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How to eat sustainably – The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 – A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

Nureen Glaves from Feed Me Good talks to us about how to eat a balanced diet that's good for us and good for the planet.

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Plastic Not So Fantastic – The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 – A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

Join us for a panel discussion about single use plastic and how we can avoid it (at least some of the time!)

Panellists:
- Jo Moseley - Healthy Happy 50
- Livvy Drake - Sustainable Sidekicks
- Claire Sumners - Zero Waste Maman

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Talking to our kids about the climate crisis – The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 – A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

When it comes to the climate crisis, when we've got kids we often worry about how we talk to them about it without freaking them out, as well as how we can engage them and get them on board with the changes we're making.
In this session Anya Hart-Dyke joins us to discuss these questions and more.

Anya Hart-Dyke has worked in sustainability for 10 years, and her children are nearly 3 and 6. Through trial and error she has been trying to engage her eldest on the importance of setting what she calls 'planetary' boundaries. This has meant rules around how much we buy (e.g. minimizing gifts, buying 2nd hand clothes/toys, lending/borrowing toys and games with friends, making energy balls instead of buying individually wrapped snack bars), what they buy (e.g. no toy-filled children's mags, single-use plastic crafts/pens, seasonal fruit and veg), and what they throw away (mending clothes, usefully repurposing packaging they can't avoid, fixing/repairing things, coming up with new recipes to cut down on avoidable food waste).
Anya finds the challenge is how to explain, in a meaningful way, why this is all so important. She thinks that if she doesn't understand the why of it all, she won't retain these good habits into adulthood.As with all things sustainable, longer-term thinking is needed and this of course includes raising the next generation to consume mindfully. Anya thinks teaching children about the importance of living sustainably is as important as teaching them to eat well, and how to socialise and treat others with respect. She would love to share with you what she has been trying to do at home with her kids and to hear what anyone else has tried.
Find out more about Anya's work on her website.

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Everyday Activism – The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 – A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

Join us for a discussion on "Everyday Activism", what it means and how we can all bring a little bit more activism for the planet into our everyday lives.

Panellists:
- Georgina Wilson-Powell - Editor of Pebble Magazine
- Ella Daish - Activist and plastic-free periods campaigner
- Sue Walder-Davis - Blogger at 365 Eco Decisions

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Project Drawdown; The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020; A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

How do you stop a cow farting?
What’s the top solution to reverse Global Warming that you’ve never heard of?
Alexander's session is all about an amazing initiative from the US called Project Drawdown, that ranks and evaluates the 100 most powerful carbon reduction solutions to help us achieve Drawdown, which is when greenhouse gas concentrations peak and then begin to fall. During the session, we explore some of the solutions and suggests ways people can participate in implementing the solutions here in the UK.

Alexander Furey is the Founder of Zero Waste Mindset, a corporate sustainability training and events company, and he is also the Co-Director of Zero Waste London, a community organisation which facilitates, hosts and promotes sustainability related events and activities in London and is now the largest zero waste community in the UK, with over 2,000 members.

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Your Values and Sustainability – The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020; A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

Join us for this session with Rae Ritchie talking about how we develop a values based approach to sustainability.
Rae Ritchie is a freelance writer, editor and speaker specialising in all things sustainable and ethical living. She spends a lot of time thinking about how we, individually and collectively, can live and work in ways that better support people and the planet. You can find out more and sign up for her newsletter, 'Turning the dial: moving towards an ethical life', at raeritchie.com.

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

Welcome to The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 – A Festival of Sustainable Living

The Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020 was an online celebration of all things Sustainable(ish) held during May 2020.
The festival was host to 40 talks providing a source of inspiration for anyone wanting to try and live a more sustainable life and reduce their impact on the planet, and it was bloody brilliant to see so much enthusiasm for all things Sustainable(ish) and the wonderful community that came together in a virtual campsite to support each other and take action for the health of the planet.

In this 'festival opener' I'm welcoming people to the week, sharing the logistics of how the talks will work during the festival, and sharing my thoughts on 'imperfect action' and why it's so important.

Check out the rest of the talks here.
If you're inspired to take action from any of the talks, there's a festival 'pledge wall' here - come and add yours!
And if you've enjoyed the talks and want to donate the cost of a cuppa to say thank you and help fund the work here at Sustainable(ish), please do head over to the festival ko-fi cart here.

JOIN THE SUSTAINABLE(ISH) REVOLUTION

Join us at BASE CAMP to find free resources and receive a weekly guide to reducing your impact on the planet... one simple step at a time.

SUSTAINABLE(ISH) HOME SCHOOLING(ISH) THINGS TO DO WITH THE KIDS #1

I've got one word for you all. Cornoavirus.
We're living though strange, scary, anxiety and stress inducing times. I'm not sure what I can share that will help/be of value, but I'm going to give it a go by sharing some topics/things to do around being more planet friendly with the kids. This is not to make you feel bad or to give you yet another thing to add to your 'things to do with the kids to #makememories' - more like it's here if you need it/when you're tearing your hair out by 10am as they seem to have managed to fit a whole day's school work AND Joe Wicks PE into less than an hour (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything).
It's here if you want it, I've added ideas to drag it out for longer if you need them! If not please obviously feel free to ignore!

#1 DO A PLASTIC AUDIT

- Get the kids together and have a chat about doing this. Ask them what their thoughts are about single use plastic, what they already know about it etc etc.

- Grab a box, or a spare bin, or even a bin bag if you've nothing else to hand.
Get the kids to make a sign for it, colour it in etc etc

- In here goes all your single use plastic from the week

- During the week whilst you're collecting it, in an age appropriate way, help them to do some research into:
* different types of plastic
* is all plastic bad plastic?
* when is plastic actually beneficial (eg in reducing weight for transport, in hospitals etc)
* how plastic ends up in the oceans
* different ways it harms wildlife
* people and organisations doing good stuff to help wildlife and reduce plastic pollution
* the most common types of plastic washed up on beaches/found on beach cleans

- At the end of the week, tip out the box of plastic and turn your kids into rubbish detectives (possibly in every sense of the word depending on how enthusiastic they are...)
* count how many items there are
* split them into recyclable (kerbside), recyclable at the tip, terracycle (check on the terracycle website for collection points and schemes near you), and non recyclable
* If you're feeling keen you could create bar charts/pie charts of the above
* what's the most commonly occurring item?
* make a top 10 - again you could do a bar chart of how many items of each etc
* which brand is most commonly represented eg walkers crisps, coke bottles etc etc
* double check what you can recycle kerbside and locally on recyclenow.com
* are there things in there that you can recycle that you didn't know you could? Can you come up with a plan to make sure that those items are now actually recycled?

- Together, pick THREE items you want to work on reducing/refusing/swapping out.
Then pick your first item and come up with ideas - get the kids to join in with this and you're way more likely to get buy in from them. Eg. if it's something like fruit shoot bottles (which are really difficult to recycle due to the different types/colours of plastic), what could you swap them out for? Or could you say you only have them at weekends? Or on special occasions?

- Get letter writing
* help the kids to write a letter to some of the brands you've found in your recycling pile. Maybe send a picture of your pile and their items/your bar charts etc. Explain why you're concerned about single use plastic - include some of the facts you've found out. Ask them what their plans are to help them planet when it comes to plastic pollution from their products.

- Share your plastic audit on social media including a pic if you want to
* tag in the brands
* invite your friends to do their own audit
* if you're very keen, do a 'rubbish flatlay' to share on IG using the #rubbishflatlay hashtag

- Create a poster about plastic pollution
* share it on social media

USEFUL BOOKS/WEBSITES

- Wild Tribe Heroes have some lovely books for pre-school/KS1
- Dougie Poynter of McFly fame has written 'Plastic Sucks' which has lots of info and also interviews with people around the world doing good stuff
- "This book is not rubbish" by Isabel Thomas
- "What a Waste" by Jess French
- Kids Against Plastic have a great 'learn' section on their website: https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/learn/
- The Plastic Pollution Coalition have this article about how to talk to your kids about plastic pollution:
-National Geographic Kids have some resources including some crafty type activities
- Recycle Now lets you check what you can recycle locally to you
- Terracycle - look to see what schemes you have locally for hard to recycle things
- Books for super-hero kids who want to save the world (blog post)
- [030] - Sisters Against Plastic (podcast)

FYI - my kids are currently running around the garden like lunatics and have already sent at least one ball flying over the fence, and I can hear one of them saying 'sorry' meaning that one of them has probably just hurt the other one, just in case you're feeling the pressure of all the amazing 'first day of home schooling pics' being shared.

Phew!
What a mega post.
Please do let me know if this is helpful, or if there's any additional info that would be useful, or if you've got any ideas for 'add on activities' for this!
Also, if you find it helpful, please do share with friends, and do post pics of your audits/flatlays/posters etc etc - I'd love to see them

AVAILABLE NOW!!

"The most eco-common sense thing I've read!"

[066] – MEAL PLANNING MAGIC, OR HOW TO MAKE THE FOOD YOU’VE GOT GO FURTHER WITH ANN FROM STORR CUPBOARD

Well.... What can I say?
We are living in unprecedented times - it feels surreal, scary, overwhelming, all of the emotions. And this is going out the day after the UK government announced that schools will be closed until further notice.
I'm not going to dwell here on the c-word - I think we're all probably getting about as much as we can take right now, so how about a coronavirus free hour?

In today's episode I'm chatting to Ann Storr, from the Storr Cupboard (do you see what she's done there? I do love a play on words) all about food waste. And specifically how to use meal planning to reduce it. We recorded this episode many moons (a few weeks) ago, and there isn't even a mention of the c-word (yay!) but listening back to it in the context of current events, it's actually a really timely episode. With pictures on social media of supermarket shelves stripped bare, we're all starting to think about food in a slightly different way - instead of seeing it as this plentiful and never-ending resource, some people are, for possibly the first time, really waking up to the idea that they need to make the very most out of every scrap of food in the house.
With regards to the climate crisis, food waste is a huge issue, and c-word or not, we all need to get better at using up the food we buy. Listen in for some brilliant tips around meal planning, food storage, and clever ideas around using up leftovers, and then head on over to Ann's website to check out all the brilliant resources she has on offer there.

Stay safe and well and sane(ish), wherever you are.

Enjoy.

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Useful links

Storr Cupboard
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[065] ‘PERIODICAL’ WITH LAUREN FROM WEAR ‘EM OUT PADS

Yay! The podcast is BACK for series FOUR!!

I intended to only take a short break in the New Year and now suddenly it's March - I'd like to say I have no idea how that happened, but the reality is that it turns out launching a book into the world is quite time consuming, and as ever I massively over-estimated what I'd be able to get done each day...!

Right then, this week's podcast is with the wonderful Lauren Derrett, founder of Wear 'em Out, a new brand of reusable pad.
We chat all things periods, obviously, but also lots of chat around taking the plunge and starting your own product based business, some of the barriers in the way of 'green living' and why lots of us might not necessarily resonate with, or aspire to 'green living' stereotypes.
We recorded this episode way back in October last year, when Lauren had a brand, prototype pads and some great feedback from testers but was waiting for the first delivery of pads. Since that time, their first order arrived, the website crashed with the demand, they sold out, re-stocked and haves sold out again! Lauren posted today on Instagram that they've had 542 orders so far, meaning that over the next three years, 429,264 disposable pads will be saved from landfill (based on the average use of 22 pads per cycle).
WOW!! This is where we quickly and easily see impact of individual action, collectively.

Quick word of warning that Lauren is a self-confessed 'potty mouth' and I think drops the 'f-bomb' at one point - my suggestion would be not to listen to this one with the kids in earshot, or if you're not a fan of the odd expletive, to give this one a miss (although you'll be missing out on a great episode!).

Enjoy!!