Who We Are

My Small Green Steps is an initiative dedicated to fostering sustainable values and behaviors by promoting the development of eco-friendly habits. These habits are cultivated through incremental, consistent changes that gradually become second nature. As these “green habits” are integrated into our value systems, we create communities that serve as more responsible stewards of our planet.

Our Mission:

Empowering sustainable behavioral change, one small green step at a time.

Our Vision:

Regained human respect for the interconnectedness and harmony of all life on Earth.

Our Pillars

My Small Green Steps focuses on three main pillars for all the work that we do.

Educate

To drive meaningful change, it is essential to cultivate an awareness of our behaviors and their impact. My Small Green Steps is dedicated to offering foundational and practical knowledge through straightforward, interactive lesson plans grounded in the principles of a regenerative and circular economy. These lesson plans are designed to elucidate the detrimental effects of our current linear economy on the environment and to provide actionable strategies for transitioning towards more sustainable practices.

Transform

To inspire a paradigm shift, My Small Green Steps is committed to building and enhancing community awareness to drive systemic change. By promoting consistent and incremental behavioral adjustments, we facilitate the development of sustainable habits. These habits, in turn, evolve into transformative values that contribute to the stewardship of our planet.

Sustain

Community support is essential for maintaining sustainable habits. My Small Green Steps empowers individuals to foster community by sharing their incremental green actions. Through learning, inspiring, empowering, and supporting each other, we cultivate an environment of curiosity and openness to change. As we collectively integrate these small changes into our daily lives, we contribute to a larger movement towards sustainability.

Initiatives

My Green Steps is working on the following initiatives. More information will be coming soon.

Education and Workshops on Circular Economy

My Small Green Steps lesson plans, in collaboration with "The Jungle Jinni", are designed to cultivate eco-consciousness and translate awareness into action through a heart-led learning approach. This methodology harnesses the power of storytelling and the science of emotion to ignite passion and enhance educational impact.

To bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, students are given interactive activities that encourage incremental, sustainable behavioral changes. This approach underscores that even small actions can cumulatively drive significant progress towards overarching sustainability goals. By instilling a sense of responsibility and empowering students to undertake these manageable steps, we aim to foster a mindset that values and leverages incremental contributions.

The Jungle Jinni Curricula

Consulting for Home and Small Business

Coming Soon

Community Building

Share and inspire others with your small green step.

Coming Soon

The Founder

In 2019, Janice Colina embarked on a personal sustainability journey by documenting her efforts to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle on her Instagram account, @mysmallgreensteps. While living in New York City, she faced substantial challenges in maintaining this lifestyle, leading her to share her experiences to illuminate the inherent difficulties of zero-waste living. She soon recognized that her ability to adhere to a zero-waste lifestyle was influenced by her privilege and access to resources, highlighting the uneven playing field and complicating anyone’s pursuit of environmental sustainability.

This realization inspired Janice to pursue a graduate degree at the University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica. There, she developed a keen interest in issues related to overconsumption, overproduction, and the pervasive use of plastics. During her internship at CORCLIMA, she contributed to developing strategies for implementing circular economy principles in Monteverde. Her efforts included designing a workshop on upcycling used denim, which she conducted for La Tilichera, a local trade shop.

Janice is currently collaborating with The Jungle Jinni Curriculum to develop lesson plans grounded in the Earth Charter Principles, with a particular emphasis on circular economy as it relates to Ecological Integrity (Pillar 2, Principle 7). These lessons are crafted using a heart-led learning approach, which was recently showcased at the 2024 Earth Charter Conference.

The launch of this initiative represents her biggest small green step yet!

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