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 Alan Hewett What is rewilding? It is a global trend that focuses on nature repairing and restoring itself. However, it also includes the re-introduction of species by humans into areas where they once flourished. Two recent examples have been put forward. There was a proposal to release Tasmanian Devils into
By David Thurley When we plant a garden we are usually thinking of a number of things. Space for our children or grandchildren and pets to play, how to make our house look beautiful, the need for privacy and many other things. But somewhere in there should be what can
By Anne Stelling, Parklands Albury Wodonga Last winter with so many people needing to keep warm while working from home, local environmental reserves took a beating from DIY firewood collectors, resulting in a large loss of valuable habitat. Now here we are again; winter is around the corner and people need
By Geoff Williams, Australian Platypus Conservancy The platypus has a reputation for being shy and difficult to spot. However, as the Director of the Australian Platypus Conservancy, I am quick to debunk this myth. I am also keen to get more people involved in an innovative program which uses ‘next
By Chris McGorlick These holidays I had the great pleasure of baby-sitting 8 baby quails for a week. Tiny, fluffy and adorable, they would spend their days scrambling over each other, scratching, exploring or huddling together for warmth. Remove one from the group, however, and instantly they would start screeching
By Anne Stelling, Parklands Albury Wodonga With the outdoors the place to be in these times, local parks, trails and waterways are feeling the increase in use. Unfortunately, Parklands Rangers and our Friends and Landcare volunteers have noticed more rubbish appearing in bush reserves and waterways. Common items are abandoned takeaway containers and
By Sam Niedra, Executive Officer, Albury Conservation Company Want to know more about the wildlife living in your backyard, urban park or local nature reserve? Would you like to contribute sightings and share your knowledge to help build a photographic library of Albury Wodonga’s unique and precious wildlife? Interested in
By Lauriston Muirhead, Wodonga Albury Toward Climate Health (WATCH). Previously I have written about how mining and using fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) is comparable to mining and using asbestos. Despite the jobs and wealth created, risks are so great that it is best to leave these products in
By Kirsten Coates What a difference a year makes. How many times in the last 12 months have you said, “this time last year……..” and finished the sentence feeling incredulous, sad and a little disorientated? Time, it seems has taken on different proportions and a different framework. This time last
By Jonathon Howard Some people confuse currawongs with magpies. Both birds are common to our gardens. Both birds are similar in size and are black and white in colour, however, there are significant differences. A keen ‘birdo’ will tell you the black and white colour extends to the top half
By David Thurley Every year in late January or early February Albury will experience a number of days where the temperature is in the high 30s or the low 40s and we are challenged to keep ourselves and our pets cool. What do we do? The first thing we do
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability One of the great delights of the natural world is to be able to observe wildlife in their natural state. We are fortunate to be able to do so in this region, even in our gardens and parks. One
