Living Lightly is a collection of local stories about sustainable living.
The column commenced in 2012 and until 2023 was published in the Border Mail newspaper each week.
The content is community sourced – groups, organisations and individuals have written and contributed each of these informative and entertaining articles – all overseen by a local volunteer coordinator.
We are currently considering a monthly schedule for articles, stay tuned as we explore this option.
Here you can browse and search previous articles or subscribe to receive an email each time an article is published.
The Living Lightly coordinator is always keen to receive articles! Use the link below to find out how you can submit an article for the column.
With a big thank you to all the Living Lightly authors for contributing to this wonderful collection of articles.
By Jonathon Howard It’s normal for folks living along the coast of NSW to hear the sound of the Koels in Spring when they arrive from their wintering grounds further north. These birds let the locals know they have arrived with a loud repeated ‘coo-weee’ call. However, Koels have also
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Common Bronzewing is a shy native pigeon that rarely allows the observer a close approach. If startled, they fly away with a clatter, keeping low to the ground while moving in a steady, direct manner. Their common call
By Alan Hewett Sixty-five million years ago an asteroid struck the earth causing such wide-spread destruction that the dinosaurs became extinct. What would happen if a similar sized asteroid was hurtling towards us and would hit in a month’s time? Would we blithely accept the situation, go about our day-to-day
By Alan Hewett Living with nature can be both a pleasure and a challenge. At the moment in the very early hours we are waking up to the loud, repetitive and mournful cries of an Eastern Koel. This bird is a cuckoo from S.E. Asia that visits our shores to
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Yellow-tufted Honeyeater is a visually striking bird. It has an olive-yellow head and broad black mask that extends from the base of its bill, over its eye to the sides of its neck. It looks more striking due
By Charles Robinson As I write, most of the major northern hemisphere rivers are running dry. From the Yangtze to the Thames; from the Mekong to the Po. The only people celebrating these events are archaeologists as the lowering river levels uncover forgotten ancient artefacts or even sunken warships. But
By Lauriston Muirhead ‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land Wind turbines were turning supplying demand. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care; The chimney long rested to clean up the air. The moon on the gum leaves and new-fallen dew Gave the lustre of
By Sarah Wallis , Halve Waste Team, Albury Waste Management Centre The best way to reduce your waste footprint this festive season is to slowdown, be thoughtful and buy less. Allow yourself the time to shop thoughtfully for each loved one. This might mean keeping a running list of gift
By Mike Fuery Every year our attention is drawn to the ongoing degradation of our wilderness ecosystems, and statements apportioning blame to the presence of ‘invasive,’ ‘feral’ or ‘pest’ animals. These pejorative terms do nothing to help us solve the underlying problem and conveniently side-step the reason for them being
By Graham Parton When looking for ways to live lightly, an important consideration relates to our energy sources. Clean energy means lower greenhouse emissions. Australia’s National Party have recently become advocates for nuclear power, and their coalition partners the Liberals would like to have “an intelligent conversation” about it. Both
By Lauriston Muirhead Biodiversity is the diversity of life found in an ecosystem. The more biodiverse, the more balanced and resilient the ecosystem. A diverse ecosystem is more resistant to shocks and will last longer. What has biodiversity ever done for us? Well for a start, it has provided nearly
By Jenny Indian A friend of mine recently lamented that when she planned her garden she failed to take into account the importance of planting native vegetation to attract native birds. Although she had planted some natives, her feeling was that she should have planted a total native garden. On
