#sustainability
Makoko, Nigeria
Makoko is a fishing village located in the Lagos Lagoon. Due to the weakness of the nearby soil and its proximity to water, much of Makoko rests on structures constructed on stilts above Lagos Lagoon. Traditionally this area has been self governing so schools are funded and provided by the village.
The ingenious adaptation of building a structure that floats came from growing concerns with climate change and rising water levels. This adds to its versatility not just from an environmental standpoint but from a political and practical standpoint as well. The area of Makoko is consider a poor area and one of the slums of the city. The necessity to create a school that is not only low cost and sustainable but that also mobilizes as needed to serve the children of the village is significant. Additionally recent land reclamation efforts and commercial developments in the area have reclaimed much of the lagoon from the residents of Makoko. Their homes on stilts must be deconstructed and reassembled elsewhere, while the school’s maneuverability eliminates this process.
Built in 2013 with locally sourced wood and electrically powered with solar panels, the floating construct is designed to house about 100 students and even has a playground and green space. It is entirely sustainable due to the application of solar cells to the roof and incorporating a rainwater catchment system. The structure is also naturally ventilated and aerated. The barrels used to help the structure float are also used as water reservoirs from the catchment system. The floating schools are an ingenious design that serves the needs of the community in a cost effective and eco-friendly way.
A great way to support local bee populations is to plant a bee friendly garden in your yard or local community garden. If you decide to undertake this project it is very important that you do your research. You want to cater to the right kinds of bees.
1.) To begin do a very simple internet search: “Native Bees in the _________ Area” to find out what bees you need to plant plants for. Keep in mind that you likely will Not be catering to honeybees. Many native bees are a lot smaller than honeybees.
2.) Now do some research into what kinds of plants these bees like. Try and cater to a few kinds of native bees.
3.) Go obtain suitable plants. I recommend perennials so you do not have to continue buying the plants every year
4.) Transfer plants into chosen location and water them well. If you are trying to cater to mason bees, make sure that there is mud or dirt nearby.
5.) Water and weed on a regular basis
OPTIONAL: you can also add extras to your garden to further attract bees. I for example have bee baths (frisbees filled with rocks and water), a half buried teapot for bumblebees and a mason bee hive
Hey guys! A great way to protect native bee populations is to build and nurture the environments that they need to live. In Washington, my state, Mason Bees are a prevalent native bee species, and this will be a tutorial on how to build hives for these types of bees. Before building a Mason Bee hive make sure that these bees are native to you area.If they are not, please build a hive more suited to the native species of your area or planting plants that attract those kinds of bees. Mason Bees will come to your hive if done correctly, but buying Mason Bees is also an option and will more quickly populate your hive.
Supplies
Block Hive (I’ve built 5 of these, its’ a super simple afternoon project)
- A drill
- A 4″ by 4″ by 8″ block of wood
- Masking tape
- OPTIONAL: wood finish
- OPTIONAL: sanding paper
Bamboo Straw Hive
- Bamboo straws
- Rubber Band/ Alternative binding materials
Tutorials
https://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/Young/Build-a-Bee-House.aspx
General Tips
https://www.parentmap.com/article/keeping-mason-bees-10-expert-tips-for-families
Where to Put Mason Bee Hives
According to Parent Map: “South-facing garage, house, or garden shed walls are ideal areas for establishing your nesting boxes”
Some Mason Bee Hive Designs
Overview
A fantastic way to learn about plants is to start with houseplants. Houseplants are usually small, easy to care for, mostly decorative plants for your home or space. They can familiarize you with watering schedules,soil and pH types,sunlight to darkness ratios, and (if you wish) Latin plant names.
Obtaining Plants
Houseplants are sold at a variety of price points and can be found anywhere from a forest nearby, to community gardens, to supermarkets, to farmers markets, to nurseries, and even to online stores like amazon. Please note that if you are transplanting plants from a local community garden, you should get permission to do so beforehand. {EDIT: It was brought to my attention that you also need permission to take plants from forests/parks and that even though you can, it can have a profound impact on the surrounding environment and should be avoided}
FREE: forest/local environment, community gardens
CHEAP: supermarkets, some farmers markets
MORE EXPENSIVE: some farmers markets, nurseries, online stores
Materials/Supplies
In general, you dont need any fancy pots or fertilizers, but rather an idea about how much sunlightandwater your plant needs (a quick google image search should do the trick), and the right sized containerwithgood drainage (more on that later).
Light 101
Check to see if your plant requires “low”, “medium” or “bright” light and if it needs “direct sunlight” or “indirect sunlight”
Low: really needs no light at all, you can grow these in dark spaces with little to no light, if these plants are exposed to a lot of light, they will likely wilt and die
Medium: needs some sunlight but likely doesnt need a window space, put these plants in shady areas of rooms, or in places where the sun hits during only certain times of the day. these are real goldilocks plants, if they have too much light or too little light they will wilt and die, if one area does not seem to work for the plant move it elsewhere
Bright: need full light, probably need to devote window or patio space to these, observe where shadows fall around your space and avoid putting these plants there
Direct Sunlight: basically treat like a “bright” plant
Indirect Sunlight: basically treat like a “medium” plant
Water 101
Like light, plants have specific needs for water as well. Some plants (like cacti or succulents) really dont need any water at all, while others (like lucky bamboo) need their roots to be fully submerged.
Do your research, but a good rule of thumb is:
Needs little to no water: add maybe a tablespoon of water to the plant once a month
Needs medium water: water every 2-3 days, or whenever the top of the soil is dry (only water until the soil is moist, not soaked through)
Needs lots of water: water daily, but make sure that water drainage is still good
Air plants: submerge in water once every week for about 10-60 sec
Aquatic plants: keep fully submerged
Containers and Drainage
Plants can be grown in anything, from cans to jars to boots to ceramic pots to planters to wood boxes, etc. The only rule is that there must be a hole in the bottom. This hole is to maintain good water drainage, and without it, excess water will remain in the pot and cause the roots of the plant to rot…this will kill the plant. In terms of the size of the container, this depends on the plant. Its ok if the container is too big but a too-small container can prevent root growth and damage the plant.
Good Beginner Plants
Some plants that I’ve have had good luck with are: lucky bamboo, cacti, snake plants, air plants, and ferns
Thanks for reading, and as always, hmu with any questions!
I’ve chatted about how the best way to combat the fast fashion industry is to wear what you have…however with more wear comes more tears, and instead of throwing out the garment and getting a new one, its very simple to mend and alter your own clothes (regardless of your ability)
In this way you can very easily increase the longevity of your clothes
Some General Fixes/Alterations that You Can Do
Sewing on a button, fixing a rip or tear, shortening pants, shortening shirt sleeves, cropping shirts, lengthen pants, expand the shoulders of tops, re-size bras, painting or drawing on clothes
General Supplies
- Thread
- Needle
- Buttons
- Extra Fabric (you dont necessarily need to buy new fabric, use scraps from old projects, or cloth from old clothing items)
- Scissors
- Fabric Paint
- Paint brush
Some How-To Tutorials
Buttons
https://www.wikihow.life/Sew-a-Buttonhttps://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/sewing-on-a-button/
Fixing a Rip or Tear
https://www.wikihow.com/Fix-Clothes
Shortening Pants
1. Use a pen or colored pencil to draw a straight line across the pant length at the desired length
2. cut along line
3. either fray edges further or hem, its up to you
Hemming
https://www.wikihow.com/Hem-Shirts
Shortening Shirt Sleeves
https://www.allfreesewing.com/Basics-and-Tutorials/How-to-Shorten-Sleeves
Cropping Shirts
1. Use a pen or colored pencil to draw a straight line across the t-shirt at the desired length
2. cut along line
3. pull the newly cut shirt out at the hem until the hem curls over a bit
Lengthen Pants
https://www.allfreesewing.com/Basics-and-Tutorials/How-to-Lengthen-Kids-Jeans
Expand Shoulders of Tops
https://www.allfreesewing.com/Refashioning-and-Upcycling/How-to-Expand-a-Top
Resizing a Bra
https://www.allfreesewing.com/Basics-and-Tutorials/How-to-Resize-a-Bra
Painting on Clothes
If you are wanting to reduce your waste, perhaps the best place to start is with plastics. Working on reducing single use plastics (such as straws, bags, cups, cutlery etc.) is a great first step, however, you may find that you still need/use things with plastic packaging. Now it comes down to what you do with the plastic after it has been used. Its time to look at what type of plastic you are dealing with to see if it is recyclable. In general, if you still need to buy plastic, you should take this into consideration as some plastic can skip the landfill altogether.
You may be aware that each plastic product has a little triangle on the bottom with a number in it that ranges from 1 to 7. These numbers are called “Resin Numbers” and indicate what kind of plastic the product is made out of. Consider checking this number before buying any plastic item so you know how to dispose of it properly.
Here is a quick rundown on Resin Numbers:
1 = PET (Polyethylene terephthalate)
- Recyclable:Yes easily recyclable, curbside
- Examples: Plastic water bottles
- Cancer Causing: Yes
2 = HDPE (high-density polyethylene plastics)
- Recyclable:Yes easily recyclable, curbside or outside programs
- Examples: Milk jugs, detergent containers, plastic bags
- Cancer Causing: No
3 = PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)
- Recyclable: difficult to recycle
- Examples: Berry containers, PVC pipes
- Cancer Causing: Yes
4 = LDPE (Low-density polyethylene)
- Recyclable:Recyclable through outside programs
- Examples: newspaper bags, shrink wrap
- Cancer Causing: No
5 = PP (Polypropylene)
- Recyclable:Yes easily recyclable, curbside
- Examples: Bottlecaps
- Cancer Causing: No
6 = PS (Polystyrene)
- Recyclable: difficult to recycle
- Examples: Plastic cutlery, plastic foam takeout boxes
- Cancer Causing: Yes
7 = OTHER
- Recyclable: difficult to recycle
- Examples: bioplastics (these are plastics that are easily biodegradable, however, they are very new so there are few ways to easily recycle them right now), nylon, fiberglass
- Cancer Causing: No
Thanks for reading, and as always hmu with questions!