail at the Monserrate hill in Bogota on November 11, 2020. Colombia is the country with the largest bird diversity in the world, home to about 1,934 different bird species, a fifth of the total known. JUAN BARRETO / AFP / Getty Images
About 40% of birds are migratory, so whatever flyway you live within, there will be plenty of new species to look out for. The Atlantic Flyway alone (covering much of the east coast) sees 500 migratory species every year. Unless you live very far North, from February through mid-April, you should see migrating birds passing through as they head for their breeding areas.
Birding is unique in its accessibility and universality; no matter where you live – whether a bustling city, a rural town, or the South Pole – there will always be birds to learn about and look for. If you've never birded before, here are some things to keep in mind as you get started.
1. Choosing the Right Binoculars
Binoculars are a relatively indispensable tool for most birders – but, for those just starting out, it might not yet be worth the several-hundred-dollar investment. If you aren't able to scour the attics of friends or borrow a pair from a fellow bird watcher, some local birding and naturalist groups have binocular loaning programs for members, allowing you to plan ahead for a day (or week) of birding.
When you're ready to take the plunge, choosing a pair or binoculars should take some careful deliberation based on your needs and preferences; some major considerations might include size, ease of use, magnification, and price. While professional binoculars can easily run north of $1,000, there are plenty of perfectly suitable entry-level binoculars under $200. You might not get the perfect precision and clarity of more elite models, but a less expensive pair will allow you to strengthen your birding skills while deciding if you're interested in investing in a premium pair.
For a budget-friendly option, check out resale options on eBay, Facebook marketplace, or neighborhood yard sales: you might find a nicer pair whose retail price isn't within your budget.
2. Know What Birds Are in Your Area
When I began to pay more attention to the birds just outside my apartment building, I started to learn what species have always been around me: European starlings, house sparrows, blue jays, black capped chickadees, and the occasional red-bellied woodpecker. They had always been there, but I hadn't ever taken the time to identify them. Once you learn to recognize common birds in your area, you'll be able to identify the typical species right outside your window and in your community. Of course, permanent residential birds in your neighborhood will vary by region, as will those migrating through it.
3. Get Out and Explore
Venturing elsewhere might allow you to spot some different species beyond those frequenting your backyard. Anywhere with water or greenery offers a place for birding; as an urbanite myself, I've found that even small- and mid-sized parks in New York City allow me to find more elusive birds (although Central Park takes the crown for an afternoon of urban birding).
If you are able to travel a bit further from home, national wildlife refuges and state/national parks are excellent places to explore bird habitats and perhaps log some less-common sightings. The American Birding Association also lists birding trails by state, and Audubon and BirdLife International identify Important Bird Areas (IBAs) across the country – important bird habitats and iconic places that activists are fighting to protect – where birders can spot birds of significance.
4. Finding a Bird: Stop, Look, Listen, Repeat
The National Audubon Society recommends the "stop, look, listen, repeat" mantra when seeking and identifying birds.
First and foremost, spotting birds requires attention. Stopping – getting out of the car, pausing on the sidewalk, trail, or in the backyard to look up – is the most important step.
When looking for birds, try to avoid gazing wildly around; rather, scan your surroundings, focusing on any odd shapes or shadows, trying to think about where a bird might perch (power lines, fence posts, branches), or keep an eye on the sky for flying eagles and hawks. In open areas like fields and beaches, you might have a more panoramic view, and can take in different sections of the landscape at a time. Look around with the naked eye before reaching for the binoculars to hone in.
While it can be hard to sift through the noise, listening for birds is perhaps an even more important element of bird watching than looking. Once you spend more time in the field, you'll be able to parse apart the racket and identify specific species, especially aided by Audubon's Bird Guide app or by learning from their Birding by Ear series.
Repeat this pattern as you continue on your way, stopping to look and listen for birds as you go, rather than waiting for them to come to you.
5. Identification
When you head out for a day of bird watching – especially when you're hoping to spot some new species – you'll want to be armed with the tools to identify what you see. Major considerations when identifying birds are their group (such as owls, hawks, or sparrow-like birds), size and shape, behavior, voice, field marks, season, and habitat.
The Sibley Guide to Birds and the Peterson Field Guide are widely considered the best books for identifying birds in North America, although many specialized guides focus on specific species or regions as well.
Plenty of bird identification apps have popped up in recent years – including National Geographic Birds, Sibley eGuide to Birds, iNaturalist, Merlin Bird ID, and Birdsnap – which are basically a field guide in your pocket. I'm partial to the Audubon Bird Guide, which allows users to filter by common identifiers, including a bird's habitat, color, activity, tail shape, and general type, adding them all to a personal map to view your sightings.
6. Recording Your Sightings
As you deepen your commitment to birding, you might join the community of birders that track and quantify their sightings, building their life list.
While a standard notebook noting the date, species name, habitat, vocalizations, or any other data you wish to include will suffice, some birders opt for a more structured birder's journal with pre-determined fields to record your encounters, take notes, draw sketches, etc.
Many birders also choose to record their sightings online and in shared databases (which include many of the field guide apps), often pinpointing them on a map for others to view. Launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, eBird is one of the largest databases and citizen science projects around birding, where hundreds of thousands of birders enter their sightings, and users can explore birds in regions and hotspots around the world. Users can also record their sightings on the eBird app.
7. Attracting Birds to Your Own Yard
Feeding birds is a common phenomenon: more than 40% of Americans maintain a birdfeeder to attract birds and watch them feast.
Not all birdfeed is created equal, however. Many commercial varieties are mostly made with "fillers" (oats, red millet, etc.) that birds will largely leave untouched. After researching what birds to expect in your area – and which ones you want to attract – you can create your own birdfeed with seeds that will appeal to them.
Beyond filling a birdfeeder, transforming your yard into an eco-friendly oasis is by far the best way to attract birds. Choosing to forgo mowing your lawn, planting native flowers and grasses, and ditching the pesticides will bring back the bugs that birds feed on, and provide a safe haven in which birds can happily live and eat.
While it's widely considered acceptable – and even beneficial – to feed birds with appropriate seeds, communal birdfeeders often foster unlikely interactions between different species, who can then transmit harmful diseases and parasites to one another. Maintaining several bird feeders with different types of seeds might keep different species from coming into contact, and feeders can be cleaned to prevent the spread of infection.
8. Inclusivity and Anti-Racism in the Birding Community
Like all outdoor activities and areas of scientific study, birding communities are subject to racist and discriminatory ideologies. Black birders have long experienced discrimination and underrepresentation in outdoor spaces. The work of organizations like the Black & Latinx Birders Fund, Birdability, and Feminist Bird Club highlight the contributions and importance of birders of color, birders with disabilities, and women and LGBTQ+ birders to the birding community, as do activists and naturalists like Corina Newsome and Tykee James. The work of Christian Cooper, Camille Dungy (read her poem Frequently Asked Questions: 10), and J. Drew Lanham – including his essay "Birding While Black" – are a great place to start.
Getting involved in birding means educating ourselves on these issues and taking meaningful action; the work of Christian Cooper and J. Drew Lanham – including his essay "Birding While Black" – are a great place to start. Just as birders are activists for protecting habitats and natural areas, we must also be active and aware of inclusivity in these spaces.
9. Get Involved
To learn from and enjoy the company of other birders, check out local birding groups in your area to join. Many Audubon chapters host trips, meetings, and bird walks for members. The American Birding Association even maintains a directory of birding festivals across the country.
Volunteering for birds is also a great way to meet other birders and take action for birds in your community; local organizations might have opportunities for assisting with habitat restoration or helping at birding centers.
Like all wildlife, climate change and habitat destruction threaten the livelihood of birds, eliminating their breeding grounds and food sources. A 2019 report released by the National Audubon Society found that two-thirds of North American birds may face extinction if global temperatures rise 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. Staying informed about and taking action for legislation designed to protect birds and our climate – such as the recent Migratory Bird Protection Act – is important for ensuring a livable future for wildlife and humans alike.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC. Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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Constituting 2% of the continental US, turf grass has a substantial environmental impact, especially in regards to lawn care: 3 trillion gallons of water, 200 million gallons of gas (for mowing), and 70 million pounds of pesticides are used for lawn maintenance every year; fertilizer – containing large concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous – runs off of lawns, into storm drains, and eventually flows to waterways, causing algal blooms and contaminating drinking water; herbicides and pesticides kill unwanted – yet necessary – plants and insects, causing harm to humans and wildlife alike.
Moreover, the turf grass used for most lawns in the United States isn't native to North America and doesn't support the rich, diverse life needed for a healthy ecosystem. Blanketing an area with exclusively non-native grass eliminates the habitats of native plants and insects, decimating the biodiversity of the area and creating far-reaching consequences for food chains.
While boasting a bright green, perfectly mowed, immaculate lawn has become the norm, turning your yard into a native ecological refuge – sometimes called "naturescaping" – with these eco-friendly alternatives can do wonders for the biodiversity and overall health of your backyard ecosystem.
1. Native Plants and Flowers
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The ryegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass that make up most American lawns aren't native to the US; between 5,000 and 385,000 acres of native ecosystems are displaced by lawns every day, crowding out regional flowers, plants, and grasses across the country. Without these native plants, monoculture lawns are essentially wastelands for birds and pollinators – like bees, whose populations have been declining rapidly around the world – eliminating the flowers they feed on and locations for nesting.
Choosing to instead foster a yard of native flowers and plants creates a ripple affect in regional food chains: plants provide food for the bugs and bees that depend on it, which in turn provide food for mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, restoring the biodiversity that has been lost. Creating a deliberate landscaping plan to replace grass with low-maintenance plants will attract wildlife and bring some beauty to your backyard.
In urban areas, clover, dandelion, and other lawn "weeds" have been identified as some of the most important food sources for bees, and flowers like columbine, monarda, asters, and holly provide a friendly habitat for birds. Of course, native plants vary by region, so be sure to check with your state's Native Plant Society to find the right species for your eco-haven.
2. Grass Alternatives
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If you love to look out the window at your luscious patch of green, you don't have to give it up entirely.
Groundcover plants provide an alternative to turf, but eliminate the need for mowing and still deliver that traditional verdant green. Clover, creeping jenny, barberry cotoneaster, Corsican mint, and creeping herbs like thyme and oregano require very little maintenance; clover especially needs little attention once it's established, suppresses weeds, and has a deep root system that aerates the soil.
Flowering perennial groundcover species – like sweet woodruff, liriope, and horned violets – bring a dash of color to your yard and often do well in shaded areas, as do many kinds of moss. Species of native ornamental grass thrive in different ranges of light, moisture, and soil, giving you plenty of options for your space.
Growing a natural lawn also eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, improves soil quality, and prevents erosion – all while creating a native habitat for the birds and the bees.
3. Befriend the Bugs
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The prevailing rhetoric of traditional yard maintenance is to eliminate as many humming, buzzing, and crawling things as possible, which drives away the beneficial bugs that foster healthy, thriving ecosystems such as ladybugs, spiders, and ground beetles. While caterpillars and Japanese beetles might not be a welcome sight, not all bugs are a bad sign!
During their lifetime, ladybugs may eat as many as 5,000 aphids – a common backyard enemy. Ground beetles too feed on less-desirable bugs like caterpillars, slugs, weevils, and nematodes. To encourage such insects to make a home in your yard, you can purchase many of them online or at garden stores to jumpstart the process. But, once you begin to populate your yard with native plants and bid the turf adieu, the insects should start crawling, flying, and buzzing back.
Learn what beneficial bugs live in your area so you can identify the signs of a healthy, bio-diverse lawn.
4. Ditch the Fertilizer …
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While typical fertilizers ramp up the productivity of farms and might keep our backyards emerald green, they also emit harmful greenhouse gases – accounting for 1.5% of global emissions – and fertilized lawns are no exception.
According to Dr. Chuanhui Gu of Appalachian State University, a standard lawn emits up to 6 times more CO2 than what can be absorbed during photosynthesis through mowing, irrigating, and fertilizing, including the production and transportation of the fertilizer.
Instead of synthetic fertilizers, try adding organic nutrients to your eco-friendly lawn by spreading compost. "Topdressing" your yard with compost supplies nutrients and keeps the soil healthy without depleting it, allowing you to maintain a healthy ecosystem for the diverse plant and animal life thriving in your eco-oasis.
5. … and the Pesticides
Henner Zeller / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Scientists have directly linked pesticides to the demise of frog, bat, and bee populations, throwing delicately balanced ecosystems and food chains into disorder. Ninety percent of flowering plants depend on bees and other pollinators to survive – species that have seen alarming decreases in population across the globe (also referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder).
Luckily, saving the bees can start in your own backyard: lawn-owners can make a tangible difference by cutting pesticides from their lawn-care regimen. Allowing native plants and weeds to grow freely and bugs to crawl amongst them will save the lives of your local bees, providing them a sanctuary to live, eat, and thrive in.
6. No-Mow Zones
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Mile-for-mile, gas-powered lawn mowers produce about 11 times more pollution than a new car, estimates the EPA – so, running a single gas-powered mower for an hour is nearly equivalent in emissions to a 100-mile car trip.
Mowing lawns is also extremely time-consuming, accounting for more than three million collective hours each year for Americans, who, on average, mow their lawns 22 times per year. Think of the time saved by going no-mow!
The No-Mow Movement encourages lawn-owners to leave native grasses to their own devices, growing tall and wild to eliminate the environmental cost of watering and mowing, and allowing a more natural landscape to take over unimpeded. If you've decided on an alternative to grass that requires no mowing – like clover or moss – you're already there.
Do keep an eye out for invasive weeds in your no-mow lawn that might crowd out native plants and grasses.
Before embarking on your eco-oasis adventure, you'll need to set about "killing" your lawn – that is, doing away with existing turf grass to make way for your native plants and no-mow zones.
Covering the lawn with a sheet of black plastic will trap heat and kill the turf underneath; or, adopt the no-till method of layering newspaper over a section of grass and covering it with a few inches of soil. The newspaper will decay over time and provide a fresh start for your new lawn.
While recovering global biodiversity may seem like a daunting goal, cutting down your environmental impact and saving native ecosystems can all begin in your own yard!
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Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Along with her most recent position at Hunger Free America, she has interned with the Sierra Club in Washington, DC., Saratoga Living Magazine, and Philadelphia's NPR Member Station, WHYY.
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Throughout history, flowers have been both appreciated for their beauty and used for consumption, with the first recorded use of edible flowers in 140 B.C. Various indigenous tribes in North America have a long history of using native flowers for food and medicine, such as rosehips and the leaves and roots of violets; Victorians would prove their refinement by decorating cakes with candied flowers; the ancient Romans were known to garnish their dishes with rose petals, and carnations were a crucial ingredient of Chartreuse, a French liquor made by French monks in the 1600s.
While not as popular in the United States, flowers have a greater place at the table in other parts of the world: chrysanthemums were used in ancient China for pain relief and ceremonial drinks and still hold an important place in Chinese cooking, orange blossom water is a traditional North African beverage, and lotus and papaya flowers have played an important role in Indian cuisine.
Some of the flowers already growing in your backyard might have surprising – and tasteful! – culinary uses. Small flowers frozen into ice cubes are an attractive addition to ice water or cocktails, and candied blossoms – coated in a thin layer of sugar and egg whites – can add both flavor and beauty to desserts. Some flowers can even be fried, added to a salad, or incorporated into homemade ice cream.
Here are a few flowers you might already have growing in your backyard, and how to bring them into your kitchen this spring and summer.
1. Violets
Native to central and eastern North America, both the leaves and flowers of common blue violets can be eaten (the leaves are blander, the flowers sweeter).
Violet leaves are comparable to spinach in both texture and taste – containing twice the vitamin C of oranges and twice the vitamin A of spinach – and thus are delicious when cooked or used as a green in salads. Early summer leaves will have a softer, less bitter taste. The flowers too can be added to a salad for sweetness and a bit of color.
Violet flowers are also a delicious addition to desserts; violet sugar and violet flower syrup can preserve the sweet, floral taste from the delicate blossoms, and crystallized violets are an especially beautiful candied topping for desserts.
2. Hibiscus
Marco Verch Professional Photographer / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
The large, florid flowers of the hibiscus plant range in color; white, yellow, pink, and red hibiscus can be found in tropical and subtropical environments, and are used both ornamentally and for medicinal and culinary purposes.
The tart petals of the flowering roselle plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa)– native to parts of Africa, Asia, and India – are commonly used to make an infused hibiscus tea, served either hot or cold. Fresh or dried petals can be steeped in water to create a deep pink tea, made even more delicious by adding honey or lime.
3. Roses
Cooking with roses dates back to the Greeks, Romans and Persians, and is relatively common, given the many ways they can be eaten – and, of the 150 different rose varieties, all of them are edible! The sweet flavor is more pronounced in darker varieties, especially if the bitter center is removed.
Fresh petals are great for infusing honey or vinegar, garnishing a salad, mixing into fruit-laden water, or stirring into butter for a colorful spread. Rose-flavored desserts often call for fresh or dried petals, and homemade rose jam is a striking floral spread on fresh bread or biscuits. Petals can also be candied for cake toppings, dried for tea, or even added to granola for a sweeter taste and more aesthetic appearance.
Rosewater is a common phenomena – known for its soothing aroma and many health benefits – but try rosewater syrup for a stronger, sweeter flavor in spring cocktails, like a classic, pre-dinner rose and cucumber Collins.
4. Pansies
Pansies have a "wintergreen," lettuce-like flavor, and are a colorful garnish for savory dishes – even pasta! – and fruit bowls alike. Their rather nondescript taste means you can use them rather generously in a pansy salad or a spinach quiche.
Pansy desserts like shortbread or cakes highlight the beauty of the flowers, and when candied for a dessert decoration or a floral snack, pansies can keep their shape and taste for up to a year.
5. Dandelion
jchizhe / iStock / Getty Images
Dandelions are believed to have been brought to North America on the Mayflower and have since been a common, sunny fixture in American backyards. While many view dandelions as a nuisance, the flowers have been revered for their health benefits throughout history – including in traditional Chinese medicine – and are packed with vitamins.
Along with more common dandelion green salads – an oft-prepared meal during the Great Depression – a delicious dandelion wine can be brewed from these under-appreciated weeds. The drink (believed to be of Celtic origin) was once lauded for its therapeutic effect on the kidneys and digestive system. Typical dandelion wines combine sugar, acid of some kind, and other typical wine-making ingredients with the petals to create a rich, sweet, drink. Recipes call for different amounts of petals per gallon of wine (some only 2 quarts, or sometimes up to an entire gallon) so you can choose which version to pursue based on your yard's dandelion yield.
Dandelion honey is also a popular vegan alternative to the traditional honeybee variety.
6. Daylily
Daylilies have been cultivated and used in Asian countries for millennia, and began spreading throughout Europe during the 1500's-1800's. In Chinese cuisine, dried lily buds – also known as gum jum choi, or "golden needles" – have been used for food and medicine for over 2,000 years.
The buds and flowers of daylilies taste, surprisingly, like asparagus, and can be stuffed and made into fritters, or added to soups and stir-fries. For a starchier option, dig up the roots to be baked, boiled, or prepared any way you would asparagus or celery. The roots – at their best in the late fall and winter – can even be served as a side dish in place of potatoes.
Daylilies are toxic to pets, so make sure to keep your plate to yourself.
7. Marigolds (Calendula)
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Note: Flowers of Tagetes marigolds are not edible, but those of Calendula are.
The peppery taste of Marigolds (Calendula) paired with their vibrant hue makes for a flavorful pop of color in iced teas, a summer salad, or a buttery spread. They can even be incorporated into pastas or cookies, making them one of the more versatile edible backyard flowers.
8. Lavender
Originally grown in the Mediterranean and northern Africa, lavender has a very distinctive aroma and is a delicious addition to both sweet and savory dishes. Either fresh or dried, the flower can be used in liqueurs, infused syrups, baked goods, and herbal mixtures/teas, or even incorporated into plum-colored cocktails.
Chocolate pairs especially well with their aromatic flower, and many lavender cake recipes call for fresh sprigs as an ingredient or edible garnish, perhaps served with a side of vanilla-lavender ice cream. Berries, citrus, and savory herbs are also excellent partners to lavender, leaving ample options to integrate it into your culinary repertoire.
9. Nasturtium
These red, orange and yellow funnel-shaped flowers can be enjoyed either raw or cooked, and have a slightly spicy, peppery flavor (think watercress), although the greens carry a slightly stronger flavor than the blossoms. The flowers and leaves can be tossed with mixed greens for a sweet-and-spicy salad, and the buds and seeds can also be pickled like capers for a tangy snack.
For apartment-dwellers, nasturtiums can be easily grown on a fire escape, readily available to add a dash of flavor to your favorite summer dishes.
10. Lilac
Along with their intoxicating scent, lilacs can be enjoyed in sweet treats by brewing your own lilac sugar, honey, or syrup. Their bright color and lemony taste lends itself well to summery drinks or as an addition to frozen yogurt.
Fresh petals can also be steeped to brew a hot drink reminiscent of earthy herbal teas.
Most flowers can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for up to 10 days when placed on a moist towel and stored in an airtight container.
Before heading outside to harvest, make sure any flowers you're cooking with are free of chemicals or pesticides. Since roadside blossoms have likely been exposed to pollutants, and flowers grown in nurseries or by florists have probably been treated with chemicals, it's safest to stick with only those you've grown yourself.
Always be sure to thoroughly research any flowers you plan on consuming to determine if they are safe to eat, and remove any inedible elements (stems, pistils, anthers, etc.). If you're prone to spring allergies, sprinkle those petals sparingly at first.
Flowers have long been a part of edible history. Armed with your new knowledge of efflorescent eating, you can enjoy your backyard garden with fresh appreciation this season!
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Along with her most recent position at Hunger Free America, she has interned with the Sierra Club in Washington, DC., Saratoga Living Magazine, and Philadelphia's NPR Member Station, WHYY.
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Food waste, however, remains a major problem in the United States; the USDA estimates that 30-40% our national food supply is wasted. Wasted food is the largest category of material in municipal landfills, and represents a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, thus having a substantial impact on global climate change. Without food waste, about 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the global food system would be eliminated, found the World Wildlife Foundation.
While global food waste can seem like a distant problem, individual homes represent the largest source of that waste in terms of dollars, resulting in major economic consequences for individuals and families. American households spend roughly $1,866 a year on food that ends up being wasted.
For both beginner cooks and seasoned chefs, these tips for creatively reducing food waste in your kitchen will both cut down on your environmental impact and save you money by keeping more food out of the trash.
1. Freeze leftover herbs.
If you find yourself with more fresh herbs than you can use, they don't have to slowly wilt in the fridge until they're beyond help: rosemary, thyme, cilantro, sage, basil, or whatever else you have on hand can be frozen for future use.
Make sure to thoroughly wash and dry the herbs, and prepare them the way you normally would before eating (stems removed, spoiled pieces discarded, etc.). Finely chop and press into each "cube" of an ice tray. Top them off with olive oil and freeze. Once solid, the cubes can be removed from the tray and stored in a freezer bag.
The cubes can be tossed directly into a pan for sautéing vegetables, or melted to dress a salad.
Even fresh ginger can be frozen – either shaved and stored in ice trays for individual servings, or peeled and frozen whole to be grated as needed.
2. Save leftover lemon peels for a homemade cleaning solution.
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If you use a lot of lemons for cooking or beverages, repurpose the rinds for an easy, organic surface cleaner.
After squeezing lemons for use, collect the rinds in a clean glass jar in the fridge, packing them tightly. Make sure to remove any stickers and thoroughly wash the lemons beforehand. Once full of peels, fill the jar with vinegar, cap it tightly, and keep in a dark, cool place (like the back of the fridge).
After about two weeks, your lemon-cleanser base should be ready. Strain the liquid through a piece of cheesecloth or a mesh strainer into another clean jar, discarding the peels.
In a spray bottle, combine the cleanser base with water in a 1:1 ratio, and it's ready to go.
This organic surface cleaner is excellent for glass windows and mirrors, showers and sinks, countertops, and other surfaces. Since the mixture is very acidic, avoid using on marble or stone, as it might cause pitting on the surface.
3. Keep produce dirty.
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Extend the life of fruits and vegetables by refraining from washing until you're ready to use them; too much moisture on produce can cause premature decay and send food to the trash. If you get a particularly dirty batch of potatoes or other fruits and veggies, you can still give them a good wash if they're dried completely before being stored in the fridge.
4. Stock up on scraps.
Save veggie scraps in the freezer to make your own veggie stock. Not only will you keep peels out of the trash, but you'll circumvent buying pre-made stock, which often comes in wasteful, non-recyclable packaging.
As you accumulate vegetable scraps – stalks, skins, stems, chopped-off tops and bottoms – add them to a Ziplock bag or Tupperware container in the freezer, where they can stay for up to six months. While peeling often eliminates the need for washing some foods, like potatoes, you'll need to thoroughly wash any vegetables from which you plan to save scraps in order to avoid a muddy stock.
Once you have a decent amount of scraps, drop them in a pot and fill it with water. Bring the water to a boil and let simmer for 30-40 minutes, adding salt as needed. Strain the stock, making sure to remove any visible scraps.
The stock can be refrigerated for up to four days (or frozen for up to three months), and can be used in all of your favorite recipes calling for vegetable broth.
5. Rescue avocados from browning.
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Before stowing an avocado-half in the fridge, rub a few drops of lemon or lime juice on the exposed surface. The citric acid will slow down the browning process and your avocado will stay fresh for longer.
6. Revive limp kale.
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Kale and most other leafy greens like to be kept dry – a dish towel wrapped around the leaves and placed inside a produce bag should keep them fresh in the fridge; but, droopy kale isn't a lost cause! Cut the edges of the stems and submerge in a few inches of water in a glass. Tuck them in the fridge for a few hours, and the leaves will perk right up.
7. Store smarter.
Storing produce more mindfully is an important way to extend the shelf life of your produce, and prevent tossing foods that have been gone bad.
Most importantly, keep foods that produce more ethylene gas away from those that don't. Ethylene promotes ripening and can cause nearby foods to spoil – especially ethylene-sensitive foods, like leafy greens, eggplant, peppers, squash, and sweet potatoes. Ethylene-producing foods include apples, avocadoes, ripening bananas, mangoes, peaches, pears, plantains, and tomatoes. Storing these in a separate drawer will prevent your other groceries from rotting prematurely.
8. Grow your own herbs.
s0ulsurfing - Jason Swain / Moment / Getty Images
At most mainstream grocery stores, fresh herbs come pre-packaged in disposable plastic containers and in rather large quantities. When a recipe calls for only a dash of rosemary or a handful of chopped basil for serving, you might find yourself with more than you can realistically use.
Luckily, you don't even need a backyard to have a beautiful, indoor herb garden. Many herbs will thrive in a pot on your windowsill, close at hand to pluck exactly the amount you need for a given recipe.
To grow sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary, look out for planter starters – a small piece of the plant that has already rooted and started growing – at a local hardware, grocery, or garden store. Herbs like dill, basil, parsley, and chives are easier to grow from seed, although purchasing starters can jumpstart the process.
Plant the starters or seeds in a well-draining pot, and water only when the soil is dry or the herbs are drooping. If you have a window sill that gets around 6 hours of indirect sunlight a day, great; if not, a small grow light can brighten up any corner of the house where you have space for growing.
9. First in, first out.
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When unloading your bags from the grocery store, don't let the new items sit front and center. Bring older groceries to the front to encourage your household to eat these first. Designating a "use first" drawer will also remind you what to eat before breaking into the new stuff.
10. Get pickling.
If it's becoming clear that you won't get around to cooking with that red onion, try preserving it instead of tossing it in the trash.
Pickling is a great way to squeeze some extra life out of foods. Cucumbers, onions, cauliflower, beets, green beans, onions, and even fruit can be easily pickled for future use. By keeping some some vinegar, sugar, and salt on hand, you'll be ready to prepare an easy brine in a pinch for preserving your produce.
Some easy pickling recipes even add extra spices and seasoning for a more flavorful product.
11. Blend up the extras.
When you find yourself with produce on the brink, whip up a "whatever smoothie," adding anything you have on hand: overripe bananas, leftover stalks from leafy greens, wilting kale and spinach, or soon-to-be-spoiled produce that you just don't know what to do with. This delicious, waste-free smoothie is an easy alternative to tossing your less-than-perfect produce.
12. Compost if you can.
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Composting is one of the most effective ways to divert food waste from landfills, where it decomposes and contributes to methane emissions: a harmful greenhouse gas accelerating climate change.
As composting becomes increasingly recognized as an important practice, practical (and cute!) indoor compost bins are widely available and fit right on a kitchen counter or tucked discreetly underneath. Be wary of what you toss in, avoiding meat, dairy, and greasy leftovers that harbor pathogens and give the compost a strong odor.
When it's time to empty the bin, indoor and outdoor composting systems allow for the natural processes that break down food and create rich, organic fertilizer for lawns and gardens. If you have an outdoor space, maintaining your own backyard composting system is rather simple, with many different styles and options to fit your space. There are even excellent options for indoor composting if you don't have access to a yard.
Many cities have developed large-scale municipal composting programs for residents – including San Francisco, Seattle, and Boulder – allowing city- and apartment-dwellers without their own outdoor space to compost. Even if your city doesn't have a composting program, there are plenty of independent groups that might accept your scraps, including some community gardens and communal composting centers. Research what options exist in your area and consider how composting might work for you.
Remaining mindful of our food waste and incorporating some new habits are great first steps to lowering our environmental impact. As we spend more time at home – perhaps trying new dishes and making more home-cooked meals – we have the opportunity to develop patterns and practices that reduce our food waste and save both money and resources in the process.
Linnea graduated from Skidmore College in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in English and Environmental Studies, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Linnea worked at Hunger Free America, and has interned with WHYY in Philadelphia, Saratoga Living Magazine, and the Sierra Club in Washington, DC. Linnea enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, reading, practicing her German, and volunteering on farms and gardens and for environmental justice efforts in her community. Along with journalism, she is also an essayist and writer of creative nonfiction.
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