Kirsty Forshaw

We should better prepare for changing water situations and become more resilient by all doing our bit to help save water in our own households and workplaces.

I think it's crucial that we are better educated to be made more aware of our “water footprint” as much as we are with our carbon footprint. This way we would be in a better position to all take responsibility for saving water ourselves and play our part in water saving activities (eg. Showering with less water, turning off taps when brushing teeth, only boiling what's needed, installing a low-flush toilet and saving up the washing for full loads etc etc.)

From a development point of view, building developers should be thinking more responsibly to help us save water and prevent wasting it. Things like greywater storage tanks should be in every house, as should water butts for collecting rainwater. 

On a larger scale, sewage treatment could be zero energy if we used constructed wetlands and reed bed systems. Similarly, a completely new way of thinking about how we treat sewage could be adopted so that we compost faecal biomass and store urine separately from flush water in order to reuse them safely in agriculture.

As with a lot of these things, we should look at our purchasing habits as well. For example, we should really be discouraging the more harmful ingredients that can end up in our waterways and even consider making our clothing purchases from more sustainable (less water consumptive) sources as well.  (When I read up on this I was amazed to learn that hemp requires about 50% less water to grow than cotton, and only a quarter of the water needed for processing!)

Some foods that I would like to preserve and enjoy later in the year are: raspberries, blackcurrants, strawberries, tomatoes, squash, elderflower and sloes! :)

The sharing economy offers me more sense of community and togetherness with the people I share with. I find is especially beneficial that the more I share, the more others tend to as well. I've learnt a lot from the people I share with and feel closer to them for it.  I've also found it an interesting way of challenging how we tend to think of things selfishly as it encourages us to collaborate better.

Other ways of saving energy at home are:

Our meat-focused culture is underpinned by the traditions we pass on from generation to generation - like having meat as the central component of a meal for the protein we need and the way we celebrate events with family and friends with meat as the centre-piece to share. 

Realistically, we're never going to stop everyone eating meat, but we can change our culture to eat less of it - ideally so that it becomes a special treat rather than an every-day norm. 

Campaigns like "Meat free Mondays", "Veganunary" and "the Flexitarianism lifestyle" help to raise awareness of alternative meat-free meals and meat-substitutes. I think these campaigns and ideas are an important way of opening our eyes to other ideas and to help us take action to reduce our meat consumption. The supermarkets obviously benefit from these marketing campaigns, but at least it's a start for consumers to do the right thing and begin looking at meat/food differently.  

I believe we also need more public information about the reasons WHY we should eat less meat that comes from authorities - like Councils, teachers and doctors - as well as in mass media. I think these messages should be delivered as a personal message to show the impact to us individually (like the adverse health implications and environmental issues our children are inheriting from our current over-consumption). 
Community gardens are a great help to distribute these messages and actively encourage us to "grow your own" food.  It would be great to get them embedded in our culture (in schools, parks, workplaces etc) so that our communities are closer and more in touch with sustainable food production and more mindful consumption overall.

Practicing gratitude makes you mindful of the good things we can easily take for granted and reminds you that there are others less fortunate than you. This can be a very motivating way of making you strive to help others who are more in need.

I've more or less managed to prevent ever having to buy a plastic bag any more by having bags in the car boot at all times and having a small one in my handbag. This works really well for me in the main but on the occasion where my bag wasn't available, I will carry the loose items in whatever way I can. 

I think we should all play our part in eradicating plastic bags completely - not only by individuals taking more responsibility to bring their own bags but also for all shops to provide eco-friendly alternatives (eg bio-degradable bags).