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 Charlie Robinson, Beechworth Sustainability In my last article I bewailed my inability to produce even one drop of apple juice, despite a considerable investment in time, money, and expletives. Good luck came in the guise of my inventive brother-in-law who just happened to have a pork mincer, with attached electric
By Charlie Robinson, Beechworth Sustainability Was it Kermit who sang “it aint easy being green”? Most of the time I would dispute Kermit’s assertion but there are times when things don’t go exactly according to plan. Cider Making is a good example. No matter how badly I construct something, I want
By Alison Mitchell, Friends of Willow Park Many of us have rainwater tanks, but we don’t always use them to their best advantage. We often let them become “transparent”. Before I explain that concept, we should consider the advantages of having a rainwater tank for both us and the environment. Rainwater
By Lauriston Muirhead, WATCH (Wodonga Albury Toward Climate Health) Do not read on if you are a bit sensitive and don’t want to think about disposing of bodies! As if life was not complicated enough, death also requires decisions by us or our next of kin in terms of our bodies.
By Matthew Charles-Jones, Yackandandah Folk Festival Committee Observers on the environmental movement frequently suggest that environmentalists are terrific at telling everyone ‘What Not To Do,’ but less effective in communicating what we can do. In its own humble way, the Yackandandah Folk Festival is working to model what can be done
By Lou Bull SeedSavers Network, Albury Wodonga What do Daffy Duck, Chicken Little and all those other animated backyard poultry have in common that endears them to us so readily? Whatever it is and, based on the increasing references in the popular media, a resurgence has occurred in keeping
By Ute Bierbaumer & Portia Eubanks of HARMONY HERBS Why grow herbs you may well ask. First of all, many are easy to grow, water efficient, hardy and very attractive! Herbs can be used in many different ways. The most popular use is of course, culinary. Herbs such as rosemary, thymes, oregano, winter
By Tony McLeod-Nibbs, President of Albury Wodonga Pedal Power Inc Sometimes you have a few messages to do like pay a bill, pick up a book at the library, and get some money from the bank. Seems easy but some planning is inevitably necessary. You have to plan where to park, and
By David Macilwain David is a member of WATCH (Wodonga & Albury Towards Climate Health) We are often told that eating meat is bad for us and bad for the planet, and if this means beef produced on huge feedlots using grain that could be eaten by the hungry
By Helen McGowan Helen is a member of the Permi8 group As I write, a Portuguese millipede drops from the roof onto the floor. Ugghh! What will it take to keep millipedes out of my house? One of the many things I learned through my Permaculture course at our
By Ian Longfield, Transition Towns Albury Wodonga The tragic floods in Queensland should be a reminder that we can’t control the weather, but we can be prepared for it. While we have been spared in Albury Wodonga from the direct carnage of the floods in both Queensland and other parts of
By Ian Longfield, Transition Towns Albury Wodonga Living lightly means considering holidaying locally. The allure to travel far away is always tempting, but depending on your mode of transport it can be very carbon intensive, require a hefty budget and the travel time of sitting in a car or aeroplane can
