Skip to main content
Appalachian Today
News and events at Appalachian State University
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Diversity
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

Bring App State’s sustainable values home with these tips and activities

View larger image

How does your garden grow? Appalachian State University practices composting, and the compost is used in landscaping across campus, such as the flowerbed pictured here. Photo by Marie Freeman

“Composting and gardening are fantastic activities that allow you to reconnect with the outdoors and each other.”

Jennifer Maxwell, sustainability program manager in Appalachian’s Office of Sustainability

By Megan Bruffy
Posted March 30, 2020 at 5:29 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — With much of the Appalachian State University Community off campus due to concerns related to COVID-19, the university’s Office of Sustainability has provided ideas for how faculty, staff and students can continue to implement sustainable practices.

These suggestions focus on sustainability as a way of life — one of the office’s core values — by reducing waste and saving energy at home and in the community.

“Composting and gardening are fantastic activities that allow you to reconnect with the outdoors and each other.”

Jennifer Maxwell, sustainability program manager in Appalachian’s Office of Sustainability

Jennifer Maxwell, sustainability program manager in the Office of Sustainability, offered one such tip for at-home sustainability: Set up a home compost pile.

“Composting can be a fun and beneficial project to help manage food scraps and paper products and produce nutrient-rich soil for your garden,” she said. “Composting and gardening are fantastic activities that allow you to reconnect with the outdoors and each other.”

Here are a variety of other ways to incorporate sustainability into everyday life:

Purchasing and waste
  • Refuse single-use utensils when getting takeout food.
  • Choose reusable napkins and washcloths when cleaning and sanitizing.
  • Buy natural cleaners in concentrated form.
  • Reuse any plastic bags provided with takeout food and/or groceries.
  • Select sustainably sourced products, when possible.
Community support
  • Support local businesses by getting takeout or delivery or by buying gift cards.
  • Check on and support neighbors and friends.
Outdoor activities
  • Plant seedlings and till gardens.
  • Build raised garden beds with old pallets or recycled lumber.
  • Go for a bike ride, take a hike or go for a walk.
  • Plant a tree.
  • Set up a home compost pile (see above).
Energy savings
  • Open blinds instead of turning on lights.
  • Put up a “no junk mail” sign on the mailbox.
  • Time showers and baths.
  • Prep, cook and/or freeze food to plan meals for a week at a time.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Zero Waste Tips and Facts
Zero Waste Tips and Facts

Through thoughtful purchasing decisions, reducing consumption and increasing recycling we can drastically reduce what we send to the landfill.

Learn more
Mountaineers moving mountains
Mountaineers moving mountains

Appalachian State University’s faculty and staff are transitioning events and experiences to online platforms and developing new ways for Mountaineers to connect.

Learn more

About Sustainability at Appalachian

Appalachian State University’s leadership in sustainability is known nationally. The university’s holistic, three-branched approach considers sustainability economically, environmentally and equitably in relationship to the planet’s co-inhabitants. The university is an active steward of the state’s interconnected financial, cultural and natural resources and challenges students and others think critically and creatively about sustainability and what it means from the smallest individual action to the most broad-based applications. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs that focus on sustainability. In addition, 100 percent of Appalachian’s academic departments offer at least one sustainability course or course that includes sustainability, and all students graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome. Learn more at https://appstate.edu/sustainability.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

“Composting and gardening are fantastic activities that allow you to reconnect with the outdoors and each other.”

Jennifer Maxwell, sustainability program manager in Appalachian’s Office of Sustainability

Zero Waste Tips and Facts
Zero Waste Tips and Facts

Through thoughtful purchasing decisions, reducing consumption and increasing recycling we can drastically reduce what we send to the landfill.

Learn more
Mountaineers moving mountains
Mountaineers moving mountains

Appalachian State University’s faculty and staff are transitioning events and experiences to online platforms and developing new ways for Mountaineers to connect.

Learn more

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Faculty and Staff
  • Students
  • Sustainability

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

Share

Topics

  • Faculty and Staff
  • Students
  • Sustainability

Other Recent Posts

  • With expansion almost complete, App State’s Child Development Center nearly doubles in capacity
    With expansion almost complete, App State’s Child Development Center nearly doubles in capacity
  • A bright finish for Team Sunergy: App State solar vehicle team takes 2nd place in 2022 American Solar Challenge
    A bright finish for Team Sunergy: App State solar vehicle team takes 2nd place in 2022 American Solar Challenge
  • 2022 Alumni Awards: John Thomas Roos ’84 — Outstanding Service Award
    2022 Alumni Awards: John Thomas Roos ’84 — Outstanding Service Award
  • 2022 Alumni Awards: Douglas Middleton Jr. ’15 ’18 — Young Alumni Award
    2022 Alumni Awards: Douglas Middleton Jr. ’15 ’18 — Young Alumni Award
  • 2022 Alumni Awards: Mark E. Ricks ’84 — Distinguished Alumni Award
    2022 Alumni Awards: Mark E. Ricks ’84 — Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2022 Alumni Awards: June Wilson Hege ’65 — Outstanding Service Award
    2022 Alumni Awards: June Wilson Hege ’65 — Outstanding Service Award
  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted Aug. 3
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted Aug. 3
  • 5 faculty teams awarded 2022 Chancellor’s Innovation grants for projects at App State
    5 faculty teams awarded 2022 Chancellor’s Innovation grants for projects at App State
  • App State alumna Juliet Irving ’19: A multimedia designer in the performance world
    App State alumna Juliet Irving ’19: A multimedia designer in the performance world
  • Appalachian Energy Summit reports $1.6 billion in avoided energy costs statewide
    Appalachian Energy Summit reports $1.6 billion in avoided energy costs statewide
  • App State’s Team Sunergy qualifies for American Solar Challenge with solid performance at Formula Sun Grand Prix
    App State’s Team Sunergy qualifies for American Solar Challenge with solid performance at Formula Sun Grand Prix
  • Reich College of Education staff coach Northwestern NC’s new teachers
    Reich College of Education staff coach Northwestern NC’s new teachers

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

Appalachian State University

Copyright 2022 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
ucomm@appstate.edu

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Accessibility | Website manager: montaldipa (beltmr) .. | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat