Category: Climate Change

I started 2020 with the claim that this year is going to be My Year of Sustainability. Since then Sydney has experienced continued bushfires, droughts, heatwaves through to record rains and floods all in the last 2 months. So as Summer comes to an end what have I done on My Journey to Sustainability?

My Journey to Sustainability started with water. My husband and I went to find a water pump. We live in an older house with the shower over the bath. This made it easier for us to start collecting shower water to use on the garden. After a few weeks the 3 flights of stairs became a challenge. We brought a pump from Bunnings, ran a hose out the window down onto the carport roof so the water would flow into the rainwater tank. We have another pump and hose off the rainwater tank so we can water the garden and fill up the watering cans.

This change enabled us to save over a 100L of water a day that we can store and use in the garden. We fixed the leaking cistern in the toilet, that was wasting a staggering 360L of water a day. If you want to find out some simpler ways of being Water Wise check out these tips.

In the Garden

I’ve really enjoyed being able to spend extra time in the garden. I have planted more natives especially flowering shrubs and grasses to provide food and shelter for smaller birds. The pond is providing water for animals and a habitat for frogs. there are some small fish that keep the numbers of mosquito down. 

I’ve pruned, weeded and planted in the vege garden. I’m growing some of the herbs I love to use in the kitchen like Lemon Thyme, Basil, Shallots and Chives. Continental Parsley and Tomatoes have sprouted everywhere from last seasons seeds. I’m growing mint from my Mums garden and my Strawberries have come back to life. I’ve picked over a dozen Limes with plenty more fruit growing on both the Lime and Lemon trees. I’m trying to grow Eggplants again and so far have been having more success. I’m growing Brussels Sprouts for the first time so fingers crossed the caterpillars don’t get them.

I have been weeding and controlling pest by hand at the moment and will see how that goes. The advantage is that I can spend more time on garden maintenance at the moment so I’m hoping the attention now will pay off later.

All wrapped up

Over the last year I have brought Bees Wax wraps, silicon lids and recently silicone ziplock bags. These products have been great and I like having the variety to suit different needs. This year I have started using the Hercules® Sustain ™ Compostable Paper food bags for dry lunch box items. I’m buying larger products size for the kids and portioning into small reusable containers or compostable bags. 

With these products I have been able to reduce our amount of waste at home and school.  The kids have noticed and doing a great job remembering to bring their containers home for reuse.

Choice has done a great review ‘Reducing waste at home with reusable food covers’ 

Reusing and Recycling clothing

What to do with unwanted clothes especially with growing kids is always a challenge. These are a few of the strategies I have used.

• Embrace the hand me downs: I get a constant stream of clothes and shoes from my sisters neighbour. They are usually great quality and as they are older kids the sizes are right for the next year. Most of my sons clothes go to his cousin if they are still in a good condition. 
• If you want to help those in need with your donations make sure you choose your Charity Bin wisely. The National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations (NACRO) ensures that all the collected goods and proceeds are used exclusively for their welfare programs. The Recycle Near You website has a list of NACRO charities
• Some retailers, including H&M and Zara offer textile recycling bins in their stores where people can deposit any textiles, not just clothing from that brand, to be sent for recycling offshore.
• If it can’t be handed down to family and friends or donated to charity cut them up for cleaning rags.
• Contact you local animal hospitals and shelters to see if they need old sheets and towels. 

Now that I’m not working in the city I went through my wardrobe to find clothes and outfits for Dressed for Success.  They are a registered charity that improves the employability of women in need in NSW. They provide professional clothing, support network and the career development tools to help women achieve self-sufficiency.

I just found this initiative recycling socks. Starts With Socks is taking your old socks and gives them new life. Any pairs that can be up-cycled will be donated to people in need. Socks that can’t be saved will be recycled and turned into new textiles, saving them from landfill.

The Simple Things

There are also plenty of things that we continued to do at home like:

• Taking Shorter Showers
• Turning of lights when not in the room
• Setting the air conditioner on 23’C
• Composting
• Recycling
  • Batteries
  • E-waste
  • Soft plastics

What you need to know about the Urban Heat Island effect? Cities create their own micro climates by affecting the surrounding atmosphere and interacting with climate processes. The result is that urban areas are becoming significantly warmer than the surrounding areas. Especially when there is less green cover and more hard surfaces which absorb, store and radiate heat.

The impacts of the Urban Heat Island effect include:

• Increased daytime temperatures
• Reduced night time cooling
• Higher air pollution levels

These impacts affect human health by causing:

• Respiratory difficulties
• Heat cramps
• Exhaustion
• Heat stroke
• Heat-related mortality

The 2017 Cooling Western Sydney report shows the most effective urban heat mitigation technologies incorporate a combination of urban greening, water-based technologies and cool materials. Increased green spaces with water features and fountains, combined with cool material technologies including cool roofs and pavements are all ways to reduce temperatures across Sydney making a more liveable and climate resilient city.

With the increase in urbanisation across Sydney incorporating theses strategies in urban design will become even more important.

Find out more:

• Create an Environmentally Friendly Backyard
• The Urban Watercycle
• Sustainable Living

It is great to jump into the the new year with a goal and a plan. I like to think about what I can realistically achieve, what I can do differently to make a better future. 2020 is going to be My Year of Sustainability. I want to step up and do more and show my children that we can all make a difference.

As we begin a new decade it is important to reflect on the year that has pasted. Australia has experienced heatwaves, bushfire, droughts and floods. According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) 2019 was the hottest and driest year on record.

In 2019 my family made 2 big road trips crossing 5 states. I saw first hand the impact of the droughts across regional New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. In July we saw the receding floodwaters in Queensland where the town of Birdsville was recovering after being cut off by floods twice. The devastation of the bushfires on the NSW South Coast was incredible as we drove down the Princes Highway in late December. Even more so because the worst was yet to come. We stayed at Lakes Entrance and drove through East Gippsland as the fire crisis was beginning. I’ve had an overwhelming sense of doom after being engulfed by bushfire smoke for so long and watching these natural disasters.

Everything I have seen throughout 2019 has motivated me to make 2020 My Year of Sustainability. So where will I start?

What can I do to make a difference?

I am going to start with the things I can control. I’m avoiding single use items and making sure I always have a spare reusable bag with me. Sydney tap water is some of the best in the world, so we should all say no to buying water in plastic bottles. Just refill your own water bottle, save the environment and save money too.

The drought is continuing and we all need to be Waterwise. In 2019 we installed a pump to use the grey water from our showers and baths in the garden, we fixed our leaking toilet and got a pump and hose for our rainwater tank.

We can all reduce our water footprint with the following tips:

• Take shorter showers.
• Check for dripping taps and leaking
• Only run the dishwasher and washing machine went it is full
• Don’t put rubbish or chemicals down the drain.
• Use a broom instead of a hose to clean paths and driveways

I will continue to reduce, reuse and recycle and go beyond

Think about what changes you can make to the way you live and work to become more sustainable? What changes are we prepared to make as a community and nation that will help us achieve this goal?

Find out more