Tell the Tardigrade - 3 mossy actions (blog #5)
I’m excited to share that we now have three ‘Talking Tardigrades’ to share your messages when the Mossy Carpet’s on display. They won’t appear everywhere as they’re a little fiddly to set-up, but we’re working on simplifying that so that we can share these inspiring messages with more people.
Thank you to all those who’ve left us messages on the Tardigrade Telephone, don’t forget that in addition to the rotary phones that we have at events, the tardigrades also have a mobile phone number which will take you to their voicemail - please scroll to the bottom of this page to find out how to Tell the Tardigrade!
This blog covers just 3 of the fantastic actions we’ve come across recently. By sharing we can support one another to make even more small changes for a brighter greener future!
Borrow don’t buy
With big retailers online offering quick delivery it’s so tempting to reach for one’s bank card and buy ‘stuff’, but…
What if you only need it once?
Where are you going to store it inbetween uses?
What if you just want to give something a try before you make a purchase?
That’s where organisations like Exeter’s ‘Library Of Things’ and Plymouth’s ‘Borrow Don’t Buy’ come in (there are lot’s more popping up all over the place). For a small fee you can borrow all sorts of things!
When Sabrina was invited to join Art and Energy exhibiting the Mossy Carpet at Glastonbury Festival she leapt at the opportunity, but there were a few key pieces of camping kit that she needed to make the experience more comfortable. She could have bought them but knew that she was unlikely to use them again, so she went online and reserved through Borrow Don’t Buy.
By using a library-style system like this you enjoy multiple benefits including:
saving money as you spend just a little to borrow an item as opposed to the larger outlay of buying.
reducing your environmental impact as the resources used in manufacturing the item are being shared between many people.
saving space as you don’t have to store the items between uses.
helping to build a valuable community resource that benefits you and your neighbours!
Infographic showing sustainable water stats from www.waterlovers.com
Reusable water bottles
This is a frequently recorded message - a small action that we think deserves a big shout out!
When you’re heading out of the house for a busy day don’t forget to grab your reusable water bottle. So many places are now happy to refill with tap water for free. The statistics in this infographic show that it’s far better in so many ways than buying a single use water bottle. If you do find that buying a bottle is necesary then why not refill it to optimise it’s use before recycling responsibly?
Reduce - Reuse - Recycle
Saying thank you & celebrating
We’re all so busy that sometimes it’s easy to forget to pause and reflect, to say thank you to those making our lives better, and to celebrate achievements. Making changes to more sustainable behaviour can be difficult with many barriers to overcome in terms of finance, logistics, habits, traditions and more. I’d like to share two examples with you.
On my commute by bicycle in and out of Plymouth city centre there’s a stretch of shared-use path alongside a busy dual carriageway. About halfway along there used to be a barrier to increase pedestrian safety, but it was poorly planned and caused an obstruction to cyclists. Recently the council changed the path layout just a little and it makes a big difference for me. There’s still much in need of improvement on that stretch of path, but I no longer have to do a three point turn on a slippery muddy patch of grass! I thanked the council on social media and by email. Often it takes many small steps to achieve progress, and if those in power don’t know that we appreciate the progress then they might not prioritise the things that we feel are important.
We were thrilled when Plymouth Climate Connections asked to use the Mossy Carpet as part of their Local Climate Legends award ceremony on the 22nd June in conjunction with the PCC Big Green Trail event.
They ran a campaign asking local people to nominate those “going the extra mile to help the planet”. Nominees and winners enjoyed taking off their shoes to take a celebratory stroll along the artwork on a beautiful sunny day outside The Box museum.
It was inspiring to hear what they’d all been doing, and there was lots of sharing of ideas and plans for their next steps towards a brighter greener future.
Have you got an action you would like us to share? We’d love to hear all about it. Give the Tardigrade a call and record a short message, this will be incorporated into the carpet, sharing encouragement and ideas as we face the climate and ecological emergency.
Mosses might be small, but they make a big difference.
What tiny things are you doing for a better future?
Leave a message: 07460 488650
(Discover more ways to send in your message and how we’ll incorporate it in the artwork Tell the tardigrade messages — The Art and Energy Collective)
