Starting a project to build a sustainable environment at the grassroots level is the ideal initiative to educate and influence the decisions of others, not in an aggressive manner but in a persuasive way to make others understand the environmental situation and why change is necessary.
A sustainable community is achievable through collective efforts to support sustainability. This is quite different from a sustainable home. I mean, if you feel less concerned about the liveable outdoor environment, the pollution and contamination will directly affect your well-being.
Surging heat waves and other weather events threaten the existence of our community. Projects like tree planting, recycling, upcycling, composting, and proper waste management reduce the risk of potential ecological disasters.
What Is a Sustainable Community?
The definition of a sustainable community varies. According to Wikipedia, if a community is foundationally designed and structured, or has been modified in a way that encourages sustainable living, then we can say that such a community is sustainable.
A community can work towards sustainability by prioritizing environmental and economic sustainability, encouraging social equity, and having functional municipal government, and robust urban infrastructure. Considering these factors is instrumental to building a sustainable society.1
Learn more: Recycling Vs. Upcycling: What Is the Difference?
The Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities
The Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities is a program established in 2011. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is an initiative that focuses on collaboration between local communities across the United States to achieve community goals.
The whole idea of the Building Blocks Sustainable Communities program is to work with not just local communities but with tribes and territories to develop smart growth solutions and strategies that positively benefit the environment and human health.
The program’s blueprint is to work with locals to improve and strengthen local capacity and facilities partnerships to create a path to accomplish community goals.
Eco-Friendly Projects for Community
Being a part of a community means interacting and sharing meaningful ideas to improve living. Advocating for sustainability in your local community is one way to improve living.
You can do it with these eco-friendly projects that support community sustainability.
#1. Advocate for Tree Planting
Research studies prove that spending more time and connecting with nature has a positive impact on physical and mental health. It may help reduce the symptoms of anxiety and stress.2
Organizing a community tree-planting event will not only reshape the environment but also refresh it. Trees are nature’s gift to humans and wildlife. They tend to bring people together with their relaxing and peaceful ambience.
Trees are air filters naturally designed to protect the environment. They absorb carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen, while preventing soil erosion and reducing flooding.
You can start with a tree-planting event. Reach out to your neighbours and other members of your community and start planting today.
#2. Establish a Community Garden
In urban areas, it’s a bit difficult to find a suitable space for a garden. Well, you can improvise by starting a group gardening project within your local community. With your neighbours and others involved in the project, the group can start growing fruits, grains, and veggies in available spaces.
Starting a community garden has a lot of benefits for you and your community in several ways. One obvious benefit of starting a community garden is the plants and produce from the garden, which brings more fruits and vegetables to your community. According to studies, getting involved in community gardening increases the availability of fruits and vegetables and encourages people in urban communities to eat more of them.3
This proves that starting a community garden may help improve the health and well-being of your community as it encourages them to take more fruits and vegetables.4
Additionally, you may need to obtain a grant and permission to start this project.
#3. Eat Local and Organic Grown Food
Supporting local businesses, especially those in your local community is highly recommended. By doing so, you are supporting the growth of small businesses.
Buy from local farmers and even recommend their farm produce to other businesses. Only dine at eateries that get their fruits, veggies, and other ingredients from local farmers.
#4. Establish a Neighbourhood Compost Bin
This project is focused on improving food sustainability and not just reducing the amount of waste in the community. Creating a neighbourhood compost bin will provide local farmers with organic fertilizer for their farms.
Anything from food and fruit scraps is thrown into the compost bin. The bin should be large enough to contain food and fruit scraps from close neighbours.
Learn more: How to Make Your House More Sustainable
#5. Volunteer for Eco-Friendly Causes
When there is an opportunity to participate in eco-friendly volunteer activities in your community, don’t hesitate to join. Your presence in such activities can motivate others to partake in the process.
You can start organising a volunteer event in your community with events like trash picking, tree planting, or recycling.
#6. Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
You can support local farmers by participating in a community-supported agriculture program. Paying an upfront membership fee guarantees that you will receive farm produce throughout the season.
This means you are involved in a regular supply system where fresh fruits and veggies will be available to you. It comes in fresh and not like the shipped-in produce from a grocery store that may have lost a lot of its nutrients during transportation.
#7. Advocate for Communal Car Chargers
There is a shift in car choices, with electric cars becoming the preferred option to petrol cars. Electric vehicles are innovations that can drive faster and cover a considerable distance on a single charge.
Charging stations for electric cars are not provided in some communities. You can advocate for your community to install a charging station. This will encourage people using petrol-powered vehicles to make the switch to electric cars.
#8. Reuse Items for Creative Arts and Design
It’s common to find discarded household items on properties within a community. Such items can be reused and repurposed to make something creative.
These old items can become vintage items or “true vintage” items that can be used for other useful purposes, like in a music video or movie.
#9. Encourage Upcycling
You can encourage your neighbours and other community member to upcycle old items. They can participate in a clothing swap to get rid of old clothes that don’t fit anymore.
Learn more: 10 Eco-Friendly Food Packaging Materials
#10. Encourage More Recycling
This is one of the eco-friendly community projects to take seriously.
The use of plastic materials in homes is alarming. We can’t avoid bringing plastics into our homes. From plastic bags to Ziploc bags to food containers, it’s almost impossible to avoid using one of these.
Enlighten your community on the importance of recycling, especially to reduce plastic waste. Glass, paper, metal, and plastics can be recycled at specific facilities. Get to know nearby recycling facilities and educate others on doing so.
Conclusion
A sustainable community prioritize environmental and economic sustainability, social equity, municipal government, and urban infrastructure. An eco-friendly community is achievable if a group can adopt sustainable practices.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Sustainable Community ↩︎
- Jimenez MP, DeVille NV, Elliott EG, Schiff JE, Wilt GE, Hart JE, James P. Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 30;18(9):4790. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18094790. PMID: 33946197; PMCID: PMC8125471. ↩︎
- Alaimo, K., Packnett, E., Miles, R. A., & Kruger, D. J. (2008). Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Urban Community Gardeners. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 40(2), 94-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2006.12.003 ↩︎
- Alaimo, K., Beavers, A. W., Coringrato, E., Lacy, K., Ma, W., Hurley, T. G., & Hébert, J. R. (2023). Community Gardening Increases Vegetable Intake and Seasonal Eating From Baseline to Harvest: Results from a Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Trial. Current Developments in Nutrition, 7(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.100077 ↩︎