EDITOR’S NOTE HELLO Dear Green Place is a zine that focuses on sustainable living in Glasgow. This first issue explores being eco-friendly in the current lockdown happening in the UK. As our regular routines and lifestyles have been totally changed it’s interesting to look at how we can remain conscious of the climate crisis too. We’ve tried to collate some engaging things you can get up to, highlight some local heroes and provide you with some gorgeous artwork to get you through these trying times. Stay safe, Marissa - @DGPZine
CONTRIBUTORS Marissa Trimble Writer / Editor, Illustrations Nell Kravitz Upcycle Your Old Clothes Louis Small Heather Anne Russell Eco Art Jamie Small / sprooter.net Design WANT TO GET INVOLVED? Email us at deargreenplacezine@gmail.com
2
CONTENTS ECO SELF-CARE TIPS Page 3 URBAN FOOD GROWING FROM SCRAPS Pages 4-5 UPCYCLE YOUR OLD CLOTHES Pages 6-7 ECOBRICKING Pages 8-9 LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS Pages 10-11 ECO ART Pages 12-13 RECIPE Page 14
ECO SELF-CARE TIPS FACE MASKS EXFOLIANTS
OATS - These are great for gently exfoliating for people with sensitive skin and can be soothing for those who suffer from eczema and dermatitis. AVOCADO SEED - Don’t put your avocado pit to waste, grate it up and add it to your mask. As well as exfoliating, they have super moisturising properties and studies suggest they can help reduce damage done to the skin by UV light.
CLEANSERS
HONEY - Honey is good for gently removing impurities from skin and its antibacterial nature can reduce breakouts. YOGHURT - Natural yoghurt is super rich in nutrients including zinc, calcium, B vitamins and lactic acid all of which are great for your skin.
MOISTURISERS
OLIVE OIL - Rich in antioxidants and vitamins this will give your face a huge moisture boost. COCONUT OIL - Coconut oil can penetrate deep into the skin and seal in moisture effectively.
HANDS Washing your hands frequently can cause severe dryness and broken skin so its important to take care of them. Try an oil mask: choose a moisture rich oil (olive, coconut, avocado, caster, almond - the choices are endless) leave the oil on for 20/30 minutes to soak in and then gently wash away with water and pat them dry. Make sure you’re moisturising your hands every day. Cocoa butter and shea butter are great for this.
3
URBAN FOOD GROWING FROM SCRAPS Growing food in urban areas is becoming a popular method of tackling the food supply problems of the modern world. A niche activity that has gained a huge
amount of attention is growing food from vegetable/fruit waste that was destined for the bin. There are many reasons for this activity gaining admiration: regrowing food scraps means you are reducing food waste. Food waste is a major issue as when it ends up in landfill it can cause a build up of methane which is a leading cause of global warming. Getting another use out of the scraps also means you’ll save money. If you start doing this frequently with multiple foods you could be looking at saving a decent amount over the year. You will have probably noticed that recently when you go to the shop they don’t always have the products you’re looking for due to an increase in demand. Having your own supply of vegetables and fruit means you don’t have to worry about not being able to get things at the shop. Knowing where your food has come from is also an imporant issue. Growing your own food guarantees no pesticides or harmful (to the earth or to you) substances are used. Localising food growth also means your food is not being shipped hundreds of miles to get to you reducing your carbon footprint. Lastly, utilising space wherever we can find it is at the centre of the world food crisis. As urban areas expand it is important these spaces are not overlooked in regard to agriculture. It’s possible that in the future these urban areas will become critical in food production.
4
CELERY
LETTUCE
Leave 2 inches at the bottom
Leave 2 inches at the bottom
Place into small bowl with water at the bottom with stalks facing upwards
Place into small bowl with water at the bottom with stalks facing upwards
Change water every couple of days
Change water every couple of days
Move to soil after 5-7 days once roots start to sprout
Add to soil after 5-7 days once roots start to sprout
SPRING ONIONS
GINGER
Leave 2 inches at bottom
Cut off 2-3 buds
Put in jar with water at the bottom
Soak overnight in water
Change water every couple of days
Transfer to soil
Move to soil after 5-7 days once roots grow
5
UPCYCLE YOUR OLD CLOTHES Recent research has found that the fashion industry has a hugely detrimental impact on the environment. After the oil industry, it is considered to be the next biggest polluter. So it’s important we try to combat this. Upcycling your old clothes gives them a new lease of life and extends their use. However, knowing where to start can be difficult so we’ve got an expert to help you get started.
Nell Kravitz is an ethical fashion advocate who designs gorgeous handmade clothing. Follow her on instagram @nell_kravitz to keep up to date with her DIY clothing tutorials.
CROPPING TOPS STEP 1 Cut top to desired length, make sure to leave 1 inch for the hem.
STEP 2 Using a sewing machine or by hand, sew the hem all the way around leaving space for the elastic.
STEP 3 Leave a 0.5 inch gap in the hem where you can feed the elastic through.
STEP 4 Cut elastic to desired fit for waist, measure this first on your own waist.
STEP 5 Clip a safety pin onto one side of the elastic and feed it through then tie it together.
STEP 6 Sew up the small gap in the hem so no elastic is showing.
6
TIE DYE STEP1 Scrunch and tie your items using rubber bands (there are lots of different patterns, I often use sunburst which is shown here).
STEP 2 Mix the powder dye in bottles and apply generously over the fabric, leaving only a few white areas.
STEP 3 Make sure to use a wipe-clean protective surface so the dye doesn’t get on the floor or carpet (I use the bottom side of a blow-up mattress).
STEP 4 Put item in a plastic bag and leave for 6-8 hours.
STEP 5 Rinse out dye in the sink until water runs clear.
STEP 6 Put item in washing machine on high temperature for a short cycle (this sets the dye into the clothing).
STEP 7 Dry on a rack overnight.
STEP 8 You now have your own tie dye clothes!
TIE DYE TOP TIPS • • • •
Always try and get as close to 100% Cotton as possible (polyester won’t take the dye). Plain white works best. It’s much easier to buy bigger, baggy clothes and alter them after. Practice designs and colours on a white towel first.
7
ECOBRICKING WHAT IS AN ECOBRICK? Basically, an Ecobrick is a plastic bottle you cram full of single use plastic, or plastic you cannot recycle. As the Global Ecobrick Alliance (GEA) put it: “Ecobricks are a simple, low-tech solution to our plastic. Without the need for machines, special skills or capital ecobricks enable us to take personal responsibility for the plastic that we’ve consumed by keeping it out of industrial systems, securing it out of the environment, and putting it to good use in modules and earth constructions.”
HOW DO I MAKE AN ECOBRICK? Get a clean and dry plastic bottle and put clean and dried bits of single use plastic into it. You need to make sure you stuff it absolutely full, the GEA recommends a density of 0.33 g/ml. So for instance a 600ml bottle will weigh a minimum of 200 grams and a 1500ml bottle will be 500 grams. In order to make sure yours is packed tight, use a stick, bamboo cane, wooden spoon or something similar to push the plastic down. (This can be a very therapeutic activity to do while listening to music, a podcast, or watching the telly!) Make sure to avoid adding biodegradables, glass, paper or metal. It’s also recommended to use soft plastic at the bottom to fill the bottle’s “legs” and then to mix hard and soft plastics for the rest of it. Once you’ve finished your Ecobrick make sure you record it on GoBrik.com
8
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN ECOBRICK? You can use Ecobricks to make all sorts of structures from garden furniture to actual walls for a house. Try your hand at making something yourself if you’re keen, or if not you can search for local projects to donate your Ecobricks to, as places like schools or community groups often use them.
WHY SHOULD YOU ECOBRICK DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? The GEA’s statement on this is: “Ecobricking is a way to stay safe and help your community during the Covid-19 period. Enhanced ecobricking can prevent plastic from being contagious and help relieve the burden on centralized waste management. Then when its all over, we can use our ecobricks to build green community projects to make our communities even more resilient.” They advocate that by washing and drying plastic you are eliminating the spread of the virus. Also by ecobricking the plastic, you are storing away any contaminated plastic and containing it safely until the virus essentially dies away. Lastly, as bin collection services are reduced there is a worry as to how we will dispose of our rubbish. Ecobricks offer an easy solution to this and will hopefully mean our streets won’t become covered with litter. Check out ecobricks.org for more information on what Ecobricks are and what you can get up to with them!
9
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS SOUTH SEEDS South Seeds is a community project that has done amazing work to increase energy awareness, food growing and waste reduction within the local area. They have an abundance of resources online on how to approach these 3 key areas. The resources include projects you can do yourselfwithin lockdown a lot of people have more time than ever to give some of these to go. The resources include loads of detailed PDFs on draught proofing your home, how to properly dispose of waste, and a composting manual. Check out their website and get yourself started on a new project! southseeds.org
LOCAVORE ONLINE STORE Glasgow’s favourite organic grocery store on Victoria Road has just launched an online shopping service. They stock a huge amount of local, fresh products and are at the forefront of ethical grocery shopping in the southside. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused huge disruptions to people’s normal routines and shopping habits. So to make things easier Locavore has just launched an online store which is a welcome relief to those who are self-isolating but still want to keep their ethical diet. The wide selection of products instore remains online with fresh produce, store cupboard items as well as household and health and beauty products all available to order online. Simply visit shop. glasgowlocavore.org to check if your address is within the delivery catchment and start shopping.
10
THE RECYCLING DOG Cookie, the 3 year old Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel is probably the cutest eco warrior you’re ever going to see. Most dogs enjoy simplicity, a tummy scratch and a biscuit as a treat, but Cookie has gone above and beyond the normal pup and has tasked herself with recycling every discarded can she comes across on her walks. From Tennent’s tinnies, to Glasgow’s favourite Irn-Bru, Cookie picks them up and gets them put into the recycling bin. We sure could learn a lot from this little dog, truly an inspiration for tidying up our streets and saving the planet at the same time. Make sure you follow Cookie on Instagram @cookiecancan
11
ECO ART Heather Anne Russell (@harussell_cap) and Louis Small (@irksomedig) are artists currently in lockdown in the Scottish Borders. They have curated a series of photographs around the theme of connecting with nature.
12
13
RECIPE
SOURDOUGH DISCARD PANCAKES As more try their hand at making sourdough it’s important to address an issue with maintaining a sourdough starter. Every time you “feed” your starter you need to discard half of it which just seems like such a waste. So here’s something you can make with this ‘waste product’!
STANDARD PANCAKE BATTER 1 cup of sourdough starter Couple tbsp of water
METHOD 1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl except for the water.
¼ tsp of salt
2. Mix until it resembles a thick pancake batter - only adding a little bit of water at a time. You may not need to add all of the water.
Pinch of black pepper
3. Heat oil in a pan.
1 tbsp oil of choice
ADDITIONS (UP TO YOU!)
Cheese and tomato Ginger, sesame seeds, green onions Mushroom and onion I also recommend adding a fried egg on top!
4. Add 1/3 of a cup of batter into the pan and cook for approximately 2 to 3 minutes each side.
14