Category: Uncategorized

How to save energy – 15 ways to draught-proof your home

Stop draughts to save energy - thick curtains are great for draught proofing leaky windows

Why should I draught proof my home?

Energy use in homes causes more than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions[1], so saving energy at home is a high-priority climate change action. Check out our ideas below for some low-cost, efficient ways to stop draughts.

Draught-proofing is one of the most cost-effective insulation methods, with a payback time of just a few years and an instant improvement in living quality, so it’s worth doing sooner rather than later.

How can I stop draughts at home?

Badly fitted double glazing, wooden doors, and cracks in walls and floors let the cold draughts in and the heat out. Fortunately, it’s easy to spot where the problem areas are because you feel cold when you go near them!

The solutions to draught problems vary in effectiveness, cost and appearance.

  • Draught excluders are an old-fashioned but effective solution. Draught excluders can be brush strips or tubes of fabric stuffed with insulating material which you fix to the bottom of your door to block the cold draught. They can be used on external doors, or internal doors if the room on the other side is unheated.
    However, Which? magazine found that the most effective way to prevent draughts under a door was simply placing a towel along the gap!
  • Weather sealing strips are foam or brush strips that you cut to size and stick in place around the edge of the frame. They’re cheap, but they aren’t a permanent solution and the glue could mark the frame.
  • Keyhole covers stop draughts by swinging into place to seal the keyhole shut when it isn’t in use.
  • Letter boxes can be draught-proofed with a brush strip, or sealed up completely and replaced with an external box.
  • If you don’t use your chimney, fit a chimney draught excluder or have the chimney professionally capped. Chimney draught excluders are either inflatable bags or natural products like wool (which prevents heat loss while allowing airflow). Remember to remove the draught excluder if you decide to use your fire!
  • Use a flexible filler to block gaps in skirting boards, floors and around pipework. For larger gaps, use expanding foam.
  • Use cement or Polyfilla to seal cracks in walls (but get a professional to check larger cracks in case there are structural problems).
  • Seal up old, unused extractor fan outlets with bricks and mortar.
  • If you can’t upgrade your windows, or your landlord won’t do it, consider using window insulation film to seal the gaps at the edges of your window. You stick the clear plastic sheet to your window, then use a hair dryer to shrink it so it clings tightly to the frame. It’s cheap and should be removable, but the downside is it makes the glass look cloudy and you may end up with creases. (Carefully check the specific product you buy and follow the instructions to ensure it’s fully removable.)
  • A cheap, temporary solution to heat loss through windows is to tape bubble wrap to the glass.
  • Hang thick, well-fitting curtains. Curtains lined with cotton interlining (batting) are most effective, but expensive if made professionally. However, you can take them with you if you move, so they are a good long-term investment.
  • Wooden shutters can be as effective as curtains at keeping the heat in, depending on which aesthetic you prefer
  • Old, badly-fitting wooden doors can be replaced with modern composite doors with a low u-value (the lower the number, the better).
  • Replace blown double glazing with a new, air-tight unit. You don’t have to replace the whole window – you can fit new glazing into the existing frames to keep the cost down.
  • The most expensive but effective solution is to upgrade your windows from single to double or triple glazing.

When fitting draught proofing, remember some ventilation is necessary for all houses (even Passive Houses) otherwise you may have problems with mould and condensation. Do not block intentional ventilation (like trickle vents, air vents and extractor fans).

Draught-proofing is just one of many ways to save energy at home – don’t forget to check out our other ideas!

[1] Hannah Ritchie, Max Roser and Pablo Rosado (2020) – “CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions‘ [Online Resource]

Image credit:
Cottage window with thick curtains: photo by Rob Wingate on Unsplash

Categories: Uncategorized, Building, Energy Use

How to shop sustainably at a zero waste shop, supermarket or online

Loose fruit and vegetables on a market stall

However lovely it might be, we can’t always buy our food direct from a local organic farmer. So how can you make the best choices from what’s available?

How to buy sustainably at the zero waste shop

dry goods bins at a zero waste shop

What does a typical zero waste shop stock?

A typical zero waste shop will stock:

  • Dry goods (flour, muesli, pasta & spices)
  • Washing and cleaning products (dispense-it-yourself clothes washing liquid, washing up liquid, vinegar, soap bars & laundry sheets)
  • Personal hygiene products (razors, sanitary towels, menstrual cups, shampoo bars, toothbrushes & tooth tablets)
  • Tins (vegan soup, beans, tofu & seitan)
  • Treats (sustainably sourced chocolate, vegan chocolate nibs, dried fruit & coated peanuts)
  • Household products (compostable bags & scrubbing brushes)
  • Sustainable gifts and cards
  • Plant based milks and nut butters, often made from scratch in the shop

What’s it like shopping at a zero waste shop?

Zero waste shops are usually run by passionately green people. They’re likely to be very knowledgeable about environmental issues and keen to encourage you, so it’s a great place to feel part of a “tribe”. You’ll be able to get advice on all sorts of green issues, from how to clean the interior workings of your washing machine, to which vegan chocolate is best.

You might be surprised to find that many items are cheaper at the zero waste shop, compared to the supermarket. That’s because you’re not paying for the packaging and branding. Spices and dried goods are likely to be very good value compared to what you’re used to.

How does shopping in a zero waste shop actually work?

  • Zero waste shops usually stock their dry goods in hygienic gravity-fed hoppers (so there’s no fear that someone else has sneezed on the food or rummaged around with dirty fingers).
  • On your first visit, you can either take your own containers or buy them from the store. Then you can re-use those containers on subsequent visits.
  • You buy your dry goods produce by weight, but they will deduct the weight of the container from the total so you don’t pay for that as well.
  • You’ll need to weigh your container before you fill it. There will be a set of scales in the shop or on the counter. You’ll probably need to write the weight on the bottom of your container with a Sharpie, and they should have one for you to use.
  • If you’re bringing your own containers, check out the size of the dispensing holes on the hoppers first, and bring a container with a suitably wide mouth (to avoid spilling food on the floor).
  • If you’re buying a large amount of dry goods (e.g. flour), use a paper bag to keep the weight down. The shop will probably have clean paper bags for that purpose.
  • The shop staff will be happy to show you how to dispense the produce.
  • They will also have towels to mop up when you inevitably dispense washing-up liquid onto the floor.
  • Go there last on your shopping trip, because washing liquid, muesli and flour get heavy really quickly.
  • Take several reusable bags so you can spread the weight across your shoulders and hands.
  • If you are lucky, they might even offer an online delivery service.

How to buy sustainably at the supermarket

loose kale and radishes on a supermarket shelf above vegetables packed in plastic

You can buy a lot from a zero waste shop, but there will inevitably be things you need from a conventional shop too. If you go to the supermarket and fill your own trolley, you have an advantage over online shoppers because you can see exactly what you’re buying.

  • Write a shopping list and stick to it, to avoid impulse buys or buying duplicates of things you already have.
  • Bring your reusable bags with you. Their critics say you have to use them hundreds of times before they’ve covered the cost of the water and energy used in their manufacture, but if you’re going to use them weekly for years, you’ve got that covered, no problem.
  • As you leave the house, put your shopping list inside your reusable bag. This makes it much harder to accidentally leave your reusable bags in the car.
  • If you’re buying food that you’re going to eat soon, or freeze, choose short-dated produce. This reduces the amount of food the shop throws away.
  • You can bring your own produce bags for loose fruit and vegetables (they don’t have to be fancy – a net bag or a reused clear plastic bag is fine).
  • If you eat cheese or meat, buy them from the deli counter to avoid unnecessary packaging.
  • If you can’t buy it loose, choose produce that’s packed in compostable or paper wrappers, cardboard trays instead of plastic trays, or glass jars instead of plastic containers.

How to buy sustainably online

close up of person wearing black gloves holding a red crate full of vegetables

If you buy your shopping online, you’ll have to rely on the descriptions on the website and learn as you go. But, it’s much easier to check the ingredients and see reviews from other shoppers.

  • Use an ethical online superstore to find products that tick all the sustainability boxes, but aren’t available in mainstream stores. Ethical Superstore has a great range of household goods, cleaning products and beauty products.
  • If buying online from a mainstream supermarket, choose one that delivers direct from your local store (e.g. Waitrose, Sainsburys or Tesco), or one that uses a local delivery driver who plans their route (like Riverford). That means your groceries aren’t being delivered from a central warehouse that could be hundreds of miles away (like Ocado) – an unforgivable waste of fuel and tyre wear.
  • If you’re buying an unfamiliar product, check the product description to see what it’s packaged in, and choose one that can be recycled. The photos can be misleading. Where possible, avoid plastic packaging, which can be recycled but often isn’t.
  • You can filter your search results so you only see vegan or vegetarian items.
  • Buying online from a list of favourites makes it easy to avoid impulse buys.
  • Choose a “green” delivery slot to minimise delivery mileage. (A green delivery slot means someone else who lives nearby has already booked a delivery in the same time window.)

Image credits:
Loose fruit and vegetables: photo by Jacopo Maia on Unsplash
Dry goods hoppers in a zero waste shop: photo by Benjamin Brunner on Unsplash
Vegetables on supermarket shelves: photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash
Delivery person holding a crate of food: photo by Liuba Bilyk on Unsplash

Categories: Food, Free, Quick & easy, Uncategorized

How to buy better toys for kids – and stop buying them things they don’t need

untidy purple, red and pink plastic children's toys on a white background

Children aren’t born with impulse control, and million-dollar marketing budgets and peer pressure are often too much for them. You end up buying them toys they play with once or twice, and then you store them for years before they go to charity or landfill. We’re not saying don’t buy them any toys – we all need some joy in our lives – but buying less and better quality is the way to go. So here’s how to buy better toys for kids, and some strategies to avoid buying them things they really don’t need.

How can I avoid buying my kids plastic junk and things they don’t need?

Here are some strategies which may or may not work, depending on the child and your own willingness to accept tantrums.

  • If they’re watching TV, steer younger children towards CBeebies, CBBC and subscription services, rather than channels like Nickelodeon that advertise relentlessly.
  • Be aware that YouTube Kids still has adverts – it’s only ad-free if you pay for the premium version.
  • Teach self-control. Ask them whether they really need whatever it is they’re pestering you for, and lead them to the right answer.
  • Explain the effect that plastic waste has on the environment.
  • Take a photo of them with the thing they want. Tell them it’s so they can remember which one they wanted when pocket money day/birthday/Christmas comes around. This may be enough to distract them and satisfy them at the time, plus it teaches delayed gratification. Make sure you keep your promise and go through the photos with them before the next big event to see what they still want.
  • Explain that you haven’t got money in the budget for whatever it is right now, but maybe they should put it on their birthday/Christmas list.
  • Offer to pay half, if they earn the money for the other half (this teaches them the value of money and ensures they only buy it if they really want it).
  • If all else fails, just say no and ride out the tantrum.
  • Avoid filling party bags with cheap plastic that will get thrown away. Sweets are a good substitute that won’t leave the guests feeling cheated.

How can I buy better toys?

  • When you agree to buy, buy good quality toys that can be donated or passed on when your children are older (like Playmobil and Lego).
  • Avoid cheap knock-offs that are more likely to break, or are secretly embarrassing to your child, and therefore won’t get used.
  • Encourage children to choose toys that relate to active or creative hobbies, like sports, crafts, or making things.
  • Encourage children to make their own play environments for their dolls or animals. Houses, villages, rockets or battle sites can be made out of cardboard boxes, paper-mâché, discarded plastic tubs, and paint. They won’t necessarily last very long, but the fun is in the making as well as the playing.
  • For younger children, buy wooden versions of toys (e.g. blocks, farm animals, cars, or play-food).
  • Join local Facebook groups where people give away or swap items. These are great for picking up toddler bikes, sandpits, and toys like Bob the Builder or My Little Pony (which each child can love for a couple of years before passing on to the next one).
  • Avoid toys that get boring quickly because they only do one thing, e.g. playdough shaping machines.

Good luck.

Image credit: photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash

Categories: Uncategorized, Children, Consumption

How to take climate action – plant a lot of trees

rainforest trees in sunlight

Why should I plant trees?

Trees absorb and lock away carbon – on average about 22kg of CO2 per year[1] – so it’s horrifying that human activity has already cleared about half of the Earth’s tropical forests[2] and a further 7.3 million hectares are destroyed every year.[2] That’s the same as about 10.5 million football (soccer) pitches or 13.7 million NFL football fields.

Research shows that planting billions of trees is the simplest and cheapest way to help tackle the climate crisis[3]. The study’s authors calculated that it should be possible to increase tree cover by 25%. When mature, the extra forested areas would be capable of locking away 200 gigatonnes of carbon (25% of current atmospheric carbon)[3].

While we absolutely must reduce emissions as well, planting trees is a quick, easy win, because it doesn’t require political will or rely on technology that hasn’t been invented yet. It’s a low-tech, cheap solution that can be started right now by anyone, anywhere.

In addition to capturing carbon, responsible reforestation also:

  • prevents soil erosion
  • improves soil health
  • prevents flooding by improving groundwater recharge (the process by which water returns to the water table)
  • supports native plants and animals
  • regulates local temperatures (e.g. cooling cities naturally)
  • and provides work for local communities

Where does tree planting have the most effect?

Trees planted in tropical areas were long believed to have the most impact[4]. So, on a global scale, it’s good to support a scheme that aims to plant millions of trees in equatorial areas, like Earth Day’s Canopy Project. Alongside many other campaigns, they plant trees in areas most at risk from climate change and after environmental disasters.

However, more recent evidence indicates that the UK’s older trees lock away twice as much carbon as previously thought – so really there’s no bad place to plant a tree, so long as it’s a native tree, and not in a monoculture (i.e. not a huge area all planted with the same type of tree).

Here are some great examples of international tree planting.

How can I plant more trees in my area?

close up of two red and green eating apples on an apple tree. On the left, the blurred background gives the impression of more apple trees

If you’re in charge of a lot of land (e.g. managing an estate, a park, a school or looking after community-owned land), check out the Woodland Trust’s tree planting scheme. They can help with access to grants and funding schemes and suggest which trees you should plant. They can even supply free trees to schools and communities. Applications open in spring for autumn delivery, because it’s best to plant trees in late autumn/winter.

In your area, support schemes to plant native trees in public spaces, or plans to plant locally-appropriate woodland and forests, and support campaigns to replant forests that have been destroyed by farming and mining. Support these schemes even if they change your local landscape so it looks unfamiliar to you.

If you have room at home, plant a native and appropriately-sized tree. Research how big it will grow, or ask a tree specialist, so you don’t cut out all your light and damage your home’s foundations. If you plant a fruit tree, you can also have a free seasonal supply of apples, pears or other fruit.

If you have less space, planting any leafy plant will help. Consider planting fruit bushes, or something that flowers in the winter, like viburnum, to provide early or out-of-season food for beneficial insects like bees.

If you have no outdoor space at all, even indoor plants will help. They’ll remove CO2 from the air, and they’ll also help remove volatile organic compounds (given off by furnishings and paint) from your home. Good Housekeeping, quoting a study by NASA, recommends aloe vera, areca palm and snake plant, among others.

[1] Urbanforestrynetwork.org. (2019). Trees Improve Our Air Quality. [online] Available at: http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/air%20quality.htm [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019]

[2] Earth Day. n.d. The Canopy Project | Earth Day. [online] Available at: <https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[3] “The restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change.”) Bastin et al (2019). The global tree restoration potential. Science, [online] 365(6448), pp.76-79. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76.

[4] Carrington, D., 2019. Tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle climate crisis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[5] Gill, V. (2022) UK’s old trees critical to climate change fight, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64028694 (Accessed: February 5, 2023).

Image credits:
Rainforest: photo by Alenka Skvarc on Unsplash
Apples on a tree: photo by Sokmean Nou on Unsplash

Categories: Carbon absorption, Community & action, Gardening, High impact, Uncategorized

How to get your favourite brands to stop using plastic

woman in green top with coffee and laptop in a cafe

Why should I ask my favourite brands to stop using plastic?

While plastic can be recycled, it often isn’t, leading to plastic pollution in oceans, rivers, and even our own bodies via the food chain. We need to stop producing and using single-use plastic items, except for where it’s absolutely necessary.

As individuals, we can make better purchasing decisions – but changes made by companies make it easy for everyone to go greener – whether they want to or not! 

So ask your favourite brands why they’re still using plastic in their products or packaging. A single change made by a company can have as much effect as thousands of their customers making the same choice.

Action:
Ask your favourite brands why they haven’t swapped to paper-based or plant-based wrappers for their products, or why they are still using plastic when they don’t need to.

How do I get companies to stop using plastic?

Start by emailing or tweeting and see what kind of answer you get. The company may be enthusiastic – they may already be doing something about it!

Twitter is a good place to put pressure on companies because they don’t like negative publicity. But however you do it, make sure you’ve got your facts right, and be polite – there’s a person at the other end. Feedback from customer services and the social media team can be a valuable mechanism for convincing management to make the change!

If you don’t get anywhere, see if someone else has already created a petition. Change.org and 38 Degrees are good places to start, or, to petition the government, use the UK government petitions site. If a petition already exists, support it by adding your name, writing to the petition target, or offering help to the petition owner.

If no one else is already running a campaign, you could start your own petition on Change.org or a similar site. But to give it the best chance of success, first, ask yourself if you’re committed to following it through. The most powerful petitions are started by people who are really committed and have the time to meet the petition target in the real world and work together for solutions – like the campaign we’ve highlighted below.

Finally, consider getting together with others to organise a boycott of the product or even protest at the organisation’s headquarters or sales outlets.

Cut the plastic – an inspiring example of a great eco campaign

Ella Daish’s campaign to encourage supermarkets to make all their menstrual products plastic-free is a great example of a successful campaign.

Ella was working as a postal worker when she noticed the amount of rubbish on her delivery route. First, she took steps to reduce the amount of waste she produced in her daily life; one of the changes she made was switching to eco-friendly period products. But no one else seemed to be aware of the problem.

She decided to take on the suppliers and started her campaign, on Change.org, in early 2018.

Ella’s petition, which calls on supermarkets and manufacturers to cut the plastic from their period products, now has more than 230,000 signatures. Ella met with decision-makers from Procter & Gamble, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Boots, Morrisons, Aldi, Kotex, Lil-lets, Carefree, Lidl, Bodyform, Asda, Superdrug and the Co-op, and the campaign featured in the national news and international magazines.

As a result of Ella’s campaign:

  • Sainsbury’s, Aldi, and Superdrug stopped producing plastic tampon applicators, which she says has prevented 17 tonnes of plastic from being produced annually
  • Eco-friendly ranges of tampons, pads and reusable products are now available in most supermarkets, giving customers a greater choice
  • Lil-Lets, Superdrug, and Morrisons developed and launched their own eco-friendly ranges

Photo credit: Adam Satria on Unsplash

Categories: High impact, Free, In Lockdown, Influence, Uncategorized, Waste

The problem with bee-killing pesticides – and how to help

bee on a yellow canola / rapeseed flower

Why are pesticides a problem?

Bees and other insects are essential to pollinate around one-third of the food crops we rely on – but bee populations are in decline due to the use of pesticides called neonicotinoids (neonics), habitat loss and disease.

Neonics were banned by the EU in April 2018, but, according to Greenpeace, at least 67 different emergency authorisations have been granted since that date. Many of these authorisations were granted repeatedly, or without any evidence of an ‘emergency’ situation being provided [1]. Neonic use has also been approved in the UK after Brexit, in certain emergency situations (although it was for a non-flowering crop).

Unfortunately, the next generation of pesticides are also believed to harm bees[2]. Indeed it’s hard to see how any future pesticides will be safe for bees and beneficial insects, given their physiological similarity to the insects the pesticides are intended to kill.

Legislators are under relentless pressure to approve pesticides that are known to cause the collapse of bee populations. This pressure comes from agrochemical giants like Bayer and Monsanto, whose business models are based on creating a reliance on their patented, proprietary seeds and pesticides.

How can I help end the use of bee-killing pesticides?

How can I contact my MP or political representative?

In the UK, you can find out who your MP is and how to contact them on They Work For You.

In the US, you can find out who your representative in Congress is here.

[1] Unearthed – Greenpeace. 2020. Loophole Keeps Bee-Killing Pesticides In Widespread Use, Two Years After EU Ban. [online] Available at: <https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/07/08/bees-neonicotinoids-bayer-syngenta-eu-ban-loophole/> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

[2] BBC News. 2018. New Pesticides ‘May Have Risks For Bees’. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45185261> [Accessed 25 January 2021].

Image credit: photo by Tsing Wang on Unsplash

Categories: Bees, insects & rewilding, Chemicals, Free, High impact, Influence, Quick & easy, Uncategorized

How to cut your climate impact – eat seasonally

butternut squash soup with chilli and parsley

There’s a cost to eating whatever we want, whenever we want it – our food has to travel further, often from different continents, or it’s grown locally in industrial heated greenhouses. Both of these options increase the greenhouse gas emissions generated to bring your food to your table.

It’s hard to justify eating our favourite fruit and vegetables fresh all year round. The alternatives are buying local and growing your own – which means eating seasonally.

How do I start eating seasonally if I’m not a good cook?

If you’re not used to cooking from scratch, there’s still plenty you can do to eat seasonally:

  • Think about what vegetables you’re eating with your meal. For example, in winter and early spring, you could roast squash, carrots, parsnips or beetroot instead of summer vegetables that have been grown in heated industrial greenhouses or flown thousands of miles
  • Check Riverford or Abel & Cole’s websites to see what fruit and vegetables they’re currently selling in their seasonal boxes (then buy the same items from the supermarket if that suits your budget better)
  • Learn to cook some simple meals (using whatever you like) to build your confidence, and then move on to more challenging recipes with seasonal ingredients
  • Alternatively, use fruit and vegetables that have been frozen in season (e.g. peas), preserved in oil (e.g. sun-dried tomatoes or peppers), or buy cans (e.g. pears, potatoes, or tomatoes)

How do I start eating seasonally if I’m a confident cook?

Eating seasonally can be a fun and interesting challenge for confident cooks.

  • Think about what sorts of fruit and vegetables your grandparents or great-grandparents might have eaten at this time of year, and use that as a guide
  • If you need to use a non-seasonal ingredient, buy it frozen, canned, dried or preserved
  • Check Abel & Cole or Riverford for seasonal boxes, either to start you off or get you through the winter and spring when there isn’t much to be harvested. Both companies can supply your choice of familiar or unfamiliar fruit and vegetables, and also provide recipes showing you how to use them
  • Search Pinterest for ideas and BBC Good Food for recipes featuring your main seasonal ingredient
  • Experiment and create new meals by swapping out an ingredient in a favourite recipe and using a seasonal ingredient instead

How do I start eating seasonally if I want to grow my own food?

Eating seasonally is most rewarding if you grow some of your own food. The pride you get from finally eating vegetables you’ve grown from seed and tended through the summer heat is amazing!

  • Remember you don’t have to do it all at once – if you want to start growing your own, it’s best to start with fruit and vegetables that you know you’ll eat, so your effort doesn’t go to waste. We started with tomatoes, peppers, squash and courgettes because we eat a lot of them and they can be grown without a greenhouse. You might be able to grow some salad items on a windowsill in winter too
  • Join a local gardening club or Facebook group to get advice on when to plant and what’s going wrong with your plants
  • To give yourself the best chance of success, find out:
    – the best planting times in your country or zone
    – the first and last frost dates for your area
    – what type of soil you have
    – which areas of your garden get full or partial sun, and what grows best in each area
  • Learn about companion planting and crop rotation to help your plants thrive
  • Make the most of all the space in your garden. Consider pots, raised beds, vegetables planted amongst flowers, hanging baskets, vertical space (trellis, poles, fences), cold frames to extend the growing season, vines and fruit trees grown against warm house walls, a fruit cage or a greenhouse
  • Get an allotment
  • Arrange to tend someone else’s garden in exchange for giving them a share of the produce (try Lend and Tend (UK), AllotMe (UK) or Shared Earth (US))
  • If you’re really going for it and want to be entirely self-sufficient, estimates for the amount of land needed range from 0.75 to 1.25 acres per person for a vegetarian diet. Check out this Grand Designs episode for the story of an inspirational couple who feed not just themselves and their family, but also support their catering business, on five acres of land in Somerset (season 22, episode 9)
  • See our gardening page for more ideas

Image credit: photo by Sara Dubler on Unsplash

Categories: Food, Gardening, Travel & commuting, Uncategorized