Welcome to the February Eco Education Newsletter This month’s newsletter theme is: Litter Litter is one of the ten Eco-Schools themes and an increasing problem across the UK. It’s something that children notice the most as it’s visible to them and affects everybody. We also review some children’s books about plastic litter in the sea. Next month is the annual Great
BLOGS
If you are a budding writer who is enthusiastic about environmental issues, then please feel free to submit a piece of writing to us and we will consider sharing it with our followers here.
Please submit blog pieces to ecoessex@gmail.com with the heading ‘BLOG’.
What will your new years resolution be?
As we start another year, some of us find it a useful time to reflect upon our actions to date and to plan our aims for the remaining 12 months.
When I look back at other years of amazing ‘eco progress’ that I’ve made some years, I fear that 2025 was not my greatest year. When I reflect upon why that is, it is no wonder that people struggle to make eco changes within their day to day life as I am guilty of some of these challenges too. The busyness of life meaning we are juggling too many balls and the eco priority sometimes slips down the ladder of considerations. The mental load of trying to establish which companies you want to invest your money into v the convenience of having what you want by tomorrow. Let alone of course, the biggy, the difference in price of some products (not all, might I add).
Why not use this opportunity with me, to reflect upon what good environmental things you have done over the last year? For me, I have still prioritised reducing toxins within my house from using citric acid to clean my loo and white vinegar to clean my kitchen (both delivered from Southend Refills). I have also prioritised bulk buying items such as toilet paper (I use Who Gives A Crap), washing up and laundry detergent. By doing this I reduce my product carbon footprint by reducing their transportation and packaging, plus the bonus of saving money by bulk buying (I use Ethical Superstore).
I have always been an advocate of second hand items, having been brought up in the 80’s and 90’s to go to jumble sales, so I have continued to buy as many of my children’s clothes from Vinted and charity shops as possible.
As a non-profit community group, Eco Essex won the BBC ESSEX Green Award in 2025 for our very popular Eco Essex Rehome Reuse Repurpose facebook group, where we have 35,000 members and about 100 posts a day of rehoming random stuff. We also developed, with our members help, a flyer to download and print and put in public places such as community notice boards to inspire others to reduce their landfill waste too.
But something we don’t think about as much is how much impact we have when we talk about these issues. Without spending a penny, without changing your habits, just becoming more aware about environmental issues whether it’s following your favourite caring celeb on social media and sharing their posts, whether it’s watching a David Attenborough documentary and discussing it with your kids. When we talk about these issues with other people, we are gradually sowing seeds of knowledge and education to other people.
So for 2026, if nothing else, I pledge to talk about important issues and to continue to try and education others and to inspire them to make some positive changes.
What reflections can you make about your eco success in 2025 and what will your 2026 pledge be?
2020 is the decade of change to save our planet and we are now half way through! One possible change that is a hot topic at the moment is our diets, more specifically, plant based diets.
There is lots of evidence that the meat and dairy industry has a negative impact on our environment. Here are a few facts from Friends of the Earth:
14.5% of global climate changing gases are due to meat and dairy production.
50% of habitable land around the world is used to produce food.
The fishing industry also has an impact. Overfishing can impact entire ecosystems and has caused a decline in key fish stocks such as bluefin tuna according to the WWF.
Now, many champion the vegan diet to be the most sustainable diet. There are also many strong arguments for its health benefits and of course animal welfare is a worry for some. Whatever your views and beliefs, evidence is suggesting that we cannot continue consuming meat, fish and dairy the way we are if we want to help save our planet. And if you do choose to adjust your diet, it’s a good time to do it. This years Veganuary has seen businesses jump on what is thought to be the most popular Veganuary to date with shops introducing or increasing their vegan range, vegan markets around the country, a vegan cook show on prime TV, more vegan options in cafes and restaurants. It would appear having a plant based diet has never been so easy!
As a family, we have been slowly decreasing the amount of meat we eat. We were naturally moving towards a vegetarian diet for environmental and animal welfare reasons… but after watching the popular programme ‘Game Changers’ teaching us about the health benefits of a vegan diet, we were sold to give it a try.
In this blog, I will share with you my experiences of a more flexitarian diet with vegan intentions!
Now we didn’t want to jump straight into a vegan diet because we didn’t want to get overwhelmed and we needed to consider our children in this too (I have 2 young children). So our plan for January 2020 was to not purchase any more meat or fish products but use up what we have and to cancel our milk order and switch to soya milk. Here is what we’ve found so far!
Recipes, prep and cooking
The main things I look out for in a recipe is simple ingredients, gluten free (as I have an intolerance), simple and minimal washing up!! I wasn’t sure if I would find many recipes with my very particular specifications, but after a quick ‘Ecosia’ and Facebook search, I was proven wrong! I have found so many tasty and easy recipes and I had, or know where to get, all the ingredients. Some recipes went down a treat, others didn’t, but now I know what we like I can cook in bulk and stock up my freezer again!
Will you try some more plant based choices?
Water has got to be one of the most precious resources in the world. It’s basically used for everything! It keeps us alive, grows and cooks our food, grows the cotton for the clothes we wear, helps run and maintain our cars, keeps us clean as well as our clothes and home… the list goes on! Yet it is so undervalued and taken for granted.
The world is full of stuff! Lots of it is unnecessary stuff that we simply do not need! At Christmas time the shops are heaving with people buying even more stuff! Gift after gift being put into the basket, without much consideration to the hidden cost… planet earth. Come the New Year it feels like