Introductions

Eight months ago, my partner and I moved to Melbourne from regional New South Wales. Our reasons were varied. For me, I came to Melbourne to study publishing at Melbourne University, and to hopefully open up some options for work (jobs for people with a background in theatre and writing are a little thin on the ground in a small town). My partner came to see what the city might offer in the way of professional roles in environmental sustainability (again, not so many of those where we’re from). And both of us thought we might like a little taste of the big city before we retreat to try our dream of living on the land – soak up all the theatre, art and exciting new sustainability initiatives, before setting up our cabin in the hills (or yurt in the woods, as the case may be).

So, we moved here. But I had a concern.

Both of us are pretty sustainability-minded – focussed on green-living, caring for the environment, and preparing for a post-peak oil, post-climate change era. Up north, the life we led made a focus on these things easy. My Mum and her partner have a biodynamic farm up there called Purple Pear, so we always had plenty of fresh veggies, yoghurt, honey and preserves. I lived in a collective where we supported each other to keep our foot-print low. I knew where to go to get organic produce and I knew all the ways to get around town and beyond by bike or public transport. In short, I knew just how to live gently on the earth in that time and place..

But I was leaving that behind, striking out in a new and unknown place. I would need to find a new source for all my green goodies, find somewhere to get my local fruit and find a new community of like-minded people. I was worried it would be too hard to do in the city, that it would be expensive, or that I’d lose momentum and lose my way.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and I made a firm commitment myself to keep living as sustainably as I could. Perhaps even to use this as an opportunity add new practices to my life, and break some old, bad habits. I’ve still got a lot to learn! And this blog is a record of my attempts to tread lightly, find creative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle, and live sustainable urban life.