Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

You can set an example for adults and for other children too. You have a special cause: a sound and healthy environment for you to grow up in. Share this article with your family and your frineds to see what changes you can make in your lifestyle to make our environment a better place to live in. IF you are already walking the green path check to see what changes you have already made and encourage your friends and neighbors to make the same changes.

Conserve water; don’t waste it. When brushing your teeth, turn the water off while you are actually brushing instead of running it continuously. Use water from a cup or glass for rinsing. (This saves about 80 percent of the water.)

Be sure always to turn taps off tightly so they so not drip. Check all the taps in your house regularly for leaks.

Learn to cook! Homemade cookies and cakes are fun to make and decorate, taste good and don’t need the preservatives or packaging that store bought ones do.

Why not start a compost pile and help your parent’s disposes of food trimmings and leftovers (except meat scraps), cut grass, plant trimmings, etc.? If you do not want your own compost pile, perhaps a neighbor has one and might appreciate your contributions.

Start a garden, either indoors or outdoors. It makes good sense to avoid using chemical pesticides and herbicides whenever possible. Try natural gardening methods such as rotating crops and using manure instead of chemical fertilizers.

Instead of using sprays to control insects in your outdoor garden, put bird feeders and bird houses in the yard to attract insect-eating birds.

Donate your used toys to needy groups or to day-care centers, or sell them a yard sale.

Turn off the lights, and other things that use electricity when you don’t need them on.

Keep doors and windows closed in winter to keep the heat in and the cold out.

If you have outgrown your clothes and they’re still in good condition, why not think of some smaller children who might be able to use them. Or you could give them to neighborhood service organizatiopns like the Salvation Army or local church to be used by other people.

Give your used books and magazines to libraries, playgroups, day-care centers or you doctors or dentist office.

When possible, buy beverages in returnable or, if that is not possible, then in recyclable containers.

If you take your lunch to school, use re-usable plastic containers and bring home your lunch-bag.

If your area has a recycling program for newspapers, glass or cans, be sure to use it.

Walk or bicycle more often than you ask dad or mom for a ride to wherever you are going.

Make sure to clean up after your dog when you go for walks.

It’s best to leave young wild animals and birds alone. They sometimes appear to be abandoned by their mothers, but in most cases, they have not been.