The simplest ideas are often the best
TV presenter Maddie Moate’s new book is all about the ways people around the globe are living more sustainably
MADDIE MOATE, presenter of Cbeebies series Maddie’s Do you Know?, loves to travel and is always drawn to find out how things are made.
In her new book, Stuff, she writes about some amazingly simple ideas people use to live more sustainably.
“All over the world, communities and individuals are making things,” says Maddie. “There’s something magical about them in that they are so simple. It was these kind of stories I wanted to feature in my book. They are really positive, they make you go ‘wow that’s amazing!’”
These inventions include an anti-air pollution gadget created by engineers in India which fits on a car exhaust pipe and filters out soot which is then made into ink.
In Kenya meanwhile, elephants were taking farmers’ crops. “The local people worked out that elephants were scared of bees,” says Maddie. “They hung swinging beehive fences around the farm so elephants would walk into the fence which would start swinging the beehive, making the bees come out. The elephants would be scared away, which means the farms are safe, elephants are safe and the people are safe. It’s a win-win.”
Maddie says that, though it feels like going backwards a little bit in terms of technology, the simpler ideas often work the best.
“In Thailand I discovered a factory where they make paper out of elephant poo,” says Maddie. “We could be using other products, whether that’s waste material from corn husks or coconuts or waste from animals. This would be putting back into the making cycle, rather than just committing them to landfill. The idea of elephant poo paper is genius.”
Maddie says she also became obsessed with the endless potential of kelp and seaweed.
“We have trees doing a fantastic job of using up carbon dioxide and they are so important, but you also have a huge amount of green life in the water doing the same thing. Not only is kelp sucking up carbon dioxide, it grows crazy fast and can be used to turn into not just food, but plastics as well. It’s fantastic.”
So how can we be more sustainable in the run up to Christmas? Maddie suggests: “Rather than buying things we think people want, speak to friends and family to make sure we buy things they need.
“It’s easy to do shopping online at one website but for me it’s super fun going to websites like Etsy where I can support small businesses by purchasing things that have been home made or created using materials that are maybe a bit more conscious.
“We can be really thoughtful when it comes to gift wrapping. By wrapping things up in materials such as newspaper and maybe decorating them with cuttings from the garden, we can wrap gifts in ways that are more sustainable and actually look better.
“Why not use cloth? It could become a family gift-wrapping cloth and you could give it back to each other, year on year. That’s even better.”