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 Sam Niedra, Executive Officer, Albury Conservation Company Want to know more about the wildlife living in your backyard, urban park or local nature reserve? Would you like to contribute sightings and share your knowledge to help build a photographic library of Albury Wodonga’s unique and precious wildlife? Interested in
By Lauriston Muirhead, Wodonga Albury Toward Climate Health (WATCH). Previously I have written about how mining and using fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) is comparable to mining and using asbestos. Despite the jobs and wealth created, risks are so great that it is best to leave these products in
By Kirsten Coates What a difference a year makes. How many times in the last 12 months have you said, “this time last year……..” and finished the sentence feeling incredulous, sad and a little disorientated? Time, it seems has taken on different proportions and a different framework. This time last
By Jonathon Howard Some people confuse currawongs with magpies. Both birds are common to our gardens. Both birds are similar in size and are black and white in colour, however, there are significant differences. A keen ‘birdo’ will tell you the black and white colour extends to the top half
By David Thurley Every year in late January or early February Albury will experience a number of days where the temperature is in the high 30s or the low 40s and we are challenged to keep ourselves and our pets cool. What do we do? The first thing we do
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability One of the great delights of the natural world is to be able to observe wildlife in their natural state. We are fortunate to be able to do so in this region, even in our gardens and parks. One
By Lauren Salathiel While we were all distracted by the Christmas consumption frenzy, Oxfam released staggering figures that showed that the wealthiest five per cent of Australians – around 1.2 million people – generate more carbon emissions each year than the 11 million inhabitants of the Pacific islands. This is
By Jonathon Howard Scientists don’t all wear white lab coats and have thick glasses like Professor Frink on the Simpsons. We have personalities, honour and respect our colleagues, and have a sense of humour like everyone else. If you don’t believe me – let’s look at how scientists name different
By Ian Davidson and Chris Tzaros – Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability With its distinctive Mohawk style crest, black-and-white striped face, and bright-yellow front, the Crested Shrike-tit should be easy to see. Yet, when feeding in the canopy of trees, they are often difficult to find — it is only the
By Wendy Summer is here again. The days of glorious sunshine are welcomed – until the temperatures get to high 30s and 40s again, and then we will all ache for cool and crank up the air conditioning. But wait – how often and how long is it used for
By Gill Baker Eight years ago I sat down with some young friends and we talked and created. Talked about how we could make our Christmas exciting and atmospheric without having to spend a fortune or create a lot of waste. We made decorations, and created small gifts and cards.
By Libby Rouse You may have noticed a blue ‘Climate Act Now’ flyer in your letter box lately. But what you may not have noticed is that the world’s climatologists, the International Monetary Fund, the Business Council of Australia, the National Farmers Federation are all calling for action on climate
