Energy Saving in Older Properties
Energy Saving in Older Properties
Save the Environment with Savvy Shopping
Blog:
Save the Environment with Savvy Shopping
SALE!! FURTHER REDUCTIONS! 70% OFF! BUY! BUY! BUY!
by Jennifer Bain
Am I the only one breathing a sigh of relief that I missed the first rush of bargain-buying after Christmas? Foodstuff aside, I went shopping for the first time since Christmas, on the 15th of January. After a disappointing absence of socks among my Christmas presents, I made the careful decision to stock up on a fresh supply myself. Why? Because if you spend any time up and about on your feet in your daily life, socks are just some of those things that can only last so long before getting worn out, so a few annual replacements never go amiss… I expect a better turnout next Christmas. Do I regret that I missed the best bargains on other, perhaps more fashionable items? No. Of course not. I already have clothes. New things can certainly be very appealing, but I can’t help but wonder where all these wonderful new products come from, and indeed, where they’ll end up…
Besides, running around the shops on the 2nd of January, crushed amongst frenzied hyper-competitive shoppers comes at a cost and risks several unpleasant side-effects. Namely…
- Over-spending: When things are going cheap, people buy more, perhaps wasting money on things that they would not otherwise have bought.
- Panic-buying: Sales create a sense of urgency and you may find yourself buying something immediately, before the last one disappears off the shelves… But the faster things sell out, the faster they are replaced by new stock, so why hurry?!
- Excessive choice => excessive stress: The sheer abundance of things to choose from, combined with the palaver of sifting through the sale rails and shelves of fancy gadgets or beauty products can lead to sensory overload in even the most hardened of hyper-consumers, and the more time spent browsing, the less time spent making use of what you already have…
Of course, not everyone experiences all or indeed any of these side-effects and if you have the cash to flash, this warning may seem irrelevant to you, even morally counter-intuitive if we want to get the economic ball rolling again; but in reality, over-consumption of the world’s resources will ultimately affect us all, and let’s not forget that the more money we spend on the accumulation of inanimate things, the less we have for spending on good old-fashioned quality service!
And so, without further ado, here are a few tips for wiser spending:
Savvy Shopping Tips:
- Quality over quantity: Isn’t one high-quality item better than several throw-away items? High-quality things need to be replaced less often and can be shared around, swapped about and handed down to friends and family when no longer needed – the more generations an item can get through, the better-made it must be!
- Passion for fashion? If you believe that new stuff=status and consider your image one of your most important assets, you must concede that a careful consideration of the rest of the planet is a far better indicator of status than simply keeping up with the latest fads… So shake off those insecurities and take pride in your personal independence from the fickle world of fashion!
- Ask yourself – Do you really want it? Realistically, how often do you expect to use your potential purchase – and will it improve your life in the long-run? Before you hit the shops, write down exactly what it is that you need – a shopping list can keep you on the straight and narrow!
- Hire it! Why waste space for something you’ll only use on the odd occasion?
- Second hand: What better way to reduce waste than to re-use things which the original buyer no longer wants?
- Look around for a good store: If you can find a good reliable shop that depends on the income it generates from the reliable quality of its goods (and service!) rather than the number of products sold, then that is a precious find indeed!
- Buy local: Check that your purchase is both produced and packaged locally.
- Buy sustainable: Know where your products are coming from: Check for the FSC label on paper and wooden products to avoid funding illegal practices by unscrupulous companies; steer clear of excess packaging; look for evidence of responsible retailing such as the Rainforest Alliance logo, and be aware of things like un-ethically sourced palm oil in your confectionary and cosmetics…
- Replace your shopping fix: Swap your urge to hit the shops with another hobby: play a game with the family; organize a cards night with friends; learn a new skill; settle down with a good library book; exercise; do some cooking or gardening…
- Bring your own bags and make sure to let the shop assistant know before your purchase is placed in a fresh poly bag.
Got more stuff than you want?
If you are wondering what to do with your unwanted Christmas presents or are simply clearing the clutter, there are several places you can take your unwanted things:
- A charity shop
- Sell, swap or give away online (visit Freegle)
- The GK swap shop is running on Fridays and Saturdays, 10am till 4pm, until the end of January. Bring something along and you can take something away!
And with that, I wish you all happiness and prosperity in the year ahead!
More info:
For learning resources about over-consumption and how it is affecting our planet and our health, visit http://storyofstuff.org/.
For more information and guides on ethical retail, visit http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/.
|Greener Kirkcaldy’s Annual Gathering – report
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Greener Kirkcaldy’s Annual Gathering – report
We held our first Annual Gathering on Saturday 25th January, at the Old Kirk in Kirkcaldy. Thank you to everyone who came along and helped make the day a great way for our members to meet up and help shape our plan for the next year. This post gives an overview of the Gathering. Please get in touch if you’d like any more information, or to get involved.
The Gathering started with two guest speakers. First, Cllr Judy Hamilton, Councillor for Kirkcaldy Central, introduced the day with a great speech about Kirkcaldy, the importance of volunteers and community organisations, and her experiences of Greener Kirkcaldy. Thank you Judy for your kind words! Next was Alan Caldwell, a volunteer director at Comrie Development Trust, and a consultant who supports community companies across the UK. Alan shared his inspiration of working with “communities doing it for themselves”, including the key role played by the members and volunteers of organisations such as Greener Kirkcaldy.
We then heard from some of the Greener Kirkcaldy volunteers and staff. Jackie Vural, who has been volunteer Chair for the last year, gave a great overview of the work that we’ve done in that time. Highlights include the popular Shine on Fife campaign which supported households interested in solar energy; a great series of courses and workshops to develop people’s skills and confidence in growing their own fruit and veg; the volunteer bloggers who’ve made our website so much more interesting; and our work with the students of five local schools.
Next, Project Manager Suzy Goodsir told us more about how Greener Kirkcaldy’s energy advice project helps householders heat their homes affordably while treading more lightly on our planet. Suzy’s big news was that the advice project is now operating Fife-wide, in partnership with Citizen’s Advice & Rights Fife and others. Then Development Worker Fraser Nicol and volunteer Gill Graham gave us an update on Ravenscraig Community Orchard. The fruit trees and soft fruit bushes are thriving, and the orchard volunteers have given an amazing 1000 hours so far – no surprise that they won an award for Best Volunteer Team last year. Lisa Farrell (Senior Development Worker) then shared plans for this year’s food and cookery courses, including a beginner’s bread-making workshop in February. And Development Worker Russell Gill told us about the new project Greener Kirkcaldy is working on at Dunnikier Park, to develop an Edible Landscape of fruit and herbs in a previously bare part of the park. Russell will be leading volunteers to plant almost 100 fruit trees at the Park in early February.
The last presentation was volunteer board member Andrew McDaniel telling us about plans for the future. Greener Kirkcaldy has recently developed a business plan for the next 5 years, with the aim of becoming more financially sustainable while continuing to make Kirkcaldy greener. The plans include developing community-scale solar energy projects; getting more involved in delivering training and skills for employability; and carrying out a feasibility study into the idea of a Community Food Hub. These new projects will form a key part of Greener Kirkcaldy’s work in 2014 – we’ll be consulting the community, carrying out studies, and writing business plans.
After a quick coffee break, we spent the rest of the morning discussing the proposals for a Community Food Hub. Inspired by all the community food growing projects and new allotments in Kirkcaldy – from the Kaleyard to Ravenscraig Walled Garden – the Food Hub idea is to create a place where folk can come together to grow, cook, eat and learn; with the aim of reconnecting people to where food comes from and increasing access to local food. It could include a community kitchen, chill store, workshops, space for social enterprises, education and training zone, and perhaps even a café. A possible location for the Hub is within Ravenscraig Walled Garden, an enclosed area within Ravenscraig Park where Kirkcaldy Community Gardens and Allotments have created a thriving community of allotments and a training area for schools and groups, and where our Community Orchard is located.
It was great to get feedback on our ideas, and it was overwhelmingly positive. People were particularly keen on the community aspect, of bringing people together to learn about healthy local food, and on offering skills and training. Suggestions included making connections with the Food Bank, and with local schools. We also identified some of the challenges that we must face while developing the project – finding a sustainable business model, getting the location right, and securing start-up funding.
The next steps for the Food Hub proposals will be to consult the wider Kirkcaldy community – over the next few months we’ll be carrying out surveys, as well as talking in more detail to potential project partners. Several volunteers offered to help take the project forward, which we greatly appreciate.
We ended the Gathering with a delicious Burns-style lunch of veggie haggis, neeps and tatties – it was Burn’s Day after all – and left the Kirk full of ideas and inspiration for 2014.
|Greener Kirkcaldy Annual General Meeting – report
Greener Kirkcaldy Annual General Meeting – report
Our Annual General Meeting took place on Saturday 25th January 2014. At the meeting, we presented our annual accounts to our members, and we gave a report on the year’s work to the Annual Gathering which took place immediately afterwards.
An important part of the business of the meeting was to elect our Management Committee. We invited nominations from our members, and 7 people came forward, including the 6 previous Committee members. All nominations were accepted and our new Management Committee members are
- Jackie Vural (outgoing Chair)
- Ian Stirton (Treasurer)
- Graham King
- Allan Levack
- Andrew McDaniel
- Geraldine O’Riordan
- Kitty O’Connor
Jackie stood down as Chair, after a successful year in the role. The Committee will meet in early February, and their first task will be to elect a new Chair.
|Dunnikier Park Edible Landscape – First Trees Go in the Ground!
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Dunnikier Park Edible Landscape – First Trees Go in the Ground!
Last Sunday 2nd February I turned up at Dunnikier Park Hotel Car Park 09:30 and waited nervously for Margaret and Andrew Lear to arrive with 84 fruit trees from their nursery in Bankfoot. I was nervous about making sure we got the right trees in the right place. I was nervous about whether we’d get enough volunteers giving up their Sunday to get the trees in the ground. I was nervous about the weather.
The trees were to be our first step in creating a new ‘Edible Landscape’ in Dunnikier Park, with apple, pear, plum, cherry and quince trees lining paths criss-crossing it and 4 special ‘Forest Garden’ beds providing a range of edible produce – from fruits to nuts, leaves and roots.
By 10:30, about 20 folk had shown up eager to get digging and planting and Andrew was soon demonstrating how to plant, stake and guard an apple tree.
It was then that I saw a small army of Cubs, Scouts and their parents come marching over the field towards me, brandishing spades and looking keen. Now I was nervous we wouldn’t have enough trees for everyone to plant! I was overwhelmed by the turn out from people from the community. It’s great that so many people care about their local environment and are excited to be part of creating something new in their park. In no time we were in the Dunnikier House Hotel warming up over a bowl of soup feeling proud that we had sown the seeds (or seedlings) of an exciting new project. Click through the slideshow below to see our tree planting troops!
A big thanks to everyone who turned up and got stuck in! We’ll be back to add to the Forest Gardens in March.
|New in the Fair Trade shop – Booja Booja Champagne Truffles
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New in the Fair Trade shop – Booja Booja Champagne Truffles
Feeling romantic? Or just fancy a treat? These truffles are dairy free, gluten free, vegan, organic and utterly delicious! Handmade in Norfolk. £9.79 for 150g.
Our Shop is open Fridays and Saturdays, 10 til 4. It’s at 254a High St, Kirkcaldy.
