sustainability
Can’t sleep – lunar eclipse
Please excuse the terrible shiny crappy photo that I took from my front door. It’s the middle of the night and I’m sitting in my front doorway watching the moon that happens to be keeping me up. I’ve been lying in bed awake for hours thinking about sleep, meditating, doing breathing exercises and nothing seems to be working. I’ve finally given in and decided to view the incredible phenomenon that’s keeping me sleepless.
She’s a beauty the moon – so bright and shiny. As I sit here I think back to my teenage years when I would lie awake in the yard looking up at the moon and ponder life. I wanted to understand why. Why does it all exist. What is conciousness.How can anything really be proven other than your own existence. What are we meant to be doing here? What really matters in the world. I’m still asking myself these same questions now – a decade later. I’m glad that I am – it means that I’m at least keeping myself in tune with nature and not really getting caught up in what i’m buying, who i’m spending time with and how i’m earning a dollar.
Living in London for the past few years I’ve been missing having a real and true connection to nature. I find myself yearning to swim in natural bodies of water, getting lost amongst the trees, searching for critters big and small just to watch them go about their business. I want to forage, frolic and explore new places that are wild and free unlike the urban jungle I’ve been calling home.
Thank you moon – you’ve given me much to think on. Now how abouts letting me get a bit of shut eye?
If you’re sleepless like me tweet me @jessicaswander or instagram me @jessicaswanderlust
Until next time dreamers… x
10 tips for eating sustainably
Here are a few tips on how to reduce your impact on our planet 3-5 times a day just by stuffing your face with deliciousness.
1. Buy Organic. Organic food is higher in nutrients, free of neurotoxins, free of pesticides, hasn’t been gas ripened, supports biodiversity and generally just tastes better. If you can’t afford to do a full organic shop start with what you can afford and make sure to always wash non-organic food in a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar to remove the majority of the pesticides.
2. Buy Local. Reduce your food miles.Food miles refer to the number of miles between the farm your food came from and the place you bought it. For example if you bought a delicious mango from your local supermarket that has come from Mexico that’s roughly 5551 miles as the crow flies! Find your local farmers market and see what you can buy that is close to home.
3. Cut out processed and packaged foods. I’m not saying that you need to cut out all junk food and never have chocolate again – but think about all the unnecessary packaging that just goes to landfill every time you buy a multi pack bag of crisps from your local Tesco. Bake your own treats! Home cooked meals are generally healthier, encourage mindful eating and most importantly you know what you are putting in to your body.
4. Say no to tuna! I know what you’re thinking “but Jess – tuna is delicious and comes in very convenient easy open cans”. This may be true – however it’s also true that tuna is being hugely over fished which is devastating for the marine life. Also it’s full of heavy metals such as mercury – there is even a possibility of heavy metal poisoning from eating too much tuna. Also dolphins.
5. Learn to cook. I hinted at this one before. I have been really surprised to discover over the past few years that there are so many young adults who have no idea how to cook. Cooking connects us with our food. We appreciate it – we learn to love the process and want to know more about the food we are preparing.
6. Eat seasonally – your body best assimilates food that is seasonal and local to where you live. Get back to the ol’ farmers market and then get in the kitchen.
7. Grow yer own! Grow something. Anything. I live in a little flat with a little garden in London and I have five edible plants growing in my little temporary space. Five! It was lovely harvesting the elderflower a few weeks back – or making myself a nice fresh mint tea straight from the garden. Growing your own also helps attract bees to your garden and bees are our friends.
8. Be prepared. Cut out the convenience foods. It’s not often you’ll find me in a food free environment. I usually always have a piece of fruit on my person. I get hungry. I’d rather eat fruit that some highly processed food like substance.
9. Get involved with meat free Monday. The meat industry alone contributes one-fifth of man made greenhouse gas emissions. Reduce the amount of meat you eat – take a day off and enjoy the benefits of eating vegetarian for a day. You’ll find your tummy will thank you for it too. Don’t believe the lies about protein. It’s impossible to be vegetarian and be protein deficient without also being calorie deficient. #JustSaying
10. Forage – hooray for the free food movement. Look up local foraging groups or maps online and see what you can get for free from mother nature!
Vote with your food dollars! Every dollar you spend on local, organic food is one less dollar spent on the industrialised food system. We all have the power to change the way the world eats – one meal at a time!
Tweet or instagram me to let me know what you think!
JW x
If you’re interested in reading more about health and wellness my friends Matt and Tegan have written an incredible book called 365 Day’s of Wholeness – you can buy it here
Why the bees are dying
“If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”
― Maurice Maeterlinck, The Life of the Bee
I was chatting with someone just the other day about bees and why they are dying and I could barely string a sentence together (embarrassing much!). So as to redeem myself I thought I’d put a brief summary up here.
There are so many different theories on this topic – and lots of finger pointing at various industries but from what I can understand there is a number of contributing factors – and hence a number of different things that need to change so we can save the bees from extinction and ourselves as a result.
- The widespread use of pesticides and insecticides used in the modern farming practices is believed to be killing bees. Granted some of these are meant to be ‘bee friendly’ but the jury is still out on this one.
- Home gardens also use pesticides and insecticides available over the counter. Refraining from using these products as well as planting native plants and flowers will help in encouraging bees in to your garden.
- In the UK the introduction of non-native bees is believed to have compromised the native bee population.
- There are a number of different parasitic mites that can quickly spread disease amongst a hive. In addition wax moths and small hive beetles also pose a threat.
- Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a strange phenomenon where the bees seem to just completely disappear. There have been numerous studies on the topic but no strong conclusions have been drawn.
Thanks for reading – I’d love to know what you think about this issue so please leave a comment below or tweet me @jessicaswander.
x
What is Sustainability?
We live in a world of excessive consumption, unnecessary production, that is completely full of man-made waste. Currently we are taking more resources from the earth each year than she is able to reproduce which means that sustainability has never been so important as is it right now.
So what does sustainability really mean?
The dictionary defines sustainability as the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed. In environmental science sustainability refers to the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.
It’s currently estimated that 50,000 different plant and animal species will become extinct in the next decade – the destruction is so relentless that 60,000 plant species could be lost by 2025! Just to put that into perspective for you that is 25% of the worlds total plant life. Just imagine the effect that will have on the individual and interlinking ecosystems around the world. Not to mention the erosion, pollution, lack of food, quality of water… I could go on.
I believe we all have a responsibility to act in a sustainable way – take sustainability into consideration every day of our lives – because it affects our lives in every way – think about it when you eat – when you drink – when you travel to work – when you take a holiday – when you shop… because I know I want future generations to be able to enjoy the beauty of this world – the diversity – the people – even the food and unless we all start to shift towards living more sustainable lifestyles that just isn’t going to be possible.
I’d love to speak with you about sustainability and hear your thoughts – so please leave a comment below or tweet with me @JessicasWander.
Peace and love wanderlusters x
Russell Brand – Love is all that matters
I just had to share this because it’s just so beautiful.
Russell brand is just incredible. What an enlightened human being and I couldn’t agree with him more…
Love is all you need.
Invisible Bike Helmets
What an incredible invention. Hopefully with the invention of an invisible bike helmet more people will choose to cycle rather than drive. Sustainability rocks!
St Andrews Market
St Andrews Market is one of my favourite places in the whole wide world. It’s definitely one of the things I’ll miss the most when I set off on my adventure. I love lazy late saturday mornings with friends drinking chai and taking in the beautiful energy of this wonderful place.
Delicious vegan friendly options for lunch and music everywhere. People are so happy to chat and it’s a great way to learn more about a variety of topics from bee keeping, sustainable living, superfoods, crystal healing, organic farming, and whatever else you can find. People are so open and happy to share their knowledge with everyone.
One Night Stand – Keeping Sleep off the streets
Link Posted on Updated on
One Night stand is a profit for purpose sleepwear company. Every time you purchase some super rad sleepwear the profits go straight into projects to help out those who are sleeping rough.
Oh how I wish there were more people in the world like founder of One Night Stand Jamie Green.
I was lucky enough to sit down with him recently for a coffee and a chat about business, life and everything else. What stood out for me was his genuine caring nature and his dedication to making a change in the world.
Everything about One Night Stand is just wonderful. With a huge focus on sustainability and social consciousness every detail seems to be thought of. Everything is made in Australia, they use organic fabrics and even bank with community banks.
Please help support the incredible things they are doing by clicking the link below and voting for One Night Stand in the Bank of Melbourne “the Local project” it only takes a few seconds and you’ll be doing your little bit to help change the world.
Dream sweet,
Jess.
VOTE FOR ONE NIGHT STAND HERE
https://www.facebook.com/BankofMelbourne?sk=app_569581529775133&app_data
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE
http://www.onenightstandsleepwear.com/
Jessica's Wanderlust 