MY PLANET

CO-EDITOR LIBBY DAWSON

Post Lockdown

Planet Goals BY LIBBY DAWSON

Now more than ever, it’s important for us to be preaching sustainability wherever possible. I have always tried to do my bit, especially in the more recent years; however, at the beginning of 2021, I decided that is going to be the year that I try to be the most sustainable that I possibly can. A global pandemic forced everybody to change their lifestyles, and whilst it was a struggle at times (most of the time, for some more than others), there was a period of time given to our planet, allowing it to breathe and start recovery. Cleaner air, cleaner water, the reduction of seismic noise, the return of wildlife and lots more, nature was able to hit the rest button globally. Now that we’re coming out of lockdown, it’s super important that we remind ourselves not only how far we’ve come, but also how important our planet is, we cannot go back to the way we were! I’m going to share some of my goals for the rest of the year, some ways that we can all easily keep our planet clean and help to change behaviours towards environmentalism.

1. KEEP SHOPPING LOCALLY AND SUSTAINABLY This was my New Year’s resolution and thankfully, it’s going well! Shopping local is not only more accessible to us and helps us support the community, but it also reduces your food miles, something that a lot of people forget about. Not only that, by buying local produce, you have access to fresher products whilst also protecting wildlife. It’s a no brainer! As well as that, throwaway culture is killing the planet and our generation is the worst for it! Whether it be food waste, clothes waste, packaging waste... the list goes on... and we can all do better! So, take your reusable bags to the farmers’ market, eat your leftovers, up cycle old pots, wear that dress twice, three times, or pass it down; be clever, be creative and shop sustainably.

2. MAINTAIN A VEGAN DIET This is a personal goal but is also an easy one for you to get involved with. I’ve been on and off with a vegan diet for a few years now, however 2021 is the year that I am fully committing. In January, I made a promise to myself that I’d drop the chocolate and carrot cake (foods I can still eat as a vegan) and consume a full plant based diet. So far, it’s been great and it’s definitely something that I pledge to continue. Especially as there are more and more options available, it’s a lot easier now than it’s ever been before, Whether you’re a vegetarian, pescatarian, flexetarian, plant based, one day a weeketarian, every little helps; changing up one meal might not seem like a big change, but it really is!

3. GET OUTSIDE AND WALK MORE We may have been in lockdown for months on end, but the one thing we’ve all been forced to do more of, is walk. The planet has benefited massively from the huge reduction in travel, and whilst we’re all excited to get on that airplane to somewhere sunny, it’s important to remember the emissions that are emitted by frequent travel. We need to remember that we don’t need to hop in our car to pop to the shop to get some essentials and we don’t need to drive miles to go for a dog walk on a Sunday. There are other and more accessible means of transport and for many, we’ve been shown that we can appreciate our local areas and the benefits of going for a walk or cycle. The weather is getting better and it’s important to appreciate our natural surroundings, so I for one am definitely going to try to keep this up!

4. EDUCATE YOURSELF Coming out of lockdown is exciting for everyone and of course there are so many positives to come from this, so it is really important to stay educated about the ways we can make a positive change. If you’re able to, vote in local elections, read environmental campaigns, watch the documentaries and most importantly, get involved in making these changes.

There are going to be many long lasting positive environmental changes after the pandemic, but these are only going to continue depending on how we move on