Living a great lifestyle isn’t just about having a beautiful home and an expensive car sitting on the drive. It’s also about being a part of a thriving community.

But making that community thrive isn’t something that will happen automatically. Instead, it’s everyone’s responsibility to make it work.

Think about the best communities that you ever lived in as a child. Usually, they were the ones where people organized together to create a better environment for everybody.

Check out some of our community project ideas you could get involved with in this post.

Campaign For Better Street Lighting

Street lighting is one of the best deterrents of criminal activity. And it’s so inexpensive too (relative to most other projects to reduce crime). So joining a campaign group could really benefit certain neighborhoods in your areas.

Deliver Meals To The Homebound

Many people - especially seniors - don’t have the option of leaving the house to pick up the food that they want. Many of them are homebound because of illness and disease.

But you can help. Just join a local meal delivery service that specifically caters to people who are unable to get out and about.

Throw A Birthday Party For Homeless Children

Here’s another great idea: throw a birthday party for kids who are out on the street or at the shelter. This type of gesture might seem small, but it can remind these children that there are people in society who care about their needs.

Join A Community Solar Project

Community solar, also sometimes called net metering, is a new innovation that lets you invest in and use solar energy, without having to install panels on your house first. What’s more, when the entire community shares the financial cost, it becomes much more affordable for everyone.

Look around your local area for schemes and sign up if you see one that you like.

Volunteer At The Local Animal Shelter

Animal shelters do important work rehabilitating lost or injured animals and returning to the wild. It is tempting to allow “nature to take its course” but in many areas, that isn’t possible because of human activity. People have such a massive impact on local ecosystems that it’s important for shelters to operate to ensure that the wild population of animals remains as high as possible.

Clean Up Trash From Outdoor Spaces

Over time, outdoor spaces attract trash and clutter. And that’s a shame. We would like our streets and parks to be 100 percent trash-free.

The good news, though, is that you can do something about it. Just join your local litter volunteer group and join them on a pick.

Create A Nature Garden

Too few communities have genuine spaces for nature to thrive. But these are essential for increasing biodiversity. However, you and other members of the community can join together to create a nature garden where you deliberately try to encourage underrepresented species.

These gardens will attract all kinds of wildlife and may even help provide benefits for regular gardens by attracting more insects.

*This is a collaborative post.