8 minute read

Sustainability and you: Lucy Mount, Boe Langford, Marie Sulda and Louis Nicholson – finding ways to make a difference

from Fleurieu Living Magazine Autumn 2020

from Fleurieu Living Magazine Autumn 2020, page 56

Kangaroo Island calling

Above left: Will Mount was the inspiration for Lucy Mount’s ‘Will Power Challenge’. Above right: Boernardi Langford’s ‘Outback Cleanups Australia’ vehicle can be found scouring remote locations collecting rubbish from our pristine landscapes.

Sustainability and you Story by Poppy Fitzpatrick.

Consciously reducing your environmental footprint can seem like a challenging task, but on the Fleurieu countless opportunities to do better lay at our fingertips. Instead of becoming overwhelmed by the bigger picture, the best thing you can do is something. The most powerful acts can sometimes be the smallest.

Say no to plastic

Almost everything we consume comes in plastic: vegetables in cling wrap, coffee in disposable cups and deli meat served on shiny polystyrene platters. For the month of January, Lucy Mount decided to live without plastic. After losing her older brother Will in an accident last year, Lucy wanted to honour his strength and community spirit. She created the Will Power Challenge in his memory, which continues the tradition of monthly challenges Will had been completing with his cousin Nick Dugmore.

Each month, a new challenge is introduced. A slip-up warrants a ten dollar donation to the RSPCA, or participants can cough up fifty dollars to opt out for the whole month. Beginning with easier swaps like eliminating straws, bringing their own shopping bags or investing in reusable coffee cups, participants have gone above and beyond by taking their own containers when collecting meat at the deli counter, purchasing bamboo toothbrushes and even lining their bins with newspaper. Lucy and the group have discovered just how plastic dependent our world is, but she says that by adopting small changes, other things have become more achievable. ‘Also, it’s much more fun to do it with friends, and much easier to achieve when everyone gets involved and helps each other out!’ Lucy says. Join the Will Power Challenge 2020 group on Facebook. February – Will’s birthday month – is your choice of either cold or two-minute showers. What lies beyond is anyone’s guess!

Keeping our landscapes clean

Luscious bushlands and infinite white sands are such a normal part of life here on the Fleurieu that we tend to forget just how fragile they are. Born in the outback, but growing up in Sellicks Beach, Boenardi Langford harbours a deep love for both his desert and ocean roots. After nineteen years with the south coast as his backyard, Boenardi has observed rubbish levels rising. While recovering from a work accident, Boenardi began walking the beach picking up rubbish. It was through this that he decided to dedicate his time to removing all the rubbish he can through his self-funded initiative Outback Cleanups Australia.

Since February 2019, Boenardi has cleared numerous coastal and outback areas across remote Australia. With his friend Alex Steimo now on board, the pair are working towards getting Outback Cleanups Australia recognised as a legitimate charity organisation with a sustainable business model. They face increasing costs for fuel and vehicle maintenance, along with exorbitant dumping charges but are introducing innovative countermeasures, including a ‘voluntourism’ model, bringing volunteers along for picturesque remote adventures while they assist with clearing rubbish.

Support their work through the Outback Cleanups Australia Go Fund Me page and follow their journey at @outbackcleanups on Instagram and Facebook. You can also volunteer your time by regularly clearing a particular area on the Fleurieu through the Adopt A Spot Scheme – your self-designated site becomes your personal area to maintain.

Above left: Marie Sulda has decided to try and go for a full year without purchasing any new clothing. Above right: Lou Nicholson of ‘Girl Fleurieu Organics’.

Sustainable retail therapy

When you’re elbow-deep in a rack of cheap textiles, or lost in your tenth open tab of an online sale, it can be easy to forget just how much that ‘need’ for self-expression is impacting the environment.

It was this constant urge to update her wardrobe that got Marie Sulda thinking. As managing director at Kaleidoscopic Travel, Marie wanted to take steps towards making both her business and lifestyle carbon neutral. Already actively reducing her waste in other areas, she decided to face her biggest area of consumption: clothes. Marie has challenged herself to go an entire year without purchasing any new threads. Instead, she’s updating her wardrobe more sustainably through giving second-hand items new life and hiring formal outfits for corporate events. Marie hopes the challenge will develop into lasting habits as she becomes more mindful of consumerism on a broader scale.

Once the year passes, Marie will be shopping based on ‘need’ rather than ‘want’ and where she truly requires an item she plans to take the time to seek out higher quality items that will last. Online resources like the Good On You website, which rates brands based on their ethical and sustainable practices, help consumers make informed choices. Many of our local retailers also focus on sustainable brands.

Beyond her own efforts, Marie wants to inspire a grass-roots mindset shift in others. and has started a blog called Just Do Something Sustainable, where she hopes to also engage and champion others in their sustainability endeavours.

If you have any ideas, or your own sustainability story, contact Marie via her blog at justdosomethingsustainable.wordpress.com, or through her Facebook page @justdosomethingtoday.

Not so fast food

In our modern, fast-paced lifestyles, it can be difficult to find the time to consciously source our food. Supermarket chains are abundant, providing a fast and reliable one-stop-shop to gather our weekly groceries – but their convenience isn’t without consequences. The fruit and veg section is often an international display of imported produce, riddled with plastic packaging and a myriad of chemicals. Ideally, we could bypass the supermarket, buy direct from local farmers and know exactly where our food is coming from – Girl Fleurieu Organics does exactly that.

Delivering boxes of certified organic goodies to local households every week, Girl Fleurieu Organics takes the hassle out of shopping sustainably. Run by Lou Nicholson and her family, the business focuses on using minimal packaging, reducing waste and lowering food miles.

Organic farming also helps to maintain healthy soils, which store more carbon and support greater biodiversity, resulting in less greenhouse gases and a thriving ecosystem. Products arrive on your doorstep in a polystyrene box or cooler bag, which are rotated every week. When the boxes become too worn out, they are returned to the supplier to be packed down into tiny squares, which are used to make building material.

Fancy creating healthier soils, reducing waste and supporting a local business without even having to leave your front doorstep? Us too. Find Girl Fleurieu Organics on Facebook.

Despite grim climate change predictions and scary statistics, as a society we still hold so much power to create a better future. The small steps we take now can only snowball into bigger and better things. A sustainable future starts with you.

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