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Earth Day is next week, a global event that promotes environmental protection that began in 1970 is now celebrated in over 193 countries. For older adults, Earth Day holds particular importance as they become more conscious of their environmental impact and have the time and resources to contribute to environmental causes. We’ll explore five simple things that older adults can do to celebrate Earth Day and support the well-being of our planet.

Plant Trees and Pollinator-Friendly Plants

Planting trees in your garden or neighborhood has numerous benefits. They absorb carbon dioxide, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and release oxygen for us to breathe. Trees also filter pollutants and prevent erosion, contributing to cleaner water. Additionally, planting pollinator-friendly plants attracts vital butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, supporting our ecosystem. Lastly, trees and these plants provide shade and habitat for local wildlife, enhancing biodiversity and enriching your local ecosystem.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Reducing consumption means making conscious purchase decisions and buying only what’s necessary, reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Reusing items extends their lifespan, reducing the need for new products. Seniors can mend, repurpose, or donate items like clothing and furniture. Using reusable bags, bottles, and cups is also beneficial. Recycling saves resources and reduces landfill waste. Seniors can participate in local programs or set up home recycling systems. Every small act makes a difference in preserving the planet!

Conserve Water

To conserve water and protect aquatic ecosystems, seniors can take these simple actions:

• Take shorter showers, aiming for under 5-10 minutes.
• Fix leaking faucets promptly to eliminate water wastage and reduce utility bills.
• Water lawns deeply but infrequently, allowing water to reach the roots. Watering in the morning or evening minimizes evaporation. Using collected rainwater for gardening further reduces freshwater usage.

Conserve Energy

Older adults can have a significant energy-saving impact by:

• Turning off lights when leaving a room to reduce energy waste.
• Unplugging appliances when not in use. Unplugging televisions, computers, and kitchen gadgets, can help save a substantial amount of energy over time. Power strips can be used to make unplugging multiple appliances easier and more convenient.
• Opt for public transportation or carpooling. Taking buses or trains for errands and social events, as well as carpooling with friends or neighbors, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy.

Supporting Sustainable Businesses

Choosing sustainable businesses helps protect the environment by prioritizing responsible resource use and production processes. These businesses minimize waste, reduce energy consumption, and use renewable resources. Opting for local and organic produce reduces carbon emissions from transportation, supports local farmers, and promotes a healthier ecosystem by minimizing pesticide use.

How are you celebrating Earth Day and making a difference for the environment this year? Discover how residents at Westminster communities across the state are celebrating Earth Day by finding a location near you today!

Are you considering moving to a Life Plan Community but are unsure if it’s the right decision for you? You’re not alone. Many people have the same concerns before making a change. Regional Director of Sales for Westminster Communities of Florida, Andrea Sieradzki, has more than 35 years of experience in the senior living industry and has had the privilege of meeting many prospective residents as they explore their options. Given her expertise, we approached her with a question: “What are the things residents wish they knew before moving to a Life Plan Community?” In response, she graciously shared these five invaluable insights.

1. You’ll sleep better at night
Opting for a Life Plan Community not only grants you peace of mind, but it also extends that assurance to your family and loved ones – and you’ll sleep better at night for it. It’s not a matter of if something is going to happen, it’s a matter of when, and being prepared and having a plan in place for when something happens allows you to take a deep breath and relax. Creating a plan for your future is probably the most important thing you can do, not just your family but for your mental health as well. You’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing you have access to a full continuum of care with priority access should your needs or your spouse’s needs change. Residents of Life Plan Communities have a personal, customized plan they can rely on, ensuring the security and well-being of their future.

2. I wish I had done this sooner
The most common thing I’ve heard throughout my career is, “I wish I had done this sooner,” and “The fear of the unknown held me back from making this type of a decision.” Life Plan Communities are not “old folk’s homes” anymore. They offer resort-style living with no worries about the cooking and cleaning, but more importantly, they offer the freedom for you to come and go as you please. Choosing a Life Plan Community gives you the opportunity to shut the door and go on that world cruise that you’ve always wanted to go on. You don’t have to worry about a pipe bursting or something happening while you’re gone – we take care of all of that. This is a gift you give yourself, and is a way for you to finally enjoy those things that you’ve put on the back-burner.

3. It’s more affordable than you think
A lot of people don’t realize how affordable it is! People say, “I didn’t explore this option because I felt like it was out of my financial reach.” When you consider the tax benefits that you receive when you choose a Life Plan Community, and the discounts you receive when you move through the levels of care, having the ability to just have one monthly fee makes it so much easier. Plus, with property insurance and property taxes going up at a rapid rate, this makes a Life Plan Community a very attractive option. A Life Plan Community is a safety net and the predictability of costs over the years allows you to protect your nest egg longer.

4. You’ll find a whole new beginning
I don’t think people realize what a supportive, caring network you’ll find at a Life Plan Community. The new beginnings, the feeling of second family, the knowledge that if anything were to happen with your spouse, you have a support network in place already. You have a whole group of people who care about you, not just fellow residents but also team members who are tenured, who have been here a while, who are really engaged and really love what they do.

5. You are ready!
I hear, “I’m not ready yet,” “I’m not old enough,” “I’m not sick enough,” and “I have this milestone I’m waiting for,” a lot. My biggest take on that is you are ready! You may have lived in your current home for decades. However, the house that once perfectly served you and your family may no longer be the best fit for you. You may find that you spend a lot of your valuable time cleaning, managing the yard work, working on repairs and paying for taxes and homeowner’s insurance. You can utilize those resources in a different way and truly give yourself the carefree lifestyle that you’ve always longed for. When you choose this type of lifestyle you not only gain all that free time back to pursue creative, intellectual, physical and social pursuits, but you gain a whole new perspective on a chapter in your life that will bring longevity and vitality to you. What are you waiting for? There’s no time like the present to start creating your new lifestyle and enjoying all of the wonderful opportunities at your fingertips instead of being isolated in your home.

Ready to find the perfect fit for your future? Find a Westminster community near you today!

Westminster St. Augustine resident Sharon Piety-Nowell retired from the field of education after a remarkable 47-year career. Starting as a second grade teacher, she gained extensive experience in various roles, including elementary school principal, course evaluator for the Federal Aviation Administration, and holding multiple leadership positions at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. After 15 years of dedicated service, she retired as Dean of the university.

“I didn’t really plan any of that. I didn’t have career goals aside from teaching second grade,” Sharon said. “I had opportunities that I accepted and I think that’s one of the things that’s really important to nurture in young people starting out in the career today is to nurture their willingness to take risks and opportunities.”

In honor of Women’s History Month, Mrs. Piety-Nowell shared invaluable insights from her extensive career in education. With a wealth of experience under her belt, she generously offered advice and tips for aspiring women aspiring to pursue a career in this field.

How do you feel that the landscape in your field has changed for women who are wanting to pursue a similar role/position?

I think that one way the field has changed is that there are more opportunities available for advancement professionally. Clearly women are being promoted to those higher levels of the professional ladder, however I still think that the academic institutional culture is still a patriarchal system and men still receive higher respect and pay, even though clearly in the field of education, there are more women than men.

What’s interesting is most of the structure in education, whether its K-12 systems or college levels, are controlled by boards – boards of trustees, boards of directors, school boards – and those are mostly men, and that effects the entire culture then. I think all of those things make it challenging for women still to be able to achieve what they are capable of achieving. If they will take the risk and take advantage of opportunities, I think they will be as successful as possible.

What do you think your field needs to be doing now to continue to advance women wanting to pursue a similar career?

I’m a big fan of mentoring, so I think it’s really important that the professional groups in education mentor the younger women in the profession. That has to start with K-12 classrooms and by examining the reward system for females. They really need to look at how they can reward female characteristics like caring, compassion, being servant leaders, using critical thinking and problem solving, and making sure those characteristics are rewarded along with traditional characteristics like leadership, power and control.

I really think one of the ways mentoring can be occurring that I don’t see happening as often is all of us retired professional women can be mentoring college students in a formal way. I do it naturally because I have graduate students that have stayed in touch with me, but it seems like we’re losing an opportunity not to make it more formal and cultivate the relationship between retired professionals and college students.

What advice would you offer to younger women who may be interested in pursuing a career in your given field?

I keep trying to analyze how I got into the positions I got into because I didn’t really set career goals to do that, and my conclusion is that you need to build a skills toolbox that can cross a broad set of abilities that you can apply to a diverse cultural setting. These skills are social and emotional intelligence, critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, needs assessment skills, research skills and especially a love of lifelong learning and education.

Can you share a memory of yours were you felt that the women that you were working with, stood together to overcome the challenges that are associated with being a woman in your given field?

I’ll give you two. One was from when I was an elementary school principal and one from when I was Dean. When I was an elementary school principal, I was the only female administrator in the school out of 18 administrators. I started as the principal of a small school with 130 students. However, after the first year, I was asked to close that school and combine it with a larger school with the total population of 600 students, and of course, the community didn’t want this. The group of teachers I worked with were unbelievable. We bonded together and structured the transition for the students and the parents to become one larger school and one full community and the results were just phenomenal. I was there 10 years and it was just one of the best experiences of my career because that group of women had such a strong bond.

The other one, when I was a Dean, I had the privilege of being the host to the Black Women’s Roundtable in 2011 at Bethune-Cookman University. Their purpose was to come and mentor young students on campus and serve as role models for the undergraduate and graduate students. Most of them were first generation college students and it was an experience seeing women mentoring women from all of the country. It was a transformative leadership program. Most of our students went onto masters and doctorate programs, and to become leaders in their chosen careers, a perfect example of women working together and overcoming challenges. You can imagine what it’s like to be the first woman in your family to go to college and then to go all the way through to your masters and doctorate – it was a really powerful experience.

Martha Inman has been the Assisted Living Activities Coordinator at Westminster Oaks in Tallahassee for more than 27 years – and she’s loved all of it. She has been the bedrock of the Activities team for so long that she has created an entire philosophy around it. “The Activities team is called to go in two directions: To serve the residents when needed, and to be a peer and a friend when needed,” Martha says.

This month, while we honor Women’s History Month, it’s important to look at how our field has changed and the women who touch residents’ lives. In 2023, Martha was recognized for the many ways that she makes the residents’ lives engaging and enriching when she received the CEO Award from Chief Executive Officer Terry Rogers at our Annual Awards Banquet.

How do you feel that the landscape in your field has changed for women who are wanting to pursue a similar role/position?

Activities has always been a more female-centric part of the field of senior living. Today, however, we are seeing the opposite! We see more acceptance of men who want to seek these roles. We have to be enthusiastic and welcoming of them, too, when we get a wonderful man serving in the role.
We have also come a long way in finding people who put the experience of the residents first, and show each other respect and mutual understanding. As we have shifted away from a clinical emphasis to really emphasizing lifestyle, learning and engagement at any age and level of independence, we have had to build a stronger Activities team.

What do you think your field needs to be doing now to continue to advance women wanting to pursue a similar career?

I think we’re already doing what we need to do. Salaries have nearly tripled in my time in the field, which allows me to bring in those who are passionate – men or women – who have something to bring to the table, whether it’s crafts, or music or something else.

There have always been amazing women in leadership in our organization, and having a woman who can be your mentor is a real advantage for women entering the field today. I have been fortunate to have three mentors who are women leaders, Sandy Hugg, Shannon Sauls and Vicki Brown. Sandy taught me what our field is all about and to be a daring risk taker and to encourage me. Shannon came one year later, and as my supervisor, she was always encouraging and allowed me to try creative programming for our residents. Now I work directly for Vicki, and she is an amazing leader, as well as a former nurse and Director of Nursing (DON).

Westminster Oaks has over the years become a haven for many women who needed to get her place in the world, financially, and to move to a better place in their lives. We help our team members build strong lives and provide for their families. We advance women who want to come to the company and stay with the company, and we fulfill our Mission in doing so.

What advice would you offer to younger women who may be interested in pursuing a career in your given field?

Check your temperament and ask yourself if you want a true vocational mission or calling. It takes that to succeed in this job. You have to be in it for the thrill of seeing the impact that you make in enriching people’s lives, and bringing joy to their lives as the outcome of what you do. If not, it will simply be hard work and you will say that it is too much at times. I have a lot of faith in the Lord, and I think our work is a place where we can make sure people are here with joy and leaving with joy at the end of their lives.
Our job is to keep the residents enjoying the in-the-moment joy that fills their lives. They have moved to a point where the responsibilities, worries and fears are behind them. We re-enrich their lives with what we can bring them to remember, explore, create.

Can you share a memory of yours were you felt that the women that you were working with, stood together to overcome the challenges that are associated with being a woman in your given field?

We have been blessed that I’ve been here for 27 years, and had so many strong women in leadership, that we have not had that problem. Many of our senior leaders are women, many of our Resident Council leadership have come from Florida State or Florida A&M University and they are women, and they create a supportive environment and expect that environment everywhere. Westminster Oaks has always been a very supportive place for female team members, even if the field as a whole may not have always been supportive.

Honestly, I feel blessed to have had this experience.