Knowledge is Power

Follow Sunset Zoo on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.  Take a screenshot or photo documenting you doing this and post it using #SunsetZoo5050 in your feed.  You can also follow our Behind the Science efforts using the Twitter handle @scienceMHK.  Follow us on all our social media accounts, documenting and posting each individually with #SunsetZoo5050 to increase your odds of winning the weekly prize drawing.

Change a "Throw Away" Habit

We all have lots of power driven items throughout our homes.  To help reduce your impact on the environment, switch out regular batteries for rechargeable ones.  Don’t forget to document your efforts and share them using #SunsetZoo5050 on your favorite social media platform.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Lighten the load of your vehicle to help reduce your carbon footprint.  Did you know, for every extra 100 pounds of weight you haul in your vehicle you reduce your fuel efficiency by about half-a-mile-per-gallon!  That’s something you have direct control over, and can prove very significant on long road trips.  So, let’s get to cleaning out the unnecessary items in our vehicles.  While you’re at it, don’t forget to to get a picture and post it with #SunsetZoo5050.  For more information on other fuel saving actions, check out this EPA publication.

Support Wildlife

Join the Wildlife Society at K-State and Sunset Zoo in participating in the 5th annual City Nature Challenge by using the iNaturalist app to track wildlife in and around your backyard.  The challenge runs April 24-27, and encompasses more than 250 cities across six continents.  Lets join together to show the world how many citizen scientists we have in Clay, Geary, Pottawatomie, and Riley counties.  To participate, you will need to download the iNaturalist app on your mobile device.  For information on how to use iNaturalist, download this resource.  When participating in this action, please use both #SunsetZoo5050 and #CityNatureChallenge.

Our Purchasing Power

When reducing environmental impact, changing behavior can be difficult.  Not only is it just difficult to change habits, there are also multiple actions one can take.  For this week, we challenge you to switch to detergent pods for your laundry.  There are pros and cons to each type of detergent you can select.  The big benefit we see in making this switch is curtailing the quantity of chemicals we all use when trying to clean our clothes.  By using pods, we can use less chemicals in our laundry, which pollutes less, reduces the change of residual chemicals left on your clothes you wear, and reduces landfill waste in packaging.  Give it a try, and don’t forget to share your journey using #SunsetZoo5050.