Hello Green Swappers! And goodbye ghoulish, spooky folk who are scuttling back below ground, or clambering back into the loft until next Halloween, ready to haunt the Christmas decorations that are teetering ever closer to the exit hatch. Because the festive season is inching closer by the day, sidling up to the foreground and jingling with each step. Santa’s elves have clocked in for the year, and now it’s time we –
Nope, no, not yet, no. That’s for next month. Don’t worry. We won’t talk about Christmas just yet.
It might be the penultimate month of the year (wait? How did that happen? Wasn’t it February 12th three minutes ago? What happened to pancake day? Did we even get a summer? What year is this? Hello?) but there are still plenty of green activities to swap out for before the reds of Christmas arrive.
Which is why, for this month’s set of challenges, we’ve wrangled some of the remaining eco-themed days occurring over these last two months. Worldwide green-inspired days to round out 2024 on an environmentally friendly high. Setting us up for 2025, armed with a pocketful of swaps and the knowledge that we can – and will – change the world.
Starting today.
*Sleigh bells ring on the horizon. You crank your Spotify up and ignore it.*
Buy Nothing Day – 29th of November
Black Friday is glaring at me whilst I write this. Shaking it’s consumerism-sponsored head as I talk about it’s twin – it’s evil twin, it might say – sharing the same birth date, but with the exact opposite purpose in life. At the very same time Amazon spams your inbox with deals, this Canadian-born celebration greets you, too, as people all around the world gather to instead spend their money on… well… nothing.
Black Friday is renowned for being “one of the world’s busiest shopping dates, so holding it on this date obviously has a very symbolic meaning.” But Buy Nothing Day is its equal and opposite counterpart, an act of rebelling against overconsumption which has consumed most of the planet not just today, but every day of the year. The idea is to change your buying habits. To swap greed for gratitude. Beginning with this initial day, then hopefully influencing your decisions throughout the year.
You see, a selection of different research sources suggest that consumerism is responsible for anywhere between 25% up to 72% of all greenhouse emissions. Electronics, clothing, non-essential items, they’re all major contributors to waste, CO2, energy use and damaged ecosystems. The production of all the products we buy is a product of us being a greedy consumer species – and it’s destroying our Earth. Since the late 17th century, when consumerism started tickling at our wallets, we’ve evolved into a species that just wants, wants, wants, wants. It has us in a chokehold.
At the time of writing this, there are 4,774,000,265 consumers, globally, right now. If you check this consumer counter when you read this, see how much that number has increased.
It’s time we call time on our retail therapy – whilst it might heal your soul for £300, it’s harming the environment in costly ways. Which is why this month, or at least on the 29th of November, we’re becoming a species who wants only one thing – to restore our home.
Humanity is swapping out the greed for growth, the wanting attitude for bursts of gratitude. This Black Friday we’re not buying more, we’re appreciating what we’ve already got. The priceless creation that we all collectively share – the Earth. This one is for her.
National Tree Week – 23rd of November to 1st of December
It’s national tree week! The week when tree huggers everywhere spruce themselves up, swapping out their normal, everyday clothing for a giant leaf over their privates, adorning a flower crown and wrangling a local pigeon, before heading out to rally around their favourite oaks, willows, beeches, pines, to celebrate the woody sentinels that we owe so much of our existence to.
Because, beyond their archaic and steadfast appearance in all of human history, more than their symbolic representation of life, of family, of worlds (think: family trees and world trees like Yggdrasil from Norse mythology), and branching past how imperative to our survival they are – trees are the root of all Earthly greatness. Like we said back in our April Green Swaps, trees are epic. Here’s why:
- Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing its effect on climate change
- Trees improve air quality, by removing dust and smoke and fumes from it
- Trees provide shelter for many species
- Trees provide food for almost all species
- Tree roots bind soil together, which prevent erosion, therefore keeping the soil in place
- Trees absorb water through their roots, and capture rainwater with their leaves, both of which serve to reduce the risk of flash floods
- Trees provide shade and block sunlight, cooling the air under them
- Trees reduce noise pollution, from traffic and various other sources
- Trees provide materials that can be used to craft tools, shelter, resources
- Trees do more than heal the physical realm; they protect your mental space too, creating a safe space to relax, to exercise, to exist – to breathe
Image from: Artemis Tree Services
National Tree Week exists to celebrate these incredible creatures. With over 100 National Tree Week events taking place all around the UK – from tree parties to tree planting events, as well as tree-themed science talks and tree-inspired literature discussions – there are a myriad ways in which you can take part in a green-themed hat tilt to your local woodland this week.
Beleaf me – it’s a real tree-t.
Wildlife Conservation Day – 4th of December
Since 2012, December 4th has been recognised around the globe as World Wildlife Conservation Day. Created by people to combat the destruction that was… uh… created by people.
People who hunt these wild animals. People who poach and traffic and hurt them. People who see them only as tusks, furs, skins to be sold, trophies to hang above the fireplace, prizes to be won. People who we are not. And will never be. Because us? We’re the people who are here to stop them.
“In the UK, some endangered species include the hedgehog, red squirrel, water vole, beaver, Scottish wildcat, hazel dormouse and the grey long-eared bat. The causes for their decreasing numbers include human settlements and infrastructure development, livestock production and illegal trophy hunting.” – IAPWA
More than 46,300 species are threatened with extinction. That’s:
- 41% amphibians
- 26% mammals
- 34% conifers
- 12% birds
- 37% sharks and rays
- 44% reef corals
- 28% selected crustaceans
- 21% reptiles
- 71% cycads
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Enter: World Wildlife Conservation Day (and every day thereafter!). Here’s what we can all do, in little yet mighty ways, to help:
- Sign petitions – see WWF, World Animal Protection, Born Free and Four Paws for various campaigns to sign
- Stop purchasing animal products – things made of ivory, mink, boar, etc
- Eat plant-based foods – this helps more than just farm animals, but wildlife too!
They might not seem like life-changing endeavours, but that’s the point. You don’t change the world by upending it, exchanging it, returning it. You change it, one act of goodness at a time. Little by little, person by person, day by day.
Like Paul Shane Spear said, “As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.” Or one animal. You might even just save their life.
World Soil Day – 5th December
We’ve talked about soil before. Back in our May Green Swaps, we mentioned a feature in issue 20 of Ethos magazine, discussing all the benefits of soil. Well, on December 5th, we’re celebrating it in its entirety.
“Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link between soil and water. Over 95 percent of our food originates from these two fundamental resources. Soil water, vital for nutrient absorption by plants, binds our ecosystems together. This symbiotic relationship is the foundation of our agricultural systems.” – United Nations.
But climate change and human activity is jeopardising that relationship. Pressure on water sources, soil degradation, erosion, these are all disrupting the natural balance of the earth beneath our feet – or for the creatures that inhabit it.
That’s where World Soil Day steps in. A campaign aiming to raise awareness of the entanglement between soil and water, thus encouraging sustainable and resilient agrifood processes and systems, and promoting soil health in general. And all you have to do to participate is read on, research a little, and remind yourself of what soil has done for us, for the planet.
Today, all you have to do is soil yourself – for a good cause. To remember exactly what our earth is worth. So grab your soilmate, and celebrate!
