Issue 2
ISSUE 2
Sustainable Planet • ECO FAMILY MAGAZINE
5 TOP TIPS Reuse plastic it can change your life | p9
GROWING YOUR OWN how to grow them from scraps | p4
LETS TALK LIPS lip care has never been this easy | p7
03
About the editor
04
Sustainable luxury
07
Growing your own vegetables
08
Lets talk about lips
10
How to reuse plastic bottles
11
Wood cleaner
12
Kids against plastic
15
Mixed berries jam
17
When you build your own home
EXCLUSIVE
ERIN C-K Erin Costello-Kelly, Owner and CEO own eco cosmetic company and Editor in Chief on Sustainable Planet Magazine.
Most of you know, i'm Erin and I am
Meeks from Kids againsts Plastics.
a 12 year old entrepreneur who is
If you like their article you should
passionate about natural products
see their TedX talk. We have the
and the environment. I just want to
continuing saga of the house build
welcome new readers and new
written by Ashley (aka Mum).
contributors.
some
The last month has seen the launch
amazing writers this month and an
of my Lip Scrubs and Lip balm
interview with Elvis and Kresse,
range, check out the benefits in the
entrepreneurs
article.
We
who
have
make
a
WRITTEN BY ERIN COSTELLO-KELLY
business out of repurposing fire
Enjoy other favourites, such as
PHOTO BY ASHLEY COSTELLO
hoses in London. Check out their
grow your own veg and make your
beautiful bags. We have an article
own jam!
by the amazing duo Amy and Ella
page 3
FEATURES
Sustainable Luxury Elvis & Kresse are the ultimate in reuse & recycle. They rescue old fire hoses from the fire station, transform them to amazing luxury items, everything from belts, wallets to suitcases. They donate 50% of all profits to The Fire Fighters Charity. I asked them a series of 5 questions to find out a little more about their eco business. 1. What inspired you to want to repurpose fire hoses? The
fire-hose
themselves
were
what
inspired us. It was the reality that these beautiful, heroic hoses would otherwise go to landfill that meant we had almost no choice. We had to start a business in order to rescue this beautiful material and save it from the ground. 2. How did you go about getting the hoses from the fire stations? We collect it from regional fire stations which have teams to repair, maintain or decommission hose - about four times a year, or whenever the hose piles up. 3. Who inspires you, business or personal? There are some people whose work, books or example have shaped us. To name three? Rachel Carson, Wangari Maathai and Ray Anderson.
page 4
HOME
ELVIS & KRESSE WWW.ELVISANDKRESSE.COM
 4. What advice would you give a young entrepreneur? The best advice, the only advice I can give is that you have to find the problem you want to devote your life to and become an expert in that problem. You need to love it from every angle and be willing to adapt your thinking and methods to work on solutions. Start with a problem - add commitment, open-mindedness, stubbornness and curiosity - and solutions will follow.  5. What are the biggest challenge in your business? The first challenge we faced was manufacturing. We believed that the hose would work as a textile, but there were no processes in place to transform it. We had to design and develop a 6 phase system... and that was just to get to the textile phase. Then we had to work out how to really make it shine in product form. Over the years we have had so many other challenges, way too many to count, but that is part of the process. There is never enough time in the day, you will make mistakes, but if you stay curious and keep learning, and you love to adapt then it is all worth the while. A big THANK You to Elvis & Kresse.
page 5
GROWING YOUR OWN FROM SCRAPS
page 6
FEATURES
Grow your own Avocado
The seeds can be used to grow a steady supply of this super food. Wash the seed and use toothpicks to suspend over water in a bowl. The water should to cover the bottom inch of the seed. Keep it in a warm place but not in direct sunlight and check the water every day and topping if needed. It can take up to six weeks for the stem and roots to appear and once the stem reaches about 6 inches you will need to cut it down to 3 inches. When leaves begin appearing, you can plant the seed in soil, leave half above ground. Tomatoes These can be grown from their seeds. Rinse the seeds and pat them dry. Plant in a good, potting soil until you notice it sprouting. Allow the seeds to get a few inches high before moving outdoors. Use a stick or bamboo to secure the stem. Onions Onions are easy to grow indoors or out. Cut the root of the onion and leave about a half an inch. Lightly cover with potting soil and keep in a sunny area. Spring Onions When you cut the base with the roots intact pop in a container of water and place near sunlight. Change the water every few days and they will continue to grow. Just snip what you need and allow it to grow as long as you like.
page 7
LETS TALK ABOUT LIPS
page 8
FEATURES
Lip Trend The trend seems to be injecting lips with numerous things to make them more plump. Love it or hate it, its here! Let's have a look at what you can do naturally to enhance your mouthpiece! One important product to use is a lip scrub most of us have used an exfoliation in the shower and know the benefits, however, do you know the benefits for your lips? It can get rid of any dead skin which also stimulates the growth of fresh skin cells It smooths out the lips and plumps them up. Bonus benefit - your lippy lasts longer Another product that is great for your lips is lip balm as it moisturises the skin on your lips and helps the skin heal faster on your lips as the skin on your lips are thinner than the skin on your face. It helps get rid of dry and chapped skin. To find out more about Erin and her Ecofriendly
skincare
products
visit
@oursustainablefamily on FB
page 8
FEATURES
Finn's top tips on reusing plastic bottles: We can try to reduce our buying of plastic but sometimes we having it in the house already. Here are some top tips to help reuse your plastic. 1. Water bottles are one of the biggest contributors to landfill, so if you gulp down bottle of  water, don't just toss the bottle in the bin. Cut plastic bottles into pen pots. 2. Recycling plastic bottles can save you money in more than one way. create a plastic bottle piggy bank and start cashing in too. 3. Bath time is a great place to reuse plastic bottles. How about making an airplane or submarine from shampoo bottles? 4. Garden fun - remember the days of running through a sprinkler in the back garden? Make a diy sprinkler with reused bottles and save pennies too!. 5. Heard of junk modelling? Then why not let the kids loose on the recycling and get them to create their own plastic bottle jet pack.
page 10
FEATURES
DIY Wood Cleaner Paula shares another recipe with essential oils . This is a beautiful and natural cleaner is easy and smells gorgeous. INGREDIENTS ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup vinegar 10 drops dōTERRA® essential oils (Wild Orange, Arborvitae, or Lemon) INSTRUCTIONS : 1. Add olive oil and vinegar to glass spray bottle. 2. Add 10 drops of essential oil. 3. Shake well before each use. 4. Apply to microfiber cloth and wipe wood surfaces clean. Repeat every 2–3 months or as often as needed.
If you enjoy these recipes and you would like further information on the amazing benefits of oils please email Paula - paulabram17@gmail.com
page 11
KIDS AGAINST PLASTIC
page 12
According to a recent survey by the University of Canberra, a global average of 3% of a country’s population are climate deniers. In some countries, such as the United States, this number jumps higher, with 12% of people thinking that the rapidly changing climate is either fake or not caused by humans, followed by Sweden with 9% and Australia with 8%.As a member of the future generation set to inherit this planet, these numbers are mind-boggling. We’re already beginning to seeing the potentially devastating impacts of climate change – the 10 hottest years in history have occurred since 1998, the global average sea level has risen by 16cm since the early 1900s, and the amount of ice in the arctic is decreasing at a rate of almost 13% per decade. These are only small signs of what’s to come if we don’t urgently cut our global carbon emissions to combat global warming. Yet they already threaten the fragile ecosystems and animals that depend on the right conditions to live. And, threaten us humans too, with rising sea levels endangering the homes of millions of people and changing temperatures putting crop growth at risk.The deadly situation that we are in is not being reflected with the same urgency in the global debates around climate change.
FEATURES
Young Leaders The narrative around global warming often focuses on the cost of renewable energy, and the countries to blame for large carbon emissions, with Western countries resorting to pointing the finger at developing nations like China instead of addressing their own role in the climate crisis. Not only is this hypocritical, due to the large greenhouse gas emissions emitted by developed nations in the past, it’s also really unhelpful. Because instead of bickering over who holds responsibility for climate change, we need to focus on the solutions to solving it.That requires global collaboration – and, most importantly, urgency.For us young people, we can’t afford to deny the existence of climate change, or put this problem off until another day – this is our future at stake. Instead, we need to focus on doing something to tackle it.But what can we do? Even if we’re frustrated at the lack of large-scale action coming from governments and corporations, that doesn’t mean that we can’t have an impact ourselves. There are lots of overlaps when it comes to climate change and other environmental issues, particularly plastic pollution. Plastic is responsible for a growing amount of carbon dioxide production, one of the key gases that causes climate change. This is mainly due to the use of fossil fuels in its production, and the release of greenhouse gases in other stages of plastic usage (such as transportation and disposal). In fact, it’s estimated that by 2050, the life cycle of the world’s plastic (in particular, disposable plastics) will produce as much carbon dioxide as 615 coal power plants.But, one of the (for lack of a better word) brilliant things about plastic pollution is that not only is it an issue that no-one can deny (you just have to walk down the street to see some form of plastic litter), it’s also an problem that we can take tangible measures to address. Where climate change can be a bit overwhelming, due to being such an abstract issue where it’s hard to know where to start making a difference, there are immediate things that we can all do to combat plastic pollution. After all, we all contribute to plastic pollution through our daily use of single-use plastic, so that means that we can all take measures to tackle it.
page 14
- Stop using the Big 4 plastic polluters (plastic cups and lids, straws, bottles and bags): try and be 'Plastic Clever' and reduce your use of these four items as a
BE PLASTIC CLEVER
starting point. Most of them are used regularly and yet are pretty easy to avoid by using reusable items instead! We’ve also developed a Plastic Clever scheme for schools, to help them reduce their use of the Big 4 too - Buy a bamboo toothbrush: we're recommended to change our toothbrush every couple of months, so that soon amounts to a large number of plastic toothbrushes every year! Try buying one made from more sustainable materials like bamboo as an alternative.
These problems are huge and they are scary, especially to us young people set to inherit them, but there are things that we can all do to help. And we can – and must – do them now.
- Buy fruit and vegetables fresh and loose: often, packs of produce are wrapped in lots of plastic, so buying fresh products loose and using a reusable mesh bag to carry them is a great way to reduce your use of unnecessary packaging. - Try shampoo and conditioner bars: bars of product can be a bit more expensive than plastic bottled ones, but they do last for a very long time!Home bake where possible: often, items like bread or biscuits come wrapped
www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk @kidsagainstplastic You can also find out more information about plastic pollution and climate change in our book, Be Plastic Clever.
from the shops in plastic. A great way to avoid this wrapping is by making them yourself at home - and not only is it great fun, the final product also tastes so much better! The key thing to remember when it comes to environmental issues is to try and not get overwhelmed.
page 15
BAKING
Method
MIXED BERRIES JAM RECIPE BY AMANDA JOHNSON
INGREDIENTS Punnet of : Strawberries - halved Raspberries Blackberries Blueberries 600g sugar Juice of 1 lemon
1. Wash all fruit. 2. Hull and half the strawberries, 3. Heat oven to 120 wash and rinse jars and put into the oven to dry and sterilize 4. Put fruit and sugar into large deep pan, heat mixture slowly to dissolve the sugar. 5. Boil rapidly for 10 mins stirring so it doesn't stick. Caution - it will spit!. 6. Place a small spoonful onto a cool saucer.leave for 1 min and then push finger through the jam. If it wrinkles then its ready 7. If it doesn't wrinkle then boil again for 5 mins and repeat again 8. When jam is ready fill hot jars and put the lids on. 9. Labels the jam jars and enjoy!
page 16
Your very own Jam
HOME
When your house gets delivered on the back of a truck! The big day arrived! With a hairy moment getting the truck around the corner, it was finally in. It took nearly all day to unload the panels, wooden beams, nails and not much else to build our dream house. The builders were amazing and turned up everyday at 7.30am and left just before 6pm four days a week. Giving us and the neighbours an extra day off! When the first panel when in (second picture) it was an emotional moment for Dave and I. This was it, this is where all the hard work started but also the start of our dream. The weather was glorious and we had 10 days of beautiful sunshine, which I am sure helped the builders get it up faster. The ground floor when in really fast , fuelled ice creams and sausage butties we supplied the guys did a great job. To see the walls and where each of the rooms were going to be was amazing. You could literally see the house taking shape before your eyes. The guys were nearly as excited as us and we asking questions about the plans. They usually never see the people they build for
page 18
HOME
Cont... so they were invested in the build themselves. The kids found it all exciting and we would do a walk round as a family every night to see what had been done and have the conversations about what is going to go where. The kids had some input in their design, with them both opting for a mezzanine level in their room. So they could sleep up top and have all the floor space to play or have friends over. With the rate the house was going up, the builders were going to be two weeks ahead of schedule (take that Kevin McCloud!) The pressure was then on us to order windows and doors, a roof and choose a roofer. We had 5 quotes for the roof and three for windows. The difference in price for window and doors was a staggering ÂŁ29,000. It wasn't just a keen budget we needed but in keeping with the sustainable aspect we also wanted to keep as local as possible. A flurry of ordering and paying ensued, including under floor heating, screen and guttering. Guttering was going to hold up the progress but that's a story for next month. In the meantime the house was built from floor to roof tip in 12 days. 12 whole days to build the shell of the house! Not wonder Finn is exhausted, I know how he feels. To be continued
Written by Ashley Costello
page 19
When Ella and Amy Meek set off on their journey to bring around a change in our use of plastic, little did they know that it would lead to a TEDx talk and publishing a book! Please check out on how you can get involved on www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk or their TEDx talk here https://youtu.be/XWxtlqHjxvo
I became interested in natural healing over 20 years ago, I practiced yoga and meditation, which lead me to train in healing and now offer lots of therapies including access bars. I have always loved oils and the amazing powers they have. Â DoTerra oils are the only ones that can be ingested which is why I use and now sell them. My passion is teaching others how to look after their own wellbeing, from something as simple as using oils to relieve anxiety to delivering Access to release old patterns of behaviour. T:07583366748 E: paulabram17@gmail.com
Amanda Johnson is a natural talented baker. All her friend nag her every year to do bake off. On her FB page it says simple handcrafted cakes, there is nothing simple about her creations they are amazing, from mirror glazed marvels to unique Unicorns. https://m.facebook.com/simplycakesbya manda/ https://instagram.com/simplycakesbyam anda?igshid=p9wlh8t0v6ju
page 20
I am a 10 year old Entrepreneur called Finn, named after the irish folklore Finn Mccoll. My paternal grandparents are Irish and I am very proud of my Irish roots. I became very interested in the enviornment while building our own house on our own land. I (along with my sister Erin) collected 400 bits of rubbish off the land and the majority of that was plastic. It made me really think about all the plastic we have in our lives. I looked into alternatives to plastic toothbrushes and Bamboo seemed to be the answer, Organic of course! I'm on a mission to give away free bamboo toothbrush to everyone! https://resilientkid.lpages.co/finns-page.
I have been a Psychotherapist for over 20 years. Specialising in children and adolescents mental health through my project Resilient Kid. Last year, I delivered a TEDx talk on the topic of “Is Education broken?” The Resilient Kid is a direct result of that talk and hopes to fill a gap for parents, teachers, heads, educationalists and everyone who feels as passionate as I do. I am married to Dave who is an Architect and comad person living in a caravan with two kids and building our own sustainable home! E:ashley@theresilientkid.co.uk T:07482787818 FB:Resilientkid FB Group: The Resilient Kid
Elvis and Kresse are people who believe in a more sustainable and kind world aTo find out more check out their website www.elvisandkresse.com or FB page - @elvis&kresse Instagram @elvis&kresse
page 21
