Ginger Leaf Living

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 5 📦

On the fifth day of Blogmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………………….. Thoughtful gifting!

Welcome back for Day 5 friends! Now, we know it’s great to get a surprise at Christmas, or to find something so unexpectedly perfect for someone that you know they will adore it. But what about those tricky ones on the list, that you just never know what to buy for? Christmas can be an extremely wasteful time of year, and one of the problems can come from unwanted/ill-matched gifts, that are either then taking up space at home unused, or unfortunately adding to the demand for materials on the planet. But don’t be consumed with guilt just yet, this year and all that follows will be different. You just have to ask.

A lot of the time we don’t want to ask what someone wants for Christmas because it takes the surprise element out of gifting, but it is so much better for the recipient, the environment and you. If like me, you get to gifting events and suddenly can’t think of anything to ask for, keep a list all year of things you need or would really like. Then at birthdays and Christmas, you can share ideas from the list with friends and family when they ask. It’s always nice to get something you know you will use and that will make life easier, so assume it’s the same for others and ask them if there is anything they’d like. If they don’t give you a specific answer, it’s always good to go for consumables that will get used anyway, like food or toiletries 🍫

Another gift idea that gets unnecessary bad press is the gift voucher. Famed for being impersonal and a cop out for finding a ‘proper’ gift, gift cards get a bag rep at this time of year. But have you ever been disappointed to receive a gift voucher for a place you love? No! Whether it’s a restaurant, local spending card or for an attraction, gift cards are a great way of treating someone to enjoy their favourite things. No need for gift card guilt!

Finally, instead of physical gifts that may not get the use, gifting experiences can be a better way of being less wasteful by making more memories. Especially booking an experience for both yourself and the other person, you also gift them your time to spend together. It could be tickets to a favourite band, train tickets for a weekend away or classes to learn a skill they have always talked about. The experience doesn’t have to be a purchased one either, it could be a ticket of your own making to promise to spend a day hiking with them, or looking after the kids for a night. Something special where you can spend quality time together, which can last a lot longer than the time spent with an unwanted gift.

So there you have it, asking what people want, giving gift vouchers and sharing experiences are some of the best gifting options out there, and aren’t nearly as boring as they have been made out to be. This is your sign to message your friends and get them something you know they will cherish and use this Christmas 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Resource & reference: https://www.wwf.org.uk/top-tips-sustainable-christmas

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 4 ⭐

On the fourth day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me…….. festive yet reusable decorations!

Welcome to the second week of blogmas! Now we are a week closer to the big day, you may have bought out the annual Christmas box ready to decorate your home and Christmas tree. With Christmas such a big shopping event now and almost infinite designs of decorations being sold everywhere you look, how can we have a Christmas that is stylish and so very festive without over-consuming? Today we explore the sustainability of decorations.

First up, one of the major pillars of the Christmas season is nostalgia and tradition. Using decorations that have been passed down through families or friends helps us keep loved ones close to us at this time of year. So it is not only more sustainable to reuse our decorations year on year, but important for us to establish and maintain traditions and keep memories alive for ourselves. I know my tree at home basically chronicles my entire life in Christmases, and while the maximalist approach to decorating might not be for everyone, whatever your style you can make use of the decorations you have so that your tree reflects who you are. We know the detrimental impact plastic has on the environment, so keep your tree and house free of any new plastic decorations and stay away from the single-use/cheap trend led decorations each year to prevent any excess waste. Whether you have an angel on the top of your tree that has been there longer than you can remember, or a homemade clay decoration from school, these decorations keep our stories alive to share with others year after year.

The Christmas wreath is another key decoration we can make less wasteful. If you have an artificial one, the best thing you can do is reuse it every year. If it’s looking a bit tired, you could add some embellishments of your own to adapt it to your own tastes. Alternatively, making a wreath from natural materials means the resources can naturally biodegrade after use. You can buy natural wreaths or you could try your hand at making your own. Check your garden for any fallen twigs/small branches you could tie together, then use any excess plant material available to you, like leaves and branches to add colour and texture to your wreath. Make sure to only use anything in excess within your own space, and leave plenty for wildlife. Once the foliage has been used, it can be returned to your garden and any resources used, like metal hoop frames, put away to be used next year. Have fun creating!

There are also lots of more natural-based decorations you can make for your home that you can compost or recycle after use. This year I want to try making dried orange decorations, that you can use to make garlands, tree decorations or even gift tags (here’s an example of the drying method 🍊). Other activities to try include making paper garlands or homemade decorations with wool felt or fabric scraps, to lean into more of a ‘hygge’ festive season.

UPDATE! Here are the results of my attempt at making a dried orange garland ⬇️ Needs a bit of practice but love how it looks (and how it scented the house!)

On a related note, lighting is often very important at Christmas with all the dark nights and for creating ambiance. But remember to only have lights on while you are there to use them, and don’t leave lights on all day/night. For Christmas tree lights, it is advisable to choose more energy efficient LEDs and use plug in lights, while for battery powered lights, try and choose rechargeable batteries where possible. This way we can still enjoy the beauty of the season without the ugliness of the waste that comes afterwards.

So while you’re decking the halls this year, set yourself the challenge to only decorate with what you have or make natural decorations to dress up your home. While the twinkle of tinsel and plastic can be alluring, a home filled with personal memories, handmade pieces and foraged items will definitely create the cosy Christmas feel we are all after. Bake those oranges, tie up the cinnamon sticks, bring out the family star for the top of the tree, it’s time to decorate waste-less style! 🌟

Resource & reference: https://www.wwf.org.uk/top-tips-sustainable-christmas

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 3 🎁

On the third day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me…….. Eco-friendly wrapping!

Happy Friday! Ok, so some of you might have a few gifts ready to wrap now. We all love ripping the wrapping paper off a gift on Christmas day, but what is the best way to minimise the waste produced by this packaging? This blog explores some of the possible answers…

The most sustainable option for your gift wrap this year is something that is reusable, like using pieces of fabric. These can be knotted to secure the fabric or stuck in place. Then your recipient can use the fabric themselves for their own use or wrapping next year – you might even get it back containing your own gift! Fabric wrapping can be a great way to use up smaller pieces of fabric you have at home and can be presented in a really stylish and festive way.

Alternatively, if you don’t have excess fabric lengths and would prefer to use paper gift wrap, being mindful of how much you use and its recyclability is essential. There are so many beautiful patterns out there, but before you buy check that the paper can be fully recycled after use and doesn’t contain other materials, such as plastic glitters, that would mean it couldn’t be processed. Even better if you can buy the roll of wrapping paper ‘naked’ without a plastic coating 🙌

To make recycling even easier for your friends and loved ones, try using paper tape this Christmas so the whole of the gift wrap can be recycled (see a range of paper tapes here!). Again, there are so many festive patterns to choose from on that these tapes are sure to make your presents shine, and you can get others for wrapping the rest of the year too 😉

Finally, if you get a gift that has been wrapped with plastic tape, take the time while you watch your favourite festive film to cut/tear off any of the wrapping containing plastic tape and bin, so you can recycle the rest of the paper. The less that ends up in your general waste bin this Christmas, the better!

Whether you are a gift wrap connoisseur, or more of a stick-and-hope-for-the-best kind of gifter, wrapping gifts is an essential part of the season and using these tips will help reduce your single-use waste this season. Beautifully wrapped gifts needn’t cost the Earth, so get out your fabrics, hand decorate plain papers with festive illustrations or use recycled and recyclable paper gift wrapping to gift with care this year and every Christmas after 🌍

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 2 🛍️

On the second day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………………… Supporting small businesses!

We’re back for day 2! If you are just starting your gift shopping, or have a few more to go, small businesses are the way to go. Here’s why going small is good for you, people and community.

How many times in sustainability do we talk about systems, or huge corporations or big businesses? These macro-scale institutions have a huge social and environmental impact because the size they operate on is so vast and beyond our natural systems. We are left detached from natural resources, manufacturing processes, the people that make these products and how they make their way to us, and take cheap prices for granted. But supporting small is much more personal – when you pay for a product from a small business, that person gets the money. There’s no line of processes in the middle getting a cut, it’s a direct transaction. That person then spends money in their local area, on football sessions for their child, or eating in the local café, keeping the money within the community. This is a simplified explanation but the bottom line is this: where you spend your money is the type of world you support.

There is pretty much a small business for everything, and especially at Christmas, it makes the shopping much more fun. Finding something personalised you know someone in your life will love is such a wonderful feeling, and the essence of gift giving. You could find makers at craft or Christmas markets near you, or spend a day exploring independent shops in your area. Or use online websites and selling sites that host a range of creators and small businesses. You could find a unique piece of jewellery, a local handicraft, hand illustrated cards or a personalised gift for someone specific. The options really are endless, and even better, you are more likely to be supporting businesses that operate on a much less carbon intensive scale. You can pay money that goes towards a third private jet for a billionaire, or that goes towards a child’s dance lesson. That is the kind of choice we as consumers face.

So get checking your list twice, and see if you find find any gems from independent makers to fill any gift gaps you have. I’m sure your recipient will feel so happy that you picked something unique that remined you of them. Support small this Christmas! 🛍️

12 Days of Blogmas: Day 1 🎄

On the first day of Christmas, GingerLeafLiving gave to me………………………….. A lifelong Christmas tree!

Happy December friends! It’s the last month of 2024 and a particularly festive one at that. Whether you celebrate Christmas, a different tradition or just the joy of another year, this series will provide you with 12 seasonal reminders for living more sustainable lives. First up, the Christmas tree!

A staple in many households, the Christmas tree is the pinnacle of festive magic, and we can all make sure ours brings only good things this Christmas. If you have a plastic tree, make sure to invest in a good quality one that can be used every year from purchase onwards. While plastic pollution is a huge issue of our times (not helped by certain treaties not being signed *cough cough*), the best thing you can do with a plastic tree is reuse it every year, and hand it down when you’re finished with it.

If you don’t have a plastic one and really want to opt for a real tree, the best decision you can make is to have a potted tree, so that your tree can keep living and can be reused every year. You could plant one yourself (see one I made earlier in photo below), or use a Christmas tree rental service, where you can return your tree after the festive period to be cared for until next year (Here’s an example of one rental service, but you might find one near to you). It seems such a shame to cut down a living thing after so many years of growth, so if you can enjoy your tree multiple times (before it reaches a height where it needs permanently planting) and it can carry on its carbon sequestration for the rest of the year, this option sounds like a win-win!

O Christmas tree, how lovely are your home grown branches …

Finally, if a potted tree won’t work for your home, make sure to pick a tree that is certified to be from a sustainably manged forest and dispose of it responsibly after Christmas. Your local council or recycling centre should be able to recycle your tree into woodchips or compost for you, but never plant your tree into the wild or dump it as these trees are not native and can disrupt local environments.

I hope this got you in the spirit to care for your Christmas tree, and remember, trees aren’t just for Christmas, we need them all year round! Have fun rockin’ around yours, and I’ll see you all for Day 2 soon 🎄

Useful resource and reference: https://www.wwf.org.uk/top-tips-sustainable-christmas

‘To live for the hope of it all’ – Lessons in hope for a sustainable life

Hello lovely people! Happy November, albeit from near the end of the month. This month has been pretty globally challenging, and especially on the sustainability scene, the picture has not looked good. It is completely valid for us to feel complete despair, fear and sadness at the situation, but we can’t afford to be down for long. In the words of Taylor Swift in ‘August’, right now we need “to live for the hope of it all”. Hope is often a sensation viewed as naïve and childish, but hope is actually an important value to hold onto as we create a better life for ourselves and this planet. In this post, I want to explore why hope is one of our best superpowers and how we can utilise it in our lives 😇

In terms of sustainable lifestyles, the data has not been looking good for a pretty long time. Resources are depleting while destructive activities are increasing. Most people know the facts, and yet the situation remains – how can you possibly feel hopeful after that? If there is no solution, why waste your time trying and start investing in beach resorts ready for the rising sea? (The latter an exaggerated but not far from the truth perspective often used by those in leadership positions….)

Firstly, if you have no hope of anything better than this, then there will simply be nothing better than this. Ever. You think what we have now is good, acceptable even? (I’m hoping you’ve said no here!) There won’t be any progress unless we are pursuing a better future goal, so hope keeps our thoughts and consequently our actions focussed on the future. If you’re saving for a house you’re unlikely to start spending significant amounts on material items or things that don’t matter to you, simply because you have a future goal that you would prefer more. Hope gives us goals and having a goal helps us make progress.

Next up, hoping for something better helps us visualise what we want, not what we don’t want. Humans have the ability to experience whatever we focus on, which is why using a positive mindset is a useful strategy for all sorts of things. Similarly, if we focus on what we don’t want, we experience that as well. I want you reading this to NOT picture a giant fluffy purple dog, with its wagging purple tail and floppy ears. Jumping all over the space in front of you, licking your hand purple fluff sticking to your clothes. (Did you start thinking about a dog? 🤔) The same thing happens when we think about our own lives and sustainability more generally. Your hope might be to spend more time reading rather than driving, so you pick a commute by public transport that allows you to do that. Or maybe to eat more healthily with more homemade meals, so you prioritise buying seasonal fresh produce to use at home. We could visualise a future with no wars, collaborative leadership, clean air, water that is safe to swim in and bursting with life, so that you can spot fish of all kinds when you’re snorkelling. It could be a future where it is easy for you to spot nature and wildlife, even close to home, where wages are more equal and where we don’t even have a general waste bin, because everything is reused. These things aren’t impossible, so why wouldn’t we hope for them? Hope gives us a vision of what we want and what could happen if everything goes right, because that is still a possibility.

Finally, if you were to ask me ‘why do you still have hope? How can you possibly have any left?’, I would say because achieving sustainability is entirely possible. If you read the books, look at the facts, it is bleak now but we have all the tools and know the answers to make it right. We know we need a solar energy revolution, and that solar combined with some support from other renewables can decarbonise our energy systems. We know that all wild spaces need to be protected, and that nature can bounce back and helps us redistribute the imbalance we currently live in. We know where our money shouldn’t be, and where it should be invested in. We know that the linear and disposable cycle of waste is damaging and the system must be made more circular. The options are completely available to us, right now on Earth, with no brand new technologies or relocating to other planets necessary. We just have to do it. Makes sense right? Hope shows us what we are fighting for and to never stop.

I’m hoping (excuse the pun) that you enjoyed this post. It is hard to be hopeful in these times, but if we are not, then who will be? If we give up who will win in the end? It sure as anything can’t be them, not on our watch. Here’s to the hopers, the dreamers and changers – people may try and knock us but chances are they might just want to join us. To live for the hope of it all 🤍

Embracing Autumn 🍂

Seasonal living is one of the best and most natural ways we can care for ourselves and the planet. Reconnecting with our natural rhythms, seasonal produce and local offerings can help us feel more in tune with our bodies, embrace the highlights of each season and put less pressure on our planet’s resources. Now October has begun, it is time to celebrate my favourite season of all: Autumn. Here are some autumnal things you can do to enjoy the season and bring sustainability into your everyday 🍁

Make the most of the late summer bounty – If you were able to make the most of the last warm rays and pick your own fruit, such as blackberries or homegrown produce, now is the time to fill your freezer with fresh produce for the winter months. Going blackberry picking in the summer is a favourite tradition of mine, made all the more sweeter when you can enjoy the fruits for months to come by using them in jams, desserts and baking. Just remember to only take what you need, and leave plenty for others and the local wildlife. If you’ve grown your own fruit and veg, make sure to harvest the last of your crops and store them for future use, to keep enjoying them long after the growing season ends.

Create a cosy autumnal home – I always find the changing of the seasons, especially from summer into the cosy months, I great time to invest in your living space. Have a declutter, paying attention to any summer items that weren’t used this year and donating or recycling if you no longer use them. Once you’re happy with your space, use seasonal decorations, such as strings of dried leaves or plants, blankets and warm furnishings to bring autumn into your home. Even when your day-to-day may not have changed too much, changing up your space to reflect the seasons helps us to mentally transition to the colder months and remind us (if we needed it!) all the great things that autumn brings: cosy evenings, crafting projects, home baking, crisp walks – need I go on?
Getting outside – While the temperature may be dropping, this shouldn’t stop you embracing the season, getting out of the house and enjoying your local nature. One of my yearly highlights is going for a crisp autumn walk, hearing the leaves crunch underfoot and layering up in hats and scarves, so while the air might feel fresh, I’m all cosy and wrapped up. Taking time to notice the colours changing in the trees, the different species of plants, fungi and animals and being mindful within ourselves to be in the present moment. When we take the time to care for the spaces around us, we know how important it is to protect them. And if you can lend your time to volunteering in a green space, or picking up any litter that you see on your walk, you will be leaving it in a better state too.
Seasonal eating – A simple way to cut your food footprint and live more in tune with your own body is to focus on eating seasonal, fresh foods. In autumn, fruits such as apples and pears and vegetables like squashes, leeks and root vegetables are at their best in the UK, ready to be made into warming curries, casseroles and crumbles. You can use this National Trust webpage to see the best produce month by month right through the year. My favourites – homemade pumpkin soup, with some nice crusty bread. Can’t get much better 🍲

Dressing for autumn + holding a pumpkin = my kind of day 🙂

Romanticise – Romanticising your life not only helps us cultivate a positive mindset, but is important for sustainability too. You could just whack on the heating all day, keep wearing a t-shirt and hand all your money over or you could create your ideal autumn outfit of earth-toned layers, insulate your home by using your curtains and draught excluders and spend your evening cuddled under a cosy blanket. Of course health is paramount, and there will be times when heating is necessary, but it is important that we make these decisions when, and in the places, we need them, and don’t waste energy where we don’t need it. Do what you can to prepare yourself and your home for autumn, to provide any excessive waste, be it energy, food or otherwise. Maybe not as romantic, but taking the time now to check your home heating systems to improve their efficiency or move to a greener supplier if you can could save you a lot of time and money once winter sets in. In this life so many of us are incredibly lucky to already have what we need to live, so instead of focussing on what you are lacking, romanticise your day-to-day by making this autumn one of enjoyment, experiences and using what you have right now.
Refuse the single use – Pumpkin spice latte? Bought my own cup thank you. Halloween decorations? Reused from last year, homemade or natural – no scary single use plastic this year. Shopping bag? Not when I have a beautiful reusable one that compliments my autumnal outfit, but thanks for asking. Increasing landfill and having a negative impact on our environment is so not in this season – ditch the plastic, be fantastic 🧘‍♀️💅

Whether you’re enjoying the array of golden colours on the trees, baking up some tasty pumpkin treats or lighting a eco-friendly candle and cosying up under a blanket, I wish you a very beautiful, happy, healthy and sustainable autumn. If you have any favourite activities for the season that do good for people and planet, let us know in the comments! 🧡

GLL Book Club: Factfulness by Hans Rosling

Factfulness by Hans Rosling ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It’s no joke to say I’ve gone to write this blog post so many times before finally getting my thoughts down on paper, so I do this book the justice it deserves. I first read this book late 2018/early 2019, and unlike any other non fiction book I own, I have reread this multiple times since. If you are looking for an entertaining read, to learn about our world and/or like facts and stats and nicely presented graphics, this is the book for you. Bold statement incoming: For me, this is the book that if asked, I would pick as my ‘book everyone should read’ choice.

In brief, Factfulness is about equipping ourselves with the mental tools to understand what is going on in our world, cut through the noise and understand what is improving and where needs our attention. The book describes ten human instincts, which while useful in our evolution, are not serving us now in our current understanding of society. The book explains how the majority of people have an outdated worldview, and this can hinder our progression towards major goals. For the book, and potentially this blog, with an audience of high income country citizens, we may never experience the variety of lifestyles and wealth inequalities across the world. Therefore, it is important we open our minds beyond our own part of the world to better understand the progress and issues on our planet, many that despite what the news will have you believe, are getting better.

Aside from being extremely educational and a very entertaining book to read, full of Rosling’s own anecdotes and personal experiences, what relevance does this book have to our lives and sustainability? Well its all about understanding the data. If, like me, the thought of reading a book the equivalent of an Excel spreadsheet sounds like something you’d rather not spend your money on, don’t panic! There is no spreadsheet in sight 😮‍💨But if we don’t know the up-to-date data on an issue, how can we know if our current solutions aren’t working? Essentially, we don’t – we spend time having circular conversations about how scary a problem is without realising that it is already improving, such as the time old discussion around population growth. Conversely, it makes it clear to us which problems we really should focus on (hello climate change) and where we should focus our efforts. In terms of sustainability, it is important where we know where the biggest improvements to be made will come from and whether the data is on track to our goal. Individually, it helps us understand if our own beliefs are on track to contribute to the solutions we need and helps us think critically about the news we consume.

I’ve read this book at least three times now. The first time was of course the most eye-opening and impactful, but I return to it because changing your mindset is not a linear process. In between reads it is easy to get swept up in media stories and fear and feel really anxious about the future. But by frequently stopping to check your own knowledge, what the facts show is actually happening, and the progress that has been made, you can reset some of your thoughts about the world and work more intentionally towards global goals – and this book is that stop check. If every politician, corporation, decision maker and even better citizen could read this book and equip themselves with the tools to understand our world accurately and compassionately, we’d have a stronger chance of creating successful solutions to our shared issues. And if even that doesn’t do it for you, this book also includes a fun quiz to test your knowledge against the rest of the world and colourful bubble charts, which are pretty difficult to resist. A definite recommendation from me!

If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts, or if you haven’t, find a friend to borrow it from or start making your Christmas list now. Happy reading!

While you wait to read the book, check out some of the related online materials such as Dollar Street, a photographic look at how families around the world live based on income, or one of Hans Rosling’s many Ted Talks.

Where to purchase: https://www.waterstones.com/book/factfulness/hans-rosling/ola-rosling/9781473637498

End of summer check-in

Are you playing ‘August’ on repeat? Constantly saying ‘where did the summer go?’ at any opportunity? Generally bemused about how we got to this point in the year? Time for a check-in. Sure, I could have written this in June to make it a nice neat, mid-year update post, but better late than never. Here’s a little update on my 2024 ins and outs and things I’m loving right now… 💕

Veggie cooking inspiration ✨🍲

Feeling hungry yet? One of my goals for the year was to experiment more with vegetarian cooking and expand my go-to recipes. At the start of summer I bought the new Higgidy cookbook, Clever With Veg, and I’ve since been working through a number of the recipes ever since, as seen in the above gallery. They are so tasty and very easy to make, in particular the risotto which you bake IN THE OVEN 🫨 with seasonal toppings – delicious but without half the day spent working out if you’re just stirring fried rice or not (just me?). If you have a penchant for feta, this is the book for you. Lots of fresh ingredients, full of veggies and above all it is quality nosh😋 I’m looking forward to trying more from the book and making more comforting plant-based meals.

Getting out in nature 🌿 – Reminding ourselves that being part of this ecosystem is what it is all about, and sometimes you need some perspective to do that. Whether seeing the big mountains, some rolling fields, the ocean or watching a butterfly in your garden or local park, focusing on nature connects us to something beyond ourselves. I’ve done a couple of new walks recently, and seeing a new view can give you a wave of gratitude and love towards the place you live, reminding us how important community and our environment are. Walking and hiking are great ways to clear the brain fog and feel more wild, but if walking isn’t your thing, even just taking yourself to a green space and allowing yourself time to just enjoy the space – the birdsong, the colours, the smells – is a wonderful way of pausing and making that connection.

Stuff < Scrapbooking 🧾 – One of this year’s outs for me was overconsumption and the accumulation of stuff. I’m a very sentimental person, so holding onto stuff comes very easily to me. But after a few years of so many amazing things happening, I wanted to keep hold of the memories and pieces I’d collected without losing the keepsakes in the everyday clutter. So I started making scrapbooks, printing off my photos through free apps and sticking them with significant items, like wristbands and tickets, papers I collected and packets of stickers I hadn’t used up. So often we take so many photos but they remain on our phone, so I find doing this makes the best memories more fun to look back on and to share with family and friends. And you don’t have to do it in the formal, old-fashioned photo album way if you don’t want to – customise your scrapbook with different prints, crafting accessories or fold-out items. You could do this for a year, or just a season like summer, whatever season of your life you wish to look back on. Hours of creative fun and a place to store all the keepsakes you want and help you identify those that can be recycled.

What about your goals? As one season ends and a new one begins, set aside a couple of minutes, maybe during your first hot drink of the day or just before bed, to check in with your 2024 goals and sustainability progress. Maybe you’ve made huge strides, congratulations! Maybe there’s still more to achieve… But either way, we have four months left of the year to make an impact on 2024 and put ourselves and our planet in a good place. Soak up the last of the summer sun, wherever you are, check in with yourself, celebrate your achievements and plan your new goals. Maybe a stuffed pepper, scenic walk or crafting session await? 💚

P.S This is our 100th post! Thanks to everyone who has been following from the start, those that have supported in some way over the last 4 years and welcome to any new readers. We love having you all here making a sustainable life together – thank you!

Vote for planet!

People of the UK – it’s election week! Elections are a critical time for exercising one of our key ways to enact change, and this election we must use this chance to make sure people and planet are listened to. Climate change is the biggest issue of our time – none of our other issues, economy, healthcare, society, can be improved without a stable climate. The bottom line is without a stable planet we cannot continue with any of our other activities, so climate inaction undermines any other political action point. Still deciding who to vote for in your area? Here are some prompts to get you thinking about who is and isn’t working to improve the sustainability of your community…

Priorities – Who mentions climate/nature/environment in their top commitments or priorities? Does the environment or sustainable systems, like just working conditions or a more circular economy, get a mention on flyers or social media posts? If its not a priority for them, this must mean they are not interested in the longevity of any of their other actions then 🤷
Greenwashing – Are these environmental claims brand new, or have they been a continuous part of the MP’s agenda? Are they addressing systemic problems or jumping on quick fix bandwagons? Can we trust the claims made? Make sure to do your research from a variety of sources.
Use ranking tools – There are a variety of ranking tools online between the main parties, from environment specific to additional areas too. A few to check out include Greenpeace’s climate and nature rankings (https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/take-action/project-climate-vote/ranking/), compare manifesto points using the BBC’s comparison tool, including the environment, transport, democracy and top priorities (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxeez8271nvo) and sign up to VoteClimate (free to view) to access the best climate comparisons are the candidates in your constituency (https://voteclimate.uk/).

Voting style – The system in the UK generally exists as a two party competition, where voting is usually tactical to stop one party winning over another. While tactical voting can play a role in areas where only two parties stand a chance, and one is preferred over another, we can forget exactly what voting is for. We want someone in our local area who aligns with our values, will stand by their promises and deliver positive actions. We want someone who understands the importance of protecting nature and will work hard to reduce the impact of climate change. While there might not be a completely perfect candidate for you, it is your personal choice to pick the person you believe most closely aligns with our own beliefs. For example, let’s say party A and party B are the main choices in an area. Party C has the most manifesto points that you agree with, but you don’t think they can win, so you vote Party B to prevent Party A (sound familiar?). Unbeknown to you, a lot of other people in your area feel the same way and so also vote the same way. Therefore parties A/B remain as dominating parties, even though Party C could have pipped them if everyone had voted as they wanted. Don’t get me wrong, realistic voting is important, especially for ensuring what we don’t want, but for those parties who are prioritising net zero, investing in sustaining our essential systems and backing our fundamental rights, getting a seat at the political table is incredibly important for making sure climate action is a part of our next government, so vote for what you believe in.
Key ideas – What actual information should you be looking out for? Key areas for progress include: Homes🏡 (improved installation, energy costs, efficiency improvements), Energy 🔌(transitioning to renewables, no new oil, gas or coal plants), Transport🚆 (investing in clean public transport and reducing the impact of air travel), Nature 🌱 (stop sewage pollution, strengthen wildlife legislation, encourage rewilding and conservation, support regenerative farming), Economy👷 ( transitioning to a green economy and jobs, stable employment) and Policies⚖️ (such as backing global environmental treaties and protecting all human rights). For more details and to pledge your climate vote, visit Greenpeace’s website for additional information.
Talk about voting – Whether it’s with candidates or friends and family, let people know what is important to you and why being a climate voter matters. Maybe those you talk with feel the same way, but have felt hesitant to change the way they vote. Everyone is entitled to their own choice, but the more open we can be in discussions the better we can understand what type of society we are looking to create.

So there we have it: Do your research, identify the best candidates for people and planet, choose who will make the biggest impact in your community and make sure the planet’s and your own voice is heard. I’ll finish with the final reminder: THURSDAY 4TH JULY. BRING ID. VOTE. ❎🗳️