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 Jenny Indian A friend recently commented that she found autumn beautiful and yet a little depressing. This stopped me in my tracks – as one prone to fret about heat and summer, autumn is simply the finest of times. Not just the colour and light from those wonderful deciduous
by Anne Stelling, Parklands Albury Wodonga Now seems a perfect time to take a fresh look at what we do in our everyday lives, to rethink our mindsets, to change our habits and routines. After all, we’ve all rolled with the punches throughout a pandemic as a matter of necessity
By Kirsten Coates After months of deliberation and soul searching, we came to very sad decision last week. At the rear of our house stands an old pear tree, estimated to be at least 100 years old, gnarled, wizened and full of character. We have often mused at what that
By Mick Webster The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) map shows only a sparse distribution of Banksia marginatas in North-East Victoria today – in fact in only about 30 known locations North of the Divide. And yet 150 years ago these were amongst the commonest trees in our forests –
By Clare Cunnington If you have ever worked in a commercial kitchen you may be familiar with the term “dish pig”. Usually, the term refers to the person who lands the task of washing most of the dishes and, as the name implies, it is not one of the most
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability The Weebill is Australia’s smallest bird, measuring just 8-9 cm. The name Weebill comes from its relatively short beak. However, its song sounds like a musical ‘weebill’, so maybe this describes both its beak and its song? These tiny
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
