Meet Your Green Neighbours
Across Three Rivers there are people making changes to their own lives in order to make a difference and help the fight against climate change. In this article, Annabel Foley from Rickmansworth, who is one of the organisers of Sustainable Three Rivers, explains what makes her passionate about living an eco-friendly lifestyle. She also offers advice on the green changes we can all make to be kinder to the planet.
Why do you think you are passionate about living more sustainably?
Listening to facts from scientists around the world, I know that we have only a limited time to reduce carbon emissions, avoid wiping out millions of species and deliver a planet to future generations that has not been damaged beyond recognition.
What changes have you made to your daily life to live more sustainably?
I became vegetarian and then plant-based, although I eat vegetarian food sometimes, if plant-based only isn’t practical.
We researched pollinator-friendly flowers and planted as many as possible in our flowerbeds. We started growing vegetables at home – learning more about plant cycles – and we’ve rewilded an area of our grass, planting wildflowers and fruit trees. We’ve now gone one step further and stopped mowing all of our grass — it’s fascinating watching as nature takes over and we have a lot of butterflies!
I drive a plug-in hybrid car and my husband drives an electric car. I try not to fly and we travel overseas using public transport or the electric car when we can. I also lift share where possible.
We’ve just replaced our broken boiler with a heat pump, using the government grant available. We’ve checked that our insulation is all up to optimum standards. We’ve explored fitting solar panels but our garden is north-facing and we’re lucky enough to have a big oak tree close-by, so too much shade sadly…
We switched to a renewables-based energy supplier and have now invested in a community wind farm, so we can switch to that when it comes online.
We researched eco-friendly banks and switched our personal banking to Starling.
I shop at local refill store The Green Stores and recycle all possible materials in council-provided recycling bins, plus I take soft plastics to the local Co-op for recycling.
We buy vegetables from an eco-friendly veg box provider and compost all vegetable waste in the garden.
We Freecycle items we no longer need or give them to charity. I keep my clothes a long time and buy clothes from charity shops. I’m hoping to go to a clothes swap soon, run by local charity Loved Up.
How did you decide what you could do?
I spoke to friends and other people in the community. During lockdown, my friend Rosi Jordon and I started Sustainable Three Rivers, hoping to bring more people in the community together to focus on being sustainable. So I speak to people in the group and other people I meet and get tips on new ways to be more sustainable. I also read online resources – www.ethicalconsumer.org is a great source of independent info on what’s sustainable.
Is it difficult to make meaningful changes?
I think it’s fairly easy to make meaningful changes, so long as you take it step by step. Pick the areas first that are easiest for you, so you can feel good about achieving something, and work from there. Everyone has different situations. If you’re struggling with the cost of living and a busy family and working life, then just making one or two small changes is enough — it all adds up…
What is the easiest thing anyone reading could do right now to make their life more sustainable / environmentally friendly?
Probably reducing the number of meat meals that they eat – the meat and dairy industries are such massive contributors to deforestation and carbon emissions. Also, making sure their house is insulated up to recommended standards and switching to a planet-friendly bank and switching any investments (pension etc) away from banks with bad sustainability records.
What has been the biggest challenge for you?
Reducing travel, I guess. It is a passion of mine and I’ve just reached a stage in life where I can travel more but now I weigh up the impacts of any trip I plan and travel less than I’d like to
Do you think changes we make in our daily lives make a difference to the world?
Yes! Everything we do, however small it feels, is contributing to the greater whole. That’s how things work in the natural world – fungi, insects etc. If every one of us made just a few changes, that would add up to so much. And if you talk to people about what you're doing as well, the impact is even greater – there's such a powerful ripple effect in sharing positive changes. With all of the difficult news around just now, we need to look after our mental health.
Knowing that you are personally acting to help the planet and that you are part of a community doing the same thing, is very heartening.
Would you like to be doing more?
There are always new lifestyle changes that I can make but I also think it’s important not to get overwhelmed with eco-guilt. I’d like to connect with more people and talk about how we can be more planet-friendly as a community. I’d like to get involved with local projects, grow Sustainable Three Rivers and help influence our local council and MP to become more and more engaged with the climate emergency.
What are your future plans to make your life even more environmentally friendly?
I’d like to learn more about sustainable gardening and to continue to be part of initiatives which push central government to take more action. Also, I plan to spend as much time as possible out in nature because, when we feel connected to the planet , we remember to care and to act.
Please give five top tips for living a greener life.
Reduce meat and dairy
Buy fewer new things
Reduce and recycle packaging, including soft plastics
Make sure your home is well insulated
Spend more time walking in nature and thinking about how we’re part of an amazing, complex natural world that we need to look after.