Hi, Potatoes!! Welcome to the last, final, and ultimate month of 2020!! (At last! ????)

So far we’ve covered Conserving and Cleaning up, this month we focus on the last of the three C’s — Chiming In! These are ways to spread the word and influence people all around you.

• Educate yourself! Look into things that interest you about the environment like plastic waste, air pollution, and sustainable living — that way you’ll have something you’re passionate about that you can always focus on and be ready to help others learn more.

• Get involved with your local government. Search for your local boards and commissions; you don’t have to become a member, and just going to a meeting and expressing your opinions and ideas is a great way to get more involved. You could make a really positive impact, whether it be environment-related or not

• Talk to your friends! Be supportive and respectful, and if they don’t listen, do not pester them about it. Your influence may change their minds if your words don’t. And remember, whenever you’re talking about lifestyle changes that you’ve made make sure to talk about it from a selfish perspective rather them a selfless perspective (for example, if you are talking about how you switched to a plant-based diet, instead of talking about all of the environmental benefits, talk about how you made the choice so you could live a more healthy and balanced life). This will make them more receptive and understanding because they won’t feel like you are judging them for their life choices. We also want to remind you that if you just change your habits and live your life, you will naturally influence people around you to ask questions and be more aware of how their actions affect the environment

• Write to your local government about an environmental policy that could be improved, write to companies about what they can do for the environment, attend protests, and sign petitions advocating for eco-friendly changes that you would like to see. 

• Organize petitions and group projects

• Be a potato! If people think you’re the coolest potato in the world, they’ll imitate your environmental habits!

Good luck chiming in this month, and thank you all for sticking with us for an entire year of Potato Squad!! We really appreciate all of your support!! ????

Have a wonderful holiday season, and be a potato!!! ❄️????