Sustainability can seem hard to incorporate into daily life, but it doesn’t have to be. Many students at San Luis Obispo High School practice ways to live sustainably every day. With more waste being created than ever, it’s important for students to get in the habit of living with the environment in mind.  

   “My family tries to recycle and compost as much as we can. We also try to turn off lights we aren’t using,” said sophomore Jill Goldsmith.

   There are a few ways that students could practice living sustainably that wouldn’t change much in their daily routine. Turning off lights when leaving the house, saving water when doing dishes or brushing teeth, and reselling or donating items are all ways to add sustainability to everyday lives.

   “I practice helping the environment in a few different ways. I recycle plastic and paper, I run to places instead of using carbon emitters, and lastly, turning the electricity off when we aren’t using it,” said sophomore AJ Daymude.

  Teachers at SLOHS also incorporate sustainability into their lives. Whether it’s in the classroom or at home, teachers make sure that they and the people around them help save the environment.

  “As a teacher, changing to Google Classroom and trying to reduce the amount of paper used was definitely a good transition from everything being on paper. If I do use paper in a class I try to make it double sided and fit everything on one page. At home, our recycling bin is double the size of our trash bin which encourages my family to recycle. I also drive an electric car and installed solar panels on my house. In the newspaper class, we only print a thousand copies of the newspaper and the rest is online because not everyone needs a newspaper,” said English and newspaper teacher Scott Nairne.

  While many students already do things that save the environment, there are other simple ways to live sustainably. Using LED lights or reusing old items are just two ways to save the environment one step at a time.