December 15, 2020 • 30 mins
This week I talk Turkey with my (vegan) partner Andia about how we can celebrate Christmas sustainably. In Australia alone, it's estimated that our festive waste is growing by 30% yearly because of all the thousands of tonnes of wrapping paper, food, decorations, empty bottles and unwanted presents.
We spend about $11 billion a year on Christmas gifts annually down under, so it's important that we spend wisely and think sustainably to make sure we're part of the solution, rather than the problem.
Our listeners also chime in with some excellent ideas about how to lighten our collective load this festive season with some great gift ideas. We also explore how we can be less wasteful in what we eat, buy and how we decorate .
There are so many great ideas on how to get creative, connect with friends and family in sustainable ways that won't cost the earth, including:
- shopping and supporting local
- making your own gifts, tree and table decorations
- freezing or upcycling your leftovers
- composting, the gift that keeps giving
- finding plastic-free wrapping alternatives
- environmental, in-kind and charitable gifts, like Kiva
- gift swaps
- taking time out to remember the true gifts of Christmas, real connection
- thinking carefully before giving a pet for Christmas.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeremy Melder (00:00):
Hello, my name is Jeremy Melder, and on the
(00:02):
presenter from Beaming Green.
Before we start, I would like toacknowledge that this podcast is
being held on the traditionallands of the Bundjalung people
and pay our respects to eldersboth past, present and emerging.
The Beaming Green podcast is aweekly podcast, which will help
(00:23):
you to take out some of thestress and confusion about how
to live your life moresustainably. And we do this by
introducing you to people thathave first hand experience and
expertise in all aspects ofsustainability. So you can get
some amazing insights of how youcan implement simple and
(00:45):
practical solutions to enhanceyour life and the lives of your
family. Welcome to the finalepisode for 2020 of the Beaming
Green podcast. Now, what a yearit has been and I'm sure,
whilst there's been somechallenging things, I think the
(01:07):
world has been through a changethat hopefully, we have learned
some lessons about how we couldpossibly live a more sustainable
life in the future. Now, thisepisode, we are going to be
focusing on Christmas if youcelebrate it, and how we can
have more sustainable Christmas.
(01:31):
And I have a special guestthat's coming on. And we've also
had some ideas that have beencontributed by our listeners. So
without further ado, let's geton with the show. So today's an
exciting day for us BeamingGreen because I've got my
(01:52):
partner, Andia here, AndiaCally, who's joined us to do
this special Christmas editionof Beaming Green, and what we
really really want to talk abouttoday is Christmas, gift giving
and what we can do sustainably.
So welcome to the show. Andia,
Andia Cally (02:12):
thank you, Jeremy.
It's great to be here.
Jeremy Melder (02:14):
So I'm really interested to know a little bit
about your childhood andChristmas and what it meant for
you how it played out in yourfamily.
Andia Cally (02:26):
Yeah. Well, Ithink my main memory was not the gifts
was mum was a very creativeperson. So she made us some
beautiful Christmas stockings,which I've still got mine. And
she also made us a lovely 12Days of Christmas with felt and
sequence and really was anamazing piece of work. And my
(02:47):
sister and I would get excitedevery day because we'd take
turns in opening the doors onthe advent calendar, which, you
know, we had until we basicallytaped on every little door
because it had all fallen offthrough being overlapped. So
yeah, it was just things likethat. And when sharing Christmas
ice cream, which was ourAustralian version of Christmas
(03:08):
cake, which was a bit morerefreshing than the usual
Christmas cake for this climate.
So yeah, just spending time withfamily and just those sort of
things where we've good fun.
Jeremy Melder (03:18):
And we're getting lots of presents.
Andia Cally (03:20):
No, no, not at all, like so. So in the stocking, we
just got sort of practicalthings like socks and undies,
and you know, maybe somechocolates or something like
that. Just little useful things,and then we'd get one big
present. So that was about it.
What about you,
Jeremy Melder (03:36):
so in in because I grew up in Sri Lanka, and, you
know, Santa was a big part ofour life. And Santa would come
through the chimney and we'dleave, you know, a glass of milk
and, and some biscuits,therefore, Santa,
Andia Cally (03:53):
our Santa like brandy did.
Jeremy Melder (03:56):
But so say, you know, in three nickel, we didn't
have it need a chimney, so butwe just left it by the tree. And
funnily enough, Santa would comeand eat it all and the milk and
drink the milk and we'd get ourpresent, you know, so it wasn't
like it is seemingly in Westernsociety anyway, that we got a
(04:18):
bundle of presence there was,you know, like you said, a
stocking with a few little knickknacks that were given, but also
just one gift. And it was reallya treasured gift. I think my
favorite one was, it was abeautiful thing. It was one of
these things you can get into,which was an airplane was made
out of I can't remember what Ithink. But you could wheel it
(04:41):
around as if you were, you know,flying, but you know, with
steering and things like that.
And that was such a wonderfulthing to get. And I was
remembering that joy of all ofthat. I was really sad when I
found out that Santa, youknow,wasn't real wasn't real.
Yeah, it was a bit sad aboutthat.
Andia Cally (04:59):
My older sister took delight in telling men that
at a young age.
Jeremy Melder (05:05):
Now, I know that you've done some research for
our show regarding thestatistics, and what have you
found out? What have you foundout about Australia?
Andia Cally (05:20):
Yeah, so I just looked at Australia, because I
thought, you know, in Australiais a fairly small population.
But obviously, that can beexpanded to other countries. So
one study said that it'sestimated that every Australian
households waste increases up to30%, every festive season. And
that's due to the 1000s of tonsof wrapping paper decorations,
(05:43):
food bottles and unwantedpresents that are being thrown
out. And really,
Jeremy Melder (05:47):
that's a big issue, isn't it? those unwanted
presence? And I think someonewas saying that they're looking
at in our town of Murwillumbah,some sort of present exchange.
After Christmas that right? Youwere saying,
Andia Cally (06:00):
Yeah, it's actually before Christmas, so. So if you
can take along your unuseditems, that can't be something
that's really you know, wellloved. That's still in its
packaging, and everything thatyou haven't used, and then you
can go and swap it for somethingelse, or, you know, you can
anybody can organize that afterChristmas with some friends, if
there's a present that you don'twant. Yeah, I in our family, we
(06:22):
always just asked for what wewanted. Because, you know, it
seems pointless to try and guessall the time, especially if
there's relatives that you onlysee once a year or once every
couple of years, it's very hardto know what they're into. So,
yeah, I think it's, it'sprobably important, even if the
values don't align to getsomething that people want, so
(06:43):
that they keep it
Jeremy Melder (06:44):
Yeah, it's a lot of waste, or should I say it can
be a lot of waste its not alwaysthe case. But what are some
other stats that you found out?
Andia Cally (06:51):
Yep. So Australians are now collectively spending
around $11 billion a year onChristmas, but 11 with a B
billion dollars, right? That'sjust one country. Yeah, that's
pretty staggering, really, whenyou think about what Christmas
is about, you know, and, youknow, whether you're Christian
or not, which or not, but, youknow, it's all about being
(07:15):
generous and the Spirit of Jesusand you know, giving to the poor
and all that sort of stuff. Soit's, I sort of feel like a lot
of our holidays have have becomecommercial ventures, you know,
if even Thanksgiving in the USnow is about Black Friday, and,
and I remember years ago, doingresearch about weddings, and
(07:35):
finding out that our honeymoonin traditional sense was
basically, when the bride andgroom were locked up for a week
with mead and honey to try andprocreate. And they were given
gifts of fruits and vegetablesand things like that which
represented fertility andabundance. So we've gone from
these very simple traditions,to, you know, just these
(07:57):
exorbitant gifts, which, yeah,it's been crazy. And I remember
years ago, being in Laos atChristmas, and seeing these
kids, just playing happily withsticks and rocks, you know,
pretending there were cars and,and hearing about a friend of
mine, who was saying that hernieces, she's seen them cry on
several occasions when they'vegot gifts that they're not happy
(08:18):
with knowing it's such acontrast, you know, yeah, it
Jeremy Melder (08:21):
is a contrast, isn't it? Now, one of the other
things I remember about minegrowing up in Sri Lanka, was
that we had marbles and we drawa little square. And we tried
to, you know, knock out eachother's and that was took up
hours of time, you know, for us,and it was gave us a lot of joy.
And the other thing is that wehad, you know, a spare tire with
(08:42):
a stick, and we'd roll it downthe hill very dangerously,
because they could have beencars coming down. I know that,
but but, you know, that's asimple pleasure, isn't it, you
know, of some, you know, that wecan get some joy out of, but
these days, it's got more andmore complex, because we need to
have, I don't know, what are thegames Nintendo games? And I
(09:03):
don't know, I can't even tellyou what they are. But there's
so many of them in terms ofdiversions in life...I call
them. Yeah. Rather than, youknow, stimulating the brain.
Andia Cally (09:16):
And I think Yeah, and I think that's, that's it is
that those games leave little tothe imagination, because these
days, you know, it's all 4kvideo, and it's all there for
you. The same with a lot offilms, whereas, you know, they,
I rightly read a few years agothat you don't create memories
when you're watching TV, andprobably you don't either when
you're playing a game. So Ithink it's really nice to give
(09:40):
people experiences forChristmas, because that's
something that they willremember, you know, if it's a
workshop or a voucher, or youknow, a flying lesson or
something like that, that theywill remember, rather than a
gift that they kind of put onthe shelf and, you know, take
the next one out and yeah, theydon't really think much about
it. Yeah.
Jeremy Melder (10:00):
Yeah, now we, in preparing for the show, we asked
some of our followers to comeback with a couple of
suggestions as to what theythink would be good for
Christmas. And I had Michelle,who suggested connection with
others was sufficient?
Absolutely. And I think that'svery true. Because if you go
(10:20):
into the thing you were saying,you know, the Christian
tradition is it's all aboutChrist and, and the Spirit of
Christ being celebrated. And itwas all about being with one
another and being in prayer, andbeing in gratitude. And I think
that's a really good suggestion,Michelle, that, and thanks for
(10:41):
sharing that on the show.
Andia Cally (10:45):
Absolutely. Yeah, I think I think everybody gets so
stressed around Christmas. And Iremember years ago with my
family, where everyone was verystressed, and sort of niggling
at each other, and I said, let'sjust go around the circle, and
give an appreciation of eachother, and they were all very
reluctant, but they got into itand and just sort of lifted the
whole mood, you know, that's, Ithink it's important to, to
(11:06):
remember why we're there. And tocelebrate family, this will be
my first Christmas without mymom. So it's gonna be a little
bit sad. But, yeah, just to begrateful for the family that you
do have.
Jeremy Melder (11:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
And, and there's always a lot ofpeople worse off than we are.
Yes. You know, especially in athird world country where, you
know, you know, people don'thave a lot of money to be able
to spend on gifts, let alonefood. Yes. And then think about
this for people in refugeecamps, millions of people that
(11:41):
are in refugee camps, andthere's people that are
homeless, you know, so there'salways someone a lot worse off.
And we've been through a prettytough year worldwide with
COVID-19. And it's really aboutcelebrating the simple things.
And I think all of us who havefelt isolated, or are still in
(12:03):
isolation, are, wanting thatconnection with other people.
And there's something about thatisn't the intended connection
Andia? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
So next person that came up withsome ideas was Harry, now Harry
(12:24):
grew up. And he said the, thebest gift that he ever got was
wooden blocks. Right? And thathe says that there are perfect
sustainable gift that can go onfrom generation to generation
because they can be hand medowns. So Harry decided to
replicate what he had. And he'sgot six grandchildren, he
(12:46):
decided to make six sets of, ofblocks for them. And Harry works
with children, young children,and he says that he uses them in
his clinic, to, for the kids to,you know, use their skills in
building learn that how to buildand also add a bit of creativity
(13:07):
into what they do.
Andia Cally (13:08):
Yeah, fantastic.
Jeremy Melder (13:10):
So there are simple ideas out there of what
we can do.
Andia Cally (13:13):
Yeah, and i think that that's exactly what I was
saying at the start, you know,bringing creativity into it.
There are so many ideas on theinternet now, like on Pinterest
and things like that, where youcan make your own gifts or you
can you know, we were giving thegift of honey this year.
Jeremy Melder (13:33):
Shhh, don't tell anyone
Andia Cally (13:35):
and that's something that we've made you
know, yeah. And and it's, it'slovely to if you are like foods
and easy gift to give Yes.
Because it's something thateverybody eats and trying to
find something that you know ishomemade with love and that will
probably keep for more than aweek. Yeah, is just you know, a
lovely thing and I don't knowabout you, but I personally
(13:56):
really appreciate if somebody'staking the time to make
something and put the effort init. I think it's much more
personal.
Jeremy Melder (14:08):
Okay, now let's have a listen. We had a couple
of people I think some peopleare a bit scared of speaking and
hearing their voice live on apodcast. So I'm just gonna put
Jane on now. And let's listen towhat she had to say
Jane (14:24):
hello Beaming Green Jane from Wales here in the UK am
turn the electricity off for 24hours and have a candle lit
Christmas. Bit more relevant inthe UK where it will be really
dark and you can enjoy thecandlelight, the atmosphere.
(14:44):
Second hand shops. It really ismuch more carbon friendly. To
buy secondhand things. A veganChristmas there's so many
amazing vegan products a localChristmas buying Things food and
presence only from localsources. And charities. buying
(15:08):
gifts for other people indeveloping countries, like a
goat, or a toilet. There are somany different ideas. I'm going
to use some of them. Thanks verymuch. Bye.
Jeremy Melder (15:24):
So those are some pretty good ideas there that
Jane had isn't there?
Andia Cally (15:29):
That was a wealth of ideas. Oh, yeah.
Jeremy Melder (15:33):
That I and you're a vegan. I am conscious vegan.
And that's a great idea. Andgiving to a charity is another
great idea.
Andia Cally (15:45):
Yeah. So maybe you want to share the gift that you
gave?
Jeremy Melder (15:49):
Yes. So I'd love to. So there's an organization
called Kiva. So shout out tokiva.org. And they in they work
in the third world, and theyhelp people that want to set up
a business to get them somefunding. So I provided I think,
(16:11):
is $50. And they're all tryingto raise like $1,000, or, you
know, or $500 for enterprises.
But you're giving this gift as acollective, and they repay you
that money once the businessgets off the ground. And I've
got to say, I've paid three orfour times for different
ventures in different countriesand I've being paid back. So
(16:34):
last year, I decided to give mychildren the gift of, you know,
I think it was $50 each orsomething like that, but so they
can give it to someone that's inneed in a third world country.
And I haven't heard I'll findout this Christmas how they went
with that. But I think that's agreat idea.
Andia Cally (16:55):
Absolutely. And it's great to have that follow
through and to sort of have thatconnection to know where your
money's going. And, yeah, andhow it's tracking. That's
fantastic.
Jeremy Melder (17:04):
Now, there was some other ideas that Jane had
as well, wasn't there,
Andia Cally (17:07):
then the candle idea? I really like that that
intimate idea. But also, I wasthinking today, you know, solar
lights are a good alternativeto, you know, the normal fairy
lights that sort of a batteryoperated. I loved her buying
local idea, because I think it'sreally important to support
locals.
Jeremy Melder (17:26):
Yeah. A lot of businesses, especially after
COVID have been suffering aswell.
Andia Cally (17:31):
That's right. And I was I was thinking today on a
sort of slightly lighter notethat Santa is not very
sustainable when you think aboutit, because he's traveling from
the north pole to go to allthese places. Yeah, all over the
world. There's lots of reindeermiles in there. So
Jeremy Melder (17:45):
yeah, you know, those poor reindeer? So that's
right.Yeah, it's a long way togo.
Andia Cally (17:50):
But another great idea, which I came across today
was, I guess, the the idea ofinkind giving. So instead of
doing the Kris Kringle work andeverything, where you get given
somebody's name, and you've gotto buy a gift up to the value of
a certain amount, which again,can be difficult, if you don't
know the person very well, is toactually just, you know, offer
(18:12):
services. So say, I'll do yourdishes for the next week, or
I'll get your coffee for thenext two weeks or something like
that. So it's more of an inkind, personal service, then,
and that doesn't cost youanything, but I'm sure it will
be greatly appreciated.
Jeremy Melder (18:28):
And there was some other thing we were talking
about earlier about wrappingpaper.
Andia Cally (18:33):
Oh, yes. Yes. So this is a pretty stark
statistic, I think, is thatAustralians use more than
150,000 kilometers of wrappingpaper during Christmas. And
that's enough to wrap around theEarth's equator nearly four
times. So that's a lot of paper.
Right? That's just Australia.
(18:54):
You know, think about all thosetrees. I know. So, you know, I
think a couple of years ago,when we were making Boomerang
bags, I started to get creativewith my wrapping, and use some
of those materials. And then,you know, just wrap them in a
nice piece of ribbon or eventake a you know, patent piece of
material to wrap around it.
There's a great technique, aJapanese technique called for
(19:17):
Shiki foro Shiki to know if I'mpronouncing that right. And
there's all these different it'sa bit like origami or something.
So there's all these differentsort of techniques online that
you can, you can have a look at.
And if you do that, thenobviously you're avoiding using
masking tape or sticky tape,which is another form of plastic
(19:39):
so so and they look beautiful,you know? Yeah, really nice.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy Melder (19:45):
Now, we also have one more person that's spoken
from the UK Jannine Baron, andan Australian in the UK. And so
let's hear what Jannine has tosay.
Jannine (20:01):
This year my clients are getting a tree planted. And
as I am in the UK, I'm donatingto the woodland trust, which is
the UK's largest woodlandconservation charity. They've
planted 43 million trees since1972. And they're on a mission
to plant another 50 million inthe next 10 years upping their
(20:23):
game because the UK needs toincrease woodland by 30%, so I'm
going to contribute to thatgoal.
Jeremy Melder (20:34):
Now, that's a good idea. Isn't it?
Andia Cally (20:36):
Fantastic. That would offset all that wrapping
paper, wouldn't it? Yeah. Ifeverybody did that. Yeah, that's
great. We
Jeremy Melder (20:42):
really need more trays. I mean, the amount the
right if anyone watched thelatest. David Attenborough, Sir
David Attenborough program aboutthe amount of trees that we are
taking off this planet. Well, weneed to start planning a hell of
a lot more to do something aboutthat. And it's really important.
(21:04):
So if we were able to give agift of a train, that would be a
wonderful gift. Hopefully, it'lllast for 50, 60,70 years, longer
than we would maybe live. Yeah.
Yeah.
Andia Cally (21:16):
And plants are a really nice gift to give today.
40 Yeah. Oh, yeah. Even evenfood, you know, like, grow your
own food sort of thing. Yeah.
Great. Great, sustainable idea.
Yeah. Yep.
Jeremy Melder (21:31):
Now if you've got any other magical ideas, Andia,
Andia Cally (21:34):
well, I just wanted to talk about food because food
is a big issue. food wastage. Soif you think about an average
family, that it's reallydifficult for them to eat an
entire leg of lamb or fivekilograms of prawns before the
new year. So food wastage,there's about estimated over 500
sorry, 5 million tons of foodending up in landfill each year,
(21:58):
which is enough to fill 9000Olympic sized swimming pools.
Jeremy Melder (22:03):
This isn't just in Australia.
Andia Cally (22:05):
Yes, that is just in Australia. So that is a lot
It is. It is phenomenal. I know.
And and the thing is that Land,food does not have to go into
landfill No. And and it's such agreat form of compost. So you
know, you can you can createfree compost on site. Yeah, that
will feed your garden. And youknow, it's a win win situation.
(22:29):
So I reckon a compost bin, or aworm farm is a fantastic
Christmas gift. Absolutely.
Jeremy Melder (22:37):
I mean, we've got four on our property here from
Yep, that's right. And, and weuse it in our garbage bin that
goes out on a weekly basis isprobably doesn't have to go out
every week. We basically usingtheir own compost and putting it
into our garden. And you know,it's a really good idea to do
(22:58):
that. So compost bins, anothergood idea for someone the gift
Andia Cally (23:00):
that keeps giving Yeah, and then, you know, I just
wanted to talk as well aboutChristmas trees. Because each
year I like to challenge myselfand create a different sort of
Christmas tree. So I've neverbought a plastic Christmas tree,
and I never will. I've boughtmany live ones before, but
usually they don't survive. Sothis year, there was a big
(23:22):
fallen frong from Palm tree, oneof those sort of stiffer parts
of the palm trees, I'vedecorated that you know, and put
the lights around it and, andit's fun, you know, or you can
just have a vase one year we didthat with twigs. Yeah. And you
know, you just position thetwigs in different ways. Or you
can make one out of driftwood oryou know, and the same with the
(23:45):
decorations, because you know,what, what's the point in buying
and tacky plastic decorations,especially if they're dated with
a year or something when you canjust make your own with felt
and, you know, a bit of love andsome nice threads and things
like that. And yeah, decorateyour Christmas presents with a
pine cone or a sprig ofsomething, a sprig of rosemary
(24:08):
or something like that.
Jeremy Melder (24:11):
I think it's also like,, a lot of people are
saying that they're really busy.
And don't have time to do allthis other sort of thing. But,
you know, we do have to maketime. Because if we don't make
time, there's going to be a bigissue with our planet because of
the amount of resources that weuse using. Because we're so
busy. And try we're time poor,it's actually creating more of a
(24:36):
mess for our environment. And Ithink we need to be a bit more
conscious, absolutely about thetime that we don't put into
these things.
Andia Cally (24:49):
Well, I think I think you know, if you think
about it logically, it can be abeautiful thing that you can do
with your kids, you know, tomake some of these things to
make ornaments and to makeWrapping and it's something that
you then get a sense ofsatisfaction out of, and I'm
sure the person who's receivingit does too, but you feel like
you know, you've done something,you've made something creative,
(25:11):
and you've repurpose something.
And, you know, there's, there'slots of other things that you
can think about with yourChristmas table to have, you
know, using containers insteadof clingfilm, and using cloth
napkins, not disposable napkinsand things like that. So if we
all just did our beat and thrownabout, you know, all those
things that that cumulativeeffect, I think, you know, you
(25:33):
can't help but feel a sense ofsatisfaction, absolutely.
Jeremy Melder (25:39):
I was just gonna say, my, my worst memories of,
you know, looking at Christmasand going, Oh, my God, I've got
to go shopping, I don't want toworry about the car park,
people's anxiety levels arehigh, people are agitated. And,
you know, you're amongst ashopping center with everyone
(26:00):
that's agitated. And, you know,I don't think that's a really
good outcome for Christmas,because what we're trying to
achieve is peace, harmony withour family and giving something
from a good place a good heart.
So the idea of, you know,sharing homemade gifts and, and,
and adding value, and it's fromyour heart is more valuable than
(26:23):
something that you've justthought about for two minutes.
So that's a good little presentto give it to someone. And the
person that gets it doesn'treally seem to value it as well,
I would value it more if I knewthat, you know, you had made
something made an effort to makethat for me, rather than just
(26:45):
spending two minutes on buyingthis product.
Andia Cally (26:49):
That's right. And remember, a couple of years ago,
we both my calendars for ourfamilies, and then so we put all
their own photography in there.
And so that was something that'suseful that people can use all
year round. But then it's also away of sharing, you know, what
you love doing, you know, thenature of photography, or people
and things like that. So thatwas really, really appreciated.
And I think, yeah, there's somany ideas on the internet now
(27:12):
of things that you can do inabsolutely, you know, ways that
you can repurpose yourleftovers, or, you know, make
gifts and make decorations. Soyeah, it's just time to get
creative now.
Jeremy Melder (27:26):
Yep. Now we're running out a bit of time. Have
you got any other burning thingsthat you'd like to share? Andia,
Andia Cally (27:33):
well, look, there'sjust something that I
want to encourage people tothink really carefully about is
a Christmas gift. And that'spets. Hmm. Oh, that's
Jeremy Melder (27:41):
a good thing.
Yeah.
Andia Cally (27:42):
So I mean, you know, I'm an animal lover, and I
know a lot of people even duringCOVID have bought puppies that
we know. And they're adorable.
And it's, you know, it's a greatthing to do. But I, you know, I
just really urge people to thinkcarefully about how much time
they can put into, you know,that animal and whether they're
working full time, whether it'sa dog that needs a lot of
(28:06):
exercise, if it is a dog, youknow, and whether it's a rescue
dog, and all that sort of stuff.
I mean, there's lots of thingsto consider, you know, as I say,
an animal isn't just forChristmas, it's really something
that needs carefulconsideration, because I think
it's just heartbreaking to hearhow a lot of animals are
surrendered after Chris
Jeremy Melder (28:25):
Absolutely. I mean, that is, that is an awful
statistic. You know, I've got afriend that worked at the local
pound. And he was telling methat there's a number of people
that get gifts for dogs, andthen six weeks later, they're in
in the pound. So and animals inWest are getting more and more
expensive. So you gotta want tohang on to her for a while. And
(28:48):
also think there is also longterm costs of, you know, medical
bills and things like that. Soit's a lovely gift, if someone
can care for it. Now, the otherthing I remember seeing in a
film was before you get yourselfa gift of a dog by a pot plant
and see if you can look after italive, keep it alive for at
least six months, and then makethe decision to buy yourself an
(29:11):
animal.
Andia Cally (29:11):
That's right, then I know that, you know, there's
so many kids that promise theworld to their parents and say
that they'll you know, lookafter the animal and then they
sort of lose interest. So
Jeremy Melder (29:21):
I was one of those kids
Look Andia I really appreciateyour time on Beaming Green. And
I'm really grateful that you'remy partner. And thank you so
much for sharing your insights.
And just to let all ourlisteners know that I'm going to
have a short break and we'll beback in the middle of January.
And I've got some reallyexciting people that I'm talking
(29:44):
to. So I look forward to seeingyou in January. Have a lovely,
lovely Christmas, and a safeChristmas, and a blessed one,
Andia Cally (29:56):
and a sustainable and a sustainable one. Thank you
Jeremy.
Jeremy Melder (30:06):
Thank you for being part of the Beaming Green
podcast. The music for hispodcast is produced by Dave Weir
now we need more people to geton board and raise awareness
about sustainability and climatechange, the more of us that are
shining the light on theseissues, the more government and
(30:28):
business leaders will listen. Wewould love you to subscribe to
our podcast, and share andengaging social media so that we
can get some traction. Let ussupport one another and envision
a brighter future. Thanks forlistening. See you next week.
Hello, my name is Jeremy Melder, and on the
(00:02):
presenter from Beaming Green.
Before we start, I would like toacknowledge that this podcast is
being held on the traditionallands of the Bundjalung people
and pay our respects to eldersboth past, present and emerging.
The Beaming Green podcast is aweekly podcast, which will help
(00:23):
you to take out some of thestress and confusion about how
to live your life moresustainably. And we do this by
introducing you to people thathave first hand experience and
expertise in all aspects ofsustainability. So you can get
some amazing insights of how youcan implement simple and
(00:45):
practical solutions to enhanceyour life and the lives of your
family. Welcome to the finalepisode for 2020 of the Beaming
Green podcast. Now, what a yearit has been and I'm sure,
whilst there's been somechallenging things, I think the
(01:07):
world has been through a changethat hopefully, we have learned
some lessons about how we couldpossibly live a more sustainable
life in the future. Now, thisepisode, we are going to be
focusing on Christmas if youcelebrate it, and how we can
have more sustainable Christmas.
(01:31):
And I have a special guestthat's coming on. And we've also
had some ideas that have beencontributed by our listeners. So
without further ado, let's geton with the show. So today's an
exciting day for us BeamingGreen because I've got my
(01:52):
partner, Andia here, AndiaCally, who's joined us to do
this special Christmas editionof Beaming Green, and what we
really really want to talk abouttoday is Christmas, gift giving
and what we can do sustainably.
So welcome to the show. Andia,
Andia Cally (02:12):
thank you, Jeremy.
It's great to be here.
Jeremy Melder (02:14):
So I'm really interested to know a little bit
about your childhood andChristmas and what it meant for
you how it played out in yourfamily.
Andia Cally (02:26):
Yeah. Well, Ithink my main memory was not the gifts
was mum was a very creativeperson. So she made us some
beautiful Christmas stockings,which I've still got mine. And
she also made us a lovely 12Days of Christmas with felt and
sequence and really was anamazing piece of work. And my
(02:47):
sister and I would get excitedevery day because we'd take
turns in opening the doors onthe advent calendar, which, you
know, we had until we basicallytaped on every little door
because it had all fallen offthrough being overlapped. So
yeah, it was just things likethat. And when sharing Christmas
ice cream, which was ourAustralian version of Christmas
(03:08):
cake, which was a bit morerefreshing than the usual
Christmas cake for this climate.
So yeah, just spending time withfamily and just those sort of
things where we've good fun.
Jeremy Melder (03:18):
And we're getting lots of presents.
Andia Cally (03:20):
No, no, not at all, like so. So in the stocking, we
just got sort of practicalthings like socks and undies,
and you know, maybe somechocolates or something like
that. Just little useful things,and then we'd get one big
present. So that was about it.
What about you,
Jeremy Melder (03:36):
so in in because I grew up in Sri Lanka, and, you
know, Santa was a big part ofour life. And Santa would come
through the chimney and we'dleave, you know, a glass of milk
and, and some biscuits,therefore, Santa,
Andia Cally (03:53):
our Santa like brandy did.
Jeremy Melder (03:56):
But so say, you know, in three nickel, we didn't
have it need a chimney, so butwe just left it by the tree. And
funnily enough, Santa would comeand eat it all and the milk and
drink the milk and we'd get ourpresent, you know, so it wasn't
like it is seemingly in Westernsociety anyway, that we got a
(04:18):
bundle of presence there was,you know, like you said, a
stocking with a few little knickknacks that were given, but also
just one gift. And it was reallya treasured gift. I think my
favorite one was, it was abeautiful thing. It was one of
these things you can get into,which was an airplane was made
out of I can't remember what Ithink. But you could wheel it
(04:41):
around as if you were, you know,flying, but you know, with
steering and things like that.
And that was such a wonderfulthing to get. And I was
remembering that joy of all ofthat. I was really sad when I
found out that Santa, youknow,wasn't real wasn't real.
Yeah, it was a bit sad aboutthat.
Andia Cally (04:59):
My older sister took delight in telling men that
at a young age.
Jeremy Melder (05:05):
Now, I know that you've done some research for
our show regarding thestatistics, and what have you
found out? What have you foundout about Australia?
Andia Cally (05:20):
Yeah, so I just looked at Australia, because I
thought, you know, in Australiais a fairly small population.
But obviously, that can beexpanded to other countries. So
one study said that it'sestimated that every Australian
households waste increases up to30%, every festive season. And
that's due to the 1000s of tonsof wrapping paper decorations,
(05:43):
food bottles and unwantedpresents that are being thrown
out. And really,
Jeremy Melder (05:47):
that's a big issue, isn't it? those unwanted
presence? And I think someonewas saying that they're looking
at in our town of Murwillumbah,some sort of present exchange.
After Christmas that right? Youwere saying,
Andia Cally (06:00):
Yeah, it's actually before Christmas, so. So if you
can take along your unuseditems, that can't be something
that's really you know, wellloved. That's still in its
packaging, and everything thatyou haven't used, and then you
can go and swap it for somethingelse, or, you know, you can
anybody can organize that afterChristmas with some friends, if
there's a present that you don'twant. Yeah, I in our family, we
(06:22):
always just asked for what wewanted. Because, you know, it
seems pointless to try and guessall the time, especially if
there's relatives that you onlysee once a year or once every
couple of years, it's very hardto know what they're into. So,
yeah, I think it's, it'sprobably important, even if the
values don't align to getsomething that people want, so
(06:43):
that they keep it
Jeremy Melder (06:44):
Yeah, it's a lot of waste, or should I say it can
be a lot of waste its not alwaysthe case. But what are some
other stats that you found out?
Andia Cally (06:51):
Yep. So Australians are now collectively spending
around $11 billion a year onChristmas, but 11 with a B
billion dollars, right? That'sjust one country. Yeah, that's
pretty staggering, really, whenyou think about what Christmas
is about, you know, and, youknow, whether you're Christian
or not, which or not, but, youknow, it's all about being
(07:15):
generous and the Spirit of Jesusand you know, giving to the poor
and all that sort of stuff. Soit's, I sort of feel like a lot
of our holidays have have becomecommercial ventures, you know,
if even Thanksgiving in the USnow is about Black Friday, and,
and I remember years ago, doingresearch about weddings, and
(07:35):
finding out that our honeymoonin traditional sense was
basically, when the bride andgroom were locked up for a week
with mead and honey to try andprocreate. And they were given
gifts of fruits and vegetablesand things like that which
represented fertility andabundance. So we've gone from
these very simple traditions,to, you know, just these
(07:57):
exorbitant gifts, which, yeah,it's been crazy. And I remember
years ago, being in Laos atChristmas, and seeing these
kids, just playing happily withsticks and rocks, you know,
pretending there were cars and,and hearing about a friend of
mine, who was saying that hernieces, she's seen them cry on
several occasions when they'vegot gifts that they're not happy
(08:18):
with knowing it's such acontrast, you know, yeah, it
Jeremy Melder (08:21):
is a contrast, isn't it? Now, one of the other
things I remember about minegrowing up in Sri Lanka, was
that we had marbles and we drawa little square. And we tried
to, you know, knock out eachother's and that was took up
hours of time, you know, for us,and it was gave us a lot of joy.
And the other thing is that wehad, you know, a spare tire with
(08:42):
a stick, and we'd roll it downthe hill very dangerously,
because they could have beencars coming down. I know that,
but but, you know, that's asimple pleasure, isn't it, you
know, of some, you know, that wecan get some joy out of, but
these days, it's got more andmore complex, because we need to
have, I don't know, what are thegames Nintendo games? And I
(09:03):
don't know, I can't even tellyou what they are. But there's
so many of them in terms ofdiversions in life...I call
them. Yeah. Rather than, youknow, stimulating the brain.
Andia Cally (09:16):
And I think Yeah, and I think that's, that's it is
that those games leave little tothe imagination, because these
days, you know, it's all 4kvideo, and it's all there for
you. The same with a lot offilms, whereas, you know, they,
I rightly read a few years agothat you don't create memories
when you're watching TV, andprobably you don't either when
you're playing a game. So Ithink it's really nice to give
(09:40):
people experiences forChristmas, because that's
something that they willremember, you know, if it's a
workshop or a voucher, or youknow, a flying lesson or
something like that, that theywill remember, rather than a
gift that they kind of put onthe shelf and, you know, take
the next one out and yeah, theydon't really think much about
it. Yeah.
Jeremy Melder (10:00):
Yeah, now we, in preparing for the show, we asked
some of our followers to comeback with a couple of
suggestions as to what theythink would be good for
Christmas. And I had Michelle,who suggested connection with
others was sufficient?
Absolutely. And I think that'svery true. Because if you go
(10:20):
into the thing you were saying,you know, the Christian
tradition is it's all aboutChrist and, and the Spirit of
Christ being celebrated. And itwas all about being with one
another and being in prayer, andbeing in gratitude. And I think
that's a really good suggestion,Michelle, that, and thanks for
(10:41):
sharing that on the show.
Andia Cally (10:45):
Absolutely. Yeah, I think I think everybody gets so
stressed around Christmas. And Iremember years ago with my
family, where everyone was verystressed, and sort of niggling
at each other, and I said, let'sjust go around the circle, and
give an appreciation of eachother, and they were all very
reluctant, but they got into itand and just sort of lifted the
whole mood, you know, that's, Ithink it's important to, to
(11:06):
remember why we're there. And tocelebrate family, this will be
my first Christmas without mymom. So it's gonna be a little
bit sad. But, yeah, just to begrateful for the family that you
do have.
Jeremy Melder (11:18):
Yeah, absolutely.
And, and there's always a lot ofpeople worse off than we are.
Yes. You know, especially in athird world country where, you
know, you know, people don'thave a lot of money to be able
to spend on gifts, let alonefood. Yes. And then think about
this for people in refugeecamps, millions of people that
(11:41):
are in refugee camps, andthere's people that are
homeless, you know, so there'salways someone a lot worse off.
And we've been through a prettytough year worldwide with
COVID-19. And it's really aboutcelebrating the simple things.
And I think all of us who havefelt isolated, or are still in
(12:03):
isolation, are, wanting thatconnection with other people.
And there's something about thatisn't the intended connection
Andia? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
So next person that came up withsome ideas was Harry, now Harry
(12:24):
grew up. And he said the, thebest gift that he ever got was
wooden blocks. Right? And thathe says that there are perfect
sustainable gift that can go onfrom generation to generation
because they can be hand medowns. So Harry decided to
replicate what he had. And he'sgot six grandchildren, he
(12:46):
decided to make six sets of, ofblocks for them. And Harry works
with children, young children,and he says that he uses them in
his clinic, to, for the kids to,you know, use their skills in
building learn that how to buildand also add a bit of creativity
(13:07):
into what they do.
Andia Cally (13:08):
Yeah, fantastic.
Jeremy Melder (13:10):
So there are simple ideas out there of what
we can do.
Andia Cally (13:13):
Yeah, and i think that that's exactly what I was
saying at the start, you know,bringing creativity into it.
There are so many ideas on theinternet now, like on Pinterest
and things like that, where youcan make your own gifts or you
can you know, we were giving thegift of honey this year.
Jeremy Melder (13:33):
Shhh, don't tell anyone
Andia Cally (13:35):
and that's something that we've made you
know, yeah. And and it's, it'slovely to if you are like foods
and easy gift to give Yes.
Because it's something thateverybody eats and trying to
find something that you know ishomemade with love and that will
probably keep for more than aweek. Yeah, is just you know, a
lovely thing and I don't knowabout you, but I personally
(13:56):
really appreciate if somebody'staking the time to make
something and put the effort init. I think it's much more
personal.
Jeremy Melder (14:08):
Okay, now let's have a listen. We had a couple
of people I think some peopleare a bit scared of speaking and
hearing their voice live on apodcast. So I'm just gonna put
Jane on now. And let's listen towhat she had to say
Jane (14:24):
hello Beaming Green Jane from Wales here in the UK am
turn the electricity off for 24hours and have a candle lit
Christmas. Bit more relevant inthe UK where it will be really
dark and you can enjoy thecandlelight, the atmosphere.
(14:44):
Second hand shops. It really ismuch more carbon friendly. To
buy secondhand things. A veganChristmas there's so many
amazing vegan products a localChristmas buying Things food and
presence only from localsources. And charities. buying
(15:08):
gifts for other people indeveloping countries, like a
goat, or a toilet. There are somany different ideas. I'm going
to use some of them. Thanks verymuch. Bye.
Jeremy Melder (15:24):
So those are some pretty good ideas there that
Jane had isn't there?
Andia Cally (15:29):
That was a wealth of ideas. Oh, yeah.
Jeremy Melder (15:33):
That I and you're a vegan. I am conscious vegan.
And that's a great idea. Andgiving to a charity is another
great idea.
Andia Cally (15:45):
Yeah. So maybe you want to share the gift that you
gave?
Jeremy Melder (15:49):
Yes. So I'd love to. So there's an organization
called Kiva. So shout out tokiva.org. And they in they work
in the third world, and theyhelp people that want to set up
a business to get them somefunding. So I provided I think,
(16:11):
is $50. And they're all tryingto raise like $1,000, or, you
know, or $500 for enterprises.
But you're giving this gift as acollective, and they repay you
that money once the businessgets off the ground. And I've
got to say, I've paid three orfour times for different
ventures in different countriesand I've being paid back. So
(16:34):
last year, I decided to give mychildren the gift of, you know,
I think it was $50 each orsomething like that, but so they
can give it to someone that's inneed in a third world country.
And I haven't heard I'll findout this Christmas how they went
with that. But I think that's agreat idea.
Andia Cally (16:55):
Absolutely. And it's great to have that follow
through and to sort of have thatconnection to know where your
money's going. And, yeah, andhow it's tracking. That's
fantastic.
Jeremy Melder (17:04):
Now, there was some other ideas that Jane had
as well, wasn't there,
Andia Cally (17:07):
then the candle idea? I really like that that
intimate idea. But also, I wasthinking today, you know, solar
lights are a good alternativeto, you know, the normal fairy
lights that sort of a batteryoperated. I loved her buying
local idea, because I think it'sreally important to support
locals.
Jeremy Melder (17:26):
Yeah. A lot of businesses, especially after
COVID have been suffering aswell.
Andia Cally (17:31):
That's right. And I was I was thinking today on a
sort of slightly lighter notethat Santa is not very
sustainable when you think aboutit, because he's traveling from
the north pole to go to allthese places. Yeah, all over the
world. There's lots of reindeermiles in there. So
Jeremy Melder (17:45):
yeah, you know, those poor reindeer? So that's
right.Yeah, it's a long way togo.
Andia Cally (17:50):
But another great idea, which I came across today
was, I guess, the the idea ofinkind giving. So instead of
doing the Kris Kringle work andeverything, where you get given
somebody's name, and you've gotto buy a gift up to the value of
a certain amount, which again,can be difficult, if you don't
know the person very well, is toactually just, you know, offer
(18:12):
services. So say, I'll do yourdishes for the next week, or
I'll get your coffee for thenext two weeks or something like
that. So it's more of an inkind, personal service, then,
and that doesn't cost youanything, but I'm sure it will
be greatly appreciated.
Jeremy Melder (18:28):
And there was some other thing we were talking
about earlier about wrappingpaper.
Andia Cally (18:33):
Oh, yes. Yes. So this is a pretty stark
statistic, I think, is thatAustralians use more than
150,000 kilometers of wrappingpaper during Christmas. And
that's enough to wrap around theEarth's equator nearly four
times. So that's a lot of paper.
Right? That's just Australia.
(18:54):
You know, think about all thosetrees. I know. So, you know, I
think a couple of years ago,when we were making Boomerang
bags, I started to get creativewith my wrapping, and use some
of those materials. And then,you know, just wrap them in a
nice piece of ribbon or eventake a you know, patent piece of
material to wrap around it.
There's a great technique, aJapanese technique called for
(19:17):
Shiki foro Shiki to know if I'mpronouncing that right. And
there's all these different it'sa bit like origami or something.
So there's all these differentsort of techniques online that
you can, you can have a look at.
And if you do that, thenobviously you're avoiding using
masking tape or sticky tape,which is another form of plastic
(19:39):
so so and they look beautiful,you know? Yeah, really nice.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy Melder (19:45):
Now, we also have one more person that's spoken
from the UK Jannine Baron, andan Australian in the UK. And so
let's hear what Jannine has tosay.
Jannine (20:01):
This year my clients are getting a tree planted. And
as I am in the UK, I'm donatingto the woodland trust, which is
the UK's largest woodlandconservation charity. They've
planted 43 million trees since1972. And they're on a mission
to plant another 50 million inthe next 10 years upping their
(20:23):
game because the UK needs toincrease woodland by 30%, so I'm
going to contribute to thatgoal.
Jeremy Melder (20:34):
Now, that's a good idea. Isn't it?
Andia Cally (20:36):
Fantastic. That would offset all that wrapping
paper, wouldn't it? Yeah. Ifeverybody did that. Yeah, that's
great. We
Jeremy Melder (20:42):
really need more trays. I mean, the amount the
right if anyone watched thelatest. David Attenborough, Sir
David Attenborough program aboutthe amount of trees that we are
taking off this planet. Well, weneed to start planning a hell of
a lot more to do something aboutthat. And it's really important.
(21:04):
So if we were able to give agift of a train, that would be a
wonderful gift. Hopefully, it'lllast for 50, 60,70 years, longer
than we would maybe live. Yeah.
Yeah.
Andia Cally (21:16):
And plants are a really nice gift to give today.
40 Yeah. Oh, yeah. Even evenfood, you know, like, grow your
own food sort of thing. Yeah.
Great. Great, sustainable idea.
Yeah. Yep.
Jeremy Melder (21:31):
Now if you've got any other magical ideas, Andia,
Andia Cally (21:34):
well, I just wanted to talk about food because food
is a big issue. food wastage. Soif you think about an average
family, that it's reallydifficult for them to eat an
entire leg of lamb or fivekilograms of prawns before the
new year. So food wastage,there's about estimated over 500
sorry, 5 million tons of foodending up in landfill each year,
(21:58):
which is enough to fill 9000Olympic sized swimming pools.
Jeremy Melder (22:03):
This isn't just in Australia.
Andia Cally (22:05):
Yes, that is just in Australia. So that is a lot
It is. It is phenomenal. I know.
And and the thing is that Land,food does not have to go into
landfill No. And and it's such agreat form of compost. So you
know, you can you can createfree compost on site. Yeah, that
will feed your garden. And youknow, it's a win win situation.
(22:29):
So I reckon a compost bin, or aworm farm is a fantastic
Christmas gift. Absolutely.
Jeremy Melder (22:37):
I mean, we've got four on our property here from
Yep, that's right. And, and weuse it in our garbage bin that
goes out on a weekly basis isprobably doesn't have to go out
every week. We basically usingtheir own compost and putting it
into our garden. And you know,it's a really good idea to do
(22:58):
that. So compost bins, anothergood idea for someone the gift
Andia Cally (23:00):
that keeps giving Yeah, and then, you know, I just
wanted to talk as well aboutChristmas trees. Because each
year I like to challenge myselfand create a different sort of
Christmas tree. So I've neverbought a plastic Christmas tree,
and I never will. I've boughtmany live ones before, but
usually they don't survive. Sothis year, there was a big
(23:22):
fallen frong from Palm tree, oneof those sort of stiffer parts
of the palm trees, I'vedecorated that you know, and put
the lights around it and, andit's fun, you know, or you can
just have a vase one year we didthat with twigs. Yeah. And you
know, you just position thetwigs in different ways. Or you
can make one out of driftwood oryou know, and the same with the
(23:45):
decorations, because you know,what, what's the point in buying
and tacky plastic decorations,especially if they're dated with
a year or something when you canjust make your own with felt
and, you know, a bit of love andsome nice threads and things
like that. And yeah, decorateyour Christmas presents with a
pine cone or a sprig ofsomething, a sprig of rosemary
(24:08):
or something like that.
Jeremy Melder (24:11):
I think it's also like,, a lot of people are
saying that they're really busy.
And don't have time to do allthis other sort of thing. But,
you know, we do have to maketime. Because if we don't make
time, there's going to be a bigissue with our planet because of
the amount of resources that weuse using. Because we're so
busy. And try we're time poor,it's actually creating more of a
(24:36):
mess for our environment. And Ithink we need to be a bit more
conscious, absolutely about thetime that we don't put into
these things.
Andia Cally (24:49):
Well, I think I think you know, if you think
about it logically, it can be abeautiful thing that you can do
with your kids, you know, tomake some of these things to
make ornaments and to makeWrapping and it's something that
you then get a sense ofsatisfaction out of, and I'm
sure the person who's receivingit does too, but you feel like
you know, you've done something,you've made something creative,
(25:11):
and you've repurpose something.
And, you know, there's, there'slots of other things that you
can think about with yourChristmas table to have, you
know, using containers insteadof clingfilm, and using cloth
napkins, not disposable napkinsand things like that. So if we
all just did our beat and thrownabout, you know, all those
things that that cumulativeeffect, I think, you know, you
(25:33):
can't help but feel a sense ofsatisfaction, absolutely.
Jeremy Melder (25:39):
I was just gonna say, my, my worst memories of,
you know, looking at Christmasand going, Oh, my God, I've got
to go shopping, I don't want toworry about the car park,
people's anxiety levels arehigh, people are agitated. And,
you know, you're amongst ashopping center with everyone
(26:00):
that's agitated. And, you know,I don't think that's a really
good outcome for Christmas,because what we're trying to
achieve is peace, harmony withour family and giving something
from a good place a good heart.
So the idea of, you know,sharing homemade gifts and, and,
and adding value, and it's fromyour heart is more valuable than
(26:23):
something that you've justthought about for two minutes.
So that's a good little presentto give it to someone. And the
person that gets it doesn'treally seem to value it as well,
I would value it more if I knewthat, you know, you had made
something made an effort to makethat for me, rather than just
(26:45):
spending two minutes on buyingthis product.
Andia Cally (26:49):
That's right. And remember, a couple of years ago,
we both my calendars for ourfamilies, and then so we put all
their own photography in there.
And so that was something that'suseful that people can use all
year round. But then it's also away of sharing, you know, what
you love doing, you know, thenature of photography, or people
and things like that. So thatwas really, really appreciated.
And I think, yeah, there's somany ideas on the internet now
(27:12):
of things that you can do inabsolutely, you know, ways that
you can repurpose yourleftovers, or, you know, make
gifts and make decorations. Soyeah, it's just time to get
creative now.
Jeremy Melder (27:26):
Yep. Now we're running out a bit of time. Have
you got any other burning thingsthat you'd like to share? Andia,
Andia Cally (27:33):
well, look, there'sjust something that I
want to encourage people tothink really carefully about is
a Christmas gift. And that'spets. Hmm. Oh, that's
Jeremy Melder (27:41):
a good thing.
Yeah.
Andia Cally (27:42):
So I mean, you know, I'm an animal lover, and I
know a lot of people even duringCOVID have bought puppies that
we know. And they're adorable.
And it's, you know, it's a greatthing to do. But I, you know, I
just really urge people to thinkcarefully about how much time
they can put into, you know,that animal and whether they're
working full time, whether it'sa dog that needs a lot of
(28:06):
exercise, if it is a dog, youknow, and whether it's a rescue
dog, and all that sort of stuff.
I mean, there's lots of thingsto consider, you know, as I say,
an animal isn't just forChristmas, it's really something
that needs carefulconsideration, because I think
it's just heartbreaking to hearhow a lot of animals are
surrendered after Chris
Jeremy Melder (28:25):
Absolutely. I mean, that is, that is an awful
statistic. You know, I've got afriend that worked at the local
pound. And he was telling methat there's a number of people
that get gifts for dogs, andthen six weeks later, they're in
in the pound. So and animals inWest are getting more and more
expensive. So you gotta want tohang on to her for a while. And
(28:48):
also think there is also longterm costs of, you know, medical
bills and things like that. Soit's a lovely gift, if someone
can care for it. Now, the otherthing I remember seeing in a
film was before you get yourselfa gift of a dog by a pot plant
and see if you can look after italive, keep it alive for at
least six months, and then makethe decision to buy yourself an
(29:11):
animal.
Andia Cally (29:11):
That's right, then I know that, you know, there's
so many kids that promise theworld to their parents and say
that they'll you know, lookafter the animal and then they
sort of lose interest. So
Jeremy Melder (29:21):
I was one of those kids
Look Andia I really appreciateyour time on Beaming Green. And
I'm really grateful that you'remy partner. And thank you so
much for sharing your insights.
And just to let all ourlisteners know that I'm going to
have a short break and we'll beback in the middle of January.
And I've got some reallyexciting people that I'm talking
(29:44):
to. So I look forward to seeingyou in January. Have a lovely,
lovely Christmas, and a safeChristmas, and a blessed one,
Andia Cally (29:56):
and a sustainable and a sustainable one. Thank you
Jeremy.
Jeremy Melder (30:06):
Thank you for being part of the Beaming Green
podcast. The music for hispodcast is produced by Dave Weir
now we need more people to geton board and raise awareness
about sustainability and climatechange, the more of us that are
shining the light on theseissues, the more government and
(30:28):
business leaders will listen. Wewould love you to subscribe to
our podcast, and share andengaging social media so that we
can get some traction. Let ussupport one another and envision
a brighter future. Thanks forlistening. See you next week.
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