Making Memorial Day Green

It is summer holiday season, which means barbeques and backyard bashes. Like always The Green Collegiates would like to have make these events as green as possible!! Memorial Day is awesome! Plus, its awesome for the environment. Most of the time is spent outside, playing games like badminton and corn hole (which use absolutely no energy but your own) and eating food off the grill. This is a great opportunity to make an event even more green. So, of course, here are some great tips to make your memorial day party super green!

1) Open up those windows and turn off the air conditioning! While everybody is already outside enjoying the sunshine why keep the air on? Open windows up on both sides of the house to create a draft wind to ventilate the house.

2) Use reusable plates, napkins and silverware. The tradeoff is extra washing but why not take advantage of all the extra hands you have anyways to wash the dishes! If you are inclined to use non-reusable plates and utensils make sure they are at least compostable. Be careful with that seal "biodegradable" it could still be a hundred years before it fully "biodegrades"

3) Encourage people to bring dishes so you don't have to cook everything at your house. Also encourage people to bring their food in actual dishware, and not throw-away items, to take home with them.

4) If you have a lot of people coming, especially from the same area why not suggest carpooling? Or if you are going to a memorial day picnic try and find a relative or friend who will share a ride with you.

5) Whats a party with out a little beverage? The new cool thing is micro-brews! Go to your local brewery (I'm sure you have one nearby...) and get some local beer! Not into beer? Try a local vineyard or at least domestic wine. Use actual glasses instead of the hard to recycle solo-cups and be a real green machine!!

6) Speaking of food, make sure to utilize those farmer's markets opening up for local produce, breads, cheeses and even meat.

7) Make your activities green. As mentioned above try badminton, corn-hole, ladder golf, horseshoes, and other fun games that require no energy other than your own. On top of that these games are actually really easy to make on your own! Skip the endless TV watching and have some good American fun!

I hope these seven lucky tips help you make the most out of your summer holidays. Wishing you the best of summer vacations, and giving all our respect to the men and women who served our country, The Green Collegiates!