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Living Lightly articles

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.

 


Articles

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Recycle and Reuse = Creativity

By Luke R Davies, Wangaratta Urban Landcare Group and Recycled String Band This is a concept that many people have embraced their whole lives whether out of economic necessity, artistic expression or as normal part of living a less wasteful life. Some of us are engaged with the idea without realising it,

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Yackandandah Community Food Swap

By Michelle Croker, Yackandandah Sustainability Established with assistance from the Indigo Shire Community Strengthening Project in 2012, the Yack Food Swap is coordinated by local community members and has become a monthly event on the local calendar.  On the third Saturday of each month tables are set up outside YCEN (Community

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Orangutan Odyssey

By Casey Murtagh, Conservationist After completing my Diploma in Conservation & Land Management, I decided to celebrate by going on a holiday to a destination I have always been fascinated by- Borneo. I chose to volunteer at Matang Wildlife Centre in Sarawak as it has won awards for responsible tourism

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Slaves to Fossil Fuel

By Lauriston Muirhead, Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health (WATCH)  What is the connection between slavery and fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas)?  The answer: they all appear to be cheap, convenient sources of energy.  However, as people learn the bigger picture of the consequences of their use, alternatives have to be

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Sustainability Awards

By Sustainability Victoria Foodbank Victoria, a finalist in last year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards, is encouraging all Victorians with a commitment to sustainability to enter this year’s awards program. Foodbank Victoria is an independent organisation that delivers healthy food to individuals and families experiencing hardship.  Its Wodonga program, “Street Harvest”, was

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Youth to Shift the Power at Climate Summit

By Lisa Tuck, Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) This July, roughly 2000 young people from across Australia will come together for Power Shift, the nation’s biggest climate action summit. Power Shift, which began in the United States in 2006 has become a global phenomenon and has since spread to Canada, NZ, the United Kingdom, Sweden,

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Alpacas – beautiful, curious and eco-friendly

By Gerri Boland, Wooragee Landcare Are you interested in farm animals which require little care and will convert your grass into nutrient rich fertiliser for the garden? Intelligent, curious alpacas will provide you with hours of pleasure and relaxation. What do alpacas eat and how much land? Your individual circumstances

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In the Name of My Father

By Narelle Vogel, Suburban chook lover and recycler I was so embarrassed as a child as I watched my Dad repair things around the house with assorted bits and pieces. When the handles of his bowls case snapped, he replaced them with some chain from the shearing shed.  His trousers were

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On Acting Globally

By David Macilwain, WATCH (Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health) It’s an idea that’s been around for a while – “think globally, act locally” – and it is usually in this spirit that we ‘live lightly’. Many little things can be done in our daily lives, and the total of these can

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Growing Fresh Air

By Narelle Haw, Building Biologist and Feng Shui Practitioner If you or your one of your family members has allergies, suffers from asthma, suffers from headaches or simply lacks energy and vitality, one method of improving health and wellbeing is to “grow your own” fresh air. Indoor plants are one

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Carbon Tax Explained

By Greg Oates, WATCH (Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health) I have chosen to write about Carbon Tax in Living Lightly as I see it as an attempt by our government to ensure we live more lightly, by reducing pollution that goes into the atmosphere, and thus look after the planet.

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Community Caring for Reserves

By Bruce Nulty, Clyde Cameron Reserve Group Ghandi said, “People who think small things do not matter, have never slept with a mosquito.” The Clyde Cameron Reserve Group has only four household members and 25 Associates.  We are working on the section of House Creek behind the Murray Valley Hospital from the Pearce Street Bridge up-stream to the foot-bridge. We

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