Small Actions Spark Big Changes
You can make our planet more sustainable
At the Academy of Natural Sciences, we believe that individual actions can truly make a difference. Each month, we guide our community in a conversation about how everyday choices can affect the health of our environment. This April, as the days begin to warm, we’re focusing on how planting for our local pollinators can be an act of caring for our environment that helps us get closer to nature.
Commit to planting for pollinators this spring and we'll send you a free packet of Showy Northeast Native Wildflower and Grass Mix from Ernst Seeds. You can also join Academy scientists, educators and local experts at the events below to learn how and why to plant these seeds.
Spark Change: Plant a Pollinator Garden
Thursday, April 29 at 4 p.m.
This is a live virtual event held on Zoom.
Whether you tend to a patio garden of container plants or plan to grow a meadow, you can help pollinators by providing the right plants to feed and protect these important animals. Join Academy scientists and local experts from Ernst Conservation Seeds, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and Tree Philly to learn more.
Commit to planting for pollinators this spring and we'll send you a free packet of Showy Northeast Native Wildflower and Grass Mix from Ernst Seeds. Click the button below to claim your free seeds and register to join us for the event.
Small Actions for Kids: Plant for Pollinators
Saturday, May 1 at 10 a.m.
This is a live virtual event held on Zoom.
Pollinators like bees and butterflies are an important part of our community! Join us for a story time to explore these wonderful creatures and learn what you can plant to help protect them. This event is developed for children and their families, but all are welcome to make positive changes for a healthier planet.
Commit to planting for pollinators this spring and we'll send you a free packet of Showy Northeast Native Wildflower and Grass Mix from Ernst Seeds. Click the button below to claim your free seeds and register to join us for the event. If you submit your request on or before April 23 we’ll make sure you receive your seeds before the event so you can learn how to plant them with us!
Watch Past Spark Change Events
Spark Change: Native Flowers and Grasses
Tuesday, December 1 at 4 p.m.
Whether you tend to a patio garden of container plants or plan to grow a meadow, you can encourage biodiversity by providing the right native plants to feed and protect insects and small animals. Join Academy scientists and experts from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and Longwood Gardens to learn more.
Spark Change: Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels
Tuesday, December 8 at 4 p.m.
Stormwater runoff can rush nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants from our yards into our waterways. Talk with Academy scientists and our partners at Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership to learn practical steps you can take to protect our drinking water and the living things that rely on healthy ecosystems.
Spark Change: Bee Hotels and Bat Houses
Tuesday, December 15 at 4 p.m.
Join an Academy scientist to explore the benefits provided by pollinators like bees and bats, and learn how you can encourage more pollinators in your area with experts from Friends of the Wissahickon. You might even be inspired to dust off your tools and create something amazing for these vulnerable creatures.
Spark Change: Become a Creek Watcher
Tuesday, December 22 at 4 p.m.
If you've been looking for a meaningful way to participate in community science, join Academy scientists and our partners at Green Valleys Watershed Association and Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust to explore the creek watcher program. Naturalists of all ages are invited to learn more about how amateur scientists are conducting research and advocating for clean waterways.
Watch Past Small Actions for Kids Events
Small Actions for Kids: Growing Great
Saturday, December 5 at 10 a.m.
Did you know the plants you grow in your outdoor space provide a home and food for insects and other animals? Join Academy educators and scientists to learn how you can take small actions to spark big changes in your community! This event is developed for children and their families, but all are welcome to make positive changes for a healthier planet.
This event is presented in partnership with GrowingGreat Veggies & Fruits: A National STEM Program.
Small Actions for Kids: Protecting Pollinators
Saturday, December 19 at 10 a.m.
Pollinators like bees, butterflies and bats are a really important part of our community! Join us for a story time to explore these wonderful creatures and talk with the experts to learn what you can do to protect them. This event is developed for children and their families, but all are welcome to make positive changes for a healthier planet.
Keep up with all of the small actions by following along here, on our Blog, on social media @acadnatsci and #TakeActionANS, through email and in the museum to join the conversation!
March 2021 - Using Less Water
Using Less Water: A How-to Guide
It seems like water is all around us — but did you know that only one percent of the water on our planet is available for drinking? About 97 percent of Earth’s water is saltwater, and another two percent is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.
Our world’s population, along with our need for clean freshwater, is growing, but our water supply is not. According to the United Nations, about 2 billion people are currently living in areas facing serious water scarcity. By 2040, it is estimated that one in four of the world’s children under 18, or 600 million, will be living in areas of extremely high water stress. Our water enables us to run our businesses, protect our communities and keep ourselves alive, so it is critical that we work to reduce water usage in our everyday lives.
Do you know how much water you use each day? Most people have no idea! People in the U.S. use approximately 100 gallons of fresh, drinkable water per day for bathing, drinking, flushing, cleaning and yard care. And this number only takes into account the amount of water we use directly every day.
Everything we buy, the energy we use and the food we eat requires water to produce. In fact, Americans’ actual water “footprint” – the amount of water it takes to produce our food, energy, clothes and more – is about 2,000 gallons of water each day. We consume about 95 percent of the water we use without ever seeing it. Purchasing recycled goods, carpooling with friends and eating locally grown veggies all will help to reduce our water footprint.
What else can we do to use less water? Check out our blog to find out.
Resources on Using Less Water:
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy’s commitment to use less water relies on institutional changes, as well as staff members’ and vistors' willingness to make seemingly small, everyday, sustainable actions. Inside the building, the Academy has chosen to install water-friendly fixtures where possible. Some Academy sinks have low-flow faucets, which save hundreds of gallons of water each year! The Academy’s low-flow toilets save hundreds of gallons of water per year.
The Academy encourages visitors to drink tap water rather than purchasing single-use plastic water bottles. The Academy has hydration stations where you can fill your reusable water bottles and avoid buying plastic water bottles during your visit.
Coming Up Next
- April - Plant a Pollinator Garden
February 2021 - Backyard Habitats
If you’ve been spending more time at home due to COVID-19, you might be finding yourself staring out the window and getting to know your local wildlife a little better. Squirrels, birds, bugs and other animals visiting your backyard, front steps or feeders can provide just a little distraction from everyday worries. Creating a home for wildlife is a small action that not only helps the animals and the environment, but also provides educational opportunities and hours of delight for family members of all ages — from toddlers to grandparents.
To get you started, we’ve provided some tips for providing the birds, the bees and the bats a place to live, at least for a time. Check out our Backyard Habitats blog.
Backyard Habitat Resources
Tour a Bee Farm Without Leaving Home
*We were forced to postpone our trip to Greensgrow Farms due to the snow. Look for a rescheduled date soon!
You’re invited to join the Academy and Greensgrow at noon on Thursday, Feb. 18, for a virtual tour of a working bee farm in Philadelphia’s Kensington section. The Academy is partnering with Greensgrow for the Facebook Live tour in collaboration with Philly Bee Co., which has operated beekeeping on the site for 15 years and recently moved their honey house processing to the farm.
Greensgrow is an urban farm and plant nursery with locations in West Philadelphia and Kensington for educating the community on food, plants and sustainable living in the city. On Feb. 18, Greensgrow Director Meg De Brito and Philly Bee Company lead beekeeper Don Shump will tour the bee farm and answer questions from viewers on the Academy’s Facebook Live.
Greensgrow will open both of its locations of Feb. 27 for in-person visits and shopping for annuals, trees, soil, tools and fresh honey. Greensgrow will also host educational programs on native plants, pollinator gardens, seed keeping and vegetable gardening. Their goal is to make a more resilient city infrastructure.
Watch Our Workshop Video
In our Dec. 15, 2020 Spark Change: Bee Hotels and Bat Houses workshop, local experts offer tips on attracting bats and bees to your own backyard.
January 2021 - Recycling
Last January when we wrote about recycling we suggested keeping your recycling bin contamination free, avoiding wishcycling and knowing what must go to a special facility to be recycled. Many of our tips from that post are still relevant. But of course, 2020 has been a year like no other, and plenty of things have changed.
What's changed since last January? Read about in our Recycling 2021 blog.
Catch Up on Recycling News
Recycling Resources
December 2020: Reduce and Reuse
You’re spending way more time at home than usual because of the pandemic. Enclosed in your homey abode, you look around and suddenly wonder: Where did all this STUFF come from? Panic sets in: I need to get rid of it!
With the winter holidays upon us, now is a good time to consider reusing and reducing that STUFF. Taking old items that you might consider trashing or recycling and finding new uses for them is an excellent small action anyone can take to help sustain the environment for future generations.
Of course, the most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place. Reducing new purchases and reusing old items helps the planet all around. It prevents pollution linked to extracting more raw materials to make a product, saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change, and reduces the amount of waste that’s transported to landfills and recycling centers. Plus, it saves you money!
It’s never been easier to make a positive impact on the planet. Small actions by a lot of people can make a big impact for everybody. Here are some tips to get you started.
Find out what steps you can take to reduce and reuse your STUFF by checking out our tips on the Academy Blog.
Reduce Reuse Resources
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy staff takes seriously the challenges put forth by our SPARK campaign. Here they share their insight and creativity with the small acts they do to reuse and reduce at work and at home.
In Animal Programs we reuse many items including boxes, paper towel tubes, and cereal boxes as enrichment for our animals. Long shipping boxes make great tunnels for our armadillos. The rabbits, chinchilla and guinea pigs love pulling hay out from the paper towel tubes and ripping up cereal boxes! We also take donations of old and used blankets and some other clothing items to use for bedding for our opossum and armadillos.
– Karen Verderame, Animal Programs
In the Watershed Ecology Labs, we reuse sampling and field containers all the time. We carefully clean and store them between sampling dates.
– Tanya Dapkey, Watershed and Systems Ecology
One of the things I've found helpful is Facebook's Buy Nothing group. It has changed my life. With three kids under 4, I've gotten overwhelmed with buying stuff to keep them happy (and clothed). I've been able to score a ton of cool toys, games and clothing all free of charge. It feels good to not spend money on lots of plastic items or things that have a short time span (aka baby bathtubs and activity mats). The great part is that once I'm done with an item I can just repost and it goes back.
– Ria Capone, Library and Archives
In the Invertebrate Paleontology collection, it is common to find specimens stored in all sorts of reused containers. Collectors who have donated their fossils to the Academy used everything from cigar boxes to pill bottles to ziplock bags to store fossils in. They usually remain in those containers in our cabinets until our collection staff is ready to curate them. During curation, we try to reuse archival boxes and vials as long as they are still in good shape, and we always reuse shipping boxes and packing materials when we send out loans to researchers at other institutions.
– Katy Estes-Smargiassi, Invertebrate Paleontology
We have virtually eliminated paper towels by using small, absorbent washrags for all the one-time uses of paper that seem to pop up every day. We also re-use ziplock baggies by washing and hanging them on an indoor clothesline, and in many cases we replace them with re-usable Tupperware or glass containers.
– Rick McCourt, Center for Systematic Biology and Evolution
I found a pair of old solid-wood end tables at a yard sale in Columbus, Ohio. I refurbished them by painting the base and refinishing the tops with a dark walnut stain. We’ve been using them in our living room ever since, along with other second-hand pieces I “flipped.”
– Katie Marquardt, Membership
I save old maps, wrapping paper, paper gift bags, ribbons and bows and reuse them, sometimes for years. I iron them with a warm iron so they flatten out. Family members know to save their used wrappings for me.
– Carolyn Belardo, Public Relations
I repurpose/recycle Mentos gum containers and transform them for collecting insects. A thin layer of "smelling salts" (ammonium carbonate crystals) is poured into the bottom of the container and secured in place with a layer of polyethylene foam. Tissue is added to the container to give the insects a place to “hide” and to prevent them from knocking against the sides of the container and incurring damage during transport. Ammonia vapor fills the container and knocks out any insects placed inside. These gum containers are ideal because the lid is attached by a small tab (harder to lose), and it is a very tight seal so the ammonia vapor cannot escape from the container.
– Jason Weintraub, Entomology
November 2020: Composting
It’s garbage day, and you’re dragging a heavy bag outside to the curb. You’ve just cleaned out your fridge, and despite your best intentions, your blueberries got moldy, your spinach grew slimy and your celery is gummy and yellow.
Feeling the burden of that waste is making you think, though. Is it ok to have this much trash? Is the landfill the best place to send your food waste? And could you dispose of old food (or certain other organic waste) in ways that are beneficial to the environment?
It turns out that the fall season is a great time to answer these questions. Starting with collecting the leaves that are falling around you, there’s something you can do to make a difference.
Composting enables you to turn organic waste — items such as leaves, fruit peels, food scraps, coffee grounds and more — into a resource that can help nourish your soil and spruce up your yard. When thrown into an oxygen-deprived landfill, the very same items break down slowly and produce methane, contributing directly to global warming.
Learn how to compost and find out more about why it’s important.
Composting Resources
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals (Best for K–2)
This fun, rhyming ABC book takes readers through items that could be used to make compost but that may otherwise be thrown away. Naming an alphabet’s worth of items from apple cores and eggshells (crushed, of course) to dryer lint and zinnia heads, Compost Stew is an excellent tool to get youngsters interested in what happens to our “trash.”
Already composting? You can do more! Check out Philadelphia’s guide to local disposal, recycling and donation options for many types of materials.
We’re Walking the Walk
Over a quarter of Academy staff compost at home, and more are starting every day.
- Manager of Membership and Appeals Katie Marquardt used to compost with her family in Ohio, but since they moved to Philadelphia, they have been unsure about how to get started given their small outdoor space. Katie has taken our November composting month as an opportunity to finally implement a composting routine at her house, including solving the “space” problem that her new digs pose. Check back to our blog in late November for updates from Katie on what changes she has made this month!
- Malacology Collection Manager Paul Callomon has been composting since he was a kid. To make composting easier, his family has two staging bins (one in the kitchen sink!) and a main composter, which is a purchased plastic bin with removable lids. Paul’s family uses the compost in his vegetable garden.
- Exhibit Designer Lauren Duguid learned to compost a few years ago when her friend showed her the composter in her yard. She is a renter, so she uses a compost pickup service in her area. To mitigate the cost and volume barriers, she has teamed up with neighbors in her building to pool resources. She keeps food scraps in her fridge and periodically empties them into a shared compost bucket that lives on her porch until her weekly pick up day. For Lauren, the reward of knowing she’s diverting material away from the landfill is a huge motivator. “After starting composting, I’ve cut my household trash by about a third,” she says.
- Like Lauren, Invertebrate Paleontology Collection Manager Katy Estes-Smargiassi also composts at home using a local service. She points out that some compost services like the one she uses will provide free finished compost soil to members once a year, so even if you don’t have your own compost pile, you can use the finished product in your garden.
- Watershed and Systems Ecology Staff Scientist Tanya Dapkey became interested in composting while participating in a Holistic Moms group. She adds her scraps to a bin on her counter and periodically takes them outside to a larger bin that she can see from her kitchen window. Like Paul, Tanya uses her compost in her veggie garden every spring. She recommends adding beer to the compost each spring to help boost the breakdown process!
- BEES Operations Manager Roger Thomas has a compost pile adjacent to his garden. Composting “decreases the need for store-bought fertilizers and decreases the amount of waste that ends up in landfills,” he says. He suggests turning to the many online resources of Penn State Extension for composting guidance.
- Director of Communications Mary Alice Hartsock started composting with her family about six years ago. Mary Alice uses a 77-gallon plastic bin outdoors but keeps a smaller, odor-free bin under the sink to collect food scraps, coffee grounds, plant trimmings and more. As a busy mom, Mary Alice likes the convenience of the indoor bin, which helps her avoid throwing the constantly flowing scraps like banana peels and apple cores into the trash.
- The Academy’s Catering partner, 12 St. Catering, uses locally sourced ingredients and eco-friendly practices in bringing your vision of a green wedding to life. They also compost leftover ingredients in their on-site facility in Philadelphia.
October 2020: Environmental Justice
Environmental injustice is all around us. Scientists, policymakers and activists have long recognized that low-income neighborhoods and communities of color bear an unfair share of the nation’s environmental hazards—a product of systemic institutional racism and chronic disinvestment.
If you live, work, visit or drive through Philadelphia, you’ve encountered the evidence: neighborhoods with little to no greenspace, scorching summer temperatures, poor air quality.
Or you may have seen the headlines about the June 2019 explosion at the troubled Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery that released a deadly chemical and hurled shrapnel as large as a truck into the surrounding southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. Or the lead exposure crisis in Flint, Mich., that began when the city switched its drinking water supply in a cost-saving move. Or the 85-mile “Cancer Alley” corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana lined with 150 chemical plants and refineries. The list goes on.
Click here to read more about actions you can take to support environmental justice.
Need motivation to get involved? Think about this:
If you live in Philadelphia County, the air you breathe may put your health at risk, the American Lung Association warned Philadelphians in 2019 after the PES refinery explosion near the Grays Ferry neighborhood.
Chester, Pa., a small city with a low-income Black community tucked amidst an affluent mostly white Delaware County, is the site of a cluster of industrial polluting facilities that serve the county as a whole while placing health and environmental burdens on the local community, notes The Public Interest Law Center.
Some 77,000 families living in federally assisted housing, including some in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, live within one mile of a Superfund site (a place contaminated with hazardous waste and pollutants) designated for cleanup by the federal government, according to the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. Philadelphia has four Superfund sites and Camden, N.J., the nation’s poorest city, has two.
Black Americans are 75% more likely than others to live near facilities that produce hazardous waste, according to a 2017 report from the N.A.A.C.P. and the Clean Air Task Force.
Black Americans are subjected to higher levels of air pollution than white Americans regardless of their income level, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Assessment and published in 2018 in the American Journal of Public Health.
Indigenous communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental contaminants, often due to federal and state laws that make it easier for extractive and polluting facilities to access tribal lands.
Environmental Justice Resources
Environmental Topic Books to Share with Your Children
Grades PK-2
Grades 3-7
Grades 8-12
Compiled by Amy Hoyt, Academy Youth and Family Programs Educator
We’re Walking the Walk
In a partnership with The Nature Conservancy, Temple University and Drexel University, Academy researches are working on a project to identify regions in Philadelphia where private investment in green stormwater infrastructure would support the city’s efforts to reduce combined sewer overflows while also providing substantive community benefits to neighborhoods suffering from chronic disinvestment. Thoughtfully designed urban greenspace provides local cooling, improved air quality, flood control, wildlife habitat, stress reduction, and recreational opportunities. This yearlong project is funded by the William Penn Foundation.
Since 1982, the Academy has operated Women In Natural Sciences to bridge the gaps in gender and cultural equality. WINS is a free after-school and summer science enrichment program that has introduced hundreds of high school girls to future careers in science and other professions. “Our WINS students learn about environmental justice, the impacts we have on our environment and how we all can be part of the solution,” says Kimberly Godfrey, manager of social justice programs says. “We connect students with Academy scientists, which gives them first-hand experience in the field and exposes them to careers they would not have considered. WINS girls share these experiences with their families and peers and will one day be mentors to young women like them in their community.”
In January 2021, the Academy will deliver a week of digital programs that define and explore environmental justice to commemorate the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A variety of programs for both children and adults will include both live events and downloadable content and resource guides that will explore the concept of environmental justice and why it is critical to the work we do at the Academy and how we serve our communities. There will be panel discussions for adults, conversations and storytelling with children, film screenings, lectures, and expanded access to museum admission for underserved areas. Stay tuned for details.
September 2020: Register and Vote!
The 26th amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives every U.S. citizen age 18 and older the right to vote. Voting is the fundamental right that people living in a democracy possess to voice their opinion on issues that affect them and on elected officials who have the power to influence those issues, or not.
It may seem like a small action to those who have voted in many elections for many years, but voting can lead to big changes in how we experience life and who makes those decisions in our neighborhoods, communities, municipalities, counties, states and at the federal level. With the Nov. 3 general election right around the corner, the Academy of Natural Sciences urges every eligible voter to research the platform of each candidate, then make your voice heard. Register to vote by the deadline required by your state, and then vote on time.
Click here for important voting information on the Academy Blog.
Resources
Important Dates
Election day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania allows any voter to request a ballot by mail. Click here to request a mail-in ballot. Click here to check your registration status.
- The deadline to register online to vote is Monday, October 19, 2020.
- The deadline for registering by mail to vote is (postmarked by) Monday, October 19, 2020.
- The deadline to register in person to vote is Monday, October 19, 2020.
- The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Tuesday, October 27, 2020.
- The early voting period runs from Monday, September 14, 2020 to Tuesday, October 27, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.
New Jersey
New Jersey will mail a ballot to all active, registered voters for the General Election. Click here to check your registration status.
- The deadline for registering by mail to vote is (postmarked by) Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
- The deadline to register in person to vote is Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
- The early voting period runs from Saturday, September 19, 2020 to Monday, November 2, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live.
Delaware
Delaware allows any voter to request a ballot by mail. Click here to check your registration status or request a mail-in ballot.
- The deadline to register online to vote is Saturday, October 10, 2020.
- The deadline for registering by mail to vote is (postmarked by) Saturday, October 10, 2020.
- The deadline to register in person to vote is Saturday, October 10, 2020.
- The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 30, 2020.
Read more:
We’re Walking the Walk
Back in 2008, Drexel University, with which the Academy is affiliated, joined the Philadelphia Bar Association, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and Committee of Seventy to invite other employers to allow employees time off in order to vote on Election Day. The University and the Academy now give employees up to one hour of paid time off to vote.
August 2020: Reduce Household Energy Use
40 Tips to Reduce Your Energy Use
It’s hot and humid, and you just got back from a COVID walk-around-the-block break from your bedroom office. All you want to do is open the refrigerator door and stand in front of it.
Don’t do it! You’ll feel cooler, but letting that cold air escape wastes enough energy to power 50 loads of laundry. Plus, it costs you money and affects the environment.
Whether your motivation is to save money or to decrease your carbon footprint, making small adjustments to reduce your daily energy consumption can have a positive effect on the environment and help reduce the amount of energy consumed by your community.
Although your own energy saving adjustments may seem inconsequential, small steps become great leaps when multiplied by 7 billion others just like you. Try switching up some of your lifestyle habits in August with our 40 easy tips. Then share your tips on social and in the comments at the end of the blog post.
Click here for 40 Tips to Reduce Your Energy Use.
What are you doing to conserve energy?
Resources
Tools and Calculators
On PECO’s Tools & Calculators webpage, you can calculate your energy savings on six household features: heating, heat pump, water heater, gas heat conversion, heater efficiency, and thermostat settings. In the Heating tab, there’s an option to calculate you Cooling efficiency, which could help in deciding how much to run your air conditioner this summer.
Click here to explore PECO's Cooling Calculator (photo via peco.com)
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy’s commitment to combat climate change relies on staff members’ willingness to make seemingly small, everyday sustainable actions. This month most of the staff are still working from home most of the time due to city and state regulations. We remember fondly switching off the ceiling lights, microscope lights and computers in our offices and labs when we left for the night. We took the steps instead of the elevators. We felt good about exercising on Drexel University’s cardio machines that produce electricity when you pump your legs and arms. We’ve not lost these good habits! Now that the museum has reopened on a partial schedule, our teams are renewing our energy reduction efforts both at work again and at home.
The Academy also is able to save energy every day through a variety of recent building upgrades. This year we installed a new, efficient HVAC system in the renovated rare book room of the Academy Library. The library and also meeting rooms throughout the building have been fitted with automatic on/off light switches. Most of the bathroom faucets in the museum automatically turn off and on, and the toilets have sensors that allow them to flush automatically. The most recent roof work was done with a white roof surface to reflect the sun’s heat and light, and the building’s heating system reclaims heat for maximum efficiency.
Upcoming Topics
Each month in 2020, we’ll guide a conversation in the galleries and online to share how small actions can spark big changes in our world.
July 2020: Reduce Plastic Use
40 Ways to Reduce Your Plastic
It’s Plastic Free July, and millions of people around the world are starting the month long challenge to reduce their use of plastics. Plastic Free July is a global movement begun in 2011 in Australia. It’s grown to be one of the most influential environmental campaigns in the world, and this month 250 million people in 177 countries are expected to participate.
We created plastic 150 years ago; we love it and depend on it. But plastic waste has become a global plague, one that industries and nations need to solve on a planetary scale. Individual acts alone can’t fix global ills, but the Academy believes small actions on a global scale CAN make a difference and that allows more energy to go into the search for solutions.
Consider taking the Plastic Free July challenge today. To get started, pick a couple tips that fit your lifestyle from the list below. Then share your tips or social and in the comments section at the end.
What are you doing to reduce your use of plastics?
Resources
Which plastic containers can be recycled in Philadelphia?
The majority of household plastic containers are recyclable in Philadelphia’s single-stream curbside recycling bin. This list of recyclable plastics is from our partners at Green Philly.
#1 – PET (Polyethylene): Soda and water bottles, condiment and peanut butter jars, etc.
#2 – HDPE (High Density Polyethylene): Milk, water and juice jugs, detergents, shampoo bottles, dairy product containers, flower pots, some household cleaners
#3 – PVC – (Polyvinyl Chloride): Rigid plastic containers and juice bottles, Charcoal lighter, mineral water, cooking oil bottles, etc.
#4 – LDPE – (Low Density Polyethylene): Plastic tubs and lids from butter, margarine or similar products, Fabric softener bottles, lotion & sunscreen containers, etc
#5 – PP (Polypropylene): Yogurt containers and deli trays
#6 – PS (Polystyrene): Plastic cups, plates and to-go containers (clear, rigid #6 only, NOT Styrofoam* products)
#7 – (Other plastic): Many mixed plastic containers and plastic products like ketchup squeeze bottles, syrup bottles, microwave containers
You can also download the Plastics Recycling Fact Sheet for more info.
DIY Powdered Laundry Soap
Katie Marquardt, Manager of Membership and Appeals, makes her own powdered laundry soap for her family of two adults and one child. This recipe lasts her about three months.
Ingredients measured as dry cups
- Scant 2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
- 3 cups Borax
- 2 cups baking soda
- ½ cup LA’s Totally Awesome Oxygen Base Cleaner
- 4 oz bar of Kirk’s Gentle Castile Soap, grated
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Add the finished product to a container with a tight-fitting lid.
We're Walking the Walk
When we asked the Academy staff for tips to pass along to our readers, we were flooded with ideas. This one came from Carol Collier, the Academy’s senior advisor, watershed management and policy.
Check out www.loopstore.com, www.loopindustries.com and www.terracycle.com We buy products from Loop. They come in reusable (not recyclable but reusable) containers. When we have finished using a bottle of laundry detergent, hand soap, Clorox wipes, etc. we send the bottles back in a shipping box they provide and say whether we want a refill of a certain product or not. It is the next big step past recycling. The company is in Trenton, N.J. and also started TerraCycle (www.terracycle.com) where you can recycle things like snack bags, the bag inside cereal boxes, toothpaste tubes, etc. There are pick up areas at the Weavers Way Co-ops.
June 2020: Get Outside
6 Tips to Get Outside Without Leaving Home
Nature is all around us, but a funny thing is happening now that people have been largely confined to their homes for months because of COVID-19. They’re taking notice!
With vacations dashed and many destinations still shuttered, grand plans for fun and relaxation have shrunk to what can be done in the backyard, front stoop, balcony, and looking out the window. Turns out there’s plenty to do, and health experts advise dialing up your creativity to find new ways to enjoy the great outdoors from your own home.
Studies by the Centers for Disease Control show that time outdoors boosts our physical fitness, immune system, concentration and mental health, while reducing stress, fatigue, inflammation and mortality risk. Now, after being cooped up for weeks with no school or work in the traditional setting, kids and adults are embracing nature more and more as a comfort in this time of crisis.
On our blog we offer a few tips to help you enjoy the physical and mental benefits of nature despite restrictions because of the coronavirus. Here’s the first tip:
Become an eco-traveler without traveling.
You don’t have to go to the beach or the park to find nature. Simply walk out the door or open a window and you’ll find all kinds of flowers, trees, weeds, worms, beetles, spiders, ants, bees, butterflies, birds, mice, squirrels, stray cats — you get the idea — hiding in plain sight. Be quiet, patient, motionless and observant. For example, if a bird is your object of fascination, listen to its song and try to imitate it. Think about what the bird is doing; pulling a worm out of the dirt? Look at the beak; the shape and size give clues to what it eats. Sketch what you see. Watch for patterns; if a bird is building a nest it will fly back and forth carrying something over and over. Take notes and photos. If that seems like homework, then just enjoy the experience.
Click here to read the full article.
What are you doing to get outside this spring?
We asked the Academy staff to record a short video of themselves explaining what they are doing to get outside. Here’s a quickie compilation to inspire you:
Resources for Getting Outdoors
When home just doesn’t cut it, take a walk in the park.
Resources for local hikes:
Pennsylvania state parks near Philadelphia:
-
Benjamin Rush, Northeast Philadelphia
- Ridley Creek, Delaware County
- White Clay Creek Preserve, Chester County
- Marsh Creek, Chester County
- French Creek, Berks County
- Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center, Berks County
- Delaware Canal, Bucks County
- Ralph Stover, Bucks County
- Nockamixon, Bucks County
- Tyler, Bucks County
- Neshaminy, Bucks County
National Parks near Philadelphia:
Nation’s First Urban Wildlife Refuge:
We’re Walking the Walk
In May, the Academy’s social media team announced the Academy Nature Project to staff, asking them to post their nature photos on any of the Academy’s social media channels. The images poured in, and the project was expanded to include submissions from the public. When the museum reopens, we’ll showcase many of the photos alongside our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit. We can’t wait to see what photos we receive in June! For more information, visit ansp.org/nature.
May 2020: Eat Local
6 Tips for Eating Local
Eating is one of the great joys in life. We need to eat to survive — even during a pandemic. With the spring bounty making its way to market in May, now is a good time to try new options for eating local.
The idea of buying fresh foods from growers and grocers close to home rather than from another coast or country is not new; it went mainstream in the 1970s, after the first Earth Day. Today, shuttered restaurants, social distancing and queues of masked shoppers remind us that not only is eating local healthy and good for the environment, it’s also a lifeline for farmers, cooks and food-service workers.
On our blog we offer a few tips to help you navigate the brave new world of coronavirus and still eat healthy and local.
To give you a taste, here’s the first tip:
Farmers markets have many safety measures to protect shoppers.
Many of the year-round farmers markets operated by the Food Trust, Farm to City and others remain open in Philadelphia and the five-county region, but that could change so check their websites or Facebook before you go. Resourceful vendors have adopted safety measures including pre-bagging produce so it’s not handled by other customers, eliminating product sampling, online ordering in advance, and special early hours for seniors and the immunocompromised.
“The producers are very confident they can do this in a safe and conscientious way,” Jon Glyn, farmers market program manager for Farm to City told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Unfortunately, the leisurely stroll and chit-chat with neighbors in the open-air market will have to wait for another season.
Click here to read the full article.
Why is it important to eat locally grown foods?
Resources for Eating Local
We’re Walking the Walk
Many Academy staff are passionate about buying locally grown foods locally. Here are some of their favorite markets:
Philadelphia
Bucks County
Delaware County
Montgomery County
Chester County
New Jersey
Surprise surprise: our staff likes to cook and eat! We exchanged recipes, and you can see Exhibit Designer Lauren Duguid’s favorite omelet recipe on the blog. But what about the salad in that image?
Lauren: “I like to drizzle balsamic glaze and olive oil on colorful tomatoes and top them with fresh basil and pink salt. It's great paired with a room temperature soft cheese, spread on sourdough toast. My go-to soft cheeses for this are Bucheron, Humboldt Fog and Vermont Creamery's Bijou. If you go the Bijou route, it's amazing on toast with honey.
April 2020: Plant!
Seven Steps to Sustainable Gardening
With the outbreak of COVID-19, people across the world are spending more time at home. Being stuck inside can be difficult, and time spent interacting with nature often can provide much-needed respite.
Gardening, whether in your yard, in pots on your windowsill or in a square foot of space between your house and your sidewalk, is a wonderful way to enjoy nature while still adhering to social distancing recommendations. As you plan your garden this year, consider how you can take steps to create a garden that is kind to the environment and does not over-rely on natural resources.
On our blog, we provide seven tips on planning, planting and caring for a sustainable garden.
Here’s a sneak peek:
1.Think about your gardening goals.
Are you hoping to grow flowers, food or both? Do you want to cultivate unique plants? Have you considered ways to use your garden to increase biodiversity or sustain local wildlife? Are you exploring a mix of the above?
It’s important to think critically about what purposes you want your garden to serve. Many people grow gardens not only for the plants, but also for the cool native wildlife that the garden will attract, such as bees, birds and butterflies. You can, for example, grow coneflowers to attract the American goldfinch, or you can cultivate certain morning glory species to attract the golden tortoise beetle, which is the fastest color-changing arthropod in the world! If you focus on planting native plants and on worrying less about holes in leaves or petals, your garden may provide a nourishing space for local wildlife.
Learn more about sustainable gardening on the Academy Blog: https://www.anspblog.org/seven-steps-to-sustainable-gardening/
Why are plants important?
Resources on Sustainable Gardening
We’re Walking the Walk
Many team members at the Academy have their own gardens or enjoy raising potted plants. A number of our colleagues shared their own small, everyday, sustainable actions for gardening that we shared above. Here is a collage of staff members at work in their own gardening spaces!
Planting for the Environment
In Plant the Tiny Seed, Christie Matheson helps the youngest naturalists understand how tiny seeds bloom into stunning flowers. Through delicate collage and watercolor graphics and poetic, simple text, she demonstrates the steps involved in planting a few seeds, taking care of them and watching them grow.
Readers are encouraged to “push” the seeds into the pages, wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, tap the clouds to bring rain and clap to wake up the sun. They then can follow the growth of a zinnia and better understand the role it serves in a garden of bees, butterflies and other animals.
Find a digital copy of the book at your local library or on YouTube. Then, do the following activity (or help your kids help plant a garden of their own) to learn more about the process at home. While you work, explain the main things that plants need to grow, including sun, water, soil and space.
Don’t have the book at home? No problem! Follow the prompts in our Planting for the Environment blog and learn about planting on your own!
March 2020: Using Less Water
Using Less Water: A How-to Guide
It seems like water is all around us — but did you know that only one percent of the water on our planet is available for drinking? About 97 percent of Earth’s water is saltwater, and another two percent is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.
Our world’s population, along with our need for clean freshwater, is growing, but our water supply is not. According to the United Nations, about 2 billion people are currently living in areas facing serious water scarcity. By 2040, it is estimated that one in four of the world’s children under 18, or 600 million, will be living in areas of extremely high water stress. Our water enables us to run our businesses, protect our communities and keep ourselves alive, so it is critical that we work to reduce water usage in our everyday lives.
Do you know how much water you use each day? Most people have no idea! People in the U.S. use approximately 100 gallons of fresh, drinkable water per day for bathing, drinking, flushing, cleaning and yard care. And this number only takes into account the amount of water we use directly every day.
Everything we buy, the energy we use and the food we eat requires water to produce. In fact, Americans’ actual water “footprint” – the amount of water it takes to produce our food, energy, clothes and more – is about 2,000 gallons of water each day. We consume about 95 percent of the water we use without ever seeing it. Purchasing recycled goods, carpooling with friends and eating locally grown veggies all will help to reduce our water footprint.
What else can we do to use less water? Check out our blog to find out.
Visit Us and Join the Conversation
Just beyond the Academy’s lobby in our Science at the Academy gallery, you’ll find a temporary exhibit space where you can join the conversation about what using less water means to you. Using a magnetic talk-back wall, write down what small actions you’ve taken to benefit the environment, and watch a video to find out how others have done the same.
How can we use less water?
Resources on Using Less Water:
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy’s commitment to use less water relies on institutional changes, as well as staff members’ willingness to make seemingly small, everyday, sustainable actions. This month, we’re teaming up with our colleagues for the following initiatives:
In April, May and November, the Academy and Philadelphia clothier United By Blue have formed a community partnership aimed at removing 25,000 pounds of trash from the Delaware River in the Philadelphia area. Cleanups will take place at designated streams and creeks along the Delaware this spring and fall. The cleanup schedule will be posted on the Academy’s website and on unitedbyblue.com.
Inside the building, the Academy has chosen to install water-friendly fixtures where possible. Some Academy sinks have low-flow faucets, which save hundreds of gallons of water each year! The Academy’s low-flow toilets save hundreds of gallons of water per year.
The Academy encourages visitors to drink tap water rather than purchasing single-use plastic water bottles. The Academy has hydration stations where you can fill your reusable water bottles and avoid buying plastic water bottles during your visit.
In other environmental news, Drexel University (including the Academy) is participating in RecycleMania, a friendly, nationwide recycling competition among colleges and universities. Throughout the months of February and March, we are tracking the amount of paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, plastic, cell phones and computer equipment recycled to be benchmarked against the other participating institutions.
February 2020 - Talking About Climate Change
Talk to Someone You Love About Climate Change
Why is it that talking about our changing climate can lead to such discomfort among ourselves and our loved ones?
“The debate over climate change in the United States (and elsewhere) is not about carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas models; it is about opposing cultural values and worldviews through which that science is seen,” writes Andrew J. Hoffman, University of Michigan professor and author of How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate.
“Those cultural values create a pattern of shared basic assumptions that tell us the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to problems and situations we face. […] As a result, when different groups view the same science through opposing cultural lenses, they see something very different.”
Even the most dedicated advocates may feel uncomfortable disagreeing with a close relative or friend who doesn’t share their worldviews on climate change. This might be because of a desire to preserve a relationship or it may be due to something else, like concerns about creating awkwardness, spurring an argument, sounding “too smart” or sounding not smart enough.
So what do you really need to say or do to have an effective conversation about climate change? Are there times when you should (or even shouldn’t) provoke or join in the conversation?
On the Academy blog, we take you through some simple ways to approach a conversation about climate change with people in your life.
Visit Us and Join the Conversation
Just beyond the Academy’s lobby in our Science at the Academy gallery, you’ll find a temporary exhibit space where you can join the conversation about what climate change means to you. Using a magnetic talk-back wall, write down what small actions you’ve taken to benefit the environment, and watch a video to find out how others have done the same.
What does climate change mean to you?
Resources on Talking About Climate Change
Resources on Managing Climate Change’s Emotional Toll
Global Temperature Anomalies from 1880 to 2019 (make sure to watch until the end!)
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy’s commitment to combat climate change relies on staff members’ willingness to make seemingly small, everyday, sustainable actions. This month, we’re teaming up with our colleagues for the following initiatives:
Talking About Climate Change
By informing, initiating and convening conversations that matter, the Academy creates a trusted space for civic discourse. Academy evening programs such as Town Square and Academy Conversation are designed to engage and provide relevant, accessible educational content to the public on environmental issues. Our programs focus on critical global issues in environmental science by featuring prominent thought leaders and their findings on biodiversity, freshwater issues, climate change and evolution.
Environmental advocates, scientists and community members come together for an opportunity to further their knowledge about environmental and sustainability matters through accurate, real-time scientific information. After participating in these programs, attendees have told us that they feel confident discussing climate change outside these special forums, with family members, friends and others who are close to them.
Sustainable Love Notes
Yep, that’s right we’ve got sustainably packaged, customized candy hearts for our staff featuring sayings such as “science matters,” “climate change is real” and “be a force for nature.” Fun? Definitely. Frivolous? Maybe not. We’re hoping that staff will take them home, share them with relatives and friends and help their loved ones digest the important messages featured on the hearts.
January 2020 - Recycling
Recycling 101
In January 2019, we learned that over 50% of Philadelphia’s recycling was being sent straight to an incinerator in Chester. The problem was part of a larger issue with recycling nationwide — that the market for purchasing recycled goods, with China being the primary buyer, had shifted greatly. In 2018, China decided to no longer accept recycled materials that didn’t meet new stringent rules around contamination and mixed materials. Soon, recycling, which had actually been profitable for Philadelphia, became an expense for the city.
One of the main reasons that much of Philadelphia’s and the United States’ recycling is so expensive to sell is that it is deeply contaminated. You can help address this problem by knowing what you can recycle and how best to clean your recycling. On the Academy Blog, find out the answers to these common questions about recycling in Philly:
- How clean should my recycling be?
- What can and can’t you recycle curbside?
- What can you recycle at a special facility?
- How can you reduce the amount of recycling you create?
- What does yard waste and composting have to do with creating less waste?
- What resources can help me recycle properly in the Philadelphia suburbs?
What question do you have about recycling?
Sometimes recycling properly seems like such a difficult code to crack that you may want to give up. But you’re not alone, and we encourage you to keep trying! Together, we can make a difference by sharing what we know and supporting others as they learn. Here are some questions that our visitors and staff have about recycling. Do you know the answers?Join our conversation on Facebook!
Recycling Resources
We’re Walking the Walk
The Academy’s commitment to combat climate change relies on staff members’ willingness to make seemingly small, everyday, sustainable actions. This month, we’re teaming up with our colleagues for the following initiatives:
Recycling
The Academy recycles every day — not just in January! In additional to single stream recycling items, we also have spaces to recycle plastic bags, chip bags, batteries and small electronics.
Academy Swap
In January 2020, the Academy is holding our first "Academy Swap." Employees can bring in everything from unwanted holiday gifts to used household goods and clothing. We’ll donate leftover clothes to charity and recycle or dispose of other items properly. We’re also having a battery recycling and paper shredding event for our staff.
