Grow a moustache

So for us ladies, growing a moustache is far from easy (thank goodness!) For men, it is super easier, all they need to do is reduce their shaving commitment and this supports men's health!

I am, of course, talking about Movember - the annual in support of men's health, where men basically spend a month growing a moustache, comparing moustaches, collecting donations, raising awareness for men's health issues, celebrating the end of Movember and shaving off their epic moustaches at the end!

You can sign up for Movember here: http://au.movember.com/?home or jump on and check out some pages, make a donation and get in the Mo Growing Spirit.

It really is a great cause, not only the raising money part, but it gets our men talking about their health, both physical and mental. Plus, I have come to realise that the Mo Bro's are a real community, the Mo Bro's I know all manage to find a bunch of new people to talk to - the Mo is a great ice breaker, everyone can see who is doing it and get involved.

More on the Campaign here:

Campaign Strategy & Goals:
We will get men to grow moustaches and the community to support them by creating an innovative, fun and engaging annual Movember campaign that results in:
• Funds for men's health program investment
• Conversations about men's health that lead to:
- Greater awareness and understanding of the health risks men face
- Men taking action to remain well
- When men are sick they know what to do and take action

Program Goals:
Living with and Beyond Cancer
Men living with prostate or testicular cancer have the care needed to be physically and mentally well.

Staying Mentally Healthy, Living with and Beyond Mental Illness
• Men are mentally healthy and take action to remain well
• When men experience mental illness they take action early
• Men are not treated differently when they experience a mental illness

Men's Health Research
We will fund innovative research that builds powerful, collaborative teams that accelerate:
• Improved clinical tests and treatments for prostate and testicular cancer
• Improved physical and mental health outcomes for men            

Some Inspiration from The Lorax

Check out your local farmers market

Continuing in my quest towards buying local/handmade jams etc. (http://easywaystochangetheworld.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/buy-local-or-homemade.html) I woke up early(ish) on Saturday morning and headed out to the local farmers market with my mum! 

I had talked up the homemade lemon butter I had bought, and as we planned a BBQ that day, it was the perfect chance to check it out, and it was well worth the effort. 

It was really great, the produce was beautiful and fresh, and for the fussiest eater in the world, everything I bought tasted great. Not too expensive either, considering the 24 eggs I got for less than $10 - and they were paddock fresh eggs so I feel even less guilty about eating them. I spent more than I planned on jams, relishes, interesting bread (beetroot and feta - yum!) fresh flowers, and of course, fruit and veg. 

The best part wasn't the taste, or price, but the experience. The farmers markets have very strict rules about where produce comes from, so the money I am spending is helping to support the local economy and the local community, without supporting the oligopoly that exists in the Australian food market. Best of all, it's a really good reminder about where food comes from, the earth, tended by hard working farmers before it gets to my plate!

I'm definitely a farmers market convert!

Pink Ribbon Day

Today is Pink Ribbon Day  - which got me thinking about all the little things that can be done in support of charities like these. I am a big supporter of all things related to cancer research, having lost my wonderful Dad to cancer when I was a kid, and I am always on the look out for ways I can do more.

Now, most of you would have seen the products on sale for Pink Ribbon Day, the requests for donations, the amazing range of pink products from water to corn, and the numerous fun runs and breakfasts in support of Pink Ribbon Day, but one idea I found particularly innovative is Register4.

Register4 is a way to connect researchers to participants, helping to get research off the ground quicker. Registration is easy and doesn't lock you into participation. Researchers will send out emails to Register4 participants inviting them to take part in research, and letting you know who they are looking for. Register4 says it better than I ever could, so I have taken the below information directly from their website:

Why Register4 needs you

Researchers speak often of how long it can take to find the right people to participate in their work - it can sometimes take years. When looking for large groups of women to participate in research projects, the cost to recruit and identify suitable participants can run high. Register4 aims to help cut those costs right down, so that medical research funding can be used more effectively. The more people who join Register4, the fewer delays and the faster researchers can get to work.

For more information, and to register, please click here: https://www.register4.org.au/

If you are interested in making a donation in support of Pink Ribbon Day, how about help a local family to raise funds in memory of their mum? Donations can be made here: http://act.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=668453 , with donations going straight to the Cancer Council Pink Campaign!

Don't Pour Milk Down the Sink

Some time ago, I went to Taronga Zoo and was told not to pour milk down the sink. It was at a seal show, so I took the Zoo's word for it, and have tried to convince my friends that it's a rule ever since!

 I always thought it wouldn't be an issue, however I have since discovered that it actually causes a lot of problems! I do feel terrible, I am not the biggest fan of milk (unless it is in milkshake form), so I used to pour the leftover from my cereal in the sink. Bad!!!!

Apparently, milk has a high Biochemical Oxygen Demand, which measures the amount of oxygen consumed when milk is broken down by bacteria. This means that putting milk down the drain depletes the oxygen in the water, which upsets the biological communities, and results to damage to the ecosystem, including fish. In the case of milk, it takes the oxygen of 1,600 gallons of water to break down the milk. Milk also contains phosphorus, which promotes the growth of algae, which can also upset the balance of the ecosystem, due to the excess oxygen consumed by water vegetation. All that for pouring milk down the drain! 

The best solution is to not waste milk, keep your eye on the used by date, and for me, don't pour too much milk on my morning cereal! If milk does sour, it's best to seal it up and chuck it in the garbage bin!

Consider Offsetting your Carbon Emissions

With a very good friend of mine living in Queensland and a love of seeing my beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs play live, I tend to rack up a few flights each year. Even though airfares can get very expensive, I always carbon offset my flights! Generally, I fly Qantas or Virgin, who both offer the option of flying carbon neutral. This means that the emissions for your seat are calculated and an equivalent amount of carbon offset credits are purchased.  

What I didn't realise until recently, is that you can carbon offset your everyday drive, your wedding, your home and even your average carbon emissions a year! This is a great way to reduce your footprint! For more information about calculating the carbon emissions and dollar value of offsetting, see the Carbon Offset Calculator at: https://secure.noco2.com.au/?cid=8&ccd=9ea7fe5d-dbd1-41a3-a559-5ab76b60bc6b

For more information about Virgin Australia's Carbon Offset program, click here: https://www.virginaustralia.com/cs/groups/internetcontent/@wc/documents/webcontent/~edisp/carbon-offset-prog-factsheet.pdf 

Be Fearless

Don't be a Litter Bug

So, I know this post is a little bit of stating the obvious, and I wasn't going to post it - until I read the National Litter Index, produced by Keep Australia Beautiful.

The Index shows that in 2011/12, an average of 58 items of litter were found per 1,000m2 in Australia. The most common item of litter was cigarette butts, and the largest volume item was plastics! I live in the ACT and the index also showed that in a year our items per 1,000m2 went from 45 to 58!

Litter just makes me so angry! When I was volunteering, I ended up picking 20-30 cigarette butts out of a nice little garden that hard working volunteers had spent their time making, and it's so unnecessary, if there are no bins around, keep a plastic bag in your car or hand bag, hold onto it, or put it in your pocket! and for smokers? Try carrying around a small tin that you can put your cigarette butts in, an old eclipse mint tin looks perfect!

The effects of litter are terrible, not only do we risking making our beautiful country a dump, but litter gets eaten by wildlife, causes pollutants to get into soils, and also travels through waterways, ending up in our oceans and killing our marine life. We are lucky enough to live on this beautiful planet, we need to start treating it right.

So, if you litter: Stop! Simple as that!

For more information, check out the National Litter Index at: http://kab.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/8837-KAB-NLI-Report-2011-12-Final.pdf

Some Tuesday Inspiration from Edward Everett Hale

Volunteer

Volunteering makes a big difference to the community and has many benefits, to the organisation you are helping and to yourself!

It isn't always easy, but the benefits make it worthwhile and there are opportunities to suit everyone. 

Recently, I volunteered for a day of tree planting with Conservation Volunteers Australia. I spent a whole day working my butt off, mulching and pushing wheel barrows of soil back and forth. At the end of the day, I had connected with a bunch of amazing people, learnt some practical skills, spent a whole day outdoors soaking up the vitamin D (something I don't tend to find the time for these days) and I knew that I had made a difference. 

Volunteeering is a great way to get valuable experience in a new industry, an excellent way to connect to the community and meet new people and good way to build the karma bank!

Opportunities for Volunteering: 

http://govolunteer.com.au/Opportunity/Type/6/student-volunteering

http://www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/

http://www.redcross.org.au/volunteering.aspx

Smile and say hello

It always makes my day when a stranger says hello to me, but it doesn't happen very often, or didn't, until I started saying it first. 

Community and connection are such important things and I have been making sure I wave to my neighbours, say hello to people when I walk past them on the street. 

I firmly believe that sometimes all it takes is a smile to make someone's day a little bit brighter!

Stop using throwaway coffee cups

Did you know that 500 billion disposable cups are produced globally each year?

These cups are generally made from paper that has been treated and coated in plastic, so commonly end up in landfill!

Paper, of course, comes from trees. The planet goes through 300 billion tonnes of paper each year, with 98 tonnes of resources being used to produce 1 tonne of paper. Worst of all? 71% of paper comes from diminishing forests - and diminishing forests means a loss of animal habitats for a start!

So with that impact, why would anyone use paper cups for coffee?

I switched to using the KeepCup, which let's you design your own colour scheme (perfect for personalising gifts!) a couple of years back and haven't looked back. The KeepCup claims that "compared to a disposable paper cup (including coffee) sees a: 36-47% reduction in global warming carbon emissions, 64-85% reduction in water use, 91-92% reduction in landfill waste annually." That's massive!

The best part is often cafes give a 50c discount on coffee if you bring a reusable cup, so you quickly make your money back (especially if you, like me, drink upwards of one cup a day).

All information above has been taken directly from KeepCup website - www.keepcup.com although reusable cups are easy to find anywhere!

Sign a petition - or start your own!

It only takes a minute or two, but signing a petition and adding your name to a cause you really care about is a great way to take action. 

There are petitions to cover heaps of things, so pick something you care about and get involved. I use https://www.change.org/en-AU it's an online resource that allows anyone to create a petition, and there is a link to view some success stories. You can browse petitions to find some that interest you, and if you cannot find one - make your own! 

It's amazing to see how such a small action can make a big difference!

 I recently assisted my friend in starting a petition and campaigning against the closure of a respite centre that her sister uses regularly. In support of this petition, I sent letters to the Minister, and the campaign made local radio. While we didn't get the result we wanted, we managed to get the centre to remain open for an extra month, we secured a meeting with the Minister and families involved (something that could not be arranged until the issue began to get attention, as the Minister was reluctant to meet), and best of all, the families who were impacted felt supported and cared about by the community. In response to the campaign, strangers offered to help and support the cause, something that means a lot to people who are feeling failed by the system. 

You can check out our petition here: https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/minister-for-disability-services-canberra-joy-burch-reconsider-the-closure-of-the-north-side-adult-respite-centre-elouera

Buy local or homemade

I found this image on facebook today and it's awesome!! Such a neat idea which will make a big difference. 

Personally, I find that heaps of people in my life are difficult to buy for, but now with a local or handmade directive, it will be easier and funner! Plus, my gifts will make a difference to local people, reduce the energy consumption of transporting goods, and handmade things are generally much better, less preservatives and chemicals in the food etc.

Funnily enough, I went to uni and found a nice old lady selling homemade preserves. I bought a marmalade, which she proudly told me she created the recipe for,'Cornelia's Choice with cumquats, oranges and lemon and i bought a lemon butter, which was a real treat - I scoffed a fair bit on toast for dinner! 

She proudly advised me there was no chemicals or preserves (as confirmed by the wax seal) and I could see she was proud of her recipes and produce.I left happy, and with instructions on where I could find her to stock up again! I thought to myself, if I only bought jams, and preserves, from local buyers, in the future, that will make a small but important difference. I benefit from a much better tasting jam, and the local sellers will make money and keep being able to make their produce. 

I will extend my local shopping, but if I start by banning myself from supermarket jams and preserves, I'll force myself to venture further in my grocery hunt :)

Small Things make a Difference

I believe strongly that every single person has the power to change the world, even a small action has the power to make a big difference. 

Imagine if every single person did one thing to make a difference, even if that is reaching out to a neighbour and making there day just a little bit brighter!

The purpose of this blog is to document simple things that people can do that will make the world a better place. I am on a personal mission to actively seek out positive changes I can make, and with my limited time and resources, it won't always be big, but I will certainly be practising what I preach.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead