Tag: water conservation

Why Volunteering is Good for the Soul, Community, and World

Posted on by SGA Staff


Make it attractive, make it meaningful, and make it worthwhile. According to The Guardian, these are the main factors that motivate a person to volunteer. While the behavioral science behind volunteering isn’t comprehensive, there is some consensus on a few common threads:

    1. The experience needs to provide learning for the volunteer,
    2. It needs to be convenient for the volunteer,
    3. It needs to include a social aspect, and
    4. The volunteer needs to be able to see the impact they are making.

How do you feel about these factors? Do you agree? Would they motivate you to volunteer? Do you already volunteer? SGA posed these same questions to our staff in order to understand the nitty-gritty of why people volunteer.  We specifically turned to a remote SGAer, Sara, who recently returned from a 2-month trip volunteering in Paraguay with Para La Tierra (For the Earth) studying howler monkey populations and conservation. Read about her journey; why she went, the difficulties she faced, and why it was all worth it!

Why was this experience attractive to you?
Other than wanting to spend two months living in the jungle, I wanted to volunteer for Para La Tierra because I am extremely passionate about wildlife conservation. I have always looked up to scientists like Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey and I’ve always wanted to be able to do what they did, as their work has had huge implications for wildlife and environmental conservation. This was the perfect opportunity for me to help make a significant contribution in the field. Knowing that my work there could truly help the conservation efforts in Paraguay was a huge motivator for me to go.

What were some of the challenges you encountered?
Although there were some barriers that could have prevented me from going and some hardships while I was in Paraguay, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I was fortunate to have.
A couple of the barriers I faced were: 1) Danger – there are many potential threats when traveling to South America as a young woman on my own, to a place where I didn’t know anyone, and had never been. 2) Time off of work – not many places will allow you to take a 2-month vacation! Luckily, I have an amazing boss and job at SGA, that understands the value in volunteering and helping the environment.
A few of the hardships I encountered were: 1) Getting lost – one day I ended up lost in the forest by myself with a dying GPS, surrounded by swamps that I could not cross. Luckily, I made it out, no thanks to my poor sense of direction! 2) Hunger – where we were staying, we had to cook and carry all of our food with us for the entire time we were there. This meant we had to be very conservative with what we ate.

How was this experience meaningful to you?
I believe that giving to organizations whose work you are passionate about is important – whether it is through time or money. There are so many organizations that carry out meaningful work; I wanted to be able to contribute to this.
Some of the best parts of volunteering were: 1) Living in nature – it was a healing, restorative experience to be totally immersed in a natural environment. Most of the time, we lived a simple lifestyle, with little access to Wi-Fi or technology. 2) The friendships I cultivated – spending 24 hours a day around the same people, we all got to know each other very well, very fast. I got to work with people who shared the same love and passion for the environment and wildlife as me. 3) Experiencing a different culture – Paraguayan and South American culture is very different from the lifestyle we live in the United States. It was humbling to live there and has helped me to live more sustainably.
This experience was incredibly difficult much of the time, but it changed my life in many ways. I feel that what I was doing made an impact. Additionally, the whole experience helped me to grow as a person and I feel extremely accomplished in having completed this endeavor. I feel like if I could do this, I could do almost anything!

While  Sara’s experience didn’t hit all four common threads, we did learn (in Sara’s case at least) that sometimes volunteering doesn’t need to be convenient if the motivators outweigh the barriers. Our desire to make a positive impact on the world, in an area we sincerely care about, can be enough! The overall takeaway here is that people volunteer for causes they are passionate about, when they can see themselves truly making a difference, and when the experience is fun! So what are you waiting for?  Volunteer today and make a difference!

My Road to SGA: Judy Seitelman

Posted on by Suzi Senna

(This is the first in a new series of biographical pieces to introduce you to the SGA staff.)

For 28 years, I worked independently as a management consultant focusing on strategic planning, new program development, marketing – including events, policies and procedures, and specialty documentation. My clients were primarily in higher education, but others were in credit card operations and processing, human resources management, hospitality, and forensic accounting. I also worked for several years as a technical writer for hardware and software companies.

Beyond the office, my environmental awareness kicked into high gear when I had children. Their school community service requirements forced me to open my eyes to the importance of promoting social and civic action early and often. We went to beach cleanups, helped with plastic bottle and aluminum can recycling on campuses, learned about waterway pollution at the local aquarium, and became regular household recyclers.

Becoming energy efficient started slowly with turning off lights, not running the water when brushing teeth, and cutting back on heating and air conditioning (wearing sweaters and opening windows, respectively). Later we changed out our old light bulbs to new, energy-savings types, and we switched to rechargeable batteries. In 2007, my husband and I decided to invest in home solar panels for two reasons: to save money on electricity over the long haul, and to be a part of the energy-savings solution. Just recently, we took another eco-friendly step as you can read here: “Tips Before Taking Out Your Greenway Lawn.” I have a near-zero water, lawn-less greenway that has cut my water and maintenance bills in half.

Just as my kids kick-started my better world thinking, they also precipitated my move to SGA. When my daughter moved out of the house, I decided it was time for me to seek greener pastures. (To be absolutely truthful, when I was offered my SGA job, my daughter said, “you have to say yes.”) Just as working on my own suited me as I raised a family, so does working with an intelligent, kind, and like-minded group of individuals as we try to make the world more livable for everyone. At SGA, the company seeks to motivate environmental behavioral change that improves households, neighborhoods, cities, and counties, one by one.

Tips Before Taking Out Your Greenway Lawn

Posted on by Suzi Senna

California residents know that having an environmentally friendly lawn is important during this ongoing drought. However, before you dig up the lawn and make changes, have a plan in place. I did, but I also learned a few lessons along way. Here, I offer some insight that might save you from headaches.

Knowing I could do more to save water beyond our low-flow showerheads and low-water toilets, the L-shaped greenway lawn bordering the street was fair game for saving on weekly waterings.

Deciding to go lawn-less, I had two goals:

1) Save water.

2) Save money by having lower water bills and by reducing gardening expense by selecting every-other-week maintenance for my remaining landscaping.

Before deciding how to go about the task, I did a fair amount of internet research. I looked around my neighborhood, snapped photos and figured out what I wanted to do. I spoke with my gardener and a landscaper, and I checked with the city to learn about suggestions and rebates.

The easiest (though not cheapest) route was to remove the grass and plants completely. (Your city may require a percentage of planting in order to qualify your project for rebates). Just four bubbler sprinklers now support two, native, drought-tolerant trees in wood-chip planter areas. The remaining greenway contains decomposed granite with intermittent three-piece pathways of bouquet canyon stone.

The good news: I am saving water and money (though it will take a while to recoup my investment).

Not-so-good news: I need to tuck away some money to improve my design because it didn’t work out exactly as I envisioned it.

What you can learn from my mistakes:

1)    Think about the daily foot traffic along your greenway. If you have a lot of pedestrians, consider how they might impact your landscaping choices. In my case, once the rains began, the decomposed granite proved to be an irresistible target for footprints and gouges. In all fairness, passengers exiting cars along the no-longer-greenway had no choice but to step onto the wet surface. In retrospect, it’s not the ideal surface to use in this much-traveled space.

2)    Consider how a zero-plant greenway will affect your home’s curb appeal. I have abundant plants surrounding my home; nonetheless my initial reaction to losing the border greenery was “uh oh.” Incorporating even a few drought-tolerant plants along the greenway would introduce some height variation to the border; I’ll plan to purchase a few when the budget allows.

All said, once my new trees mature and I’m able to install enough stone and a few plants to eliminate the foot traffic and curb appeal issues, I’ll feel good about having made changes that are water-wise, functional, and attractive.

Sign up for SGA’s newsletter to keep up with the latest in community-based social marketing and behavior change.

Here Comes the Rain Again

Posted on by Suzi Senna

How ecstatic was I to hear the rain pouring on Friday night? Ok, I felt bad for those cute little kids in my neighborhood trick or treating on Halloween night wearing their best Elsa and superhero outfits. But it had been so long I don’t think I’ve ever rejoiced so much at the sound of rain. And let’s not forget the beautiful, crystal clear days following the rain that we indeed got. The drought is serious and I’m trying to do my part – and not just by doing the rain dance.

After reading and hearing so much about the drought, I found myself thinking about ways I could further reduce my water use. I don’t have a lawn to water or take long baths so I wasn’t exactly high up on the water supply depleters’ list. However, I recently learned I could ask my landlord for a water-saving showerhead. I had to call my apartment manager to fix the garbage disposal anyway and after the manager agreed to come in to fix my garbage disposal, I casually asked for a water-saving showerhead. “I understand that tenants could ask their landlords and it’s free,” I added, just in case.

Without missing a beat, however, she said it would be done. I was shocked. Was it really that easy? The second thought that went through my mind: why hadn’t I asked for this earlier? I am now a proud user of a water-saving showerhead that is helping to save our water.

Did you know that any tenant in the City of Los Angeles is entitled to a free water-saving showerhead? It turns out tenants are entitled to that and more so I thought I’d take it a step further. Stay tuned for more.