Climate action & waste-free living
Climate action & waste-free living
How living waste-free is climate action, the IPCC report, Practicing Simplicity, a little easter craft and good things for the weekend.
Well, the IPCC's latest report came out this week, with a focus on mitigating climate change. There hasn't been much talk of it in mainstream media (too heavy/not exciting enough?) but there should be. Basically, things are worse than we thought and the time to act is right now - well, it was 40 years ago if we're being honest, but now is the next best, just like planting trees. Much of the report focused on what we can do at a large scale, focussing on technology to help us out and highlighting the need to move away ASAP from fossil fuels. This is where how we vote and using our voices really matters.
The report also looked at the need for rapid social change. Wealthier households making the highest 10% of emissions (per capita), create 45% of consumption-based emissions. Basically, their lifestyles are not sustainable and shouldn't be aspired to. The way we live matters. How we design cities, towns and buildings; the kind of transport we use, the food we eat and how much (or little) we waste, all has a big impact. The good news is that these are all areas many of us can do something about right now, and we must.
In this week’s video, we talk about whether waste-free living constitutes effective climate action (spoiler: it does!).
So this is where we come in! We'll be here and in your inbox each week, sharing climate solutions with you, as usual. If there's anything you'd like us to cover, anything we can help you figure out, or any questions you might have for us when it comes to things like waste reduction, climate change, ecology, urban permaculture, unschooling and other things you might have seen us write or speak about, please ask away!
Book Review: Practicing Simplicity
Wonderful Jodi of Practicing Simplicity sent me a copy of her delicious book last month. Snuggling into bed each evening to read it became my favourite part of the day for a little while there! I've followed Jodi's writing for such a long time, so it felt like catching up with a good friend, beautiful pictures and all. There's something familiar about the stories of people who choose to live life a little differently and with intention. Whether it's simplicity, permaculture, zero waste, local food or something else, the story of the big leap into a different way of living, and the joy and freedom that follows, is relatable to us. Stories such as these these, like Jodi's description of her family deciding to embark on a big adventure reminded us of our own decision to live waste-free, or the decision to unschool our girls. I read snippets of the book aloud to Oberon most nights, and there was much head nodding in solidarity, even though our stories are quite different. That led to reflection and feeling inspired to consider how we live (which is the important thing), some more.
Like Jodi says, "Our stories matter because they bring us together and remind us of what's possible"... So do get your hands on a copy and have a read. Reflect on your beautiful, ordinary life and consider what's possible. As Jodi says, "If we have choice we can make change". I think we must. And there are some beautiful examples of how to do that, wrapped up in this gorgeous book. (Lauren)
Bunny heads
A super simple, quick and cute little Easter craft that even our big kids enjoy making. Make them this weekend and you should start to see some green 'hair' growing on those bunnies for Easter.
Here's what you'll need:
Eggs
A handful of soil - enough to fill the eggs!
Seeds - we like radish, chives, lettuce and cat grass seeds for quick germination.
Scrap paper
Pencils
Glue (you'll find our waste-free recipe in our book).
Let's do this:
Crack the tops of each egg and pour the contents into a bowl for later use (mmm scrambled eggs for lunch).
Rinse the empty eggshells if you like and fill them with soil.
Sow seeds in the top and water them gently. Place the egg into a cup or egg carton.
Make some ears for your bunny head by tracing around the top of your pinky finger on the paper. Then colour the inside of the ears and cut the shapes out.
Glue the ears onto the back of your bunny head.
Draw a little bunny face on your egg with a pencil.
Pop your bunny head somewhere sunny, and watch the seeds grow! You can plant the seedlings in the whole eggshell (crush it gently first), in the garden in a few weeks and watch them grow some more.
This weekend…
Making: Maggie Beer’s Hot Cross Buns recipe - one of our fave autumn things!
Watching: Victorian Farm - one of our kids is diving deep into all things Victorian era right now, which is bringing up all sorts of great conversations about how we live.
Reading: My Side of the Mountain - Our littlest kiddo is loving curling up with is and reading this after episodes of Alone.
Thinking about: Voting - Checking our local MP’s voting record, here. Our biggest kiddo is enrolled and ready to go. Bring it.
Adventuring: It’s time for a fungi walk. More fave autumn things! If we can squeeze one in while the weather’s good, we will!
In the garden: The tomatoes have had their day, so they’re out this weekend. Beds will be topped up and planted with lettuces (gosh lettuce is expensive in the shops!) and garlic. The pumpkins are just about ready and there’s a mountain of weeding to do, lawn to mow, chooks to care for and a campfire to sit around.
Fifteen years ago, we took a chance and moved into this house. Lauren started a blog to mark the occasion and the adventures we'd have here. One big, blank canvas backyard, one curious three year old, a baby just crawling, and hopes for a garden full of food. We didn't expect to find ourselves unschooling, having another baby in the lounge room, running a shop from the driveway, living waste-free, writing a book, or spending time in isolation with grown teenagers here. But we're so glad for this little home and all it's given us. It's a little tired (as are we), but look at what it's grown!
We’re enjoying getting back into a groove of blogging (and vlogging), again here. Thanks so much for reading along. If you’re reading this by email, you can click here and see the posts all in one spot. Paid subscribers, thanks a million for supporting our work, so we can continue to make it (and pay the bills). More special goodies are on the way for you soon!
Have a gorgeous weekend.
With love,
Lauren & Oberon.