We all live on one very exceptional planet that we seem to be neglecting. It has given us everything we might possibly need in order to exist, like air to breathe, water to drink, fertile and rich on nutrients soil that is essential to grow our food and to live a healthy life, and so much more to be able to make a comfortable living for ourselves.
Every creature on the planet has an important role for the ecosystem and all the animals, for example, do so many different and some of them quite peculiar things, that help nature thrive. Like birds, balancing our nature, they do keep the climate stable, oxygenating air and transforming pollutants into nutrients. Elephants are providing water for so many creatures during the dry season. By pollination, the magnificent bees keep plants and crops alive, and we might not be able to exist without them. Dogs, our best friends, are digging up the soil, exposing it to air, helping it renew, while oftentimes burying food and bones. Beaver ponds have the ability to improve water quality and by making wetlands, beavers provide many animals with homes. Let’s not forget those funny squirrels, often forgetting where they buried their food and helping many trees to get root in that way. All of them plus many more species are giving back so much to mother nature, but what about us – people, supposedly the most intelligent species, what do we do and how do we help the environment?
We are cutting down forests, burning fossil fuels, causing pollution in our world with factories, cars, oil spills and mismanaged waste. We are destroying coral reefs, fishing on a massive scale—overhunting and bringing species to extinction, intensively farming, compromising animal welfare, increasing the risks of public health with zoonotic diseases, and so much more. Dissolving toxic substances into rivers, lakes, seas and oceans, contaminating even our own drinking water, despite the causing threat to the Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, killing many beneficial insects, performing valuable tasks, with pesticides. And with all of the above and countless more destructive activities, we are causing ozone depletion and global warming and harming ourselves and every living creature on Earth.
Doing Something About it
Many organisations are trying to improve our living conditions and make some kind of difference to all of us and for the future of our generations. In an ideal world, those self-destructive practices will be simply abandoned, but with the increasing population, constant need of cash resources, we often choose the easiest way, over the environmentally friendly. Here, in Canterbury, The Sustainable Initiatives Fund (SIFT) has been helping to raise funds for many different projects towards an ecologically sustainable future, providing funding for projects that create or inspire long-term environmental benefits. SIFT supports initiatives that minimise waste, maximise resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
The Sustainable Initiatives Fund has been helping with different projects – from chipping cardboard for daily use to researching the possible benefits of using crushed waste glass as a mulch for vineyards to funding machinery that will recycle plastic milk bottles. In addition – stimulating Canterbury businesses that have innovative ideas, products, or technologies will provide sustainable waste minimisation solutions for the region. They have been supportive of managing electronic wastage, including fridge recycling, and helping hospitality businesses go plastic straw-free, coming up with ideas for waste-free Christmas practices, cards, and decorations. Raising awareness about the environmental impact of flowers for Valentine’s day and supporting the idea of making your own skincare and cleaning products to reduce waste. SIFT has been working and inspiring multiple people to reduce waste by reducing consumption and generally investing more on recycled items.
One of the popular explanations of the ”Environmental Sustainability” is the way we interact with the planet, being responsible towards the future of our generations and maintaining the natural resources we were provided organically. It is of great importance to realise how badly our actions are affecting our lands and wildlife and to start implementing much better practices. It doesn’t have to take that great of an effort for one single person, but instead if everyone tries to do a little bit, we believe that we can manage to accomplish a much bigger and better effect. Actually, simple things like conserving water, planting more trees instead of unnecessarily chopping them, consuming less energy, trying to walk more and to drive less, are all examples of how we can all try to make a difference. It might be even as simple as buying your locally grown food to support and protect farmlands, and on the plus side you receive a better-quality product in that way. Let’s try and make a big impact by doing a little!
