living lightly in ireland

Coronavirus and Zero Waste

I didn’t expect to write an article about the Coronavirus this week but honestly according to my website and social media stats it’s all people seem to be interested in, that and cooking recipes, or yoga tutorials.

Going by my neighbours we started self-isolating earlier than most people. In fact some of my neighbours are still allowing the kids out to play in communal areas, or having playdates, or meeting friends for walks! The mind boggles. I think how some people have chosen to respond during this pandemic shines a light on why it’s so hard to get people modify their behaviour to prevent climate change. If people won’t change their behaviour to protect the vulnerable in their own community, what hope do we have of getting them to do so to protect the vulnerable in other countries?

How To Create A Wildlife-Friendly Garden In Ireland

Sometimes it can feel impossible to have an impact on the climate crisis. It’s so big and nebulous, but one area where we can have a huge impact is protecting local biodiversity. What you do in your house, garden, community has a real, immediate and direct impact on wildlife where we live, and depending on what you do that can be a good, or bad thing.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of misinformation out there about how to help wildlife, some of which is actually harmful, like putting human hair out for birds to use in the nest. Over the past few years I’ve been compiling whatever information I can find on this subject, correcting as I go, and here it is for you now all in one place!

Protected: Sustainable Living Talk for Knocklyon Network

Bottled Water versus Tap Water

I wrote this article after I was (rightly) challenged on some of the sources of my arguments about bottled water. I’m often heard saying that one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to give up bottled water and that tap water is just as good – if not better – but it turns out that this isn’t always true.

I do my absolute best not to fall into the trap of repeating environmental mistruths but sometimes I fail. One of the things I love about writing this website is how it forces me to test the validity of rumours, even those I’d dearly love to be true. Most people hate being wrong. I don’t mind really. In fact I see it as a good thing. It means I’ve just learned something new. Here’s what I’ve learned about bottled water versus tap water.

Wasted Love Letter

Happy Valentines day to my all my lovely subscribers! And on this romantic day what says love more than an article on waste? No? Not your cup of tea? As Mrs Doyle of Father Ted fame put it go on, go on, go on.

This week I had the absolute pleasure of chairing a fascinating panel discussion on this very topic, hosted by the lovely people at Zero Waste Festival Ireland and attended by Voice Ireland, Community Reuse Network Ireland, The Rediscovery Centre and Posterfree. At the event we discussed our how best to respond to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment’s (DCCE) Consultancy Paper for their Waste Policy for the Circular Economy.

I learned a lot at the event and it helped me to crystallise my thoughts on how we should tackle waste in relation to the circular economy over the next decade. I’ve put all my ideas together in this article and so all you have to do is to read, copy and paste the draft text into an email, (amend if you’d like) and send a little love letter to the DCCE. What could be easier?