Planting trees & doing our bit

Its been almost 3 years since I wrote about my response to the horrific 2019-2020 summer of bushfires  so I thought an update was well and truly overdue.

I have been using compostable mailers and repurposing cardboard packaging for several years now but felt there was still more to do when it comes to doing my bit as a small business in looking after the planet.  After a fair bit of due diligence and research,  I partnered with Ecologie and the Eden Reforestation Projects who tackle reforestation in lock-step with providing employment and economic benefits to local communities in countries such as Kenya and Madagascar.  

Through a website integration with Ecologie, funds are provided to Eden Projects to plant a tree with every single order you place: no matter how big or small.  Since becoming a member in 2020 WE (and I mean you and me!) have planted over 10000 trees. 

You can check out the daily stats on The Next Stitch forest here.

Months of wide spread flooding in the eastern states of Australia turned catastrophic in my neck of the woods this week.   Lives have been lost and hundreds of homes and businesses have been devastated with unprecedented flash flooding in the Central West region of New South Wales. 

Having that 10k graphic pop up in my inbox was definitely a bright spot in a tough week.

Of course communities are rallying - like they always do - but we all know that so much has been lost and people are starting from scratch.  Times are tough (hello rising cost of living and higher interest rates!) but hearing local stories from Molong, Eugowra and Forbes was a reality check. 

This time around I decided to send help directly to Forbes which has been inundated 3 times in the last few months.  I sponsored the purchase of hardware supplies in the form of  several gift vouchers via Givit which allows people to purchase exactly what they need according to the priorities of their own situation, rather than rely on donated goods, which though well intended, may miss the mark.

With severe weather events unfolding around the world, the climate emergency no longer feels like just a topic of conversation.  Its here.  Its real.  And its damn scary.  Rather than just worry, I find comfort in doing my bit and hold onto the hope that my small actions can and will make a difference.