Being environmentally conscious is not a new trend. In fact the best conservationists living today might be members of "The Greatest Generation." If you are lucky enough to have friends or relatives in this age range (alive during the Great Depression and World War II) sit down with them and talk about conservation ideas.
These great individuals collected metal to recycle, planted victory gardens, and rationed gasoline all in the name of national security. If you don't have someone in this venerable group to talk to visit Oxfam's website and spend some time with the Green Grannies. The Green Grannies are a group of women, including main Green Granny Barbara Walmsley, who give practical and time-tested advice, which lowers carbon footprints and saves money.
"Oxfam wants people to reduce their carbon footprint because we know that climate change will affect (and is already affecting) the poorest people first and worst," explains Rose Marsh, Press Officer of Oxfam.
"Our Ethical Living / Good Ideas UnLtd campaign helps people to live an ethical / low carbon lifestyle and this also helps them to save money (very relevant to people's lives in the current economic climate). The more we thought about the campaign the more we realized that what we were talking about was nothing new and that our grandparents have been living this way all their lives," Rose says.
"Barbara and the other Green Grannies have always valued their resources, avoided waste and made the most of what they have. We approached Barbara and the other Green Grannies and asked them to front our campaign, and their tips and good ideas have helped to shape the campaign since its launch in November."
Since November Green Granny Barbara Walmsley has appeared on national television, and has been featured in papers (including the Sunday Times) and magazines. Marsh says, "The vast majority of the comments we have received have been really positive and our Green Grannies are delighted by the amount of people who are interested in learning from them listening to their advice."
Barbara's practical advice includes using a hot water bottle to keep yourself warm on cold nights, shopping at second hand shops, and a delicious recipe for bread pudding made with stale bread. Barbara herself is an active member of Oxfam who is a "great cook" and practices all the green tips she preaches.
The videos have been popular enough that they will continue to be posted during the year on the Oxfam site.
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Thank you for reminding me how truly blessed I was to have lived on the same property as my grandparents when I was growing up. They lived through the Great Depression and taught me how to conserve. "Waste not, want not" was a saying I often heard them say. I now realize it is a very "green" bit of wisdom. It is also very pertinent now that we are living in the worst economic times since the Great Depression.
Written in February 2009