Sustainability suggestions for church
Sustainability suggestions for church
Apparently my church has a sustainability committee. Naturally I must give them thoughts. All I can think of so far are smart thermostats, LEDs, and replacing the monoculture grass with something pollinator-friendly. What else should be considered? Are there obvious common things that can be improved on?
If you could afford solar panels or wind turbines to generate electricity for the church's needs, you could also look into net metering to sell excess energy back to the grid. Note that wind turbines sometimes interfere with local flying creatures like birds and bats. You might want to install birdhouses and bat houses at low altitudes away from the turbines.
"No mow May" can help bees find nectar.
What about low-flow faucets, toilets, and automatic shut-off valves? Or a rainwater harvesting system for landscape irrigation. Use native plants that require less water and maintenance.
Maybe put up recycling stations throughout the church?
Use digital communication and offer online bulletins or newsletters.
I love all of these ideas! our church has the whole roof stuffed with solar panels.
Also, one should not forget that church is community. The biggest gain would be to convince people in the long term that they should place more value on sustainability. The best way to do this is through interpersonal interaction.
You mentioned a few things, here is what comes to my mind:
-LEDs, smart thermostats, motion activated lights, proper insulation for windows and doors
-plant native trees and bee-friendly things, dont mow grass
-collect rainwater to water the plants
-Install an insect hotel
-community gardening, grow food
-install a pond
-in case people come by car: encourage walking/biking/public transport to church, offer good bike parking
-solar panels
-avoid plastic in general
-buy stuff used and dont buy everything new
-encourage sharing stuff in your community like tools, cars and so on
-invite experts to presentations, talks and discussions and invite everyone
I never went to a church, so I dont know whats going on there but if you have any type of event:
-offer vegetarian or better vegan food only, seasonal and local (this is probably the most impactful)
-no single use cups, plates, bowls, cutlery or but get resuable stuff
-no bottled water, no plastic bags