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Living in a large city like NYC can be challenging sometimes as I love nature. However with the culture pass from our local library we’re able to get free tickets to places like the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Snug Harbor Museum which feature beautiful Chinese style Gardens and a nice break from the concrete jungle.

#nyc #no spend challenge #culture pass #day out #botanical garden #get you a budget

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Reading for a Better World: Climates & Conservation

Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change by Thor Hanson

A beloved natural historian explores how climate change is driving evolution   In Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, biologist Thor Hanson tells the remarkable story of how plants and animals are responding to climate change: adjusting, evolving, and sometimes dying out. Anole lizards have grown larger toe pads, to grip more tightly in frequent hurricanes. Warm waters cause the development of Humboldt squid to alter so dramatically that fishermen mistake them for different species. Brown pelicans move north, and long-spined sea urchins south, to find cooler homes. And when coral reefs sicken, they leave no territory worth fighting for, so aggressive butterfly fish transform instantly into pacifists. A story of hope, resilience, and risk, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is natural history for readers of Bernd Heinrich, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and David Haskell. It is also a reminder of how unpredictable climate change is as it interacts with the messy lattice of life.

Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy

Douglas W. Tallamy’s first book, Bringing Nature Home, sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being. In Nature’s Best Hope, he takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots, home-grown approach to conservation. Nature’s Best Hope advocates for homeowners everywhere to turn their yards into conservation corridors that provide wildlife habitats. This home-based approach doesn’t rely on the federal government and protects the environment from the whims of politics. It is also easy to do, and readers will walk away with specific suggestions they can incorporate into their own yards. Nature’s Best Hope is nature writing at its best—rooted in history, progressive in its advocacy, and above all, actionable and hopeful. By proposing practical measures that ordinary people can easily do, Tallamy gives us reason to believe that the planet can be preserved for future generations.

The Ark and Beyond: The Evolution of Zoo and Aquarium Conservation by Ben A. Minteer (Editor), Jane Maienschein (Editor), James P. Collins (Editor)

Scores of wild species and ecosystems around the world face a variety of human-caused threats, from habitat destruction and fragmentation to rapid climate change. But there is hope, and it, too, comes in a most human form: zoos and aquariums. Gathering a diverse, multi-institutional collection of leading zoo and aquarium scientists as well as historians, philosophers, biologists, and social scientists, The Ark and Beyond traces the history and underscores the present role of these organizations as essential conservation actors. It also offers a framework for their future course, reaffirming that if zoos and aquariums make biodiversity conservation a top priority, these institutions can play a vital role in tackling conservation challenges of global magnitude. While early menageries were anything but the centers of conservation that many zoos are today, a concern with wildlife preservation has been an integral component of the modern, professionally run zoo since the nineteenth century. From captive breeding initiatives to rewilding programs, zoos and aquariums have long been at the cutting edge of research and conservation science, sites of impressive new genetic and reproductive techniques. Today, their efforts reach even further beyond recreation, with educational programs, community-based conservation initiatives, and international, collaborative programs designed to combat species extinction and protect habitats at a range of scales. Addressing related topics as diverse as zoo animal welfare, species reintroductions, amphibian extinctions, and whether zoos can truly be “wild,” this book explores the whole range of research and conservation practices that spring from zoos and aquariums while emphasizing the historical, scientific, and ethical traditions that shape these efforts. Also featuring an inspiring foreword by the late George Rabb, president emeritus of the Chicago Zoological Society / Brookfield Zoo, The Ark and Beyond illuminates these institutions’ growing significance to the preservation of global biodiversity in this century.

The Fragile Earth: Writing from The New Yorker on Climate Change by David Remnick, Henry Finder

Just one year after climatologist James Hansen first came before a Senate committee and testified that the Earth was now warmer than it had ever been in recorded history, thanks to humankind’s heedless consumption of fossil fuels, New Yorker writer Bill McKibben published a deeply reported and considered piece on climate change and what it could mean for the planet. At the time, the piece was to some speculative to the point of alarmist; read now, McKibben’s work is heroically prescient. Since then, the New Yorker has devoted enormous attention to climate change, describing the causes of the crisis, the political and ecological conditions we now find ourselves in, and the scenarios and solutions we face. The Fragile Earth tells the story of climate change—its past, present, and future—taking readers from Greenland to the Great Plains, and into both laboratories and rain forests. It features some of the best writing on global warming from the last three decades, including Bill McKibben’s seminal essay “The End of Nature,” the first piece to popularize both the science and politics of climate change for a general audience, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning work of Elizabeth Kolbert, as well as Kathryn Schulz, Dexter Filkins, Jonathan Franzen, Ian Frazier, Eric Klinenberg, and others. The result, in its range, depth, and passion, promises to bring light, and sometimes heat, to the great emergency of our age.

#nonfiction #non-fiction #nonfiction books #history #animals #science #climate change #conservation #environment #environmental policy #buy sustainable #sustainable lifestyle

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Part of my New Years Resolution is to try and work on reducing my trash impact. This means that I need to try and sell my items before going straight to goodwill with things I don’t want because there is a pretty significant chance that my stuff may not be accepted by Goodwill and will be tossed out.

So here I am composting in the park near my house every Saturday all my food scraps. I will probably also start composting my meat scraps at a further location in order to get my food waste down to zero.

I’ve also opened an eBay shop to sell some of the books I’m reading through in order to make a little extra money for my savings goal (see a future post). So far I’ve sold about 17 out of the 30 items I’ve posted and made about $65.00 which is great progress!

#reduce reuse recycle #compost #compostlikeapug #New Years resolution #zero waste lifestyle #zero waste #minimalist #minimalism #minimalist home decor #konmari #marie kondo #reduce reuse recycle refuse rot #emphasis on the rot #Saturday workout #make that money #savings

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#france #eco #plastic #zero waste #zero waste journey #sustainability #go green #sustainable #changing shopping habits #hopeful

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Day 30

My partner has had this collection of flash cards since finish graduate school and hasn’t used them since. So we are sending the case off to Goodwill and using the flash cards for campfire starters when we camp in warmer months. The shirt sadly is also going to Goodwill as I’m trying to reduce my not as office appropriate clothes

#zero waste #zero waste journey #minimalist #minimalism #lessisnow challenge #lessisnowchallenge #day 30 #going minimal #minimalist challenge #becoming a minimalist #minimalism journey #the minimalists

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Day 29

My kid was pretty amazing today with going through all of his toys and donating this huge bag of hot wheel toys and other misc good conditioned toys to Goodwill. I’m so stoked at his do good attitude and am also delighted that I can now clothes the drawers on his toy cabinets.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #minimalist #minimalism #get you a budget #debt #paying down debt is green #debt free in 2023 #becoming a minimalist #budget #lessisnow challenge #lessisnowchallenge #less is more #minimalist challenge #going minimal #the minimalists

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Day 28

We’ve gone through all of my Little Man’s stuff and came up with at least 15 items from his room and then added in old T-shirts, old tools we don’t use because we live in an apartment now and clothes that my partner no longer fits into. It’s been a very successful clean out day.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #minimalist #minimalism #becoming a minimalist #going zero waste #konmari method #konmari #goodwill #donation #giving #giving stuff away #lessisnow challenge #less is now #the minimalists #day 31 #day 31 of 31

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Day 27

While more than 27 items this wooden train set found a beloved home with some neighbor here in NYC as we sent this over to Goodwill. I hope some other mama and her kids enjoy it as much as we did

#i’m done #so happy I finished this journey #less is more #lessisnow challenge #lessisnowchallenge #minimalist #minimalism #becoming a minimalist #the minimalists #marie kondo #konmari method #day 27

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Day 24

A hodgepodge of things I found when putting away Christmas items and cleaning out the largest closet in my house. Some of these items I’ve tried to sell for years with no luck so they are going to Goodwill and ThredUP for a better chance at being loved by someone else.

#zero waste #sustainability #zero waste journey #low waste #reuse reduce recycle #goodwill #thredup #go green #cleaning out the closets #cleanouts #konmari method #marie kondo #less is more #lessismore #less is more challenge #day 24

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Day 23

It always makes me a bit sad when my Little Man says he’s growing out of toys. In this case the 23 pieces of his beyblades will be donated to goodwill in a bag so all the pieces are together.

#they grow up so fast #zero waste #zero waste journey #sustainability #sustainable #environment #donation #donate #day 23 #goodwill #less is more #less is more challenge #minimalism journey #going minimal #becoming a minimalist

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Day 22

A continuation of a clean out of my little guy’s room netted 22 books for donations at the local free libraries that have started popping up around our neighborhood.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #becoming a minimalist #zero waste lifestyle #go green #diy #sustainability #sustainable #environment #low waste #less is more #lessismore #lessismorechallenge #February clean out #day 22

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Day 21

This is a collection of all the things that we no longer need. The books we’ve finished, the clothing and dog collar out grown, the shoes no longer needed (thanks COVID) and all other items are things we no longer need. Everything is in good condition and can me donated to Goodwill

#sustainability #sustainable #zero waste lifestyle #zero waste #reduce reuse recycle #reduce reuse recycle refuse and rot #less is now #less is more #less is more challenge #day 21 #goodwill #minimalist #minimalism

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Day 20

I went through my jewelry collection and pulled out pins and pins I haven’t worn for years because they aren’t my style. Some will be donated and others recycled as I continue to down size the things I own to only the stuff I love.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #minimalist #minimalism #lessisnow challenge #lessisnowchallenge #less is now #less is more #day 20 #day 20 of 31

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Day 19

More misc stuff we’ve found throughout our home. The bag, lace and socks are full of holes and recycled. The choker (my favorite) was broken down into metal and leather components while the charger was recycled to Best Buy and the rocks placed outside to provide a bit of a border in the garden

#minimalism journey #becoming a minimalist #going minimal #the minimalists #minimalist #minimalism #less is more #lessisnow challenge #lessisnowchallenge #day 19 of 31 #reduce reuse recycle rot refuse #new york recycling

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Day 18

The note books and cards were used up and ready to be recycled. The vocabulary cards are no longer helpful because as according to my Little Man “they’re too easy like baby words” well oh snap than Little Man off to the recycling bin they go. The pen no longer works, the puzzle was insanely hard thing I’ve ever puzzled and was donated to Goodwill, while the tshirt was used as rags and then recycled.

#less is more #lessisnow challenge #less is now #lessisnowchallenge #january #day 18 of 31 #becoming a minimalist #minimalism journey #going minimal #minimalist #the minimalists #minimalism

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Day 17

After going through my kids clothes and mine it’s obvious that he’s growing more quickly than I thought. All of these items are going to a charity near us. It will help make room for the new items my aunties gifted him for the holidays.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #go green #sustainability #sustainable #environment #low waste #recycle #day 16 #less is more #less is more challenge #sustainable clothing #clothes #why is he growing so fast? #he’s going to be taller than me soo

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Day 16

So much stuff found during today’s clean out of my closet and found chokers I don’t like, ugly T-shirts, a hoodie too large for me, old sandals and lots of other items I no longer want or need. With many of them being unopened.

It makes me angry that I’ve had all of these items and had no use for them. I need to get better at saying no to free stuff and think about owning things that make sense to my family and not just for the quick high of buying something.

#zero waste #zero waste journey #becoming a minimalist #zero waste lifestyle #go green #diy #sustainability #sustainable #environment #low waste #less is more #less is now #lessisnowchallenge #lessismore #lessismorechallenge #day 16