Equity

Food & Waste

Environment

Health & Wellness

Children & Families

Local Economy

Energy

Transportation

Environment

• Earth Day Network has 11 actions you can take for the planet during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Have you done something for the planet lately? Made a plan for action after the crisis? Want to affirm the efforts of others? You can add all kinds of support for a better planet to the Earth Day map.

• Compare your own carbon footprint before and after the “stay at home” order.

• Join EarthRise, a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform, and demands bold action for people and the planet at Speak, Act, Vote!

• Sign up for updates on Biophilic RVA, a community-led effort to ensure citizens have rich contact with the flourishing natural world as an element of daily life.

• Find some time to get outside (adhering to social distancing guidelines) and participate in the City Nature Challenge (through April 27) and start recording plants and animals in the Richmond area. Get to know nature in your backyard.

• Mothers Out Front, an organization working to ensure a livable climate for all children, has information and resources for action during COVID-19.

• Do your part to protect the health of the James River and Richmond’s water systems with tips from RVAH2O:

  • Always making sure your used PPE makes it to a trash can—litter on streets, sidewalks, and parking lots are swept into storm drains when it rains.

  • Never flushing wipes (even “flushable” ones), paper towels, or tissues—these items clog sewer lines, including those in your home!

  • Connecting a rain barrel to your downspout and use what you collect to water your garden.

Energy

• Save money on your energy bills with these energy efficiency tips:

  • Set it for the season: Set thermostats to 78 degrees during warm weather months. With each degree higher you set your thermostat, you can see a 3-4% decrease in energy use. Don't forget, you can use fans to help you feel cooler, even with a higher thermostat setting.

  • Phase out phantom energy loss: To avoid phantom loss, unplug devices when not in use, or use a smart power strip and turn off the strip when equipment or devices are not in use.

  • Choose wisely with appliances: Avoid using appliances that produce heat during the hottest times of the day and avoid frequent opening of refrigerators and freezers. Also, consider using your outdoor grill to help save additional energy.

  • Feel the flow; free your filters: Clean or change air conditioning filters each month. A dirty filter can make your equipment work harder, resulting in higher bills. Make sure furniture, curtains, rugs and other items do not block vents and return air registers.

  • Follow on and off advice: Turn off TVs, computers and other electronic devices when not in use. Consider energy-saving settings, which are often available on newer equipment and appliances.

  • Save with LEDs: Save energy and money by changing a standard light bulb in your home to an ENERGY STAR®-qualified LED bulb. LEDs use 90% less energy than standard bulbs and can last up to 15 times longer.

  • Get a home energy audit: A professional home energy audit can help find many more opportunities for immediate savings, low-cost improvements, and long-term efficiency upgrades. Richmond-based non-profit Viridiant offers low cost energy audits. Income-qualifying residents can obtain audits and free upgrades from project:Homes.

  • Teleworking?: Be sure to put your office set points in the unoccupied mode so you aren’t unnecessarily heating and cooling.

Health & Wellness

• RVAStrong has resources on how to stay healthy during the pandemic.

• The outbreak of COVID-19 may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger. The CDC has tips for stress and coping.

• Here's a list of resources including tools for crisis support and intervention, managing anxiety, mindfulness and movement, ways to share art and stories, support of children and teens, and resources in Spanish.

• Breathing techniques are a great way to mitigate stress in the body and help you relax your mind and your muscles.

• Support historians with a COVID-19 journal of your experiences during this unique time in our lives. It is a great way to get your activities, thoughts, and feelings recorded for future education. Writing is also a great way to experience grief and calm during this stressful time.

• Virginia Public Media has mental health resources for kids, teens, families, and individuals.

Transportation

• The GRTC has not stopped running during the pandemic! Please do not ride except for essential trips - keep the space open for our community members who need it. Read more on GRTC’s response to COVID-19.

• Ride your bike safely amid COVID-19!

• The Virginia Capital Trail is open, but make sure to follow social distancing guidelines while enjoying it.

• Schedule to repair or buy a bike at Richmond Recycles.

• Encourage sidewalk etiquette during COVID-19.

• Team RideFinders is still here to help answer your questions.

• Teleworking for the planet:  This pandemic is providing a rare opportunity to rewire our sense of what is possible in American society:

  • There’s no quicker, easier, cheaper way to reduce your carbon footprint than to not drive! If half of all Americans who commute to work are skipping the commute for even half of their normal work days that is having the greenhouse gas equivalency of removing 10 million cars from the road!

  • In the longer term, emissions savings can be even greater, as telework policies allow companies to reduce the amount of office space they must heat, power and equip. The longer employees work from home, the more likely it is that employers start to realize other benefits (i.e. cost savings, higher productivity, fewer unscheduled absences, better employee retention, and flexibility).

  • Maintain a healthy work environment: equipment ideas, interior design, cleaning and disinfecting, and laundry in the time of COVID-ID.

• Maintain your electric vehicle while sheltering in place.