Water-Wise Landscapes Are Here
The drought tolerant landscapes near Pralle-Sodaro are now complete! Take a walk down Walnut Street and enjoy water conservation at its finest. We’ve switched out grass for climate adaptive and native plants. These plants attract pollinators, add to the natural beauty of Chapman’s campus, and require significantly less watering than traditional grass lawns. We’ve also swapped out spray irrigation for drip irrigation, allowing for a more precise and permeating application of water to the plants. Keep your eyes peeled for more drought tolerant landscapes around other parts of campus, coming soon!
Caffeinated & Educated
On November 16th, the Office of Sustainability partnered up with Contra Coffee and Tea to host a sustainability trivia event. Students and community members had the opportunity to quiz themselves on sustainability and the environment to win a discount on any drink and an extra stamp on their punch card towards a free small drink.
Wishing You a Low-Waste Thanksgiving
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), during the week surrounding Thanksgiving Americans dispose of approximately 200 million pounds of turkey. This amount of food waste has the equivalent carbon footprint of 800,000 cars driving from Los Angeles to Florida.
The best way to reduce waste is to prepare - read through the following tips to gear up for a low-waste Thanksgiving! Sustainability is a process, and no one is perfect. Do your part, even if it is small, and together we can make a collective difference!
Get organized
Utilize shopping lists to make sure you get everything you need and not too much.
You can also coordinate dishes with your guests to avoid piling up five different pumpkin pies (unless that’s the plan for dinner.)
Portion it out
Take time to “guesstimate” the necessary amount of food for your guests. You can even use the Save the Food campaign’s Guest-imator digital portion planning tool (linked below.)
Anticipate leftovers
Encourage guests to take home an extra plate if there’s still food left over.
There are plenty of quick and easy recipes online for just about any left over dish or ingredient (check out the Food Network link below.)
Salvage scraps
Even if you do not have a composting program through your waste services provider, there is most likely a composting drop-off service near you for a community garden which would be more than happy to take food scraps off your hands. Do some research to find the best up-to-date information wherever you live.
No more kitchen crises
Please don’t give up on wilted vegetables, burned, over-salted, or bland food; there’s often a cheaper and more sustainable remedy than throwing it out. Research how to fix your dish or check out the Save the Food campaign’s article on food revival tips (linked below.)
Don’t forget the freezer
Clear out some space ahead of time for leftovers from the meal or unused materials. Just about anything can be frozen if you are not planning on eating it soon.
Create your own traditions
While we all have our own holiday favorites when it comes to Thanksgiving dishes, make your own tradition by rethinking what will be eaten. For example, in a smaller gathering, you may not need an entire turkey, or if no one ever eats the pumpkin pie, consider leaving it out this year.
Ecolympics Takeaways
Article Picks
Climate change is leading to vast increases in global temperatures. Read this interactive article to learn more about how heat is already impacting various areas throughout the world and what changes we’re expecting to see in our climate soon. This brings up conversations on what we can do to help reduce this rise in temperatures and how we can adapt to these conditions.
After climate activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup on the Van Gogh painting, there was much debate across the internet about their motives and methods. This article from the Guardian outlines several opinions in the debate of whether this action was justified in its ability to create and inspire change or if it was alienating and ineffective.
The company Upside Foods recently received regulatory clearance for their lab grown chicken. This is a great step towards more sustainable food sources given growing concerns about the meat industry's role in climate change. The company is waiting for additional approval from the Department of Agriculture before sharing their product for consumption.
