I had a chat with recently with a friend after watching a couple of documentaries about the climate change threatening our way of life and what people can do to help reduce their footprint on the world. We got on to talking about how, although everyone wants to play their part in confronting the problem, how overwhelming it can feel and how difficult it can be to know where to start.
Here are some ideas that begin at home, by supporting your local community. No, doing one of these things won’t halt climate change in its tracks – but it will make a difference. And if you influence just one other person to do the same, you might just trigger a domino effect in your community that spreads far and wide.
Take part in your local beach clean or community clean up. The more people that volunteer for these vital initiatives, the more plastic can be picked up and recycled properly rather than making its way to the ocean, where it destroys marine life. Every single piece of plastic that you collect is one less piece to pollute the ocean. Go to the Marine Conservation Society’s website to find your nearest one, or Facebook to see if there’s a community clean up near you.
Help to eliminate food waste. Download an app like ToGoodToGo where you can pick up food that’s about to pass its sell by date for next to nothing – I got two bags worth of fruit and veg recently for £3.50 from a fruit and vegetable shop in town! And for your own food, rather than throwing it away, share it on Olio – great for when you’ve overbought or you’re going away somewhere and have too much food. Finally, if your food is too past its sell by date to eat or share – compost it!
Support local vegan businesses – shops, cafes and caterers. Cutting out meat and dairy is the single biggest thing that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint – but it can be daunting to know where to start. Take a look around at the small vegan businesses in your area and you could find a whole new world of deliciousness that you didn’t know existed! Start off by committing to one vegan day a week, maybe picking up a salad for lunch from your local vegan cafe or treating yourself to some doughnuts from the vegan bakery around the corner.
Find out what your local representative is doing to tackle the problem in your community. If it’s not enough, or it’s not working, write to them with suggestions and ask them to commit to some or all of them. Encourage friends in your local community to do the same.
Leave the car at home. And take a look at how it’ll take you to walk or cycle to your destination instead. You might find it’s less time that you think – and along the way you’ll discover a whole new part of your village, town or city that you never knew existed, while you’re saving the planet from the unhealthy emissions from your car. And if it’s not possible to get somewhere on foot, by bike or by public transport, look into whether there is a car share scheme in your area.
Rewild your garden or an outdoor space. If you have a garden, take a break from mowing your lawn. This encourages the growth of plants like clover, that bees love – and we all know how important bees are to our ecosystem. Stopping weeding can also encourage the growth of bee-friendly plants that may encourage other wildlife to visit, too. You can even take it a step further and scatter some wildflower seeds – if there’s a communal green space near you try some guerrilla gardening with your seeds!
Recyle used items. This can be anything from clothes to that lightbox languishing in your attic from when you were into photography, cook books you no longer use or a piece of furniture. Stick them on gumtree or your local community noticeboard. The more we recycle, the less we consume, slowing down the incessant demand on retailers to constantly produce more for us to buy.
Fix things, don’t throw them away. It’s so tempting when you have a household item that breaks – like a kettle or toaster – just to bin it and head to Tesco to buy a new one. Instead, why not watch a YouTube video on how to repair it – or find out if your community has a RepairCafe where someone else can help?
