One of the best things I decided to do last year (after becoming a Mother for the first time) was to join Divest London (divestlondon.org). Global Divestment Day on 14th February was so energetic, powerful and inspiring that I’m still feeling a positive glow from this special Valentine’s Day. Continue reading
Happy New Year to all readers!
It may be unusual, but January is one of my favourite months. My birthday falls at the end, I met my husband on a cold winter night and one year later, we got engaged. Personal milestones aside, I enjoy welcoming in the New Year and making plans.
My resolution this year is to stop using disposable items, in particular plastic bags, take away cups and bottles. The terrifying scale of the plastic material gathering in our oceans was unveiled for the first time last year. (www.theguardian.com/…/full-scale-plastic-worlds-oceans-revealed-first-time- pollution) Continue reading
The quiet days between Christmas and the New Year are a special time. If we’re fortunate enough to have a holiday, they give us space to relax with our loved ones, enjoy long winter walks followed by hot chocolate or mulled wine and curl up by the fireside with a brilliant novel or a classic film. These sleepy moments also allow us to focus on the past year and what we are most grateful for.
This week I have been reading Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. In this inspiring book, the authors discuss ‘coming from gratitude’ as a profound motivation for environmental activism. By focusing on what we love about the Earth, we develop a positive outlook which in turn, helps us to build the strength we need to protect our planet. Continue reading
My son is five and a half months old and loves his playmat. Every day I watch him exploring on his tummy, reaching his hands forward, preparing to crawl. He is able to move quite far by rolling, shuffling and hanging onto the edge of his mat!
Parenting books remind me to babyproof our home without delay. On a recent shopping trip, I spotted an overwhelming selection of products designed to make my home safer. Tackling our flat (which is on the first and second floor of a victorian building) is not going to be easy, so I decide to take one task a week. This week I’ve ordered plug socket covers. Next week, the exciting task of moving our cleaning products into a higher cupboard awaits me. Then we really need to think about the various stairs in our flat!
Childproofing our home, I found myself thinking of the story about a man who builds his house on the sand. The image of his house being washed away, which I remembered from my own childhood, flashed in my mind. We can proof, guard and pad our homes into submission but without working to tackle climate change, it seems we are effectively building our homes on the sand.
Of course, I do intend to make our flat as safe as possible for our soon to be crawling baby! However above all I’m inspired to get involved with some of the exciting environmental campaigns happening at the moment, such as the fossil free divestment campaign.
We have bigger tasks ahead to make our homes and our children’s futures safer. It may be hard to get our heads around childproofing the planet (especially when we’re so sleep deprived!) but our protective instincts are strong and we can use this strength to take action. I look forward to getting involved and to really starting my babyproofing!
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