New Year, Green Resolutions

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions for 2020? Lose 20 pounds? Start jogging? Join the gym?

How about being a little more friendly to your environment? Now would be a great time to start, especially since this April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Here’s a few simple suggestions. Pick up after your dog. If you see trash in the road by your house or on the beach, remove and properly dispose of it. Don’t bag your grass clippings, leave them. Less work for you, and it benefits your lawn.

Being green can save you green. Try reducing or eliminating lawn fertilizers and herbicides (better for your pets too). Go natural. Use at least one low flow toilet and shower head in your home. Try rain barrels for watering your gardens. Maybe skip the gym membership and instead regularly walk/bike to work, for shopping and errands.

Using natural products benefits your health and the environment. Switch to natural fiber clothing like wool and cotton. Avoid the use of antimicrobial soaps and toxic home cleaning products.

Conserve gas and support local small businesses by shopping locally and supporting local farmers markets such as those in Belvidere, Clinton, Hopatcong, and Washington.

Enhance your own property’s environment by reducing your lawn area and replacing some of it with native groundcovers, shrubs, and trees. You will see more wildlife, and your property value may improve. If your property abuts a stream or lake, consider leaving at least a 10 foot buffer of native plants or un-mowed grass. Plant a native tree every year in your yard or at a local park. Local organizations like the Musconetcong Watershed Association and The Lake Hopatcong Foundation have annual native plant sales.

We all benefit by protecting our environment! Clean air and clean water should be guaranteed for all. Your help, maybe through just a little more awareness, or a slight change in your lifestyle, can improve your health, save you money, protect your children and pets, and enhance your environment.

For more information on green initiatives, contact the Musconetcong Watershed Association and the Lake Hopatcong Foundation.