As Covid restriction ease and borders open up again, many of us are desperate to escape the unpredictability of the British weather and experience some sunnier climes. However travel, or certainly international travel, feels pretty synonymous with flying and with the associated hefty carbon footprint that comes with that.
Having resigned myself to damp summer holidays in our caravan in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, it was brilliant to chat to Georgina Wilson-Powell, all about her new book, The Eco Conscious Travel Guide, about all the amazing adventures on our doorstep, travelling both with the UK, and around Europe via train.
After reading the book and after our podcast chat, I’m actually getting really excited the thought of planning a European train adventure with the kids next Summer, one where the travel becomes part of the holiday, and that enables us to really see the countryside we’re passing through and to soak up more of the culture of different countries, rather than simply flying over them.
Enjoy!
LISTEN...
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[137] WILDFLOWER MEADOWS AND HOW TO MAKE (A MINI) ONE IN YOUR GARDEN
DID YOU KNOW?
- We have lost over a million acres of wild landscapes in the UK since the end of WW2
- The total garden space in the UK is greater than all the nature reserves!
- Our gardens have huge potential to be havens for wildlife and pollinators
I'm very much not a gardener, but I'm super aware that our garden could be working harder for nature and wildlife. So it was great to get to chat to Paul Jupp from Meadow in My Garden, all about how to do it!
Paul is just brilliant - his passion and enthusiasm for not just wildflowers, but for the power of planting a seed as a hopeful act and a way of helping nature and also communities is infectious!
LISTEN...
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CHECK OUT...
- Meadow in My Garden
-
[112] SUSTAINABLE(ISH) LIVE AT TIMBER FESTIVAL – COMMUNITY ENERGY WITH BRIGHTON ENERGY CO-OPERATIVE
This episode was recorded live at Timber Festival over the summer and was my first every experience of a live podcast recording - I think it went ok!
Timber Festival is an annual festival in the National Forest in the middle of England, that this year happened at the beginning of July - there was a brilliant line up of talks, music, food and everything else you would expect from a festival (including rain..!). Because I'm a total geek I was particularly excited by the reusable cups, reusable wristbands and the compost loos!
I'm chatting to Will Cottrell, Chair and Co-Founder of Brighton Energy Co-operative, about all things Community Energy - what it is, how it works, and how we as individuals, households, and businesses can get involved.
LISTEN...
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CHECK OUT...
- Timber Festival
- Brighton Energy Co-operative
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Solar Schools - Community Energy England
- Salisbury Community Energy
- Wiltshire Wildlife Trust solar schemes
- Local Electricity Bill
- [044 ] - How to get your MP to take action on the climate crisis with Power for People
- The Sustainable(ish) FB group
DO...
- Get in touch with your MP about the Local Electricity Bill
- Find out if you have a community energy group near you
- Write to your local council asking if they have ever considered community energy on their buildings
Let me know your thoughts about community energy!
KNACKERED
BUT WANT TO
'DO SOMETHING'..?
Join the Sustainable(ish) e-mail list and kick off your imperfect eco-action with my
'5 easy Sustainable(ish) things you can do from your sofa'!
[106] CLEAN AND GREEN WITH NANCY BIRTWHISTLE
I’m still having to pinch myself a little but I got to spend an hour hanging out and having a chinwag with a past winer of the Great British Bake Off! I met Nancy Birtwhistle, the 2014 winner of my very favourite TV show, virtually, for an event we did together for Glasgow's Aye Write Festival earlier on this year. Nancy has got a book out called Clean and Green, and we were paired up for a talk on Eco Tips for your Home and Family.
I wanted to chat more to Nancy about her book, and about all things 'green cleaning' so I pulled on my big girl pants and plucked up the courage to send her an e-mail after the event inviting her on the podcast.
To my surprise and delight, she said yes!
Now I’m very much not one of life’s clean freaks. I find cleaning thoroughly soul destroying and perhaps because of my lacklustre approach to it, my attempts at home made cleaning products have never been resounding successes.
But Nancy’s approach is really refreshing, and even I have been tempted to have another go, and I was more than a little over-excited to whup up a batch of Nancy’s toilet magic at the weekend and have been delightedly spraying it willy nilly around our looks all this week. It was super easy and seems to be coping with my kids spraying something else willy nilly around our loos well.
I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed recording it – do let me know if you’re tempted to have a go at some homemade cleaning products, or if you’re now going to make the switch to an eco version of one your usual products!
As ever, please do leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts – it helps it to climb the charts and more importantly boosts my poor fragile ego no end….
Enjoy!
LISTEN...
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CHECK OUT...
[092] HOW TO GARDEN THE LOW CARBON WAY WITH SALLY NEX
It’s starting to feel like spring is springing isn’t it?
We’re into March, I’ve seen daffodils poking out when we're out on our daily walks, and I even went out without a coat on the other day – wild times...!
And with the longer days and warmer weather, many of us will be looking forwards to spending more time outdoors and maybe indulging in a spot of gardening. Good for the mind, body and soul. And good for the planet too right? After all, what can be greener than getting your hands dirty and growing stuff.
Well……it turns out that sometimes gardening might not be all that green.
I know, is nothing sacred any more? Why does everything have to be so blooming complicated? What on earth can possibly be wrong with gardening?!!!
Listen in to my chat with Sally Nex, the author of How to Garden the Low Carbon way as we chat about:
- Why gardening might not be as green as we assume
- The wonder of soil and how we can help it
- The huge potential that our gardens have to help wildlife, ecosystems and the climate crisis
- Why we need to dig less (or not at all!)
- Why we need to mow less
- What compost we should choose
- How we can use less plastic in our garden (and why we should worry about it)
- And lots more!
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Useful links
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 10 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) TRAVEL & TRANSPORT
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....!
It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 9 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) AT SCHOOL
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....!
It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 8 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) WORK
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....!
It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of
12 DAYS OF SUSTAINABLE(ISH) – DAY 7 SUSTAINABLE(ISH) HOME
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG....!
It is with HUGE excitement that I bring you this very special mini-series of the Sustainable(ish) podcast to celebrate, and to count down to, the launch of
THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) ‘BIG SIX’- IMPACTFUL THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO HELP THE PLANET
When it comes to the climate crisis and 'sustainable living' it can all feel a bit overwhelming. We're bombarded by all these things we should be doing, all the things we shouldn't be doing, all these 'green/zero waste' must haves we apparently need to buy, all the things we really shouldn't buy. There's a lot of noise, and sometimes it's hard to know where to start, or what to do for the best.
I've tried to distill all of the noise, all of the advice, into six simple actions, or places to start. So that if you're wondering where to start, or you've only got so much time and/or energy, these actions will give you big bangs (impact) for your buck. Or a good 'return on your investment'.
Of course, this is going to massively simplified, and I'm sure that my 'top 6' won't be the same as other people's, but I've tried to pick things that are easy, do-able, yet still high impact. Within each action, there's also a spectrum of how 'full on' you want that change to be, which will depend on where you are now, and how much time and energy (and sometimes money) you have to commit.
And no, six simple changes will never be enough, but they're a brilliant place to start - just imagine if we could get even 10% of the population taking action on these six things....
1. THINK SECONDHAND FIRST
60% of greenhouse gas emissions are a result of household consumption - the things that you and I buy, the choices we make, everyday.
The most sustainable version of anything is the one you already own, but if you want or need something 'new', then try looking for that thing secondhand in the first instance.
Challenge:
Some tips to help:
Useful posts/podcasts:
2. REDUCE YOUR FOOD WASTE
50% of all food waste occurs in the home.
This is a shocker of a stat isn't it?
Food waste is a big driver of climate change as when in landfill, it rots and emits methane, a greenhouse gas 25-30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In fact, if food waste were a country it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. contributor. Add to that that growing food is responsible for 25% of all water consumption globally, and it's easy to see that this is an area where we can all have a really big impact.
Challenge:
Some tips to help:
Useful posts/podcasts:
3. SWITCH YOUR ENERGY SUPPLIER TO A RENEWABLE ENERGY TARIFF
This one simple move could slash your carbon footprint by up to a quarter.
AND it could save you money. AND it will take less than 10minutes.
I think it's what's technically known as a 'no brainer'.
Challenge:
Useful posts/podcasts:
Useful posts/podcasts:
4. REFUSE SINGLE USE
One million plastic bottles are produced every minute
And it's not just plastic bottles.
The Big 4 most commonly used single use plastics are water bottles, coffee cups, straws, and plastic bags - all of which are used for minutes and then hang around in landfill for years.
Challenge:
Some tips to help:
Useful posts/podcasts:
5. EAT MORE PLANTS
Livestock farming accounts for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions
Reducing consumption of meat and dairy is a really powerful thing to do for the planet. Buy less, but better is a good mantra to remember here.
Challenge:
Some tips to help:
Useful posts/podcasts:
6. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
3.5% of the population actively participating in protests can ensure serious political change
Challenge:
Some tips to help:
Useful posts/podcasts:
Whether you're just starting out or well on your way, hopefully there's food for thought and actions to take - let me know how you're doing!
