Victoria's Green Page
We have been very busy at All Saints this month, making our churchyard more inviting to our smallest friends! We invited 1st Hailsham Brownies to make bug hotels which they were excited to complete. They look amazing- there are 4 dotted around the churchyard do come and see them. The Brownies were very proud and rightly so!
We also have recycling boxes in both All Saints and St Mary Magdalene for batteries, blister packs and ink cartridges. We are looking to expand this so let us know your thoughts. Our NEW Nature Trail and scavenger hunt around All Saints churchyard has been a real hit and we hope the community will use it throughout the summer months. We want to see as many people using the churchyards as possible. Why not spend the day between our two parish churches? There is a brilliant figure of 8 walk between the churches: start at Wartling church and finish at Herstmonceux Church with a picnic, complete the scavenger hunt, Nature trail and look at our bug hotels! Collect your prize in the church. Such a great FREE day out!
Our small changes and additions to the eco work at All Saints made me contemplate. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. But this shouldn't be the case. Marginal Gains is the theory that small yet significant improvements can lead to monumental results. By making 1% changes, things can significantly change. This theory was credited to Dave Brailsford, the British Cycling coach. Since 1908, British cyclists had won just a single gold medal at the Olympic Games, and in 110 years, never won the Tour de France. After Brailsford was appointed, he made small adjustments from redesigning bike seats for comfort, rubbing alcohol on the tyres for better grip, testing fabrics for optimal muscle heat, massage gel for best recovery, hand washing regimes so rider didn't get sick, and even researched the best type of pillow and mattress for a great nights' sleep. All small 1% changes, when put together made huge improvements to performance. Five years later, the British Cycling team won 60% of the medals available at the Beijing Olympics and at London 2012 they set 9 Olympic records and 7 world records. Over the next 6 years, the British team won the Tour de France 5 Times. During the ten-year span from 2007 to 2017, British cyclists won 178 world championships and 66 Olympic or Paralympic gold medals and captured 5 Tour de France victories in what is widely regarded as the most successful run in cycling history. So we aren't all Olympic cyclists, but this theory certainly applies to many aspects of our lives.
One area which seems to dominate our attention but seems too big to handle is climate change and the impact of our individual actions. We know our world is in crisis - from climate change to the pollution in our oceans and devastation of our forests. It's up to us to fix it, but that seems incredibly daunting as individuals! It may seem like there is no easy solution and that we cannot individually make a difference. We feel very small in the grand scheme of things. But this could not be further from the truth. Our individual actions can make a huge impact, and using the Brailsford marginal gains theory, we should start small.
To begin, we can measure our own individual carbon footprint and make 1% changes to our lifestyles from there. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions. The average carbon footprint for a person in the UK is 10 tons. In the United States it is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. Globally, the average carbon footprint is closer to 4 tons. You can calculate your own carbon footprint using the WWF website.
The survey asks you a series of questions on your lifestyle- food, travel and your home. You will then be able to view your results and take heed of advice it gives to reduce your carbon footprint.
Click here to see> WWF Footprint Calculator
By making small changes, we will see a difference in our world and make it more hopeful for future generations.