Sustainable September 2016 - Day 4

Good day beautiful people. 

How did you go today saying 'No' to receipts? I had a wonderful day out and about in Canberra. And we must have said no to about 15 receipts. It's was pretty cool. Think how much paper we don't have to get rid of now! How awesome?! 

So we went out to an amazing Tea House and I got spoilt with Chai poached Pears with citrus sorbet, Chai Syrup and a caramel garnish. I got to taste test some amazing loose leaf teas too. So yummy and right up my alley! 

Me at a Tea House in Canberra.
Do KeepCups come in this size? I need a mug like this at home for my tea. Hehehe.

Today the Sustainable September is actually fairly simple. 

Sustainable September Day Four: Look at where your food comes from. 

Consider these questions: Where do you buy your food from? Where does the products and fresh produce actually come from? What is its country of origin? What is its state of origin? How many food miles does your food travel before it gets into your tummy? What is it packaged in? Is it organic? Is it from an environmentally sustainable company? Is it from a local farm? Is it from a farmers market?

The reason I want you to look at this is because if you can reduce the distance your food travels from food to table then you are significantly helping the environment. 

To calculate food miles check out the Food Miles website. For more information about why this is important see below in the "Front Lines section".

Kindness: Buy a meal for another person. 

You can do this in the style of Suspended Coffees at a restaurant. Or ask someone, a friend, family, stranger, a homeless person, if you can buy them a meal. Then do it. It could cost a lot or a little depending on what you are willing to spend. 

Another option is buying a supermarket voucher. It depends on what you want to do. 

You can take further inspiration form this Pizza shop in America:

Front Lines: Food Sustainability movements. There are a lot of people who want to talk about where our food comes from and what we can do to help the environment. 

So here is an explaination about "What is sustainable food?"

Here is a TEDx talk done in the USA by the amazing 11 year old, Birke Baehr. 

He is looking at the current food market and helping kids and adults alike know what is the best way to live a sustainable life. Not only for the people but for the animals and land that is being intensively farmed. 

For those who have had a little more to do with this sort of thing then you may be interested in the idea of Food Justice which Alison Cayne talks about in her TEDx Talk on "What the Food movement can learn from history".

And here is an article from The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia about "The Quiet Revolution: Sustainable Food Movement Flourished in Suburban Backyards"

There are so many things about our food that we do not often think about. Do we know where our meat comes from? Was it prepared using pesticides? What are we really eating? I often struggle with this question. But my family and I are working to know, more and more, where our foods actually comes from. Althought knowing where your food is actually coming from is a huge start to looking to make changes at all.

Our family now mostly order in Bulk (with a bulk buying group) from an organic butcher who gets meat from a local organic farm. It is the closest thing we can get before buying from the farmer directly. We often get other organic food in bulk through the bulk buying group.

If you want to know more about sustainable practices and food you can check out one of the first programmes I ever saw on television about how to set up a Sustainable Farm "River Cottage". Now there is even a "River Cottage Australia". These are shows made for Television but i really enjoy them.

I hope this finds you all well.
With love and kindness,
Daena x   

Sustainable September Day Six Kindness

Hi-de-le-ho neighbours,

So did anyone sign any petitions to protect a local environmental landmark? against Fracking? against destruction or logging of old-growth/rainforests? protecting your environment for the future generations? Any I should know about so I can sign them too? :)

So tomorrows Sustainable September Kindness idea is one that could be done mid-week but might take a little time... so I've thought about it as a weekend activity.

Saturday – 6 September - Buy or create a Worm farm or Compost bin.

I've been using a compost bin for a while now. It sits in the corner of my little back yard. I use it to reduce the amount of rubbish going into land fill. It is like recycling your organic matter.

"47% of Australia’s household waste is made up of organic waste like food scraps and garden cuttings. Recycling can turn organic waste into valuable gardening and farming products, such as fertiliser, mulch and conditioner" Read more from Keep Australia Beautiful here.

From Land Fill Waste Facts - Kids Go Green (Caerphilly, Wales)

 

 Composting and creating worm farms also helps the environment and is a kindness to the earth of ours. 

I have only recently gotten into gardening and I am looking forward to using my Compost mix on my garden as the soil here in Western Australia is basically made up of Sand! 

There are lots of different ways to create a compost bin of your own. One of my Favourite TV Shows is River Cottage Australia... and it just so happens that there is a small segment on how to make a compost bin on their site... Check it out here.

Tomorrow I will post a couple of photos of my little compost bin.

As yet I have basically left out the Worm Farms. I don't yet have a Worm Farm as I thought I would see if I could keep my plants alive first before taking on live wriggly worms.As my plants are thriving, it might almost be time for me to start a worm farm.

The Australian Government's Department of Industry, has some awesome schemes, rebates and ideas on creating composting bins and even how to create worm farms. Check it all out here.

Hope this finds you well.
Luv Daena

p.s How you are going with your Sustainable September Kindnesses. :)