Through this web site and its eponymous charity “All Things Small and Green”, we hope to give everyone the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions in a simple, positive and constructive way i.e. by restoring and expanding native forested habitats. Afforestation is an increasingly recognised means to offset carbon emissions: it is definitely going to be part of the mix of measures required to reach carbon neutrality.
“Native afforestation” is key: by planting native trees, we work with nature, we maintain biodiversity, and we restore lost natural ecosystems.
Through our partners, our campaigns and donations, you will be planting native trees, thereby creating carbon sinks contributing to our fight against global warming. For the moment, our target areas for natural forest habitats restoration are in Scotland. That’s because Scotland has fantastic scope for this kind of work. It has vast areas of bleak, deforested, landscapes, areas that were, many centuries ago, covered by the famed “caledonian forest”, but that are now defined as “wet deserts”.
But this site and charity go beyond carbon offsetting. It also provides a Resource Catalogue that attempts to suggest fun yet efficient ways for everyone to live sustainably, or at the very least, lower our impact on the environment. It will be just as gratifying for us if this could prove useful to be part of the drive towards a more environmentally sustainable planet, where the natural environment is factored in in the way we live our lives, the manner in which we approach environmental issues (notably pricing), and the processes by which we assess our environmental impact.
There is no doubt in my mind that we are causing considerable damage to this beautiful planet. Overall, we have very little regard for the natural world. I don’t think it is being terribly pessimistic or cynical to say that things are getting worse, notably under the present political circumstances. It is also a sad reality that most of humankind can cope perfectly well with a minimalistic version of the natural world: it is often seen as something remote, something we rarely come across with, something we don’t really need to experience. This is partially true, except that, without the natural world, we could and will be immensely worse off.
In that respect, it is difficult to put a price on the natural world. In the developed world, we have lost much of it. Yet, we are missing a considerable amount. There is beauty in the natural world, wonderful beauty. The further we move away from it, the more unbalanced our lives become: mental health suffers from the stresses caused by its absence, we lose ourselves in the race to survive, thrive, or achieve, but at the expense of our health, both physical and mental. No one has put a price on this but it is likely to be huge.
Our sick environment needs help. Let’s start with the way we live. You’ll find here some ideas and, of course, we also count on your ideas to help us find better ways to offset carbon emissions and build up the Resource Catalogue to better our lives through sustainable living. How do you see yourself live sustainably? What more should be included? Are there facets of our lives we have forgotten where we could live more sustainably? Please let us know by using the “contact us” link. Or email me at: