Youth Stewards

How to Become a Steward

As a Great Lakes Water Steward, there are so many ways you can help keep the earth in working order. You can start by doing some very simple things and you can find these suggestions below. Each of us plays a role in protecting the environment and our natural resources so they will be there for us to use in the future.

Things You Can Do To Make A Difference

Of course, you can’t do everything but each of us can do something to help take care of the environment. The best way to get started is to identify something small that you are willing to change or adjust. Once you see how easy it is to make a difference, you can move on to bigger changes. Each little thing adds up to make a big difference!

Here are some ideas to help you get started to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Reduce
One of the easiest ways to help keep the earth clean is to reduce or cut back a little on the things we use everyday. Many of your daily actions can be slightly altered to help reduce your impact on the planet.

Old Fashioned Human Power. Walk or ride your bike instead of having someone drive you to reduce air pollution and global warming.

Conserve Water. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth to conserve water resources. What are some of the other things you can do to conserve water? Calculate how much water you use by visiting this Water Conservation calculator from the U.S. Geological Survey.

• Switch Patrol. Make it a habit to turn off TVs, computers, and lights when not in use.
• Be a Thoughtful Shopper. Plan ahead. Remind the shoppers in your family to take their own reusable bags to the store to save paper or plastic grocery bags.

Don’t Brown Bag it, Box it! Use a lunchbox instead of paper bags. Use reusable containers instead of plastic bags.

Reuse and Recycle are next!