Last month, we started our ‘making a difference’ series, where we share five things that we are doing within our business, big and small, that we hope will have a positive impact on climate change. You can check out last month’s top tips here.
1. Gift wrapping
As Christmas fast approaches, so does the joyful (or miserable) task of wrapping presents. Did you know, that annually we Brits bin circa 108 million rolls of wrapping paper? Very little of which is recyclable. This year, why not take a slightly different, and artistic, approach and use brown packing paper (uncoated), tied with natural raffia. For an added touch of class you can decorate with natural winter items like holly leaves (but make sure to leave the berries for the birds!).
2. Bulb and seed planting
At the risk of sounding like Monty Don, now is the time to plant your bulbs for early spring flowers. Planting spring bulbs and seeds is a wonderful way to ensure that early pollinators, like bees and butterflies are able to feed before other native nectar sources are readily available. You can find more information along with a list of the best pollinator-friendly bulbs here.
3. Walk don’t drive
On average, it takes people around 30 minutes to walk 2 miles. Despite the well documented health benefits this can provide, more than 44% of people in the UK say that they use a car for journeys of this length, which also releases about 1.7kg of carbon emissions (and other nasties) into the atmosphere. Walking or cycling instead of driving is such a simple and easy solution to reducing your carbon emissions, so why not leave the car keys at home and lace up your trainers instead?
4. Sign up for a litter pick
Litter. It’s everywhere and not only is it an eyesore but it is also incredibly damaging for our environment. Plastic is now being found throughout the food chain and, because it’s a relatively recent phenomenon, we’re not entirely sure of the long-term consequences. It also directly kills and injures large numbers of wild and domestic animals. If you want to make an immediate difference, litter picking on your weekend walks can be surprisingly therapeutic. Or if you fancy a bit more social interaction you can join or setup a community/council litter picking scheme in your local area.
5. Opt for second hand
It’s the time of year where shopping is at the t op of the priority list for many people. But this year, why don’t you avoid the busy shopping centres by shopping second hand. Scout out your local charity shops and test out Gumtree and Facebook marketplace to find some hidden gems to gift your loved ones this Christmas.
If you have any ideas, or you adopt some of our approaches yourself, please let us know by emailing hello@natural-apptitude.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.