The RSPB is urging people to think about making greener changes for 2022 as a New Year’s resolution.
The organisation has identified a number of  things you can do that will make a difference for nature.
In your home
- Make some bathroom swaps – get your shampoo and soap in bars instead of bottles and look for bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic.
- Reuse shopping bags and avoid buying single-use ones
- Plan meals for the week to avoid wasting food and adding to landfill
Shopping
- Buy a reusable water bottle or coffee cup – many places will now top up water for free and offer discounts on hot drinks in reusable cups.
- Buy fruit and veg which is local and seasonal
- Choose produce which isn’t wrapped in plastic
- Give greener gifts – like home-grown plants or flowers or presents which offer an experience you can share.
In your garden or outdoor space
- Dig a pond – even a tiny pool adds lots of value for wildlife
- Start a compost bin for all your peelings and veg scraps
- Plant a tree or a hedge – they’ll provide food and nesting sites for birds
- Make a hole in your fence to let hedgehogs visit your garden
- If you haven’t got a garden, put pots of bee-friendly plants on balconies or window ledges
- Make bug hotels and put up nest boxes
- Buy only peat-free compost
- Learn the names of wildlife you see – from wildflowers to beetles and birds. Being able to name things encourages us to be more protective of them. For lots more ideas, go to rspb.org.uk/Natureonyourdoorstep
Sometimes, doing nothing helps nature!
- Stopping mowing your lawn (or mow it less often) – it cuts down on work and longer grass is better for wildlife
- Don’t rush to tidy your garden so much – log and leaf piles are great for insects and small mammals like hedgehogs, and leaving some flowers to go to seed provides food for birds.
In the community
- Volunteer for your local conservation charity – just a few hours a month makes a difference and you could learn new skills too
- Support a green campaign like RSPB’s Revive Our World – from signing a petition to helping to fund-raise, your help makes a big difference.
- Visit a nature reserve and make a donation – being in nature is great for your own wellbeing and will support the charity
And remember to share …
If you set goals and show what you’re doing on social media, it will help you see what you’ve achieved, and encourage you to stay on track too. It might also encourage your friends to get involved.
Beccy Speight, RSPB’s chief executive said 2022 is a big year for nature, and encouraged everyone to make it a year of positive change: “We all saw the world focus on climate change and the help our planet needs when the UK hosted COP26 in November. Now’s the time for us to make positive changes and a new year gives us that push. Choosing to do things differently – even just starting with a few smaller things – adds up to a much bigger impact if we all do it together.”
Image from Pixabay
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