Waste minimisation and alliteration.

Over the last four days I have been attending a leadership programme called MAD marine.

It was truly inspiring, educating and empowering. 

I learnt a few more interesting things about waste, water, and people. 

The most intriguing thing I learnt was about recycling, and how not all plastics are recycled, some, instead are burnt as fuel. 

Okay, so everyone knows about the three R's. 

Reduce, reuse, recycle. The alliteration sensation for waste minimisation. 

Jack Johnson even wrote a song about them (video directly below)

However, recycling is  NOT the answer for protecting our oceans from marine litter, it is more the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, the sticking plaster on the amputated leg, so on and so forth. 

Glass, aluminium and some metals are all great to be recycled, and most plastics too. 

Plastics however, become of a lesser and lesser quality the more they are recycled. In some cases, the plastics are sold overseas to other countries where they are burned as fuel. 

Below is an amazing video called the story of stuff. 

It is an excellent video to watch, as it explains where our trash comes from, where it goes, as well as the concept of materialism. 

On a final note, there is a new addition to the waste minimisation alliteration sensation called refuse. 

It is the best way to decrease the amount of rubbish you put to landfill. 

Simply say no. No to plastic bags and single use items like straws, lollipop sticks, polystyrene cups, coffee cup lids, rappers, cling film, the list goes on and on and on. 

So, when you're out there shopping at a supermarket, to bring your reusable bags and minimise the use of the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. 

Thanks for reading, 

Grace 

Shout out to any MAD participants reading this. 

You guys rock. 

Bats!

Bats are seriously misunderstood creatures. 

When I say bat, you say: Vampires! Blood! Scary! 

When I say bat, I think: 

Awwwwwww!
Cuteness. 

Long tailed bats and short tailed bats are the only land mammals native to New Zealand.
They roost in small crevices and holes, in trees and some urban structures. When the bats go to sleep, they will not wake up until nightfall, as the bats descend into a type of trance. Even if they are shaken out of their roosts, they will simply fall to the ground, where they can be trodden on, or eaten by stoats and other introduced pests.
Due to a number of threats such as habitat loss and predation from pests, these particularly vulnerable fuzzballs are classed as critically endangered.

Bats are far more interesting than they appear to be; underneath their stereotype of being vicious, scary blood thirsty creatures (which is ridiculous when you consider there are perhaps as many as 1,200 species of bat, and only 3 have blood as a part of their diet) they are actually very fascinating, spunky creatures.

So, just because animals may look one way, or have a bad rap, like bats, doesn't mean that we shouldn't protect them, or spend time and money researching them.














In fact, National Geographic's latest issue (January 2016) has a section on the importance of vultures for the wellbeing of the Saharan ecological system! I don't know any animal with a more repulsive reputation than that, yet this article explains how important they are in stopping infection that could be otherwise passed on by rotten carcasses.

It is my opinion that every animal has a key role in the ecosystem, if it is not blaring the apparent in the present, we can be sure it will be some time in the future.
Aesthetics or reputation do not negate the importance of an individual, or their interestingness.
The same can be said for humans!

With this idea in mind, always keep an eye out for some unusual and unique species. You never know what you might find.

Thanks for reading,
Grace

Photo of bat from NZ DoC website