You are preparing to embark on your longest journey yet, all the way from London Heathrow, England to Sydney Airport, Australia for a yearlong stay. Have you considered the implications your year abroad may have on sustainability? Let’s review it together. This sustainable journey stems all the way back to when you were packing for your expedition. Did you think to bring your own kitchen and bedding essentials to reduce excessive purchases that you’d use only temporarily and discard once you leave? Why not reuse what you already have, bring your own duvet, cutlery and whatever else you can to promote a circular economy.
You’ve made it through, all the way to Wollongong, which you travelled to by bus to reduce the high carbon footprint of taxi services. Despite this eco-friendly choice of transport, your long carbon-emitting flight has not been compensated for. Since you’ve made it all this way, you may as well positively contribute to the local community to counterbalance the air travel pollution. What better way to do this than volunteer for a conservation organization! There are plenty to choose from but Bushcare (https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/environment/natural-areas/natural-areas-programs/bushcare ) is a great place to start, allowing you to join other volunteers to promote the regeneration of natural areas.
It’s time for you to buy groceries but where can you buy them to be environmentally responsible? My best advice is to buy seasonal produce, ideally without packaging. As for cupboard staples, shop at Source Bulk Foods (https://wollongong.thesourcebulkfoods.com.au/ ) where you can find zero waste policies and customisable quantities encouraging you to shop mindfully.
Later in the year, you want to buy some souvenirs but be aware that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs: https://sdgs.un.org/goals ) apply here too. Remember those little, homely souvenir shops you typically ignore because you trust the mainstream, mass production corporations more? How about this time you visit Ngiilay gift boxes (https://ngiilaygiftboxes.com.au/ )and buy an authentic gift box full of carefully crafted aboriginal products, where you can contribute to supporting local businesses and simultaneously learn about their traditional culture.
Undoubtedly, you’ll want to travel around and experience the magic of Australian wildlife. Well, who could blame you! Australia is home to some of the most fascinating ecosystems in the world. But let’s remember to be respectful to the wildlife inhabiting these environments. You can start by minimising your risk of spreading invasive pests and diseases by learning about and implementing proper biosecurity measures, to protect both terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna.
Now your year has come to an end but somehow, you are struggling to fit everything in your suitcase. You contemplate throwing out some old clothes and books. Wait! Couldn’t you just give them to charity to avoid serviceable items unnecessarily becoming rubbish whilst also enabling consumers to buy second-hand? That sounds like a much better alternative to me.
That being said, have you truly considered how you can help to achieve the SDGs whilst on your year abroad? Because I know I definitely have.
