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 Roger Findlay, Gerogery West In this first of a series of articles I would like to reveal our plan for working our small hobby farm at Gerogery West. We’ve lived on the property since the late nineties and have made gradual improvements in achieving our goal of being closer
By Melissa Kane, eco-warrior mum KIDS’ birthday parties are so much fun but they can be hard work too if you’re hosting them at home. As a mother of two boys, aged 7 and nearly 9, I am always conflicted about how to throw an “epic” (my eldest’s favourite word)
By Karen Retra, Seed Savers Albury-Wodonga Sick of salads in summer, but unwilling to heat up your kitchen by cooking? Maybe you should try a solar cooker. I cook savoury slices, roast vegetables, cakes and even rice in mine, and the kitchen stays cool. What is a solar cooker? There
By Alan Hewett, Chiltern Landcare member Slovenia? The former republic of Yugoslavia is just over 20,000 square kilometres in size with a tiny coastline of 47 kilometres and a population of two million people. It’s small by Australian standards but we could learn a lot from the Slovenian way of
By Maureen Cooper, Wooragee Landcare I now have 3.5 Kw of solar panels on the shed roof and no bill from the power company. This must be an oversight, surely, because they should show how much power you used as against how much power you produced. When I ring the
By Michelle Wilkinson, Sustainability Officer, City of Wodonga Ever just wanted to ask someone a quick question about your house design or utility bill? Or talk to someone for some ‘quick tips’ about growing some veggies? Come along to Woodland Grove in Wodonga from 10.00am to 3.00pm on Friday October
By Bruce Key, Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH) Most of Australia’s electricity is produced by burning coal, a fuel that pollutes and contributes to climate change. Some electricity is produced from fuels that are non-polluting and free, using wind turbines, hydro power stations or solar cells. These free ‘fuels’ are being constantly replenished by nature so they are
By Dave Cromarty, retired forester and Landcare facilitator We are encouraged to use wood in preference to non-renewable resources because it is greenhouse friendly. Indeed, timber in use locks away carbon absorbed from the atmosphere. But the question is often asked about the impact of harvesting wood and paper products
By Alan Hewett, Chiltern Landcare member How many of us are guilty of driving our cars a short distance rather than walking? It’s not good for the car, the environment or us. Walking it seems is a lost art. It is low impact, and can be done at any time
By Dirk de Zwart, Wooragee Landcare and Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH) Everything in my vegetable garden is trial and error. In the past I would follow seasonal planting regimes and not plant potatoes until the end of frost season. If I did that it usually meant only one
By Michelle Wilkinson, Seed Savers Albury-Wodonga A few years ago I was inspired by some magazine articles and fellow gardeners to purchase a ‘moon gardening’ guide (also known as a lunar gardening guide) and give this system a try. Being a bit of a skeptic and not really following ‘star
By Gayle South, a Local Landcare Facilitator with the Ovens Landcare Network When it comes to sustainability and reducing our impact on the planet we often think about what we can do as individuals, what are we willing or able to change to reduce the size of our ecological foot print. There is one species that punches well above its weight when it comes to sustainable living and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
