You can personally make many changes to help towards making the world a better place. We all have causes that are close to our hearts. For example, groups of volunteers head to places that suffer severe damage from natural disasters. Go-fund me’s are started and fully funded within days to help people get life-saving surgery. People head to animal shelters, and Gulf Breeze Zoo recently used orangutan artwork to save their habitat.
There are a million little ways that you can help locally and globally. So let’s take a look at some of the ways you can make a difference.
Plant Trees & Plants
Trees give us so much. Fresh air, fruits and are home to the wildlife of the world. If you have space to plant trees around your property, then there is no finer time than now. You can look for groups in the local area who are working on community gardens. You can put as many plants in your home and around your garden too. They encourage bees and butterflies, along with other pollinators and you’ll see the are flourish over the space of years.
Local Produce
Almost every town and city has a farmers market, either once a month or every other week. This is a great way to not only put your money back into the area but to get fresher – untreated – fruits, vegetables, cheese and meats. Not only does your money go into the local area, but you are supporting local farmers and dairies. You can also go one step further, and many people now do and grow your own fruits, vegetables and herbs in your garden.
Resources
You should be aware of what you use, and where it comes from. By getting a greater awareness of what you are using in your daily life, you will see places that you can make improvements. How high is your thermostat? Are you leaving your taps or showers running longer than you need? Could you walk or get on a bike rather than use the car? Knowing these things will mean that not only can you get a more in-depth insight into your own resource usage, but you can help educate others.
Animals
There are countless sanctuaries that need help all the time. They are always in need of money, for the food and veterinary treatments, to heat the kennels or cages and help with rehabilitation. It might not all be the great stuff like sitting cuddling puppies all the time, it might be picking up the poop and washing away heavy mite infestations. But animals general deserve much more than we are giving them. You can opt to take courses in animal behaviour, so you can get a more in-depth insight too. You can travel all over the world to help with conservation projects too.
People
The homelessness epidemic is getting worse every year. They say that we are all only one paycheck away from losing everything that we have. If you walk through any city in the world, you won’t need to look hard to find out just how many people are living on the streets. Each city will have some local help and community support, as well as government schemes and global companies and foundations.
You can do your bit by raising money or volunteering at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Not only is this good for the people who need hot food and a place to rest, but it is good for you too. You will be able to meet a lot of people who are also aiming to make changes in the world and do something that matters. And, while you are unlikely to single-handed change the face of homelessness (it would be great if you could), remembering that the homeless are people too and deserve a hot meal and someone to ask ‘How are you?’ is a big deal.
Clothing
Fast fashion is causing chaos in the world. It takes litres and litres of water to make a single item in most cases. And fast fashion establishments are churning out millions of items. You can buck the trends and only buy sustainable clothing made from linen, modal or lyocell. Purchasing high-quality items will mean that you will be able to wear your clothes for longer, and will need to spend less to replace them.
Making small changes in how you live every day, and finding activities that will get you involved on the ground level, and you can see the impact you are making, and where more work needs to be done.
