During the recent UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen our world leaders failed to agree on a climate deal. But we all know it’s not only up to them and there are plenty of things that we mere mortals can do to make an impact on climate change. As consumers, we need to take responsibilility for our own actions. Here’s one way to do something – do 30!

The ‘I do 30′ campaign encourages people across the world to turn down the temperature on their laundry to reduce co2.

Visit their website to find out more about the campaign and become a member of their Facebook group to join the other 12,000 supporters of the ‘I do 30′ campaign to see what positive impact you can have on our planet.

Radical Nature draws on ideas that have emerged out of Land Art, environmental activism, experimental architecture and utopianism. The exhibition is designed as one fantastical landscape, with each piece introducing into the gallery space a dramatic portion of nature. Work by pioneering figures such as the architectural collective Ant Farm and visionary architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, artists Joseph Beuys, Agnes Denes, Hans Haacke and Robert Smithson are shown alongside pieces by a younger generation of practitioners including Heather and Ivan Morison, R&Sie(n), Philippe Rahm architects and Simon Starling. Radical Nature also features specially commissioned and restaged historical installations, some of which are located in the outdoor spaces around the Barbican while a satellite project by the architectural collective EXYZT is situated off site.

The exhibition is on until the 18th of October and if you’d like to stand a chance of winning a ticket, simply add a comment telling us about something you do in your daily life that reduces your footprint on our planet.

This competition ends on Friday 9th of October. Two winners will be drawn out of a hat and notified by email.

In central London on the evening of Tuesday 27th October, 8 green leaders will present their view on the future of their industry. To those in the know, it’s quite a star-studded occasion. Green Tomato Cars will give their view on the future of sustainable transport, Ed Gillespie from Futerra will speak about ethical communication and consumer attitudes, and Terra Plana will comment on how its ethical footwear will evolve. Sam Kimmins, Sustainability Adviser at Forum for the Future, will give his take on the future of sustainable construction. Other presentations will be from Germination (a cutting-edge event company furthering social progress), innovative web community Project Dirt, The Hub (a shared workspace concept for social entrepreneurs) and sustainable lifestyle magazine Sublime.

Each of the 8 presentations will last no more than 8 minutes, and to keep things highly visual, no more than 5 words per slide are allowed. It means that 80% of the ideas in a normal presentation can be communicated in 20% of the time. The evening will be held at St Giles Cripplegate Church in Barbican, EC2. Further adding to the creative spirit, guests are invited to help reduce waste and bring their own reusable vessels for wine.

Inspiration and insight won’t just come from the presenting businesses either. Up to 250 keen, green thinkers and doers are expected to attend, so there’ll be food for thought in the conversations and networking, too.

Want to know more and book your ticket? Here are the details you need to know:

When: Tuesday 27th October
Start time: 6.30pm for a 7pm start (drinks will be available – you’re encouraged to bring your own cup for extra green points!)
Where: St Giles Cripplegate Church, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DA (for map click here)

Tickets are limited, costing £9.50 in advance or £15 on the door.

You can buy your ticket here: http://futureofgreen.eventbrite.com

To find out more, click on http://www.insider-worldwide.com/trend-evening-green-futures/

The most distinctive quality of the urban environment lies in its landscape. Each individual city has its own sense of character, unique infrastructure, and physical presence. As the urban setting becomes increasingly advanced, we are leaving behind our roots – the tree canopy coverage in the developed city is declining. At present, many of world’s greatest cities lack substantial plant life. This observation isn’t just aesthetic, it is harmful on many levels. An increase in tree canopy coverage may require some painstaking effort to succeed, but could have enormous benefit if it does. Incorporating trees into the urban environment would serve to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we burn and ease the damage of deforestation – the two main roots of climate change. Right now, homes and other buildings account for 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the North America. Design and sustainability, both significant community objectives, can’t be sacrificed for one another. They must work together.

The city doesn’t “breathe” as well as a forest, contributing large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere with few sources of absorption. The earth, in order to give warmth to support life, needs a reasonable amount of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide appears naturally in the atmosphere, exhaled by humans and involved in the photosynthesis of plants. Carbon is kept in check by a natural carbon cycle, a system which creates a balance between the carbon emitters (humans), and the carbon absorbers (plants). Oceans, land and air are all involved in the process.

After the industrial revolution, when humans began messing with the carbon levels in the atmosphere, the earth began to see increasing quantities of carbon being pumped into the system. And it’s been rising steadily since, resulting in a 1.4 degree increase in global average temperature. This might not seem like a lot, but consider the fact that the global average temperature during the last ice age was only 4 – 7 degrees colder than it is today, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The increase refers to the average temperature, not explicitly presenting the extremes on either side.

The city has taken a lot less time to grow than the forests. And we can’t undo what has been built. But by adding trees into the urban landscape, we can contribute to the solution of the unbalanced carbon cycle. Placed around a house or on a rooftop, trees can cool a building by 40%. Cutting back on air conditioner reliance means a decrease in the human- made greenhouse gas hydrofluorocarbons. An appropriate mix of trees can filter 88% of air pollution in a park, or 70% in a street setting. The benefit isn’t just limited to homes and buildings. On the streets, trees slow rain fall and absorb water, reducing rain flow into our sewers. More trees on the street means less overflow from sewers into the lake.

More trees would attract wildlife, make the city more aesthetically pleasing, and create more jobs. The benefits are numerous. Trees and urban design are a winning team, combining to reconcile urban culture and nature, a gap that must be bridged in order to achieve a truly sustainable city. Restoring an eco system is slow and demanding process. And unlike simply building a condo, it is unpredictable. But adding these lasting structures to the city’s infrastructure would have a greatly advantageous impact on our environment, our resources, and our money.

The potential difficulties of this goal lie in the nature of plant life. Will the slow growth of trees be frustrating enough for us to scrap the plan and come up with yet another quick and easy solution? Most of the trees that make up the canopy in major established cities have been rooted in place for a century or so, meaning that the skinny ones planted in addition will take equally as long to reach full growth. Cultivation in the urban environment won’t be easy, either. City trees die quickly in the drought of the hot summer months, as they bake against the concrete buildings and roads. If trees are to survive in the city, they would need to be planted in large groups and carefully tended.

Cities are built primarily with humans needs in mind. They create the illusion of a world solely for us. Doubling the tree canopy in the city is within our reach, and the cultivation of these entities will force us to recognize the true value of trees. The greater the esteem we assign them, the greater the benefit they will provide. Urban design and sustainability can no longer afford to clash. A green infrastructure starts with a return to the architecture of the natural world.

Photo credit: jeltovski

The global recession has finally caught up with us here in South Africa and we are starting to feel the pinch. I’m putting some work into finding ways to cut our expenses, all the while staying green, and in some aspects, becoming even greener.

Here are some ideas I’ve had for cutting back spending that will directly influence our carbon footprint.

Electricity

We have beautiful intentions of taking our home in Claremont off-grid as far as electricity is concerned one of these years (i.e. when we can afford to), until then, Eskom is pushing the electricity price to the limit and we are going to have to cut electricity usage to keep our bills under control.

1. Don’t use the tumble dryer.
2. Remind the husband and children that chargers use electricity even when the device is not attached unless switched off at the wall.
3. Close curtains and blinds at dusk to retain heat.
4. Put on a jersey before switching on the heaters.
5. Replace remainder of incandescent light bulbs with low energy bulbs.
6. Switch from using the 30′C cycle on my washing machine to cold wash.
7. Switch off the lights when there’s no-one in a room.
8. Give all worn clothes a good look-over and sniff before despatching them to the laundry basket.

We already have a few good things going for us as far as energy usage goes.

1. We have installed EconoHeat wall heaters in all bedrooms.
2. We run low energy use oil heater on wheels for the rest of the house and the occasional fire in the fireplace.
3. Our roof is very well insulated.
4. The majority of our light bulbs are of the energy saving variety.

Food

Since I stopped working outside the home and am a full-time errant housewife and mother, I have more time to cook, garden and plan. For us this is a big plus while we’re looking at our income dropping.

1. Get our home food garden in full swing. We’ve bought a whole bunch of fruit trees (apple, pear, plum, mango, naartjie (Clementine) and pomegranate) and I’ve sown spinach, chard, lettuce, carrots, onions and peas for winter growing. I will be putting some extra hours into the garden to boost food production and avoid shopping trips.
2. Complete cut out convenience foods and cook from scratch, cooking up double batches and freezing half for easy ready-meals later.
3. Eat meat only once a week.
5. Make a packed lunch for Pete and the kids the evening before.
6. Always take reusable bags to the shops to avoid paying for plastic bags that are bad for the environment.
7. Make my own household cleaners out of bicarb. of soda and vinegar.
8. Buy in bulk. I’m going to chat to a few friends and family about bulk buying and sharing non-perishables once I’ve been to Makro to check out what’s available and compare prices. Buying in bulk is better for the planet because there’s less packaging and fewer trips to the shops in a car.

Transport

When we chose our family car, we decided to buy a car with both 2×4 and 4×4, and it’s a diesel too, making it quite economical on fuel. We only need to use the 4×4 when we’re visiting our holiday place in the mountains, or when we’re away on holiday having adventures.

1. Cut back on trips out to save fuel. Plan shopping trips with collecting children from school and dropping the recycling off at the same time.
2. Use my bicycle more for local trips.

And a few more ideas that don’t fit into the above categories:

1. Sell our clutter. We moved into our new house a couple of months ago and have a store room full of stuff that we aren’t using. Some of this stuff will be despatched via Gumtree or the like.
2. Buy secondhand clothes rather than new. This is something that I often did in England, but haven’t been doing here in SA. But I just came across this great resource for vintage and secondhand clothing shops in Cape Town, and I’m going to give it another bash.
3. Use the library instead of buying books.

It’s the winter school holidays here at the moment, and Piper and I are really enjoying spending some extra time together. I’ve spent less time on the blog of late because there’s too much fun to be had off-line with my darling daughter.

Photo credit: Birdieann

Spinach seedlings, cos growing your own is as green as it gets.

Mark Berger put into words a couple of weeks ago something that I’ve been thinking since being back in South Africa, and that is that South African’s appear to be suffering under “a massive countrywide inferiority complex.” One particular area that I’ve noticed this, and one that Mark didn’t include in his blog post, is in South African products vs. imported products. There is a conception here that imported equals better than local.

Inclined as I am to buy local (I like to keep my carbon footprint as small and neat as possible), this idea that buying imported goods (including food) is somehow better (and a whole lot more expensive too, usually) is just preposterous.

If we want to buy local and eat local, it’s super easy here compared to trying to do the same in England, for example. We are spoilt for choice in Cape Town, a veritable locavore’s paradise. So why are we still buying Kerrygold cheese and butter from Ireland, strawberry juice and calamari from China, New Zealand lamb, prawns from India and Woolies snoek from, wait for it, New Zealand??? There’s no rhyme or reason to this silliness when we have beautiful local (and in many cases free range or organic) meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and dairy products right on our doorsteps.

One way to take charge of the food that you eat is to grow your own, but the truth is that not everyone has the spare time or inclination to do that. There are alternatives. If you live in Cape Town you could join the Slow Food Cape Town CSA (before 30th June 2009). Or order an organic veg box from Abalimi Bezekhaya.

Wondering what a CSA is?

Slow Food Cape Town CSA Winter ‘09 – in a nutshell

A weekly bag containing six vegetables supplied by organic small farmers Erick and Eric
Two jars of surprise preserves made by a community project will be included over the course of the CSA
Farm visits organised to meet the farmers and see the farms
Additional resources include weekly email updates and recipes, and a blog
Collect your bag after 1pm on Tuesdays at: Jaqui Daya Good Food Store in Newlands, Millstone Farm Stall in Pinelands or Deer Park Café in Vredehoek
Runs for eight weeks, from 30 June through 18 August
Costs R462 in total: this must be paid in advance

Some local supermarkets stock a wealth of really local South African produce. This morning at the SuperSpar in Rosmead Avenue, Kenilworth I bought cheese from George, cream from Durbanville and stone ground flour from Heidelberg. It’s worth frequenting supermarkets who bother stocking really local stuff, and you will need to make the effort to look at labels and seek out the food from closest by. It’s an effort worth making in my opinion, not only to lower your carbon footprint, but also to support local producers and ensure food security in your neck of the woods.

Other ways to reduce your consumer carbon footprint is to buy South African household appliances (DEFY), South African made clothing (Woolies stocks some or Mnandi Textiles in Station Road, Observatory to name just two), locally made furniture (one example I can think of is Right (the bloke’s name) at the Montebello Design Centre in Newlands Avenue), and for gifts and treats there’s Montebello again, Neighbourhood Goods Market (at the Biscuit Mill in Woodstock) and the Craft Markets at Kirstenbosch and Rondebosch.

We are truly spoilt for choice, so these are just a few options. If you feel there’s something that should be mentioned here that isn’t, please leave a comment.

I’ve just signed up for the Winter CSA, thanks to Pia’s regular prompting.

Our vegetable garden is coming along nicely, we should have Swiss chard and spinach to eat in about a month or so.

Down here in the Southern Hemisphere the shortest day of the year less than a week away, and we’re counting down to planting season. Just this past weekend in the rain, my lovely husband was chopping a great chunk out of the lawn so that I can start planting fruit and vegetables in our new garden (I’m starting planting now because winter crops rock and I have Swiss chard and spinach germinated and almost ready to be planted out). I have sowed peas that will be ready for harvesting in around 3 months time, and will be sowing carrots and onions over the next week.

But enough about my garden for now, I want to tell you about this this countdown.

It turns out that Jason Hartman (you know, the one who won South African Idol) is a bit of a gardening fundi (who knew?), and he and a couple of other guys called Scott Colin Cundill and Brendan Greene (they’re the admins of the Facebook group for Countdown to Planting Season so I’m assuming here) have got this project going where they are asking South Africans (both in their capacities as businesses and individuals) to plant at least one organic vegetable on the 22nd of September 2009 (Spring Equinox).

At the time of blogging this, they already have over 7000 individual and 131 businesses who have signed up to plant something on the day. Some of the businesses have committed to pretty big planting projects (some of those with land will be planting big food gardens), and others are providing seeds or seedlings to their employees for them to plant at home.

Here’s a bit of blurb about it from their Facebook page:

If ever the people of this country needed something to unite us all, this is it.

We are in a period of darkness. Economic darkness, emotional darkness, social darkness. Water systems are failing, we are running out of power, the food we eat is shocking and there is never enough money. As Phil Collins wrote: “There’s too many people, making too many problems. And not much love to go round.” And all the decision makers do is fight about what the next step should be.

Well, there is one solution that they ALL agree on. In fact, this is probably the only solution that:

• All doctors agree is good for your health
• All psychologists agree brings relief to anxiety
• All politicians agree is a boost for the economy
• All teachers is agree is enlightening for our children
• All religions agree will help you feel closer to God
• All environmentalists agree is the first step to saving the planet

The 22nd of September is the Spring Equinox. On this day, we request that a million South Africans plant an organic vegetable. Just one, that’s all. If you’re a veteran, then it should be easy for you. If you know nothing about how to do this, then we’ll teach you when you register on the website.

Okay, I’m not so sure about the doom and gloom “time of darkness” stuff, but I do think it’s a project worth jumping into with both gumboots. So sign up here and here and get something planted on the 22nd September, you may even find (if you haven’t done this before) that food gardening is your new favourite hobby.

Thanks to Pia for the heads up!

We started the tour at the BP service station on Rosmead Avenue where we were met by Rob Small, a friendly and enthusiastic man who works tirelessly to bring in funds for Abalimi, as well as running regular Tuesday morning tours of the gardens in a bid to win over more supporters to the project. Rob overflows with passion for the Abalimi project and what it is doing for people in Cape Town’s townships. His enthusiasm is infectious and seeps into everything he says.

Fezeka community garden stands at the foot of a huge pylon

Rob lead the way into Gugulethu and Fezeka, where he explained how 40% of the residents of Cape Town’s informal settlements are unemployed, and where there’s poverty, there is also hunger. The core business of Abalimi is to combat poverty by growing food sustainably (and organically) both at home and in community gardens, and to further green the township areas by planting water wise indigenous trees in the schools and streets of the area. Rob explained that when the Abalimi project started 15 years ago, their aim was to help people achieve subsistence from their growing activities. These days they have surpassed that and are aiming at providing a livelihood for those who before had a hard time even feeding themselves.

We were shown around Fezeka Garden and met some of the mama’s who run the place. There are very few men involved in growing community gardens on the Cape Flats, the majority of the farmers are women.

Mama Maggie transporting manure to her crops with a wheelbarrow

We were able to take photographs of the gardens and ask Rob questions about how Abalimi facilitates the creation of these food gardens. He explained that Abalimi “subsidises” the farmers to the tune of R150 per farmer per month (that’s around US $15 a month) by providing training, manure and set-up and maintenance of an irrigation system for each garden. This figure is much, much lower than the subsidies provided by government to commercial farmers. Abalimi also helps the farmers gain access to council land and negotiates on their behalf to obtain access to water, for example.

From Fezeka we moved on to the Harvest of Hope packing shed in Phillipi. Harvest of Hope is the marketing and selling arm of Abalimi. They collect the vegetables from the farmers once a week and take them back to the packing shed to wash and prepare for delivery. The vegetables make up weekly organic vegetable boxes that are distributed via some of Cape Town’s southern suburbs schools. (It is possible to buy a Harvest of Hope veg box even if you don’t have children at one of the selected schools, see below for more details).

I was blown away by the amazing fresh smell as we walked into the packing shed. It was a beautiful experience.

These vegetables are picked in the morning and delivered in the afternoon. You won't find fresher.

Exquisite care is taken to present the vegetables beautifully.

How to get your hands on a Harvest of Hope organic veg box

You’ll either need to have a child in one of the following southern suburb Cape Town schools (Herschel, Micklefield, Springfield, WPPS, Greenfield, Oakhurst, Rondebosch), be a student at UCT, or you can collect from The Green House at the Montebello Design Centre in Newlands.

Either way, contact Harvest of Hope at harvestofhope@abalimi.org.za or call them on 021-371 1653 to place your order.

A medium veg box (for a family of 4) is R95 a week and a small veg box (for 2) is R65 a week at time of publishing this post. I think you’ll agree that this is wonderful value compared to some other veg box schemes available locally, and you’ll be getting your vegetables the very same day that they are picked, with all their vitamins and goodness intact.

Other ways to get involved with this awesome project

Donate: Any amount, big or small, will be welcomed by Abalimi Bezekhaya for the continuation of this project. Information on how to make a donation is found here, on the Abalimi website.

Volunteer: Volunteers are welcomed with open arms at Abalimi. You can help in a community garden, or at the packing shed, or by doing deliveries to schools. You choose how you would like to be involved. If you are interested, I would recommend going on one of Rob’s tours to get an idea of how it all works and to meet some of the farmers before deciding how you would like to volunteer your time.

Take a tour: Rob Small runs tours of the project every Tuesday morning, by appointment. Please contact him for more info at info@abalimi.org.za

Located in the green country suburb of Linbro Park, Sandton and near major transport routes (N3; R25), the property is an agriculturally zoned 1 Ha of land with dense vegetation in an area that is set to be developed and upgraded in the near future.

To get the ball rolling, a number of sustainability features are being developed on the property, including a rainwater harvesting pool, swales, greywater systems, solar water heaters, a wastewater bio-filter, and a small food and herb garden. This intentional community will provide the opportunity for residents from across the social and economic spectrum to live an ecological lifestyle in a tranquil countryside setting close to the the vibrant African metropolis of Johannesburg.

There are a number of different ways and levels of being involved with this ecovillage, from simply using the garden for the cultivation of vegetables and herbs to living there in a one-roomed apartment, two-bedroomed apartment, or 3-bedroomed freestanding home. There is also the opportunity to simply invest and reap ongoing dividends from levies.

The Oak Trust are looking for human beings over the age of 18 who are committed to socially inclusive, democratic values, an ecological lifestyle and who are dynamic, creative and pragmatic. Members would need to be professionals engaged in ethical livelihoods who are financially independent and productive.

If you tick those boxes and have always thought that co-housing is exactly the way you’d like to share your lives with your community, find out more about the Oak Trust Ecovillage check out their concept document here (pdf).

Enquiries should be directed to Florian Kroll at flo@opensynergy.co.za