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Nature Care Challenge | November 2020: Lending and not Buying

Posted on November 1, 2020October 18, 2021 by Malu

Hello lovely people!
It is time for another Nature Care Challenge. One of the best ways to preserve nature, is to limit our consumption of stuff. Since we learned about Shop Stop already, where we ask ourselves whether we really need something pre-purchase, I think we can take it a step further: What if we do need something but only once, or infrequently?

What happens to the ladder, the power drill, the party decor, the books you’re through with, the ball gown, the lawn mower, the overhead projector, ice skates and so on when we are not using them? These things are sitting idle for most of their existence, yet in many neighbourhoods every single household goes out to buy that item they need to use just once.

This month I challenge you, to borrow or rent the items you need to use only seldomly.

Nice side effect: If you haven’t already, this effort will help you improve/create the bond with your neighbours and create a feeling of helping each other out.

So, next time you need a tennis racket, and you don’t play regularly, see if anyone in your neighbourhood or someone in your network of friends and acquaintances is willing to lend you one.

Join local groups on social media to help make connections to people you don’t already know. Many areas have groups online with the aim of sharing and lending and selling second hand. In Germany, we even have an online platform specifically designed to connect neighbours for precisely this purpose. Maybe there is something similar where you live, or your culture is more open about talking to “strangers” and you don’t need an online platform.

Want to try a new hobby? Almost everyone has special equipment for hobbies that never stuck, just collecting dust in their garage.

So maybe, before you go out and spend a fortune buying everything you need to brew beer at home, just ask around if anyone has done that in the past and then lost interest or cannot find the time. If you then discover, that beer brewing is your destiny and you will now become a craft beer maker, you can still go out and buy professional equipment or see if your lender is willing to sell or gift. And if you realise, you are only capable of making horrific tasting beer, just give the equipment back and have a laugh about your experiences with the lender.

Bottom line, you will have more social interaction, more money, less clutter, and a smaller environmental footprint. Win-win-win-win, I would say.

** Title photo by Photo by Camille Villanueva, photo of birds by Gary Bendig, photo of ivy by Camille Brodard

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    About me

    My name is Malu. I am a conservation-ecologist currently living in Germany. I’ve always been wild about the outdoors and can spend hours looking at an insect labouring away at its daily challenges, or a bird building its nest, or … there’s just so much amazing stuff happening out there! I’m really glad you’ve made it onto this page so I can share my joy with you.

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    We only have about 6 to 8 years left to turn this environmental mess of a ship around. So much has to happen politically, but the people also need to change habits and start to appreciate our environment more. So every 1st of the month I post a nature care challenge with environmentally friendly lifestyle choices of habits for you to try for 30 days and, if you like, let it stick with you for longer, maybe even for life.

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