Water!
In California, we’re facing the worst fires and an unbearable heat wave – but I’m sitting inside in my air conditioned living room while others are delivering my mail, my food, etc. I decided on a simple fix! I bought a $25 cooler on Amazon and some frozen ice packs. I filled the cooler with water bottles and left it at the front door of my building. At first I wondered if someone would steal the cooler but only decided that if someone did they needed a cooler a lot and I could buy another. Turns out, no one took the cooler but when I went to bring it back upstairs at sunset all the water bottles were gone! I stocked it with 10 in the morning, and only 3 remained so clearly my guess was correct that the woman and men who deliver our stuff need water!
I also figured it wasn’t just humans suffering in this heat wave but outdoor animals too — squirrels, raccoons, opossums are all struggling now to find water. I don’t have a large front yard, and its pretty much dirt filled but I bought aluminum trays, weighted them with rocks so they wouldn’t slide down the hill, and each night I filled them with water. The very first morning I saw a squirrel in the (otherwise treeless) front yard. He looked at me, and I at him, that was all the thank you I needed.
Help out! We can all share what we have to help our community. Hopefully sharing this simple action will motivate others to do the same.
How to:
Dylan Kendall is the CEO and Founder of Dylan Kendall Home; A kitchen products company making fun, functional, safe products your family can trust. She is a designer of social ideas and social objects.