Green Teams
A Green Team is a group of people concerned about nature and our environment. Our concern is rooted in the sense of stewardship endowed in human beings by our Creator. We love God and believe it is our duty to care for all of creation in life-affirming ways. Members of the Green Team share this special concern and work in community to develop and implement steps toward creating a more sustainable relationship with nature.
Green Team Members offer stewardship of creation in multiple ways that reflect the individual’s call and talent, gifts, and graces. Maybe you want to help initiate efforts to reduce, reuse, or recycle; maybe you would prefer to be an energy steward helping our church to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Does gardening or working with plants and trees sound more like you? Maybe you would simply like to be in a community with like-minded individuals and can offer prayer and presence. These are just a few of the ways to participate as a member of the Green Team.
If you have concerns for local ecology, the Green Team may be the group for you. Contact Pastor Kim (kking@zumc.org) for more information or to join our contact list for upcoming meetings and events.
Money Saving Guide to Going Green
Are you looking to be more eco-friendly at home? I know it can feel overwhelming, especially if you're on a tight budget. But guess what? Being sustainable and saving money can actually go hand in hand! In fact, going green is often the ideal option for saving some "green" too!
If you're wondering how to make a positive difference without breaking the bank, this article has got you covered. The key is to start with small, manageable changes that add up over time. That way, you and your whole family can seamlessly adjust and feel like you're making a real impact.
This article compiles a bunch of tips and resources that will help you be more eco-friendly at home while being kind to your budget. From reducing waste and choosing energy-saving options to cutting out single-use plastics and much more, there are plenty of little habits you can implement. We've even divided the tips into easily digestible categories like water conservation, reduce-reuse-recycle strategies, sustainable landscaping, green parenting, and getting your children and teens engaged in saving the planet.
So, if you're ready to embark on your journey to a more environmentally friendly and frugal lifestyle, check out the article for some fantastic money-saving tips and a guide to the reduce, reuse, recycle lifestyle. Let's make a positive impact on our planet while keeping some extra cash in our wallets! Just click the link and dive right in. Happy reading!
Changing Habits
An effective way to change a habit is to anchor it with another action you are committed to and do regularly. Try these prompts for a better, cleaner spring:
When you are spring cleaning and realize you no longer need something, resist the temptation just to toss! Instead, take the time to find a place to donate. Your efforts avoid adding to landfills and to air and land pollution and to the injustice suffered by people close to the landfill.
When you care for your house plants, re-energize them with any of these: cooled cooking water from preparing vegetables, potatoes, pasta, or green tea (leaves or brewed). No wasted water and happy plants—a good combination.
When you shampoo your hair, kick the plastic habit. Choose a shampoo bar instead. Try various options for no plastic-use for multiple personal and home care products.
In your personal prayers, pray for God’s creation and for justice.
When you head to the beach, lake, or river for recreation, note that the word is also “re: creation.” Look at the beauty God has provided and offer a prayer of gratitude. Look also for signs of humanity being care-less with nature. Take gloves and trash bags (preferably reusable) along with your supplies and stash the trash. Try quantifying your haul by weight or number of bags for example). Tell others what you have done and discovered.
You want to recycle but keep hearing conflicting information about what is and what isn’t recyclable. One of the reasons is that different municipalities can recycle different items. It all depends on what recycling processors are available to them and at what cost.
Here are a few things you can do to improve your recycling habit:
‘Wish-cycling’ vs recycling. We all would like everything to be recycled but that isn’t reality. If you place items in your curbside container that aren’t recyclable in your area, you are adding financial, labor, and environmental burdens to the recycling chain. Items that aren’t recyclable must be pulled from the sorting conveyor and thrown in a landfill.
Plastic bags, bubble-wrap, toilet paper/paper towel wrap are ‘filmy’ and trash bags get tangled in machinery and wreak havoc. Take these items to a grocery/big-box store for recycling.
Unclean/un-rinsed containers with sticky peanut butter or congealed sauce contaminate other recyclables and pose a health risk to the people sorting and handling them. Wash them. Not just a casual rinse. Clean them well.
Rigid plastics. The recycle codes on the bottom of plastic containers indicate what may be recyclable. Not all plastics are recyclable in all municipalities. Check with your curbside pickup provider and place CLEAN plastics in your bin. Also check with your local provider about whether the caps should be left on the bottles or not. This varies by location.
Batteries are not recyclable at curbside. They are, however, recyclable if you drop them off at a location like Batteries Plus. Even AA and AAA batteries are acceptable there. Ask them about their requirements.
Scrap metal. Empty and CLEAN drink cans, food cans, and non-hazardous cleaning materials containers are recyclable. Razor blades, metal hangers, and silverware are not recyclable curbside. Call a local scrap metal recycler and take them there if they are accepted. Metal is actually a valuable item for recycling.
Paper. There are loads of places to recycle paper. If you put it in your curbside bin, it should be bound with cotton string or sealed in a PAPER BAG so that it doesn’t fly everywhere when the bin is emptied.
I know it seems hygienically correct to put your recyclables in a kitchen trash bag before putting them in your curbside bin. This is a huge mistake. Anything in a bag will get tossed in the landfill because the human handlers don’t know if it is trash, don’t have the time to open the bag and sort it, and the plastic bags can get caught in the sorting machinery. Please don’t waste your time and your bags.
The bottom line is that each geographic area differs in what is recyclable. Your metro area may not have processing providers to recycle some items. So, you really need to contact your curbside collector or check their website and find out what THEY are collecting and how it should be submitted by YOU, the customer.
Saving Energy and Water
In the past two months my family has taken a couple of significant steps toward being mindful of our impact on creation. Our first step was to begin composting our food waste. My husband and I decided to try to eat healthier so that our bodies can be healthier. For us, that means adding a lot more fruits and veggies to our diet. We also need to lose weight, so we have also been working to eat less.
Our lifestyle changes mean we avoid food waste, which in landfills becomes methane and exacerbates the atmospheric pollution. Across the globe, near and far, too many people are hungry. Consuming too much and wasting what’s left over aren’t healthy for people or our planet. Living justly means assuring enough for all.
The second thing we did was retire our 20+ year old riding lawn mower. It was replaced with an electric push mower. I have had my doubts as to the abilities of an electric push mower, but I have not been disappointed. In fact, we can now compost our lawn clippings and leaves. By composting the results of our spring yard clean up, these leaves and clippings become nutrients and a solution.
You may already be composting or mulching their lawn clipping and leaves and composting your food waste- Keep up the good work! There are more ways to be mindful of your impact on creation and make a positive change to your pocketbook! Check out the energy and water saving tips here:
Spring Preparations
Spring is here and with it comes Easter. God’s plan for all of creation is renewal, new birth from death. As revealed through Jesus Christ and through Earth’s seasons, we find that death doesn’t have the last say. Our Easter celebrations abound with new spring flowers, newly hatched chicks, and little bunnies. They speak of how we can be reborn into ways that are life-affirming for all of creation. Consider how you might engage with each of these tips as we move through this month of resurrection and renewal:
Plant a patch or a whole garden full of food for pollinators. Essential to the growth of food for humans (both body and soul), butterflies, bees, and birds teeter toward extinction due to human-caused destruction of habitat and use of pesticides. Plant for creation.
Avoid food waste, which in landfills becomes methane and exacerbates the climate crisis. Consume less in the first place. Across the globe, near and far, too many people are hungry. Consuming too much and wasting what’s left over aren’t healthy for people or planet. Justice means assuring enough for all.
Remember the clear air during the COVID shut down? Also clear was the evidence that gasoline vehicles are a major culprit driving the emissions that pollute our air and lungs. Choose to reduce the emissions you create—travel less, combine trips, carpool, use public transportation, walk, bike, invest in an electric or hybrid vehicle, advocate to electrify school buses and company fleets.
April showers in cities often create runoff. With so much pavement the water picks up contaminants and races untreated to the nearest storm drains, negatively affecting water quality and harming wildlife and forestry. Lessen runoff damage: Avoid lawn chemicals, recycle motor oil, wash a car on grass or at a facility that filters wastewater, remove debris from sidewalks and driveways.
Compost—don’t trash—the results of your spring yard clean up. Leaves and clippings trashed and dumped into a landfill become a global problem. When cleaned up and composted, leaves and clippings become nutrients and a solution.
Debris in waterways and plastic in oceans harm marine life—and ultimately all life. Pull together family, friends, or church members to cleanup a beach or stream nearby. If possible, weigh the collection and report it widely. Otherwise, raise funds and make an Earth Day donation to the Ocean Blue Project, and they’ll do the work for you.
Never doubt that a few people can make a huge difference. From two people with a concern came the first Earth Day in 1970, which was in the United States. In 2023 over a billion people in 193 countries have caught the vision. What you do matters.
“Invest in Our Planet” is the theme for 2023’s Earth Day. Invest your time, efforts, and resources in renewal of the earth. Change habits that harm; support the work of organizations and companies that are caring for creation and justice; speak truth to those in power; invite family, friends, and colleagues to invest in our planet too.
Divest for the sake of our planet. Scrutinize where your financial resources are at work. Are they supporting fossil fuels? Are your go-to suppliers of goods and services doing harm through your purchases. Look for local to cut down emissions; look for Certified B Corp companies that give back to helping the planet. It’s your money—make it good!
Stop the soot! For many people the air is visibly polluted—and harming their health. United Women in Faith are speaking out for earth and justice. Sign their petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen the work to clear the air. Your voice counts for justice.
Get Your Garden Started
Spring is upon us! And March is the perfect time to plan your garden.
Gardening is a great way to build community, care for your own mental and physical health, and care for the environment. Gardens can be cultivated in any space - indoors, outdoors, small spaces, and large spaces. They just require a little bit of planning.
Spend some time deciding what kind of garden you’d like to plant this spring: a window herb garden, a pollinator garden, or even a rain garden! Just remember:
Start small and build
Be creative with resources
Plant things you really like to eat
Pick a spot with at least 6 hours of good daytime light and access to water
Use contaminant-free soil
Did you know that ZUMC has 20' x 20' garden plots available for rent? Contact the church office for more information.
Green Tips
Soil isn’t just dirt. It’s a habitat for millions of microbes that are essential for growing nutritious food for all. Discontinue the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides on your lawn and land. Love your microbes and you love everyone who eats food.
Avoid food waste by storing it properly. Especially when stored in plastic, fruit may ripen more quickly than you can use it. Vegetables are sensitive to the ripening gases, so a basic rule is to separate fruit and vegetables. Some produce does best on the counter; others, in a cool, dry place; and some are better in the fridge. Find out what does best where.
Conquer the draftiness of your windows with Indows. Unlike the old storm windows, Indows go on the inside, cutting down leakage and energy costs. See how they work and look; also learn about the company’s values.
Go from rags to riches—ditch paper towels and switch to reusable, washable cloth rags or napkins. Decreasing demand means decreasing deforestation. Reusing cloth for napkins and clean-up saves money, as well as trees.
At a meal or other food-inclusive event, provide compostable napkins, plates, and cups—and a compost service. Did you know that the town of Zionsville has partnered with Earth Momma Compost Service? You can obtain their compost service at half the regular rate AND get fresh compost for use on your home garden or lawn. It’s one more way you can show love to the earth and gratitude to God.
Follow Grandma’s Advice and Wear a Sweater
The weather is turning colder - January is typically the coldest month in our neck of the woods. This January, rather than heating your entire home to a balmy temperature, consider adjusting your wardrobe to make yourself more comfortable in slightly cooler temperatures. When the weather gets frightful, keep blankets, sweaters, and slippers handy to get cozy. An electric blanket is also a great way to keep warm when the temperature drops and consumes less energy than hiking up your thermostat!
Saving Energy During the Holidays
The holiday season is at hand, and as we decorate, cook, and gather for holiday cheer, we can continue to be good stewards of our energy usage. Here are 10 tips for reducing your energy consumption during the holidays.
Switch to LED Lights - Using LED Christmas lights will bring your holiday power consumption way down.
Choose Fiber Optic Decorations – Fiber Optic Christmas lights are incredibly efficient.
Use Smart Plugs and Timers For Your Holiday Lights - Smart plugs transform ordinary lights into smart Christmas decorations.
Give The Gift of Smart Tech - Smart tech can save the recipient energy and money while providing control, convenience and security.
Buy Gifts That Use Alternative Energy - Sun-powered flashlight is an innovative gift that doesn’t draw power from the grid.
Choose ENERGY STAR equipment and appliances - Buying energy-efficient appliances can add up to significant savings over time.
Stop phantom energy drain while you’re away – Turn off the Vampire Lights, TVs, Cable Boxes, etc.
Bake several dishes at a time - you can bake several things together, shortening the time your oven is on.
Avoid preheating when possible - While many recipes call for you to preheat your oven, it isn’t always necessary.
Turn down the thermostat when you have guests over - Lower your thermostat a degree or two at the beginning of the party.
Fast Fashion
Cheap trendy clothing is fast fashion. The term refers to a business model where manufacturers set up a system to quickly reproduce the latest styles seen on celebrities and runways to sell them to customers for a fraction of the cost of designer lines. The fashion industry consumes one-tenth of all of the water used industrially to run factories and clean products. To put this into perspective, it takes approximately 800 gallons of water for one cotton shirt. Approximately 20% of the wastewater worldwide is attributed to this process, which accumulates over time. As many factories moved overseas they may be in countries without strict environmental regulations, resulting in untreated water entering the oceans.
What Can we do?
Stop Impulse buying
Shop Sustainable Brands
Buy Re-sell Clothing
Re-sell your Unwanted Clothing
Upcycle existing clothes instead of throwing them away. “You can turn old jeans into jean shorts, tote bags and household items like dust rags.
Weatherization
Weatherization is home or House of Worship improvement done to increase energy efficiency. A weatherized home or House of Worship will be healthier, safer and more comfortable. A weatherized home or House of Worship saves you money by lowering energy costs and improves the quality of life for those living in the home or attending the House of Worship. Weatherization often saves a noticeable amount of money on your electric or natural gas bills. Weatherization benefits can save additional dollars that can be spent on other home bills or other House of Worship ministries. A window film—literally, a plastic film that is placed over window glass—can keep up to 70% of your heat from leaking out your windows.
End of Summer Clean Up
This month we are doing a little end of summer cleaning! Cleaning your air conditioner condenser and evaporator fins on your air compressor units and changing your HVAC filters could save you money on your bills and energy. Remove any debris and leaves from on or around the units and use an AC fin comb to gently remove dirt from the fins. According to Energy Star, dirty air filters and fins can cause your HVAC and heating systems to work harder to distribute clean air through your home, increasing energy costs, causing damage to equipment, and leading to poor indoor air quality.
5 Things You Can Do To Conserve Water
Use reusable water bottles (avoid single-use bottles)
Take shorter showers
Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
Use your dishwasher
Encourage others to conserve water too.