Melissa Hutton

Recruit more team members.....it's not too late! The more team members, the more support! We are greater in numbers and this means more impacts daily! This action builds our community and shared efforts to protect the planet!

Wildlife and biodiversity play an important role on our planet and are being threatened each year. I will spend 20 minutes each day learning about the current status of local or global wildlife and how I can align my actions to support their livelihood.

Each day, I will learn about responsible ways to dispose of items and de-clutter, clean, donate, repurpose or recycle unneeded items in my home to make sure that what I get rid of doesn't go into the landfill.

The waste we create daily can go unnoticed. I will track the waste I create in a day and post a photo log on the feed to see how much I create and where I can make different choices to reduce my waste going forward.

Itr's estimated over a billion water bottles are thrown away each year. Even if they were recycled, that still uses energy and resources from the earth. I will use a reusable bottle and stop purchasing bottled water, saving 3 disposable plastic bottle(s) a day.

Trees provide food and habitat for local wildlife species, shade our streets and homes, and help keep our air and water clean by capturing pollutants. Buying products that help protect forests makes a difference. I will only purchase wood, furniture, and paper products from ecologically certified sources such as Forest Stewardship Council.

Food in the landfill is one of the main sources of greenhouse gasses. I will avoid sending up to .69 lbs (.31 kg) of food waste to the landfill per day by composting my food.

Beauty and personal products can create a lot of waste. I will spend 30 minutes learning about the beauty and body products I use to see if they are refillable or recyclable. If not, I will reach out to the manufacturer to advocate for those options.

Understanding cleaning product ingredients and their effect on water and biodiversity is helpful to our consumer choices. I will spend 15 minutes learning about how cleaning products affect our water and try making my own cleaning products to reduce pollutants.

The impacts of our waste are far reaching. I will create zero waste for an entire day and share my reflections and learnings on the feed.

I will close sashes anytime I see they are open in my lab and help to save energy at BRI. Energy is wasted when equipment is running at full capacity when not in use. By closing sashes the energy consumption will be reduced resulting in less demand and less wear on the unit. (Saves Energy)

Plastic bags can be mistaken for food by many wild animals and can end up in habitats that harm wildlife. I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases, including produce bags.

Bees are vital to ecosystems. To help save the bees, I will learn which local flowers provide nectar and plant them in my backyard or in a pot on my balcony.