Downloads | Do It Green! Minnesota

Seed Labels (PDF 1.2 MB) 2″ x 4″ labels Want print versions of our seed saving resources? Contact Gardening Matters: www.gardeningmatters.org, (612) 821-2358

Lista de Auditoria del Uso Doméstico del Agua (Spanish)

April 13, 2016March 4, 2016

Lista de Auditoria del Uso Doméstico del Agua (Spanish)

Huella de Comida Guía de Compras de Bajo Carbono (Spanish)

April 13, 2016March 4, 2016

Huella de Comida Guía de Compras de Bajo Carbono (Spanish)

Home Water Audit Checklist (English)

April 13, 2016March 4, 2016

Home Water Audit Checklist (English)

Seed Saving

April 13, 2016March 4, 2016

Seed Saving (PDF 900 KB) Want to learn more about choosing or saving seeds? Download our handout.

Renewable Energy Alternatives (English)

April 13, 2016March 4, 2016

Renewable Energy Alternatives (English)

Green Tips

Looking for a new way to connect with your neighbors, get free life advice, and spark your creative juices? Consider hosting an art night at your house, complete with paints, modeling clay, colored pencils and art smocks. Get messy, be creative, and let the conversation flow. For inspiration and resources, check out this article.

Support Strong Towns

The automobile era spurred the expansion of highways and the fragmentation of natural habitats and communities. Now, the suburban American lifestyle had led to an obesity epidemic, high levels of resource consumption, and oil dependency. Strong Towns is a nonprofit that helps cities focus on resiliency instead of growth. Find out more.

Shop to Strengthen Our Food System

Each time we choose to find out the source of our food, we not only learn about our food supply, but we also have the opportunity to make a choice. Turning over a package of food or checking out those little stickers on our apples can open our eyes to the size and scope of the food supply. Gardening, farmer’s markets, food co-ops, and community-supported agriculture (CSA)—all of these food sources are growing stronger with every new gardener, shopper, member-owner and subscriber! Having a personal involvement and connection to our food is part of what has been missing in our convenience- and price-driven diets. And this connection to our food could be what changes our food system.

Check out the full article to learn more!

Take Easy Steps to Save Energy at Home

The average Minnesota family spends over $4,000 on energy (includes natural gas, electricity and gasoline) and produces over 50,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Here are some easy ways to save energy:

Turn off lights and electronics (TVs, radios, computers) when leaving a room. This can help your family avoid producing 298 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of the year.
Be mindful of your heat and central air. Turning your furnace thermostat down just two degrees in the winter saves $53/year and prevents 569 pounds of CO₂, and you won’t even notice the change.
Unplug electronics and appliances while not in use, like cell phone chargers, video game consoles, and microwaves. Anything with a clock, remote or LED light is using energy all the time, even if it’s turned off. Power strips are a quick fix—and you can save $14/year.

Check out our Personal Energy Checklist for more great ideas!

Purchase Sustainable Lumber and Wood Products

Minnesota’s forests are vital to the state economy and environment. The Minnesota wood products industry provides employment to rural communities and serves markets throughout the world. As global trade in forest products grows, forest certification has emerged as a mechanism for consumers to identify wood products produced from sustainably managed forests. Nearly 50 different companies in Minnesota manufacture and market certified products. Retailers and distributors sell a variety of lumber, paneling, and decking products. Numerous local paper and printing companies also offer certified products.

More info here!

Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaners

Many of the chemicals found in the average store bought household cleaner are associated with health and environmental concerns. You can reduce your exposure to toxins at home by using fewer chemicals and making your own Non-Toxic Cleaners.

Non-Toxic Cleaner Recipes

Take the Energy Challenge

The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint is through energy efficiency and conservation. Plus, you’ll save yourself money in the process! Need a little boost to get started? Join the Minnesota Energy Challenge and learn from thousands of Minnesotans who have pledged to reduce their energy use—and are finding fun, creative ways to do it. Read more about the Challenge here.

Check Out This Template for Action

Scientists say a global warming “tipping point” in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes. Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years. These news flashes are just some of our climate’s changes happening daily. You and your kids can help. Read more here, and then check out Climate Generations’s Take Action! Guide, which offers hands-on activities for grades 3-12.

Pack a No Waste Lunch

A ‘no-waste lunch’ is a meal that does not end up in the trash. Buy food in bulk and put it in reusable containers to carry to school or work. Packing your food in reusables is typically less expensive and creates less waste than buying food that comes in disposable containers.

Check out our No Waste Lunch tips!

Purchase Low Flow Plumbing Fixtures

Your family can save 13,000 gallons of water per year with a low flush toilet, 2,900 gallons with a low flow shower head and 700 gallons with faucet aerators. Reducing temperature and usage of hot water will also save money and energy.

Find more great water saving tips with our Home Water Audit Checklist!

A meat-eater’s view of Mindful Eating

Energy Trivia Questions/ Preguntas de Energía (English & Spanish)

Energy Checklist (English)

Alternativos de Energía Renovable (Spanish)

Renewable Energy/ La Energía Renovables/ Zog Tshiab (English, Spanish, Hmong)

Seed Labels

Lista de Auditoria del Uso Doméstico del Agua (Spanish)

Huella de Comida Guía de Compras de Bajo Carbono (Spanish)

Home Water Audit Checklist (English)

Seed Saving

Renewable Energy Alternatives (English)

A meat-eater’s view of Mindful Eating

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