Stewardship Steps

Use your reusable shopping bags or go bag-free when shopping. Once you empty your reusable shopping bags, put them back in your vehicle so they'll always be there.

Use reusable water bottles instead of plastic water bottles, and try to eliminate plastic water bottles from your life for good!

Ride your bike to work or school instead of driving, or take public transit somewhere you usually drive.

Make sure you always wait for your kids or spouse "idle-free" or encourage a stranger to go idle-free. 

Adopt a street, road, highway or park nearby, and organize a neighborhood effort to clean up litter.

Repair an article of clothing instead of buying a new one.

Walk to church and invite your family or friends to walk with you.

Turn your thermostat up or down for a week to save energy.

Try to eat one local food item at each meal for a week.

Individual Stewardship

• Explore our amazing Resource Library where scriptures and prophetic teachings related to the Creation and our care of it have been indexed by topic. Choose one topic and read all the related scriptures. Share what you learn with someone else, and consider posting on social media about how these teachings have increased your appreciation for nature.
• Bike to work, carpool, or use public transit, and see if you can engage others in doing the same.
• Reduce your waste flow. Can you go a week without creating any waste that can’t be recycled/composted? Reflect on how this impacts your purchase choices. 
• Create a list of local natural areas, parks, hikes, etc. and share with your neighbors, ward members and friends. Set a goal to spend at least two more hours per month outdoors by exploring these places.
• Start discovering the diversity of life in your neighborhood and community. If you have a smartphone, become a citizen scientist by downloading iNaturalist. This is a fun and easy way to learn the flora and fauna around you while contributing to ecological research.

Stewardship in the Family

• Have family scripture study in nature, or hold an earth stewardship focused FHE. Sample lesson plans can be found here. Consider sharing your experiences on social media.
• Cook a family meal that uses only local ingredients, or ingredients that have travelled less than 100 miles from the farm to your kitchen.
• Encourage your family members to use less electricity and water. Make a game out of seeing who can reduce their use the most.
• Plant a garden!
• As a family, research and explore the local environment around your home. Where does your water come from? What type of biome do you live in? What plant and animal species are native there? What native species are currently at risk, and what can you do to preserve their habitat?

Stewardship in the Ward

• Hold an earth stewardship focused FHE with another friend or family from your ward. Sample lesson plans can be found here.
• Get permission from your ward building’s bishops to have recycling bins on site and offer to regularly see that items are recycled. Set an example at any activities you participate in by recycling paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, etc. If you are a leader, choose ways to host events without creating as much waste. For inspiration, see what this member did.
• Ask your bishop if the ward is looking for a future service project and volunteer to plan one centered on earth stewardship.  Consider inviting people from another faith to join you in your service.
• Offer to give a talk or teach a Sunday School lesson about environmental stewardship and discipleship.
• Before leaving church meetings, walk through the building to make sure that all the lights are turned off in rooms not in use.

Stewardship in the Community

• Organize a service project (i.e. pick up trash in a local park, on a hiking trail, near a lake or river nearby) and invite neighbors (LDS and other).
• Host a potluck night where everyone brings food they’ve made with locally-grown ingredients.
• Research local environmental issues and think about ways that you can contribute in a meaningful way.
• Reach out to local conservation organizations for information about their work; consider inviting someone from that organization to come speak at your home and invite others to come. Join a local conservation group, attend their events, serve in their leadership.
• Host a speaker’s night: bring in people within the community whose professions affect the environment (farmers, politicians and policy-makers, civil engineers, etc) to discuss a different perspective of the environment.

Stewardship in the World

• Follow LDS Earth Stewardship on social media, and share information about LDS Earth Stewardship with friends, family, and through your own social media posts. Help us grow a broader base of Latter-day Saints who can share ideas and serve together throughout the world as “leaven” to their families, congregations, and communities.
• As a learning experience, track where various items you use are manufactured. Where were their constituent parts created and what pollution/waste products are created in their production.  What working conditions exist in the countries where the resources are mined and manufactured that make up the product? Share what you learn with others. When you find a company that has a “clean” manufacturing process and safe working conditions, let others know. 
• When you travel, seek out national parks and nature preserves to visit. Reward eco-friendly travel services/providers by hiring their services.
• Learn about issues that are currently negatively impacting the air, water, land, plants, animals in various parts of the world. Choose at least one problem, look for a group that is working for solutions, and consider how you could contribute to their efforts. We can’t do it all but we can each do something.
• Seek out documentaries that provide a broader perspective of the various environments, cultures, and organisms throughout the world.