What You Can Do Household Tips In diversity, every member of the web of life matters. As an individual, you can alter your lifestyle in little ways—through recycling, energy conservation, and pollution reduction—to lessen your ecological impact upon the Earth. The Field Museum works with more than 160 organizations, including the City of Chicago, to protect and restore biodiversity as part of the Chicago Wilderness consortium. You can play your part in local conservation, too. Check out the following household tips brought to you by the City of Chicago Department of Environment and Chicago Wilderness. Create a backyard sanctuary for migratory birds by planting native flowers, shrubs, and trees and by keeping cats indoors. Support the “Lights Out Chicago!” effort, which is helping migrating birds avoid colliding with skyscrapers. Keep our water supply clean. Dispose of used motor oil and other household chemicals properly—don’t dump them down a storm drain. Make sure your car operates as efficiently as possible by getting a tune up and inflating the tires properly. You’ll save gas and reduce your car’s impact on the environment. Cut back on pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals that make their way into the water supply. When possible, bike, walk, or take public transportation instead of driving. Drink shade-grown coffee. When coffee is grown among the trees in Central and South America, less forest is cleared for agriculture and more habitat remains for wildlife, including the birds that migrate to the Chicago region. Healthy woods and grasslands absorb carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. You can help keep those ecosystems healthy by volunteering at a local nature preserve. Save water by installing low-flow faucets and showerheads. Invest in a push or electric law mower. Gas-powered motors add 80 pounds of carbon dioxide to the air each year! Protect local lakes and rivers by using less salt on driveways and sidewalks in the winter. Save resources and energy by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Diversify your yard. Native flowers and grasses need less water and thrive in our climate. See the Department of Environment and Chicago Wilderness websites for additional information on how to help protect biodiversity in your backyard.   back to What You Can Do >>   continue to Volunteer Opportunities >> Introduction | Investigate Biodiversity | YBC | Meet the Scientist | Explore Global Diversity | Events and Programs | Take Action! | Teaching Biodiversity | Biodiversity Exhibition | Credits