Why Greener Spaces Matter

This month the Climate Change Collective are discussing the need for green space in urban areas and its increasing erosion. The lead post by Krista at A Sustainably Simple Life, talks about personal experiences of climate change. It suggests ways that urban areas can improve their impact on the environment.

Check out this brilliant, informative post for yourself:

Merging Towns

In my local area, it is clear that there is a demand to build more homes. A small estate that was built in 2005 has now blossomed into a massive development which is as big as a town. Previously green spaces have been replaced by roads, houses and retail outlets.

My childhood town used to have a gap between itself and neighbouring villages but now has extended across its green belt. Not only has it joined up to the next village but that village has now connected to the next town. Where I used to drive through pockets of countryside, I now just see houses all the way.

Is This The Way Forward?

We have to consider future planning for homes and the impact it has on the countryside. Towns are concrete jungles which absorb sunlight and increase run-off during storms. Flooding will become more of a problem as we build estates and remove woodlands and plants. Surely there are ways we can involve and integrate plants in our developments, by creating planted roofs, planting more trees and leaving lots of green space between streets.

Check out the interesting and relevant article by Krista and Alison and be sure to drop a comment. What are your thoughts on greener areas in towns and cities? Do you think there is more to be done to stop urban sprawl?

The Climate Change Collective is a group of enthusiastic bloggers who discuss climate change and make suggestions for being more ecofriendly. If you would like to join us please drop me a message and I will pass on your details.

Ecofriendly Messages From The Past

This is my link post to our April Climate Change Collective article which was expertly written by Smelly Socks and Garden Peas. Reflecting on the past and the way that our grandparents used to live really made me think about how sustainable some of their methods were.

Check out the April Climate Change Collective post here:

My Family

I am from the same region as @AndSmelly and love the ways of life that she describes. My nan always talks about keeping chickens and growing her own food and to some extent she still does. She used to grow potatoes, strawberries, onions, carrots, runner beans and until recently had asparagus growing in her garden.

Although now she has a neighbour helping her with the bit that is left, she has always loved cultivating fresh produce from that beautiful Fenland soil. Me too. Even chips taste better when they are home grown.

Repurposing

My grandad always said, “Clear your plate and be grateful for it.” In his household they were always struggling to feed the family and so he got used to making sure any morsel was munched. He had a lifestyle that involved shopping around, going to car boot sales and finding things to make into other things, including furniture.

My mum has now taken on this mantle and finds ways to use old materials to make new things. I need to do more of this and already repair old clothes and recycle any materials I can BUT I need to do more.

My school friend moved to Scotland and is now setting up a sustainable home farm. She was recently on a TV show because of her brilliant ideas. Here is one of her articles about repurposing and reusing:

My Thoughts

I actually learned a lot from this week’s article from @AndSmelly and hope that you will check it out. As a result of this I am going to investigate how to reuse cooking water on the garden and using one of my raised beds to grow some vegetables.

Thank you for checking out this post and looking at what the Climate Change Collective have been up to. We enjoy discussing practical ways to aid the reversal of global warming. If any fellow bloggers want to join our group please tweet us or drop a message below.

Reuse & Repurpose

I recommend highly that you check out and share this blog about a food forest in Scotland. This week they share tips on how to reuse and repurpose waste items when sewing seeds.

GETTING YOUR SEEDS STARTED WITH ITEMS FROM AROUND YOUR HOME Reusing & repurposing items to use to start seed sowing What Did We Do? If you are a …

Reuse & Repurpose