- For the first time in 30 years the Himalayas are visible from 125 miles away in India
- Venice canals are the clearist in living memory and you can actually see the fish
- Signs suggest that our ozone layer is recovering
- Incredible NASA pictures show how much pollution has cleared over China
These are just a few of the many stories where Mother Nature is reclaiming her planet. These are stories from across the globe. Here, in our little sleepy corner of Shropshire, we continue to try to do our bit to help. Since lockdown started, we ave explored many of our local lanes and have now litter picked all the lanes around a full 2 mile radius of our house. All litter that can be recycled has been sorted and placed into our household recycling bins. This is not a new thing for us as we litter pick everywhere we go. The kids even managed to bag an award last year for the Shropshire Environmental Champions for their commitment to little picking.
The amount of plastic that we pick up is incrediable, it's literally everywhere. We even found a little birds nest on the path that had plastic woven through it. To some degree, we cannot avoid it. At the moment I'm typing this on a plastic keyboard and looking through a pair of plastic framed spectacles. That said, there is plenty of plastic problem addressing stuff we can do. We made a target of going completely plastic free in the bathroom and we have achieved this. We use bamboo toothbruses and plastic free toothpaste, bars of soap and shampoo bars. This transistion has been relatively easy and accepted well by the kids. Our next goal is to go plastic free in the kitchen. I think this will be a sizeable challenge, compared to the bathroom, but challenges is what I do!
Staying on the topic of litter, we have branched out into a new area of recycling. We have come across a company called TerraCycle, who will recycle crisp packets, sweet packets and biscuit packets. There is a local collection point to us and we now use this recycling service - though its all stockpiled at home until we can get there to drop them off. I advise you all to look this company up and see whats local to you, maybe even set up your own community scheme if its needed in your area.
Litter and reducing plastic are not the only changes we've done. We have been able to spend so much time in our garden and we've started some projects there. We've planted beans, peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and lots of herbs. We've also sown the seeds for lots of wildflowers around the garden. We also left all the nettles (butterflies larvae rely on nettles for protection) and dandelions (bees and some breeds of beetles eat the pollen they generate). Did you know that every part of a dandelion is edible? I highly recomment battered dandelion leaves, the younger the plant, the sweeter they are. Before Lockdown, I was given some 'Treebombs'. These are handmade alder tree seedballs. The idea is that you just throw the seedballs onto the lttle pockets of wasteland and leave nature to do the rest. We're deposited about 20 treebombs around us so far and we still have a few left. Please look this company up, its a great way to plant trees. They also so beebombs too, both of which make a great idea for alternative presents!
The final thing that I'm doing is not driving. This is not necessecarily through choice, as we are in lockdown here. Not only has my purse saved a small fortune, it has also made me wonder if I could actually live without my car. This isn't a new idea for me and a few of you will know from my facebook posts that I've been debating for a while now about not having a car, as I can't afford a decent car and the maintenance on my car seems to be extortionate. The car that I currently have is ace and I love it, but its a huge diesel guzzly machine that cares very littl
These is just an outline of some of the things that we are doing to help with our environment. I'd love to hear what you're doing to, so please let me know. Us as a small family unit will not save the Earth, but if we are part of a global reblilion, we collectively have a voice that cannot be ignored.
I thought I'd finish todays blog with this poem by Haroon Rashid:
We fell asleep in one world, and woke up in another.
Suddenly Disney is out of magic,
Paris is no longer romantic,
New York doesn’t stand up anymore,
the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, and Mecca is empty.
Hugs & kisses suddenly become weapons, and not visiting parents & friends
becomes an act of love.
Suddenly you realise that power, beauty & money are worthless, and can’t
get you the oxygen you’re fighting for.
The world continues its life and it is beautiful. It only puts humans in
cages. I think it’s sending us a message:
“You are not necessary. The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine.
When you come back, remember that you are my guests. Not my masters.”
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