Saltgrass

S2 E23 Conscious Clothing

In this episode we speak with several clothing creators about how they do it ethically and with the planet in mind.  Ellen Doyle joins regular host Alison Hanly to discuss issues around fast fashion and the textiles industries.  We also have interviews with Linnet Good talks about upcycling, that is, how she makes beautiful clothing out of second hand fabric, table cloths and sheets and Kathryn McAllister tells us about her brand of ethical undies, called Wonderpants.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people.  We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
 
Links:
Fast Fashion:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10?r=US&IR=T
https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-environmental-impacts
 
Importance of organics:
https://saltgrass.podbean.com/e/mount-alexander-fruit-garden/
 
Ethical Undies with Kathryn McAllister: www.wonderpants.com.au
 
Upcycling:
Linnet’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftorialist/
Google search upcycling and you’ll get a lot of Pintrest hits.
Facebook groups that can support you in your endeavours:
Upcycled Cloth Collective
The Fabric upcycling community
There are several more like these as well.
You tubers: 
Tiffany Michey
Sarah Tyau

S2 E22 Neighbourhood Houses and Climate

In this episode we joined by Amy Atkinson and Kerrily Jennings as we explore how Neighbourhood Houses can use their position in a community to help educate community members about sustainability and climate related topics. But more than that, how can organisations like this lead their communities in action around mitigation and adaptation to climate change.  
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people.  We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
 
LINKS
Castlemaine Community House  
Maldon Neighbourhood Center
If you are in Victoria find your local neighbourhood house 
 
Recycling
Terracycle 
Recycle Pens
Coffee Capsules
Dental Products
 

S2 E21 What is Z-NET?

In this episode I speak with Taryn Lane (from Hepburn Wind and Hepburn Znet) and Terry White (from MASG) about a new plan to get us to zero net emissions in our little regional shire as quickly as possible. It is a huge collaborative effort with the Shire Council, MASG, Sustainability Vic, and many other groups. 
Join us as we unpack what Z-NET even means and how it may be achieved in a community like ours.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people.  We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
 

S2 E20 The environmental cost of our digital world with Maikel Linke

In this episode I speak with Maikel Linke about the impact of our digital lives on the planet.  
Maikel lives in Newstead, just 10 minutes out of Castlemaine.  He runs a not for profit email service that makes your emailing as green as it can be.  We talk about what the physical requirements of our digital world really are, what cost they have for the environment and what choices we, the consumers, have.
Then at the end of episode I explore how and why e-waste needs to be recycled.
Links:
Maikel's not for profit environmentally friendly email service:
https://www.ethicalmail.org.au/
Maikel also works for the Open Food Network, who help farmers and producers sell their produce online:https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.au/
 
A great info-graphic created to help explain what impact the internet has on the climate:  
https://climatecare.org/infographic-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-internet/
 
An organisation that helps you research how to make your web presence green, and to check if the sites you are using are too:https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/
 
One of several apps that can help block ads while you are browsing:https://adblockplus.org/
 
This is the map of the world showing the underwater cables that make the internet possible: https://www.submarinecablemap.com/
 
A Greenpeace initiative with research on companies helping turn the internet carbon neutral:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/click-clean/
 
Recycling e-waste segment:
The article in The Conversation that was quotes in the episode:
https://theconversation.com/the-digital-economys-environmental-footprint-is-threatening-the-planet-126636
 
Sustainability Vic is a great resource if you are in Victoria, follow this link and search for how e-waste is collected in your region.
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste/How-is-ewaste-processed-and-reused
 
Also look up your local council website for more information on waste management and recycling in general.

S2 E19 Cam Walker and Friends of the Earth (FoE)

In this episode we speak with Cam Walker who has been working at Friends of the Earth (FoE) for 30 years and has been an activist for even longer than that.  If you want someone who really understands the push and pull, the nuance and dynamics of running a long term campaign for the environment Cam is your guy. Today I talk to him about Friends of the Earth, his life, what he sees as important in regional communities like central Victoria and what is the most important thing you can do today to help keep our government on track in this time of Covid 19 management and recovery.
 
Links:
 
To learn more about Friends of the Earth and their campaigns check out their websites:
FoE Melbourne
FoE International
 
If you want to hear more from Cam he has a blog called The Mountain Journal
 
If you are inspired to write to your local or federal politicians about the need to keep our post Covid 19 economic stimulus clean and green go to: 
Prime Minister
 
Find your local minister or a particular one such as the minister for energy or environment.
 
Book Review:
To borrow audio books and e-books from your local library you can use the app Borrow Box 
Tim Flannery: The Weather Makers
 

S2 E18 Deep Ecology and Non Violent Direct Action

In this episode I speak with Castlemaine local, Kerry Calcraft, who spent her twenties protesting logging in Western Australia at Giblett forest.  We discuss the training she got in Deep Ecology and Non Violent Direct Action and how that has impacted her life since then... including how it helps her during this Covid-19 pandemic and into the future as the climate emergency increases.
We also have a recycling tips segment at the end of the episode. 
 
Links:
Non Violent Direct Action:
How the Stanford University King Institute describes Martin Luther King’s journey to nonviolent direct action:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/nonviolence
The Commons Social Change Library is a rich resource for further reading on Non-violent Direct Action:
https://commonslibrary.org/nonviolent-direct-action-nvda-start-here/
 
Deep Ecology: 
About Arne Naess, the originator of Deep Ecology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_N%C3%A6ss
An interesting article about Deep Ecology and Arne Naess:
https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/learning-resources/what-is-deep-ecology
Joanna Macy Website:
https://www.joannamacy.net/main
 
WA forest protests:
This is a call to action for the Giblett forest from 1997:
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/wrr37/giblett.htm
A list of groups that unite to help protect the forests:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Australian_Forest_Alliance
South West Forest Defence Foundation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Forests_Defence_Foundation
 
Recycling tips from Sustainability Victoria:
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/About-us/Latest-news/2019/03/05/03/08/Keep-up-your-good-recycling-habits

S2 E17 Adani Coal Mine and its protesters

In this episode I speak with a family of activists about the Adani coal mine and why it is being protested. 
Ben Laycock, Jacynta Walsh and their daughter Rilka Laycock-Walsh have each participated in different ways; Ben joined last year's Adani convoy as lead by Bob Brown, Rilka has been protesting Adani with non violent direct action and all three have led a life of environmental activism.
 
   
LINKS:
Information about the Traditional Owners in the Galillee Basin where the Adani mine is happening and what they have been doing to stop the mine:
https://wanganjagalingou.com.au/our-fight/
 
About the Adani coal mine:
https://www.stopadani.com/why_stop_adani
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-26/what-we-know-about-adanis-carmichael-coal-mine-project/11049938
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmichael_coal_mine
https://www.adaniaustralia.com/
 
Protest groups mentioned in the show - each name below is a link, so click away to find out more:
FLAC – Frontline Action on Coal
Stop Adani
Galilee Rising
Extinction Rebellion
Galilee Blockade
FOE
Climate for Change
Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA)
Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET)
Knitting Nanas
An article about protesters at camp Binbee and what they are up against:
https://www.echo.net.au/2019/08/from-lismore-to-camp-binbee-fighting-adani-every-step-of-the-way/ 
 
Art Swank interview with Ben Laycock about how his art practice and his activism interact:
https://soundcloud.com/mainfm-1/ben-laycock-art-and-activism?in=mainfm-1/sets/art-swank-series-the-bigger
 
Transition Towns episode as mentioned at the start of this episode:
https://saltgrass.podbean.com/e/s2-e3-transition-towns/
 

S2 E16 Natural Funerals

In this episode we speak with a funeral director and an artist about how we can exit this world with as little harm as possible. Libby Moloney from Natural Grace Funerals in Woodend talks about how she got into the industry of natural funerals and what is really possible in terms of our choices when it is time to return to the earth.
Then Helen Bodicomb talks to us about her fully biodegradable artwork which is also her future funeral shroud. 
The image for this weeks show is of Helen's artwork 'Shroud' created in 2019.
 
Links:
 
Libby Moloney's funeral company Natural Grace:
https://naturalgrace.com.au/
 
Natural Death Advocacy Network
Dying to Know Day by the Groundswell Project
15 Trees Project
Egg shaped pod burial idea
Mushroom burial suit
 
 
Helen Bodicomb, artist
https://helenbodycomb.com/
https://helenbodycomb.com/portfolio/shroud/

S2 E15 Deb Taylor - The Long Ride

In this episode I speak with Deb Taylor about her sustainable business choices and her bike ride across the Nullarbor Plain. A six week journey across one of the most iconic Australian landscapes.  She rode approximately 2,468 km from Port Lincoln in South Australia, to Busselton in Western Australia. I wanted to know why she wanted to do it and what it was like for her.  From the practicalities of making a trip like that to the meaning of what it is to be a successful human being... join us.
 
Links:
Nullarbor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullarbor_Plain
 
Use Things:        
https://www.usethings.com.au/
 
La Spotiva running shoes:            
https://www.lasportiva.com/en/one-percent-for-the-planet
https://www.lasportiva.com/in-love-with-nature
 
Post Resante:
https://community.auspost.com.au/s/article/Im-a-visitor-or-tourist-in-Australia-without-a-fixed-address-Can-I-have-an-item-delivered-Post-Restante-or-to-care-of-a-post-office?language=en_AU

S2 E14 In the Beginning - Nappies

In today's show we have three interviews with people doing sustainable babies in very different ways. Firstly Joan Webster tells us how it was back in the day when you boiled a copper to wash all your clothes, including the cloth nappies (diapers). Then I speak to new parents Alex and Mark, about using washable nappies these days... finally I have a chat with Nickie and Miles about how they raised their daughter nappy free!
If you LOVE poo... listen to Episode 2 where we talk about sustainable ways to manage your dog's poo.  And Episode 10 'coronavirus and Human Signs' where we looked at what to use when there is no toilet paper to be found. Stay tuned for future episodes about composting loos and how to do it right at festivals!
 
Some fast facts about nappies:
"Although disposable diapers need to be exposed to oxygen and sunlight to decompose, they do not degrade well in a landfill. What's more, disposable diapers take about 500 years to decompose. The millions of tons of untreated waste added to landfills each year through plastic diapers can contaminate ground water."
https://oureverydaylife.com/environmental-impact-of-disposable-diapers-5088905.html
 
"Every child has about 6500 nappy changes, generating one tonne of plastic waste each. Damage is caused by nappies disintegrating into the environment, forming microplastics which can maim and kill fish, mammals and birds, and filter into the food chain for humans."
https://www.mags4dorset.co.uk/join-geccos-real-nappy-campaign-and-ditch-plastic-nappies/#.XpVHhcgzbIU
 
Resources:
Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygieneby Ingrid Bauer
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1132111.Diaper_Free
 
The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lostby Jean Liedloff
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331046.The_Continuum_Concept
 
Washable Nappy advice website.  They also have a great facebook page where you can ask your questions and get support:
https://cleanclothnappies.com/