Being Green During the Holidays
Didi Emmons
Tucker Smith, an environmental activist and Sustainable Milton board member proposed we gather eco-friendly suggestions for the holidays. Cause we all need help being green. The first names of SM board members are listed next to their suggestion. Also, you can find environmental alternatives for gifts online. Go to DoneGood.com which has a listing of brands and companies that are socially and earth vigilant. Happy Low-Carbon Holidays!
Tara - trim your list, only giving to younger generations, and giving them things they need, like money!
Laurie M - only buy used items., in doing so no resources were consumed to create it. Think wine glasses! Savers/Goodwill/Boomerangs.
Didi - rove through cluttered drawers or attic,finding something another had forgotten about makes for a surprising humorous gift!
Louis - buy things other people need.
Tara - cook with foods that haven’t traveled far (and cut down on meat).
Louis - don’t wrap gifts, use reusable gift bags over and over or use newspaper.
Tucker- give a native tree -- important for our native birds and pollinators. Go to this list compiled by Milton Shade Tree Advisory Committee on our DPW website:
https://www.townofmilton.org/department-public-works/pages/streetshade-tree-information.
Didi - Have a$50 Yankee Swap buying one gift for the family. Our extended family has done this for years and it makes for terrific connectivity and comedy (google Yankee swap to see how it works).
Tara and Tucker - if you must shop, buy from local shops, preferably locally made (such as crafts) avoid chains.
Greg - buy only Energy Star rated products.
Henry - whether shopping at store or online,try to buy more than 1 of anything, this saves carbon.
Tucker- give experiences -- not stuff. Consider classes at local organizations such as Blue Hills Trailside Museum, Miltons Arts Center, Wakefield Estate.
Tucker- give a membership to Mass Audubon Society or a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) share at Brookwood Farm.
Didi - gratefulness curtails spending (give a book on gratitude).
Tucker- give accessories or equipment to encourage transportation alternatives such as bicycling, walking, or public riding: helmets, reflective vests, pulsing safety lights.
Louis - write a poem or a song.
Daryl - trade plastic for metal. Buy metal straws as stocking stuffers - they last!!
Daryl - Patagonia sells a fleece made with recycled plastic bottles.
Didi - buy Taza chocolate or Alter Eco chocolate- both eco-minded.
Tucker- make your own gift vouchers redeemable for.... babysitting, pet-sitting,weeding, dinner, a batch of brownies or cookies, running errands, a massage, a hike in the Blue Hills, an hour of your time to listen and laugh together.
Daryl - split and stack wood for others.
Laurie - make a collage or an Ibook.
Maxine - live in the present to stay out of family drama. Today is a gift, that's why they call it the present!
