When deciding what to eat today, look for food that has a lower land and water impact. This often means avoiding meat, dairy, and eggs. Additionally, look into purchasing food from local farms that minimize negative impacts on the environment through their work. Look into Dean and Don's Farm Market and the CNU Farmer's Market on the York lawn. Not only are you supporting the environment through these purchases but you are often supporting small, local businesses with overall more sustainable and ethical practices.

Purchase reusable silverware to bring to the dining hall. These can be made of bamboo, metal or silicone. As long as the material can be washed, it will decrease the plastic waste accrued through eating your meal.

Use a reusable takeout container instead of single use. Even bring your own cup or opt for a reusable one to limit what must be thrown away at the end of the meal.

Invest in a reusable water bottle! Not only are single use water bottles terrible for the planet, but they overall cost much more than the investment of a reusable water bottle every few years. This bottle can be plastic or metal, as long as it is durable enough to be reused. Add stickers to personalize it!

Fresh food is always the best option for low waste grocery shopping. To avoid any additional plastic waste, look into using reusable grocery bags made of cotton, recycled plastic, or canvas. Additionally, check out reusable produce bags to avoid the thin plastic bags usually used for produce. These are sold in a variety of places including Target, TJMaxx, and Amazon.

Apply for a CNU Community Garden spot! They would love to have you and you can grow your own food. This is a perfect way to increase green efforts on campus while learning useful skills.

Ask for no receipt when you go shopping! This seems like a no-brainer, but receipts cannot be recycled due to the ink. Save the paper and save yourself from receipts building up.

Start recycling. Learn what the guidelines are and where in your building recycling can be dropped off. Find the recycle bins on campus and take the extra few steps to throw recyclable items in their appropriate bin rather than the trash.

Set aside an hour a week (or a day) where you consume nothing new. Turn off your phone, laptop, TV, and other technology. Don't buy anything. Don't use your car. Don't cook. Spend this time using items you already own. This can be spent journaling, going for a walk or a bike ride, reading a book, or practicing sustainable and mindful activities. Four hours a week of this type of time will decrease your annual carbon emissions by 2.4%. Seven hours of a week would cut it by 4.2%. Simple changes can make a big difference!

Look into simple ways to add sustainability to activities that you do for you! Check out Take 3 for the Sea. Picking up 3 pieces of trash on a daily walk or a trip to the beach will decrease the trash that ends up in our oceans.

Create a zero waste kit to keep in your car. We often forget things like our reusable cups, bags, and straws, so this helps to avoid that issue all together. Check out how to make one here.

Pick up gardening somehow. Planting and growing food (and plants in general) is something that many people see as therapeutic. When watering/taking care of plants, you feel more connected with the earth and can feel more present in the moment. Growing your own food is a great sustainable practice as well because it can help reduce the number of harmful chemicals polluting our environment as well as avoid the use of plastic packaging in grocery stores.

Try out embroidery which requires focus on the moment, allows for creativity, and is a productive use of time. This skill can be used to upcycle clothing and make them feel new again. This not only decreases clothing waste generated by each person, but allows for productivity while practicing mindfulness

Take a walk or go from a bike ride. When possible, walking and biking instead of driving can be great ways to energize yourself and your body. It helps one connect with the world around them while also minimizing their carbon emissions.

Pick up something like knitting! Using organic yarn or even just the idea of passing on the fashion industry in general saves a large amount of energy, money, and carbon from being released into the atmosphere. While saving the planet, one has something tangible to work on that requires focus and patience. This offers an opportunity to connect with yourself and be present in the moment following the patterns.

Go thrifting or antiquing. Thrifting and antiquing requires focus and allows you to really admire the beauty found in the world. Often, items found in second hand stores have a story and really allow you to connect with the item and the backstory. This activity increases the life cycle of a product rather than putting it in a landfill or incinerator.

Try making home cooked meals. Making home cooked meals helps you to be more conscious of the food that you are putting into your body and can help you to unwind after a long day of work. Making these home cooked meals is also helping to avoid the use of plastic to go containers.