What You Can Do!

Join a sustainable club or program on campus!

• The Recycling Program: Evan Bollier
• Earth Society: Chelsea Ehmann
• Campus Sustainability Congress: May Armstrong
• The EC Sol Food Grow-Op: Deb Hilbert

The following list was developed by the Eckerd College Earth Society, a student club that aims to promote environmental awareness through specific events, volunteering services, educational field trips, and providing information about environmental issues to the Eckerd College community. The items below represent environmentally sensitive gift ideas that are good for the earth, and for the recipient!

• Canvas shopping bags
• Potted native plants
• Pressed leaves and flowers in a reused frame
• Jams and foods produced on local small farms
• A water filtration pitcher (as an alternative to bottled water)
• Gifts from local artisan fairs or vendors.
• A reusable coffee mug or water container.
• A donation to a global charity.
• A pack of compact fluorescent bulbs to replace incandescent bulbs.
• A "how to" book on home composting or organic gardening.
• A book about local hiking trails.

Other ideas for being environmentally conscious:

• Use newspaper instead of wrapping paper
• Use timers for holiday lights to save energy
• Send a nice electronic holiday letter instead of a printed card.
• Forgo a Christmas tree and decorate a nice house plant instead. If you don't have a nice house plant, buy one and improve your indoor air quality. 
• Be conscious of the amount of packaging used for various gifts. Try to buy gifts that come minimally packaged.
• Make a point of spending some quality time outside during the holidays. Find a nice nature trail and go for a hike.
• For the holiday fest, focus on free range local meat and food that comes from places closer to home.