Bonjour mes amis!

Firstly, my apologies for not having the time to make a video this month. With the end of the first year of my master’s and handing in my thesis, it got complicated.

But I am here, finally having the time to bring you some updates, happy to let you know that my journey is advancing towards a better sustainable life.

 This month, I have focused on little daily changes. I noticed that my mindset was actually changing and every time I was in a shop I tended to buy more eco-friendly products. I feel like I have more awareness than ever.

I gathered a few new eco-friendly products such as baking trays and cupcake papers, eco-friendly sponges and deodorant. I am not completely convinced about the last one, but it’s worth giving it a try. Step by step I am finding new alternatives that make my life a bit greener.

I went to another market in the city, ‘Stockbridge Market’ on Sundays, and decided to buy fruit and veggies from the local farmers.

I soon realised though that the solitary fruit and veggie stall was super expensive. When I was living in the Netherlands I could buy two big bags of fruit and veggies for €10. Here it was more like £15 for just a few fruits. I guess I have not chosen the best place this time and will look at better places to buy local and fresh veggies. I will keep hoping for better…

In this market, I also met an amazing Scottish woman who was making jewelry and other items out of recycled materials. I bought myself some earrings made out of recycled glass and love them! It is actually so good to see that people are capable of  upcycling things in order to fight climate change. It was very inspirational.

Moreover this month, I had a look at the climate festival of Edinburgh.

Since COP26 is coming up, more and more climate related events are taking place all around Scotland. The festival was vibrant and full of tents representing associations, organisations and local climate activists. It was good to talk to like-minded people,  sharing the same values and ready to take action. I also found an organisation that created an app (IntelliDigest) to check and reduce food waste, as well as local activists protesting for a better transition in Scotland and in the city of Edinburgh.

I am trying to reduce meat consumption as much as I can. I eat it occasionally or buy it less regularly. Honestly, I actually don’t notice anymore if I forget meat during a meal and I am quite happy with that change. We all know how meat production is polluting and degrading our environment so I am happy to reduce it.

August is also the month where I handed in my thesis focusing on the debate surrounding the EU Green Deal. I have a better grasp on what is currently going on in environmental European politics. The EU seems to better understand that we need a societal change in order to save the world, but is still struggling to implement it. I am now feeling like it is also my duty as a European citizen to help make it happen. I took part in surveys online on the subject of forests and education in August. The EU is always trying to include more of its citizens and I felt glad to be a part of this process. 

Finally, I am reading more about the climate crisis and activist work.

I found a new book called ‘Make a change’, from Gina Martins on activism, and another on a zero plastic life. I am not perfect so I am trying to do research as much as I can! I also have these two books on how to live in a sustainable home named ‘Sustainable home’ from Chrisitne Liu and ‘Live Green’ from Jen Chillingsworth. I strongly recommend them with the second one becoming somewhat of my little green bible, helping me move forward into putting sustainable development into practice.

I hope these small recommendations and updates this month will help you find your own green path and make your own little impact on your life and the greater issue we all face as a society.  🙂

Hélène