Making decisions towards sustainable living

by Beth Mylius

Celeste is a member of the Burnside Community Group and participated in the Working Group on Resilience. This is part of a message she has sent:

2012 involves a number of new challenges for me.  As a result of new commitments, I drew up a ‘time budget’ of essential areas.  I have found that there is not enough time in a typical week for me to contribute a reliable level of involvement in Sustainable Communities.

I feel it is only reasonable to share with you some of my key commitments for this year, so that you will be assured that my decision is based on the pursuit of sustainability as a ‘whole of life’ and not a reduction of commitment to sustainable living. …. I have begun a double degree at the University of Adelaide in which I am pursuing majors in Ecology and Environmental Management.  …..  Our commitment to home food production is increasing, with a growing number of productive plants.  We also now have chooks … If I do happen across spare time, I have discussed with our Council Sustainability Officer the possibility of holding occasional information sessions for growers involved in the Burnside Community Garden.  This is truly local to me as I can walk or ride my bike there.

So despite stepping out of SCSA (for the time being), my family’s overall commitment to the environment is increasing and finding broader expression.  I will be watching the progress of SCSA with high regard.  I know it will feel like I’m missing out, but I’m also happy that sustainability is opening up so many opportunities for all of us.

And Cynthia writes:

I heard a brilliant but depressing talk this evening from Canadian Nicole Foss. She is predicting a depression the likes of which we’ve never seen before and it could start with the European financial collapse this year. She says we must prepare and suggests all the things that Sustainable Communities SA is on about. She specifically mentioned buying a Solar Cooker along with other items that enables us to be more self sufficient.

A note: There were quite a few members of Sustainable Communities in the audience for the Nicole Foss talk. Please let me know by email if you would like to follow up on any of her suggestions.