September 2021 Parenta magazine

Start living sustainably
this September
On August 9th this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest
report, which concluded that human activity has caused an unprecedented change in climate
patterns, the effects of which are now being felt all over the planet. We are already seeing the effects
in increased temperatures, rising sea levels, loss of permafrost areas, changes in rainfall patterns
resulting in more flooding in some areas and longer periods of drought in others.
It stressed that much of the changes
are irreversible and some of these will
continue to get worse. Once the polar ice
caps have melted, it is not a simple matter
to ‘refreeze’ them – even if we limit global
temperature rises, reversing the effects of
climate change is not like turning up the
dial on your freezer!
There was some hope in the report
however, which also said that
drastically cutting carbon emissions
within the next few years, would
give us a chance to limit the impact
on our climate… but time is
definitely running out and many
media outlets interpreted this as a
“code red for humanity”.
As custodians of the thoughts
and ideas of future generations,
the early years sector is uniquely
placed to heed this warning and
foster attitudes and actions that
will instigate change:
1. To educate our young people to
look after the planet
2. To do whatever we can to affect
change, albeit on an individual or
small-scale basis
3. To inspire others to do the same
Finding ways to live more
sustainably is the key and we ALL
need to take action to contribute
to the greater whole. Read on to
find out how you, and the people
in your care, can make a real
difference this September.
World Car Free Day - 22nd
September
World Car Free Day is a day to ditch your
car and walk, cycle or take public transport
instead. Similar initiatives have been held
around the world on an ad hoc basis for
years, but in 1995, the first structured events
happened in Bath (England), La Rochelle
(France) and Reykjavik (Iceland). Since then,
there have been many similar initiatives
such as the Walk To Work Day we reported
on last month.
Whole cities now get involved to promote
what transport and cities could look like
without cars and offer people the chance
to experience their streets free of motor
traffic. What would your neighbourhood
be like without cars? Could you take the
time to imagine what that might mean for
your local area, or for the people in your
community? Perhaps you could promote
the day and encourage everyone to find an
alternative transport method for that day.
Even one car journey saved, would reduce
emissions. Imagine what could be done if a
whole city did the same thing and your local
streets and car parks were transformed into
pedestrian areas with places to sit, cycle
parking areas, open gardens, playgrounds
or art spaces? Worth thinking about, isn’t it?
https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/about-us/
our-work-in-action/world-car-free-day
Recycle Week
We’ve all heard how we can reduce,
reuse and recycle in our settings and
Recycle Week has been a main event in
the calendar for many years. This year the
theme is “Step it up this Recycle Week”
with the aim of “galvanising the public into
recycling more of the right things, more
often”.
One of the main issues affecting recycling
centres currently is that we often throw
away a number of items that are not
recyclable and this often endangers the
whole batch. In order to combat this, make
sure that everything you put in your recycle
bins is recyclable. Common things like silver
foil, aerosol cans and many cleaning bottles
can be recycled but other common items
including some plastic bags, toothpaste
tubes, drinking glasses and drink cartons
cannot, and should be disposed of with
other household waste. The trick here is
to carefully check the packaging for the
recycling mark, or check with your local
recycling centre.
Estimates suggest that 30% of British
clothing, hangs unworn in the back of
wardrobes up and down the country so
why not arrange your own 2nd hand
clothing sale in your and educate the
children too? With coronavirus, facecoverings
and PPE is causing a problem
too. Non-reusable face coverings and
PPE should be put it in your usual ‘black
bag’ residual waste bin and it’s a criminal
offence to drop used face coverings or other
PPE as litter!
For more information about disposing of
face coverings and other PPE, please visit
gov.uk.
https://www.recyclenow.com/recycleweek-2020-RN
Great British Beach Clean
Friday 17th to Sunday 26th September
is also the time of the Marine Society’s
Great British Beach Clean, where everyone
is encouraged to take part in either an
organised or your own, clean-up. The
organisers ask everyone to run a litter
survey, recording all the items of litter they
find in a random, 100m stretch of beach
they cover. This information then feeds into
the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC).
Data from last year reported an average
of 425 items of litter per 100m stretch of
beach, so there is still a long way to go
to clean up our beaches. Children often
love litter picking, but make sure they have
protective equipment and are supervised
well to avoid exposure to dangerous or
unsuitable items.
https://www.mcsuk.org/what-you-can-do/
join-a-beach-clean/
The Great Big Green Week
The 18th to the 26th September also
marks the Great Big Green Week where
communities across the country will
join together for the biggest event for
climate and nature in the UK. There will
be thousands of events to celebrate how
communities are taking action to tackle
climate change and protect green spaces
so why not get involved as a setting and do
something at grass roots level to inspire the
politicians?
https://greatbiggreenweek.com/
Ten simple things everyone can
do NOW to help
1
Switch off lights when not in use
2
Switch off electrical devices at the wall
instead of leaving them on standby
3
Recycle everything you can
4
Use refillable bottles
5
Turn down the heating by one degree
6
Walk or cycle on small journeys and
use public transport instead of a car
at least one journey a week
7
Recycle clothing that is not used
8
Change to reusable nappies
for one day a week
9
Share a car journey with a
colleague more often
10
Use dishwashers and washing
machines on eco programs
Let us know what you do by emailing us at
hello@parenta.com.
28 September 2021 | parenta.com
parenta.com | September 2021 29