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 Kirsten Coates In times like these we all need inspiration. Unlike climate change, where we are barely noticing all the various canaries in their cages and frogs in their boiling water dying slow but sure deaths, COVID 19 has slapped us in the face. Short of joining an Apocalyptic
By Graham Parton There is of course an upside to this virus and the disruption it brings to our lives. Reports from China indicate that within a few days of their extreme “lock-down” the skies cleared and people blinked under an unfamiliar blue sky. In Venice rivers are running clean
By Jade Miles, Black Barn Farm When I deliver school programs, I ask the kids where their food comes from. Ninety per cent of the time they say ‘the supermarket’. Sometimes they say ‘farms’. Very occasionally they say ‘We grow it’. Never do they say ‘We forage it’. I outline
By Les Langmead I came across this moving photo when I researched my grandfather’s war service in the trenches of France in World War One. During that war, thousands of Australian men marched towards our capital cities to enlist. These men were not conscripts, they were volunteers. The group in
By Dr Juliette Milbank I too attended the National Climate Emergency Summit recently and I found that there was hope, strategy and the shared experience of attending a seminal event and coming away with fuel for the journey. Many sessions were fascinating but the ones I liked were about transitioning
By Alan Hewett and Joan Jones We are climate change refugees. That of course is an exaggeration but has a semblance of truth. My partner and I lived in the Indigo Valley for eighteen years on a 53 hectare property that had a covenant on the title to protect the
By Sue Brunskill It may seem insensitive, indulgent or outright rude to talk about gardens when so many people have lost so much, however gardens are much more than a luxury. There is much written about the psychological value of gardens, but they are more important than ever for recovery
By Lauren Salathiel, Chris McGorlick, Kirsten Coates and Richard Nunn (Yackandandah) We’ve just returned from the National Climate Emergency Summit in Melbourne, a meeting of scientists, citizens, activists, Indigenous leaders, politicians across the spectrum, journalists, students and non-government organisations. The common ground among these people was their recognition of the
By Lauriston Muirhead Way back in the 1850s American scientist, Eunice Foote, conducted experiments clearly demonstrating the powerful heating effect of CO2. Her work “Circumstances Affecting the Heat of Sun’s Rays” was published in The American Journal of Science in September 1856. Foote exposed cylinders of the component gases of
By Jonathon Howard Last weekend was World Wetlands Day. I took the opportunity to canoe down the Murray with my kids. We were lucky enough to spot four platypi before we reached Noreuil Park. Our trip also gave me an opportunity to reflect on the health of our wetlands. Wetlands are
By Karen Retra, Wild Pollinator Count Do you provide water for birds and other animals during hot weather? Perhaps a birdbath or shallow dish of water in a shady part of the garden? Don’t forget our insect friends who also appreciate a helping hand. The best way to support flower-feeding
By Stephen Routledge I cry at the lack of understanding there is for our natural world. The millions of Australians living in our cities; this detachment from country. Fear of the burning bush, fear of being alone, fear of being out of touch with the chat, fear of loosing one’s
