Tips for living lightly this Christmas season
This Christmas, focus on living lightly – swap the imported turkey for a kiwi barbie, the plastic Christmas tree for a potted pōhutukawa, the wrapping paper for reusable fabric and store-bought gifts for homemade treasures.
Auckland Council’s Live Lightly team has put together a list of top tips for living sustainably this Christmas.
Food
- Eat locally and seasonally
- Limit waste by buying only what’s necessary
- Use all the leftovers!
Travel
- Enjoy staying at home, but if you must travel consider active transport options such as walking and cycling, tap into Auckland’s ride-sharing services
- On Christmas day, instead of heading out for activities by car walk off your Christmas lunch in the sunshine with the family
Gifts
- Consider durable, quality gifts with purpose
- Give an experience rather than a physical gift
- Give homemade and upcycled gifts
- Gift ethical, locally-produced or sustainably-made goods
- Skip on the plastics and non-recyclables.
About Live Lightly
Live Lightly was launched in 2017 to encourage Aucklanders to live more sustainably and achieve the city’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Low carbon specialist Rikki Stancich says, “It’s about all the choices you make in life – the way you get to work, eating local and seasonal goods instead of imported produce, thinking about the way you shop – whether you really need to buy it or whether you could rent or repair instead, how you manage energy use in your home.
Live Lightly looks at Aucklander’s lives through six themes: eating, moving, energy, growing, food and talk (having conversations about sustainability).
For Marcial Keesing of Manurewa, having children was the biggest motivator in taking the pledge.
“It helped save money and the environment…then it gradually grew,” she says. Keesing became interested in sustainable living after using reusable diapers while caring for her niece. This led to her starting Kaitiaki Sisters to promote sustainable lifestyles through community workshops. She says to start small by reducing water use or soft plastics.
Marcial Keesing