Sustainable Diary.

Well, I've been trying to save water, and I definatly am, but sometimes I just forget like when I'm brushing my teeth I'll sometimes forget but then remember suddenly and quickly push the tap down!

My family ALWAYS use the green bags and if we forget them (which is hardly ever!) we buy more and leave them in the car. It saves heaps for the future, economically and sustainibly!

Diary On My Sustainable Life!

Well, I've decided to...

1. Use less water i.e. have shorter showers and turn taps off when I'm not using them.

2. Turn all electricity and appliances off at night or when I'm not using them.

3. Use baking paper and reusable snap lock bags and containers to wrap my food in, and try buying products that are safe to the earth and planet. There is this really nice brand of shampoo and conditioner called Natures Organics and its only $1.39 !!! And they don't test on animals and only use earth friendly products! Talk about awesome.

Kris Wilson - Sustainable Archtecture.

On Wednesday 3rd June Kris Wilson came into our class and talked to our class about sustainable architecture, he said that it is about living and interacting with our environment in a way that can continue so we remain healthy and happy for the future. He taught us that when you build a house normally, you produce allot of waste, but when you do it sustainably then you don't produce as much waste. He said we should think about the location, like if you're way out in the country side then you would have to keep coming in an out of town to get groceries but it could be good if you are farming. When you build you should always use renewable sources like timber, or there is a really good kind called, Douglas Fir, it's good because it is dense and antibacterial. When you are planning a house you should find the spot where you get the most sunlight and put windows there to get natural light. Kris said that these days people are trying to have really big houses, but you should try to have a house big enough for you and your family, another really good idea is making a transportable home, which means it can be pulled apart in bits and then put back together in a differant location. Double glazing is sensible and an overhanging roof to block out the sun in really hot days. Solar panels are good for heating your water and your home. You can also make your walls thicker to fit extra insulation!

There are so many great ideas for living sustainably I am so going to try it!

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Jo, Clement and Lauren.

On Tuesday the 2nd June, these people came to our class from Waikato University, they work in a group called S.I.F.E (student in free enterprise) and they were telling us about how much waste we produce that can actually be recycled, like paper and cardboard. They did this exercise where they cut the apple in half and then in quarters and then in half again, etc... and then they ended up with 1.32nd of it left, and the apple represented earth and the little bit left was the space left for farming and growing produce. They showed us a powerpoint of sustainibility and taught us that everything counts like, turning off the taps when your brushing your teeth or having a compost heap to half the ammount of rubbish you usually produce. In some countries they have produce and plants growing on the top of buildings to make up for the waste they created whilst building. They taught us of differant types of sustainibility, like economical, social and environmental. Did you know that there are 60 open landfills in New Zealand and 1000 closed landfills! It was really cool that they spent the time to talk to us about it and teach us alot of important facts for teaching the future generation.

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