Restoring kelp, eliminating single use plastic

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KelpDid anyone see the coverage of the Earthshot awards presented by the Prince of Wales in Boston earlier this month? They were awards given to organisations, companies or cities recognised as making a significant contribution to dealing with climate change, reviving our oceans, and other similar objectives. You can watch the whole ceremony on BBC iPlayer Earthshot Prize.

The winner in the Building a Waste-Free World category was a London based company founded in 2014 called Notpla (i.e. not plastic!) They have come up with a unique product made from seaweed – or kelp (to use the more scientific term employed by Sussex Wildlife Trust and local universities involved in the Sussex Kelp Restoration Project).

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Protecting the Battery Life

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Repair Cafe

“The battery won’t charge…” We hear these words very often at the Horsham Repair Cafe. It’s true that batteries don’t last forever, but we can make a drastic difference to its life expectancy. The original hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, uses a large traction battery.  Many are still running 20 years later.  So, how can the Prius keep the battery working efficiently for 20 years when some phone batteries only last three? Why do some household battery devices (vacuum cleaners for example) sometimes become useless after two years?

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Christmas Present IdeasSussex Green Living

Christmas Money Saving Ideas

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Christmas wrappingLast Christmas we bought 226,800 miles of wrapping paper, 5.3 million artificial trees, 6.8 million real trees and £42 million of unwanted toys. As we continue to tighten our belts, we look at ways to reduce the waste from Christmas so we can have a more sustainable Christmas, that costs less for the planet and for our pockets. Read more

Charity GiftsSussex Green Living

Charity Gift Ideas

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Charity ChristmasChristmas Charity Gift Ideas

You all know the person that has everything and are probably struggling to know want to buy them for Christmas. Well, how about buying them a ‘giving back gift’? We’ve all heard about gifting a goat but many charities have now expanded this idea and you can buy everything from toys for vulnerable children to medical care and adopting animals to even twinning your rubbish bin.

Think about a cause or interest that the person has and try and link the gift.

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Sussex Green Living

Never too Small to Make a Difference

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SchoolEducation has always formed a big part of the Sussex Green Living mission. In fact, it is where Carrie Cort started out, as a network of families learning about nature, the environment and ways that everyone can live a more sustainable life.

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Community Collaboration at its Best

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During the first lockdown in 2020 many people felt isolated. Sussex Green Living (SGL) thought it was important to connect people and to continue its work improving the environment. SGL’s Carrie Cort organised weekly online Horsham Climate Café events. Some of these attracted over 150 people, both local and from further afield. One of the aims of the café was to introduce people ‘virtually’ from the same villages and this is when the seed of Billingshurst environmental group BilliGreen was planted.

 

The group was started by Mela Davidson and Melanie Holliker who both wanted to create a network that boosted the local community and had a positive impact on the local environment.

 

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Car Sharing in Horsham

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Car shareI recently completed a Carbon Literacy course with the Scottish Community Climate Action Network (SCCAN) who produce some excellent teaching resources. They focus on actions we can all take and as a result and based on a Scottish idea, I made an enquiry about the possibility of a formal car-sharing scheme at Horsham Rugby Club.

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The Big Picture

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South Downs

South Downs painting by local artist John Thompson

Scotland seems to be ahead of the game in looking at the big picture, using the joined-up thinking that needs to happen now to address the current crises in resources, economy, nature and climate.

Last month’s Film at the Horsham Green Film Festival was made in Scotland: ‘Riverwoods’. This wonderful film opened with shots of Alaska’s bountiful nature, then moved across the same latitude to Scotland with its acres of treeless uplands, a legacy of the clearances of the traditional small mixed farms to make way for large scale sheep grazing.

But why are there no sheep at Knepp’s rewilding project? Read more

Saving Energy can Save Money AND Protect the Planet

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Money Saving Energy

Around 21% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from our homes. With the increase in energy prices that we have seen, making your home more energy efficient will lower your energy bills. Good for the planet and your pocket!

Many organisations talk about energy saving tips, but they often require a big financial outlay with buying a new boiler or retrofitting your house. These are great ideas and will have a big impact on your energy consumption, but if you can’t afford these right now, here are some lifestyle tips you can make that won’t cost you a thing. Read more

How to Grow in Harmony with Nature

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Transition Horsham seed swapDid you know that farming more in harmony with nature can not only replenish the soil (without the need for manufacturing and transporting factory-made chemicals long distances in plastic bags) but can also produce crops throughout the year because different foods can be grown together, in the same way as they are on an allotment?

By planting a variety of a different crops each month, and especially by planting crops amongst fruit or nut trees, even more food can be grown in a small area.

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