At the beginning of the semester I learned a new word "Sustainability", I didn’t know anything about the word or what actions it would lead me to do. I learned that simple actions could add up to help preserve the planet I live on. I came up with a few topics that I thought I could put into effect: recycling, water conservation, and composting. Some of these ideas worked out and others didn’t.

I started out trying to figure a way to start a recycling program at my fraternity house. We had a lot of old tree limbs, leaves, and brush that needed to thrown away. I gathered all this up and took it to the Clemson City recycling and had it ground for mulch. This gave me another idea! We needed a lot of mulch around our house so I spent a whole day loading and unloading free recycled mulch around the house. It was a backbreaking experience, but the yard really looked good when I got done. This was a free way to add nutrient value to the soil and it also helped utilize the abundance of recycled material Clemson City had to get rid of anyway. This project came out great.

The next project I worked on was water conservation at my house. I had been getting high water bills and wanted to lower my bill. I read the "50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth"; it gave me some great ideas. I started taking shorter showers and washing clothes only when I had a full load. According to my bill I saved about 150 gallons, which is skewed because my roommate did not take part in this water conservation project. I did find out that my apartment complex has low flow water heads. All I can say is every little part helps.

Another project I initiated was a compost pile at my parents’ house. Every year my parents plant a huge garden and are always having to buy large amounts of topsoil and fertilizer. I thought I could help them out by starting a compost pile. We have lots of bushes that get trimmed and leaves on the ground so I had a good start. I used a corner of the garden and some old landscape timbers to construct a place to put all of these items. I went through the garden and gathered up all of the dead plants to compost. I decided not to till the soil to avoid any soil erosion. I think these actions will help to ensure a great garden in the future.

One thing I did without even thinking was to make a wildlife area. I am a avid hunter and love lots of deer, turkey, and squirrels on my property. I planted winter grasses and tried to encourage more wildlife activity. I also went through and got rid of a lot of the leaves in the woods to allow for more under growth in the woods. I will be able to see if these actions worked during my Thanksgiving break.

The last action I was able to achieve was riding my bike more. I love to ride anyway and this gave me a good excuse to do so. The bike is also a good for getting around school quickly. I now try to ride everyday more for the enjoyment of nature than anything else.

All of these actions really did not take up much of my time. I believe that each of them will help a little to the preservation of the earth. I hope that the actions I took will rub off on others and will inspire them to do their own projects.
 
 

- Russ Abrams