Ask an Expert: Going Green this Holiday Season

The holiday season might be looking a little different this year. The usual craze of shopping in person has been replaced with online options and you might have to argue with your uncle from six feet away. Despite changes in traditions, there are still plenty of opportunities to go green this holiday season.

President of the Graduates Go Green Club, Laurel WolfeWawrzynek ‘21, is here to offer her tips on how you can be sustainable this time of year. Laurel graduated with her Bachelor of Environmental Studies with a focus in Food Studies from Oberlin College before going on to pursue her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Chatham. Along the way, she has worked at organic farms across the nation and in Italy and France and worked in collaboration with professors at Cornell University on sustainable agriculture research.

How do you cook a sustainable Thanksgiving meal?

• Look for what's local and in-season—at this time of year brassicas (kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower) and winter squash.

• Shop at a farmer's market where you can buy directly from farmers.

• Think about where your meat comes from. Buy your turkey from a sustainable farmer if you have the resources to do so.

• Incorporate plant-based dishes into your meal. It takes a lot more water and energy to produce animals than it does to produce plant foods. Butternut squash ravioli, shepherd's pie made with lentils or fake beef crumbles, and butternut squash mac and cheese are some of my favorites.

How can you shop sustainably for the holiday gift-giving season?

• Shop from small businesses to reduce shipping emissions, and make an invest in your community.

• Think about the sustainability of your gifts. Will they actually be used by the person you're giving them to? How will they be disposed of? How much packaging do they come in? Could you buy someone a gift that will help them become more sustainable?

• Give experiences like virtual movie nights or cooking a meal through a restaurant meal kit.

• Make homemade gifts. Edible ones are the best. Every year I make homemade peanut butter cups for my dad. Homemade hot cocoa and brownie mixes in mason jars are also super cute and useful.

• Donate to charity in their name. I suggest Heifer International and Solar Cookers which both help feed those in need.

What’s some sustainability theory to cozy up with by the fire?

• Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma first got me interested in food and sustainability.

• Barbara Kingsolver is my absolute favorite author. Her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is about how she and her family tried to eat local for a full year and grow/raise most of their food themselves.

• Braiding Sweetgrass is my new favorite sustainability book. It is written by a Native American ecologist, so she talks about Native culture and how caring for the earth was a huge part of the culture of Native people all across the Americas, and then she mixes in scientific ecological data and experiences to explain why and how the Native traditions helped the plants and animals to thrive.

• For those who aren’t readers Food Inc., Cowspiracy, and Planetary are all good entry-level documentaries.

What’s the most important climate issue to bring up with your family over the dinner table this season?

70% of greenhouse gas emissions come from 100 oil and gas companies. We need to advocate for more regulation of these industries, and I think the Green New Deal and rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement are going to be big steps in that direction. Call your Senators and vote for people who are going to pass the Green New Deal.

I wish I could say making small changes within your home will make a big difference in fighting climate change, but unfortunately what we really need are big sweeping actions and dismantling of the companies that are killing our planet.

I'm not saying you shouldn't make small sustainable swaps in your home, because every bit helps, but the biggest issues are much bigger than us as individuals.

ChathamU wishes each member of our community a safe, happy, and sustainable holiday season! Learn more about our year-round commitment to sustainability here.