Emotional Health & Wellbeing by Caz Campbell/World Earth Day- West Berkshire Villagers Today is World Earth Day and This Year’s Theme is “Restore Our Earth”

Hello! My name is Caz Campbell. I’ve lived in Newbury most of my life, I’m a mum of two daughters who are 5 & 7 and I have three other job “hats” which are all on my website: www.happykindcalm.co.uk  I teach baby massage, I’m an emotional coach and I’ve published a book focusing on happiness, kindness and calmness. It’s called “Donkey on a Waffle” and includes topics which I’m going to talk about in this blog.

Today is World Earth Day and the theme for this year is “Restore Our Earth” which focuses on natural processes and emerging green technologies that can restore the world’s ecosystems.

The environment is a huge subject so I’ve focused on the everyday, practical side in which we can do our bit… and hopefully a bit more. How we each live can have a remarkable impact on the immediate world around us and of course scaling this up, how we all live, impacts our planet to an extent that’s difficult to compute. My friend sent me the everyoneofus.co.uk website and app which is a fantastic way to learn and take action. The following are just some ideas – you may already do some, some may not suit you, but there’s hopefully a good few you’ve not thought of that you can easily do to make a change:

Take 5 minutes to read up on what can and can’t be recycled. Getting it wrong may mean a whole load is rejected by the machines, but better than not trying at all. Plus it’s a lot less time than you may spend hesitating when you’re not sure over so many items. E.g., I didn’t think glossy junk mail could be recycled but if it scrunches, it can be (I’d recommend Jana Little’s blogs on this website and her Facebook group!).

Stop junk mail so you don’t have to do the scrunch test! Contact companies you keep getting unwanted post from. Opt out of receiving unaddressed items from Royal Mail – you need to print and send a form from their website but it’s freepost – https://www.royalmail.com/…/D2D-Opt-Out-Application…

Drive smartly and you save money as well as the environment. Driving at 55-65mph has the most efficient fossil fuel consumption. Unload heavy items that don’t need to be in your boot or roof rack. Keep your tyres at the recommended pressure. And note that heating doesn’t use much fuel, but air con does. Even better – can you walk or cycle a journey instead?

Go paperless – can any of your bills, statements or other post go online?

Heating – Putting on a jumper and turning the heating down by 2 degrees can make a lot of difference to your heating bill as well as the environment.

Water – Wasting water means we waste the energy it takes to treat and pump it to us (and for us to heat it at home). Could you have a shorter shower? Much to my husband’s annoyance, I even shower with a bucket and use the water collected to flush toilets or water plants.

Food – Is there a lot of food waste in your house, can you reduce this waste by cooking and freezing meals with food that won’t last much longer in the fridge? With takeaways – opt for no cutlery or sauces in sachets. If possible, bring your own containers for the food to go in.