Sustainable Spring Things 🌼

It’s light when you get home, the big winter coat is back in the wardrobe and blossom is adding colour back into the trees – that’s right, spring has returned! Here are some of the things I’ve been enjoying so far this season and some ideas for positive actions we can all take to make this spring a more sustainable one.

• Easter recycling – If you were fortunate enough to get a visit from the Easter bunny, then chances are you have a pile of colourful foil left over from all those Easter eggs. But wait before chucking them in the bin – foil can be recycled with metals, but is best done in bigger pieces. Start by making a ball from one foil wrapper, then add each additional wrapper around it until you have one big foil ball (or egg, depending on the shape you’ve made!) and add to your metal recycling. Maybe that very same foil will be made into your wrapper for next year, ready to repeat the process 🐣
• Attend a screening of the National Emergency Briefing – In the UK last November, a National Emergency Briefing was held in Westminster on the Climate and Nature crisis, to present the facts to politicians and leaders in order to kickstart the emergency response needed to a crisis of this scale. From this briefing a film has been made, and is being screened by communities, organisations and groups all over the country. You can find a screening happening near you using the National Emergency Briefing’s interactive map. It is especially important that politicians attend so they are properly equipped with the stark facts relating to the climate emergency and the response required, so even better if you get in touch with your local MP and invite them to attend. We have seen how emergencies like COVID-19 and international wars can initiate national and global responses, now it’s time to take climate change as seriously and respond to a crisis on a scale never seen before. In a time of doom scrolling and eco-anxiety, it can be tempting to skip these events because it is too painful, but in an emergency situation, it is important we are all able to face the very real threat facing us so we know what the solutions are. Hosting and attending screenings brings communities together to strengthen our collaborative approach to implementing solutions. Want to know more? Check out more info on the film and watch a trailer here. 🎥
• Get out there – Spring brings longer days and some more sunshine to our weather, so it’s the perfect time to get out in nature and enjoy your local environment. Whether visiting a nature reserve, exploring natural landscapes of national parks or the countryside, or taking your lunch or a book and sitting in the park, reconnecting with nature is good for us both mentally and physically, and reminds us why protecting nature is so important. Put the screens away and instead notice the new flowers emerging, a bird collecting nesting material, the environment changing with the seasons. And as you do so, leave the space a little better than you found it, like picking up litter, so everyone can continue to enjoy the space, including wildlife. For me, this has been exploring areas of natural beauty local to me that I’ve never visited before, and sitting under a tree in the park on my lunchbreak. This time outside both relaxes and re-energises me, and is a wonderful antidote to the working week ⛰️
• Decluttering for spring? Ground-breaking – If the new season has got you clearing out your wardrobe or spring cleaning your cupboards, make sure your items are going to a good home. Ask yourself: Is this in a good enough condition to be sold? Can this item be donated? Is there another use for this, like turning a chipped mug into a planter? If not, can I separate this out for recycling, such as textiles? Was there anything from your winter wardrobe that you didn’t year this time around, and therefore could be sold or given away? It’s always nice to have a clear out and refresh as the seasons change, but this doesn’t have to cause waste – with a bit of organising you can create your own circular economy of reduce, reuse and recycling. ♻️
• Active travel – Now the weather is showing signs of improvement, leave the car at home and use your own power to explore nature/your locality. Whether you enjoy running, cycling, kayaking or walking, after a winter of being inside, reconnecting with outdoor exercise is a great way to get active again and enjoy all of spring’s natural joys. Maybe combine with point 3 above and cycle to your local nature reserve, or go for a run somewhere new, or walk to the supermarket when you’d normally take the car. Exercise, nature and low environmental impact, yes please! 🚴

The change in seasons is a wonderful reminder to us as humans that nature operates in it’s own timescale, with periods of rest, nurture, growth and blooming. As spring transitions, this gives us the opportunity in the year too to embrace a new beginning, re-sync with nature and go feel the warmth of the suns rays once again. This energy can be used too for good – to support a movement actively taking on the response to the climate emergency, to waste less in our homes and to get out and enjoy our natural environment. And if you have any other sustainability tips for spring, let us know! 🌷