St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday to celebrate all things Irish. Being Irish myself, this has always been a festive holiday in my family and is looked forward to year round. Everyone knows to wear green or run the risk of a painful pinch, but there is more than one way to go green today.  This year, don’t just celebrate the holiday, put some green into your actions to really get into the spirit. Here are a few things you can do to celebrate:

1. Celebrate your green surroundings

You might consider taking a hike or picnicking in the park to celebrate the wonderful landscape around you. Some great locations on the College of Charleston campus include Rivers Green, Stern Gardens, and the Cistern. If you’re able to make the trip, Dixie Plantation is also beautiful spot. This is a fun and free activity that allows you to escape the chaos of life and enjoy the sun while taking in some scenic views.

2. Get green with envy over the College of Charleston’s Pre and Post Consumer Composting at Liberty Dinging Hall

This composting program started last July and has been going strong with almost 20% of the waste produced by this dining hall diverted from landfills. Last semester alone, 80,341 pounds of food waste were collected and composted. A lot of this is post consumer waste, meaning it is left over food on people’s plates being thrown away. You can help reduce food waste today by taking only what you’ll eat and cleaning your plate.

3.  Have a sustainable sip

When hitting the bars today, order draft beer. Most bars will use a reusable glass, reducing waste produced from hundreds of bottles, aluminum cans and packaging material.  In addition, you can also support local breweries, which will help the local economy and reduce the shipping impact of beers produced halfway across the country, or even the world. If you’re not of age, you can also fill your reusable water bottle with the new refill stations in Craig, CATO, Bell South, and the Cougar Mall.

4. Swap out your clothing

If you are less than thrilled with the choices of green garb in your closest this year, don’t run straight to the mall. Instead, swap, trade, or borrow clothing from friends or purchase from a secondhand clothing store to reduce your environmental impact without sacrificing any of the fun. There is an upcoming clothing swap at the College on April 18^th. This event is part of the Give and Go project that the college initiates during move out. Students Sylvie Baele, Kelsey DePorte, and Connelly (Callie) Rhodin are heading this project with the goal of reaching out to students about the current waste-management situation, educating them about how to reduce their impact, how to influence others and our school to make a difference, and help divert the total amount of waste during move-out that goes in to the landfill.

5. Craft with trash

Get into the spirit and create your own festive decorations. You can find DIY projects that allow you repurpose items you already own. With Alliance for Planet Earth’s upcoming Waste Audit on April 8^th, what better way to get into the habit of reducing your waste?

You can also take our challenge to see how many green actions you can do today. Actions like these are small steps towards living a more sustainable lifestyle and can even help you create your own pot of gold by saving you money. Who needs to find a leprechaun when you can do this?

1. Go paperless for an entire day
2. Unplug unused appliances
3. Recycle
4. Purchase your food from a local farmer or farmer’s market
5. Compost your scraps
6. Use reusable bags when shopping
7. Walk, bike, carpool, or take public transport today
8. Take a shorter shower
9. Turn off the lights when you leave a room
10. Challenge your friends to do the same
11. Follow the Office of Sustainably on Twitter  and Like us on Facebook 
    

-Morgan Larimer