365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

I like doing things for several good reasons, so no surprise I love this: Cycling is more #environmentallyFriendly than for example going by car, when bikes are stored sheltered they last longer, and old wind turbine blades can be put to good use again! #sustainableLiving Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: Triple sustainability. Wind power + cycling + recycling. A wind turbine blade re-purposed as a bike shed in Aalborg, Denmark (via @WindEurope)

I love this idea of creating art with natural materials, as you can eat everything and no additional materials are used.  

I've shared how art can be used to teach children about climate change  ( https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-can-art-be-used-to-teach-children-about-climate-change-5fbbb9cc641b ) Here, art is used to draw attention to #recycling. I love it allows us to dispose of - textiles - batteries - electronic devices - lamps - cartridges - phones - bottles - tins

When cutting paprika, I didn’t really pay attention to cutting away as little paprika as possible. This resulted in throwing away a bit of paprika unnecessarily. Now I do pay attention.

When I use a tea bag, I always use it for two pots or several cups of tea. Instead of buying something to put my bag on, I decided to use the lid from a pizza sauce glas instead. It has the perfect size and when I have several tea bags, I can use two lids.

What a beautiful idea to grow a building from trees! I think it looks lovely and is very #environmentallyFriendly. #sustainableLiving #naturelovers #naturelover Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: How to grow a church. After travelling the world and being a keen observer of Churches, Barry Cox decided to construct a Church using living trees. The New Zealand Tree Church gardens and Labyrinth walk is a welcomed retreat from society. #NewZealand

I used to cut potatoes in half. In that case, they take 15 minutes to get cooked. So I decided to cut them in thinner slices. Now I only have to cook them for 10 minutes.

For Christmas, I bought someone a present: calendars for 2022. But afterwards, I learned that they didn't meet the requirements. I've considered keeping the calendars myself, but as I don't need any, I decided to bring them back to the shop. This not only saves me money, it also reduces waste.

Honey bees are important #pollinators who stay alive during the winter months. Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, summer weather plays an important role for their survival in the winter. This article explains why: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-summer-weather-conditions-impact-honey-bees-survival-in-winter-78ce5f7e918 Credit:  PollyDot  at  Pixabay

In the past, I sometimes put leftovers in the fridge while it was still warm. But that obviously warms up the fridge, so I now let it cool down outside of the fridge and put it in later.

When it's fall, I leave the leafs as they are a great place for small animals to hide. I never thought of this other great idea: using fallen leaves to make paper. And as he only uses leaves gathered in parks and public gardens, it doesn't disturb wildlife. #sustainability Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: In #Ukraine, production of paper made of fallen leaves can start soon. The technology named RE-leaf was pioneered by the Ukrainian schoolboy, and now a student, Valentyn Frechka.

I wanted to make a salad with pasta in it, but realized I still had bread that was about to go off. So, I decided to leave the pasta out and eat the bread instead. No food wasted!

When I really do have to print something, I tend to print in draft quality. This requires less ink than when printing in normal quality.

We know we should take urgent action towards a healthier planet. And many do. But not everyone does, even when they believe it is important. This article explains why: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/why-high-moral-standards-dont-always-trigger-climate-action-52fa477e1d9a Credit:  Golubovy  on  Shutterstock

I saw this bike rack on a walk one day. A clever idea, assuming that this tree had fallen anyway and wasn't cut down for it.

What a great idea to save books from waste and create a library! Thanks to these waste collectors who kept their eyes open and put this brilliant idea into practice! #sustainableLiving #librarylovers Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: Turkish refuse collectors create library out of waste books 📚 Bin workers in Ankara, Turkey, have opened a library full of books that had been thrown out with other waste collected on their rounds - The library contains more than 6,000 books available to the public!

I hope you're enjoying my articles with fascinating facts about nature and sustainability. You can read all articles by becoming a Medium member. If you use this link, I'll also plant a tree for you each month  and you can suggest topics and questions:  https://medium.com/@erlijng/membership

Even though I treat my smartphone carefully, it of course sometimes happens that I drop it. To prevent my smartphone from breaking, I bought a cover and a protective layer for the screen. I haven’t broken any of my phones yet (fingers crossed it stays like that).

Similar to me growing spring onions at home, someone on Twitter (who doesn't want to be credited) shared how she grows sprouts in a jar. This looks so impressive and sounded simple: "I bought the mixed seeds in a pouch. I use 1 tablespoon of the seeds each time I start a jar. The jar in the photo is one quart, but a liter jar would work. The sprouts are great in sandwiches and salads. The best part is, you can grow them all winter. It takes only 3-4 days. I soak the seeds in water overnight, then rinse them twice a day, allowing the water to drain off. (I put them in a plastic tray from mushrooms. It keeps the jar tilted.) My equipment: quart canning jar, outer lid with fly screen cut to fit, container for draining (tray mushrooms came in), measuring spoon, seeds and filtered water. Soak ~8 hours or so, drain and then rinse twice a day. Store in fridge when jar is full."

Conflicts between humans and wildlife, usually does not end well for wildlife. The good news: in places where elephants and lions are protected by well-placed fences, their populations are growing again. Here’s how fences help elephants and lions: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-well-placed-fences-help-elephants-and-lions-survive-7ef0858d0edc (credit:  Claudia Paulussen  on  Shutterstock )

To reduce the amount of required fossil fuels, it makes sense to drive an electric car that is charged with green energy. As I don’t have my own car (#97), it means I rent an electric one whenever possible.

This is so cool: an electric scooter made from an upcycled suitcase! I bet driving around with it is so much fun, it is impossible to accidentally forget luggage and way more #environmentallyFriendly than going by car. #sustainableLiving #zerowaste #ecofriendly Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: This picture taken on May 28, 2014 shows Chinese farmer He Liangcai riding a motorized scooter suitcase

On Twitter, I sometimes see tweets of people who have been hunting for example a deer. In case someone only hunts for the trophy, I think this is a much better and animal friendly option: a knitted head!

Last weekend, I felt like going on a little adventure. And #nature never disappoints me! I walked past this work of a beaver, and although I know they build dams, I've never seen their work close up. Fascinating what a great engineers they are!

One of the reasons pollinators are at risk is because we use a lot of chemical pesticides. Although biological methods are more environmentally friendly, we can at least use as little as possible when we really need them. Lasers can help us with that: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-lasers-can-reduce-the-need-for-pesticides-4d2bc4402163 (credit:  Fotokostic  on  Shutterstock )

I recently had to organize my vegetables in the fridge tray, so that they would all fit. To be able to keep the door of the fridge closed, I took out the tray.

I don't know the details, but I guess that a lot of food that cannot be sold on time is thrown away. That is such a shame and not good for the environment either! So, I was happy to learn about lacto-fermenting vegetables, which makes them last a lot longer!

What a great idea to use bee bricks in buildings as this gives thousands of solitary bees a home! So, yes, I also hope this is adopted in other places too! And nice coincidence that this is compulsory in Brighton (UK) as I've lived there during my master degree. #SaveTheBees Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: Fantastic news that bee bricks are now compulsory with new builds in Brighton. Let's hope this rolls out nationwide! #bees #beebricks #brighton #environment #nature #wildlife

I love to-do lists as they give me structure and help me to work more efficiently. Instead of having a paper to-do list, I have a piece of paper that I laminated. I write on it with water-soluble ink so that I can use this to-do list over and over again.

Recycling waste is a great way to reduce CO2 emissions. As separating waste for recycling is a repetitive task, it can be automated. Here you can read how artificial intelligence learns to recognize waste and makes recycling easier: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/how-artificial-intelligence-makes-recycling-easier-bc56f7ba138a (credit:  ProStockStudio  at  Shutterstock )

I’m honored being asked by the UN Environmental Program to be part of their Advisory Committee for the report on digitalization and #sustainability. This involves guiding the authors in writing a high impact report, enabling readers to take action on environmental issues.

While traveling, I had a bread at the bakery. As I had to take the paper bag, I decided to at least use it as tray. This way, the salad that fell off didn't fall on the ground and on the bag instead, allowing me to eat it. So, no food wasted.

I have planted a lot of flowers (#248). To make sure the bees also have something to drink, I took an old pot that was left behind by someone, filled it with water and put old corks in it. I was so happy when I saw a bee using it (top left corner)!

I want to repeat this message 1000 times, saying thank you to the volunteers who removed 110 tons of garbage from the Uda River in Ukraine! Very impressive! #cleanup #sustainableLiving #PlasticPollution Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: REPOST IG @artprykhodko Voluntarios retiraron 110 toneladas de basura del río Uda en Ucrania durante 18 jornadas organizadas dentro de la campaña ecológica Artem Prikhodko. Todo un ejemplo, mil gracias por vuestro esfuerzo!!

To be able to make optimal use of my heating, I have to make sure to occasionally let out the air. It is really simple: just opening the designated opening with a special key, wait for a little water to come out and close it again.

There is a saying “where focus goes, energy flows”. So, when saying we fight things that cause climate change, we give energy to the negative. When working towards something instead, we give energy to the positive. That’s why I never fight against and only work towards.

Waste water treatment plants do a great job in cleaning #wasteWater. But did you know that the resulting water can make fish go big? In this article you can read how this is possible: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-waste-water-can-make-fish-go-big-c6c3cb632e19 (credit:  RLS Photo  on  Shutterstock )

As I’m eating pizza every weekend, I have a lot of glasses left. I decided to keep them as them might become useful. And indeed, when I went shopping in the package free shop (#160), I brought them with me for tea. As they all have the same size, it now looks really neat in the cupboard.

In the last few years, I noticed a family that had a trampoline for their children to jump on. But I guess the children are now not enjoying this anymore, so they sold / gave away / ... the trampoline. What I like is that they now use the safety construction as an enclosure for their rabbits. It is making good use of the materials and the rabbits have - compared to other enclosures I know - a lot of space.

Yesterday, I took a friend on a tour. As he lives in the US, 8 time zones away, it had to be a virtual tour. On the right you can see the setup I used for the recording. It was so much fun and a great way for him to see the world, without having to travel or less often!

What a great idea to use an old tree stump for a free library to exchange books with neighbors. And I think it looks gorgeous as well! #sustainableLiving #zerowaste #upcycling #booklovers Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: I love that Sharalee Armitage Howard (who's a librarian, artist & bookbinder) transformed an old cottonwood tree into a Little Free Library.

Whenever I have finished using a block of soap, there is a tiny bit left. I have been thinking about making new soap from a lot of left overs. But sticking it to the next block is a lot easier.

Even though it is better to recycle old tires, a second option is to upcycle them. Like this one, which is used as flower pot. Looks quite nice!

On Thursday evening, I often laugh a lot with a dear friend. This is not only a lot of fun, it is also great for our health! Here you can read why a good laugh is a great medicine: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/why-is-a-good-laugh-a-great-medicine-a8e287bad87 (credit:  santypan  on  Shutterstock )

What a beautiful story! And what a great way to express his #love, for her and for #nature. #sustainableLiving #savetheplanet Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: When 70-year-old farmer Winston Howe's wife of 33 years Janet died suddenly he decided that he wanted to create a lasting tribute to her, so he planted thousands of oak saplings in a six acre field and left a heart shaped point facing towards her childhood home.

I saw someone else doing this and find it a very clever idea to get the last bit out of the carton. And I didn’t even realize that there is always a tiny bit left.

Recently, I ordered a book online with a local shop. They allowed me to choose between several delivery options. Although it was a little more expensive, I decided to choose bike delivery. This saves some CO2 emissions and encourages the shop to continue with this offer.  

We take action! award I'm excited to announce that I set up this award to support non-profit initiatives taking action towards a healthier planet. Current theme: biodiversity Deadline: May 31st Find out more, apply or nominate a project at https://sustainableDecisions.eu/we-take-actione-take-action-award

Art is a powerful form of communication and can help better understand complex topics such as climate change. Here you can read about different ways in which art can be used to teach this topic to children: https://medium.com/@ErlijnG/how-can-art-be-used-to-teach-children-about-climate-change-5fbbb9cc641b (credit:  Benjavisa Ruangvaree Art  on  Shutterstock )

I learned from someone that keeping unused accounts causes a lot of “dead accounts” to exist (both from living people and persons who passed away).  The problem with such accounts is that they in large amounts for example use a lot of storage space, so that more hard drives are required and more energy is used. So I went through my accounts and deleted those that I haven’t used for years.

Wow, this warms my heart! What a great idea to keep their home like this! The toucan seems to appreciate it too. And this to me is another great example that many people care, They just don’t brag about it. #sustainableLiving #AnimalWelfare #biodiversity #sustainability Loading... Twitter Embed Code Retweet text: This wooden utility pole in Brazil had to be replaced by a concrete one but the workers kept the toucan’s home

On one of my walks, I saw this old ladder far away from any buildings. After having a closer look, I noticed the sheets were the menu of a restaurant. Even though we didn't go there, I liked their idea to use an old ladder to put them up: not only is it a great way of reusing, it also makes it easy to take away the ads when the restaurant is closed.  

A colleague shared the opportunity to participate in a webinar on sustainability and innovation. As I am really interested in both topics, I attended. It was very interesting and I learned a lot.