Earth Babies Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Environment’

What is the difference between “global warming” and “climate change?”
(Global Warming Kid’s Pages)
“Global warming” refers to the increase of the Earth’s average surface temperature, due to a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. “Climate change” is a broader term that refers to long-term changes in climate, including average temperature and precipitation

The idea of climate change is not a foreign concept anymore – all of us have heard of it – there are ongoing arguments and studies as to whether global warming is due to our actions or the natural life cycle of the earth.
Whether we roll our eyes at the fuss or buy into the concern whole hog it is a concept our children will need to learn about.
Irrespective of what our take on it is, the approaches for helping are simple and logical from the stand point of teaching our children about our influence on our earth, the creatures on it and the resources we need for our daily living – it is our responsibility as parents to raise our children to be considerate, respectful and love this planet that allows us life.

The other day we took the kids to watch Earth (unfortunately I did not get to watch it all as it is a documentary so lost Kara’s attention as soon as the opening scenes of the polar bear babies moved on) but Rafe watched it all with his dad and enjoyed it.
Basically it is a documentary which demonstrates the effects of climate change by following three animal families and their amazing journeys across the planet. The imagery is beautiful, they share interesting facts about the animals and show effectively how climate change is affecting the animals, their source of food and in essence their very existence.
(2 other stunning kids movies, which though they don’t focus on climate change, take on the the subject of how our actions as humans are affecting the earth and animals are Happy feet and Wall-E)

Climate change can be a big concept to try and explain to children especially if like me you only grasp the basics, so I found some lovely sites specifically focused on children that can help you communicate it to them on their level.
There are many but I will only list a few (google is your friend Ü)

Cool kids for a Cool Climate – Projects, News, Stories

Twelve Really Important Things you can do to help stop global warming – nice explanations

Global Warming for kids which links to Hippo Works – Lovely little cartoon clips which address climate change and other environmental issues in short simple format easy for children (& those like me needing climate change for dummies) to understand.

For today Climate Change is the focus for Blog Action Day 2009 – more than 7000 bloggers have registered to participate. Go have a look and see what others have to say on this subject.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I’ll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!
Down goes the first one, down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice,
And throw the skins away!
Nobody knows how fat I grow,
On worms three times a day!
Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I’ll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm! – www.bussongs.com

Wow that song is a lot more gross than I remember as a child! But when I started this blog the beginning few lines were going round in my head and so I have added it for fun Now while I do not advocate cruelty to worms and am not sure of their culinary value you really do need to get some Eisenia Fetida in your life! They will enrich it in ways you did not even know were possible.

Eisenia fetida as I learnt on Wikipedia , known under various common names, including redworms, brandling worms, tiger worms and red wiggler worms, are a species of earthworm adapted to decaying organic material. They thrive in rotting vegetation, compost, and manure; they are epigeal. They are rarely found in soil, instead like Lumbricus rubellus they prefer conditions where other worms cannot survive.

So I know after you read Eco Tips 1 that you have all rushed out and bought your lidded bin for the kitchen scraps and are merrily composting away – you have right? Don’t let me down, do it today, this is one of the easiest Eco tip to do, just wait until I get to the 5 minute showers later in the series! So now you need worms! Well you can do it without worms but these lovely little critters are going to help turn all that kitchen stuff into compost in double quick time. They have a thankless job of eating through rotting stuff – yuck.

Now see if I was a red wiggler I would also think that evolution was a smashing idea after all who wants to eat rotting stuff all day? But I guess since these wiggly worms are not capable of pondering their lot in life and are quite happy to be in a warm compost heap minding their own business with no worries in the world but munching and crunching all day – actually come to think of it that sounds quite nice. Maybe it is reincarnation I need to believe in and ask to come back as a red wriggler (do they come in pink?)

You can get a worm farm here fromMother Earthworms
All about vermicomposting (composting with worms) at Red Wriggler Haven
A composting blog – believe it or not
And the You Tube worms: G Word – Red Wigglers

Why Compost?

Composting is one way that you can do your little bit to cut down the waste that goes to the landfill. New research has found that almost half of the food waste in their rubbish bins could have been put in the compost bin. You might be wondering why it is necessary to compost when the waste will break down on the landfill anyway.

On a landfill the volumes of waste are so great that air can not get to the organic waste, so as it breaks down it produces a harmful greenhouse gas, methane, which damages the earth atmosphere. At home when the same waste is composted above the ground, oxygen helps to decompose anaerobically which means that no dangerous methane is produced. So you are not only helping the planet but after about 9 months you get wonderful free fertilizer for your garden.

Composting at home for just one year can save global warming gases equivalent to all the CO2 your kettle produces annually, or your washing machine produces in three months.

What can you put on your compost heap?

THE GREEN: This list are quick to rot and provide essential nitrogen and moisture:
- Tea Bags
- Uncooked fruit and vegetable peelings and scraps
- Old flowers
- Coffee grounds and filter paper
- Old bedding plants
- Grass cuttings
-Salad leaves

THE BROWN: This is the slower to decompose, they provide carbon and fiber and allow air pockets to form
- Cardboard
- Egg boxes
- Egg Shells
- Scrunched up paper
- Fallen leaves
- Sawdust
- Twig, branches and bark

AVOID
these things are best to keep out of your compost heap

- Meat
- cooked vegetables
- dairy products
- diseased plants
- dog poo or cat litter
- nappies
- perennial weeds, or weeds with seed heads.

You need a good mix of Green and Brown for a healthy compost heap. I am not going to go into exact amounts as I find when something is too technical and too prescribed then people don’t even start as it sounds like too much effort. Aim for a good mix of the two. If it is too wet add some more Brown, if it looks a bit dry add some more Green. The Green items will contain bacteria that will generate the initial heat that is required by the process. A healthy compost bin is a living ecosystem. By keeping a good mix of green and brown material you will provide the perfect conditions for a variety of mini-beasts and can let them do all the hard work.

What equipment do you need?

I bought a lidded bucket from the local supermarket and have it handy in the kitchen so that collecting all the veggie and fruit peels, tea bag egg shell etc is really easy. The lid makes sure that the flies are not attracted to it and I empty it every few days.

A compost bin is not absolutely necessary and as long as you have a designated area all compost material will eventually break down. A bin however is a very nice to have compost tool as it helps keep everything in one place and is dark and hot which helps the decomposing process, limits the smell and make produces the compost faster. You can get compost bins from most garden or hardware stores.

When is the compost ready?

It takes about 6-9 months depending on the climate for the compost to totally decompose. You can also get compost activator to speed up the process but it is not totally necessary.
Once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material, resembling thick, moist soil and gives off an earthy, fresh aroma, you know it’s ready to use. Lift the bottom of the bin slightly or open the hatch at the bottom depending on the kind of bin you have. Scoop out the fresh compose with a spade or fork. Don’t worry if there are small twig or bits of egg shell still visible this is normal. You can now use this compost in your garden beds, on the lawn, in containers and in your vegetable garden.

This is the easy approach if you want the more technical stuff there are some links
Wikipedia
Compost guide - everything you ever need to know about home composting

So for red wrigglers and more about worms read tomorrows blog…

So I was thinking about how we give out green and eco tips but somethings thing are not as obvious as they seem. So the next few weeks I have thought of looking at some of these topics in more detail and try inspire you to make changes that are easy practicle and can have a big collective impact on caring for our environment.

The topics I have thought of are
1) Home composting
2) Earth worm
3) Home recycling
4) Water saving tips
5) Energy saving tips
6) Planting with kids
7) Bees – should we be worried
Organic food, why, what and where to buy it

If anyone can think of other things they want covered let me know.

Have you got your soil and seeds ready? Only 7 days to go till Planting Season.
Join us in getting outside in the sun with your kids and have a little fun planting something they can nurture and eat - (we would love it if you would share some photos with us of them busy).

planting a vegetable box

I am not a keen gardener for 2 reasons a) somewhere along the line the green thumbs I should have inherited from 2 plant crazy parents got frostbite and turned black. and the bigger problem b) I hate sand and soil and mud on my hands and feet – I am gril’ing just at the idea of it.

I was not always like this there were many photos of me as a toddler covered in icky mud – especially in my mouth (yum – I was apparently a mud connoisseur). I also spent most of my childhood running around the hills and dust and forests barefoot – no more. BUT i will be sticking my hand in dirt and mud to plant some seeds in support of Planting Season on the 22nd.

I had hoped to actually get a vegetable garden going this spring (we have been working on making space for this) but I have put all on hold till I know where/what/how will be happening with our living arrangements in the next few months (staying, moving house, moving town … life is an adventure) Ü.

Sally guest-writes for the Jozi kids blog and did a Let’s get planting post for them last week – nice read.

I was asked to be Great Expectations Spring Day show last week. For those who don’t know the show it is a parenting show presented by Samantha Cowen. They wanted a mom who had walked the talk on all things natural, and while I am far from the perfect eco mom I agreed to go and talk about natural parenting and try to be green.

Surprisingly I was not even nearly as nervous on the day as I thought I would be. Once you get there it is off to make up. Wow I had more make up plastered on my face that day than I even had at my wedding. I was not even going to ask if the make up was natural or organic as I feared that I already knew the answer but I guess for one day it was not going to kill me. It felt so weird and when I watched myself of the show I can see in talking how conscious I was of the layer on my face. Once the hair was straightened and they declared us all pretty enough it was off to the set.

There are a few read through practices and we got to ask questions and figure out how it would all work. By the time it actually started it was all quite relaxed and we were having a good laugh.

Sam Cowen the GE presenter asked me how I landed up as a green parenting expert and I guess the answer is that it is a slow process. I started with researching natural birth and then came across other natural and more eco friendly idea. I started adding things as I went along. This is really the point I want to stress to people when it come to all things green. It is not that you have to change everything at once but rather that it is a process of adding things one at a time that you think you can manage and once you have one thing sorted and are used to the changes then you can look for more things to change.

I have been so encouraged by the positive response that natural and green parenting is getting here in South Africa. When I started Earth Babies 5 years ago people thought the idea of cloth nappies and natural parenting was quite mad, but at the last natural and organic show we did in June the response was over whelming. I was think we would really have to try drag people into the stall to hear about cloth nappies but in stead people were flock to us, they had heard about this new kind of nappy and wanted to know more. The change in attitude just to nappies was very very encouraging. And now being asked to be on a fairly mainstream parenting show has really left me with Great Expectation that an eco revolution is here!

This week at our home school group we helped one of the mom’s start build a cob playhouse. Cob building is a very old method of mixing clay, sand and straw to make walls for a structure. It was so nice to be outside in the sun now that the weather is getting warmer. The kids were running around playing in the fresh air and came and went during the whole process helping as they felt like it. I can’t actually remember the last time I had mud between my toes and it really did feel good.

start with some sand

add water

add feet

fold

more feet

roll

build

Like I said Mud Between the Toes is such a great feeling

When I first started read about cloth nappies I saw the figure 2 tons of waste produced per child from birth to 2 1/2 years in disposable nappies mentioned quite a bit. I was quite shocked at this amount, I think most people just see disposables as the ultimate convenience and do not think very much about the accumulative waste that adds up. I knew that for environmental reasons if nothing else I had to research cloth nappies more, but that this amount of waste was not something I could have on my conscience. It is a huge number considering all the babies in nappies.

When we came to writing the information for the Earth Babies website, the sceptic in me wondered if it was really 2 tons or if this was just some slightly random rather inflated figure for shock value. I wanted to check this myself before quoting it in our reasons to use cloth nappies. The problem was that as a cloth nappy user I had no idea how to check the weight of a used disposable nappy.

I have some great friends on Baby Net a South African parenting forum and when I asked if a couple could weigh a nappy for me at change time, they all thought I was mad but were willing to help. The weights varied but a conservative estimate was about 400g as the nappy is not always totally full when changing it.

calculations:
400gx 6 changes a day = 2400g per day (newborn nappies will obviously not weigh as much but ones tends to change them more often so I think it evens out)
2400g x 7day a week = 16800g per week
16800g x 52 weeks in a year = 873600g per year
873600g x 2 1/2 years of a child being in nappies = 2184000g so therefore about 2.18 tons

Seeing as most kids in disposable nappies actually potty train a lot later than 2 1/2 this figure could actually be significantly higher, especially if you add disposable swim nappies and disposable potty training pull ups.

To read more about reasons to use cloth nappies you can visit our website

Green is the new buzz word at the moment, we are all being encouraged to think about the impact of the things we do on our environment and I am delighted that there is this change in attitude and a focus on treading more lightly on the earth. I have really tried to live as environmentally friendly as I can, even before Green was the flavour of the month.

I think I came pre-programmed to gravitate towards all things natural, quirky and simple. My parents gave me a great gift as a child – they taught me to ask questions and not just got with the flow. I think they may have come to regret this at times when they were the flow and I was going against.

This was working great and it was fairly easy to do my bit and live a greener kind of lifestyle. And then my children exploded into my life changing it forever. Nothing prepares one fully for how much you will love the wrinkly, gorgeous little parasite that will invade more areas of your life and time that you ever thought possible. Using eco friendly and natural options helped me to parent in a way that feels congruent to what I believe. I feel like I am working with the parasite- oh I mean baby, in practices such as home birth, cloth nappies, extended breast feeding, co-sleeping, elimination communication etc they just made so much more sense to me than a lot of the do to the baby style parenting that seem so popular today.

Some days though things don’t go the way I planned and I find myself being rather a bright shade of orange (a quick check of the colour wheel shows that red/orange are lurking ominously opposite green) I have read a lot of natural parenting books and websites and have even written articles helping other who want to know about practices like Elimination communication (nappy free) baby wearing, the benefits of extended breast feeding amongst other things. But real life is sometimes far from the books and comes crashing in like a pot of bright orange paint splattering my Green Mom ambitions.

Now orange is a lovely colour one I am quite partial to but it does not fit into my idea of the super natural mom I want to be. The one who always looks cool calm and collected while she plants, bakes, breast feeds, recycles, home schools and all those other great things that earn us the Green Mommy Badge.

One day in particular I remember going to a museum with my sister, my daughter Rachel (3yrs), son Caleb (8 months) we where there to look at dinosaurs, Rachel’s latest craze.

I had duly carried Caleb in a sling while he slept and breast feed him sitting on the floor in a corner while being glared down at by some rather menacing looking ‘wotsit-o-saurus’. Afterwards dead on my feet and with a rather cranky 3year old who wanted mommy to buy lots of toys we collapse at a coffee shop. I just wanted to drink my coffee in relative peace and try to revive myself for the long journey home. I tired to get Caleb interested in an organic 3 wholegrain finger biscuit I had brought with me. After he threw the third biscuit on the floor, practiced standing and wriggling as much as possible on my lap, making it near impossible for me to actually get my drink near my mouth without sloshing the hot contents all over myself and him, my patients was wearing thin.

Caleb suddenly spotted one of those sugar paper tube thingy that they have on the tables and quick as a flash started chewing on it. I was just about to yank it out his hand when I noticed that this tube of sugar was winning where 3 organic biscuits and 2 rattles had failed, it was keeping him quiet and still on my lap. Long enough for me to drink my coffee and an inkling of calm return to my shattered nerves (In my defence it was natural brown sugar and not super processed white sugar – Semantic I am guessing) so with my ideals suffering from a splattering of orange I finish my coffee and trudge the kids back home.

There are plenty of times when I have driven instead of walking, bought some unnecessary thing in way too much packaging. I have even left the computer on all night when I went to settle Caleb back to sleep and landed up falling asleep on the bed with him instead of returning down to where I was working. I would be lying if I said that the TV is not occasionally used as the baby sitter so I don’t have 2 kids underfoot while I cook or clean or whatever other chore needs doing.

I realize that while I am not perfect feeling guilt for a bit of orange every now and again is not making me a better mother in anyway and I might as well recycle this emotion into something more useful, like the drive to do better next time and to think daily of ways to tread lightly on our planet. I think by trying to teach my kids responsible living hopefully it will be easier for them to follow a greener type lifestyle in the future. I think not having the emphasis on all thing eco friendly when I was a kid means that sometimes old habits die hard.

Of course there are the inevitable conversations with mainstream parents who are always keen to tell you about the baby sleeping through the night from a ridiculously early age, and how they go out and have their life back and ‘oh how expensive disposables are’ but how they could never use cloth like you, said with the slightly up turned nose as though the very thought is a beyond repulsive. Some time what they describe seems so easy.

They have the baby all trained so that it is does not really disrupt their life all that much and in comparison I think about the bucket of nappies I have at home to wash, the wooden toys strewn all over the floor, and the umpteen household chores that just never seem to be as important as reading a story or playing dress up going out for a walk. And so what if my son does not sleep though the night, I get to feel his soft breath against my check and I can kiss his fluffy little parasitic head any time I want to in the night.

It may not be the easy way and I am far from being green all the time, but it is the way that makes sense to me even if I get a little orange splatter every now and again. I think more important than trying to be a super green mom, I need to be a mom who is only human and teach my kids that we all have bad days and that sometimes a little orange is okay. So now I am off to find a eco friendly way to get rid of the snails eating our beans.