How to be Sustainable(ish this Summer

How to be Sustainable(ish) this Summer. With Kids...

Jen Gale, founder of the A Sustainable Life blog and author of The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting, shares her practical and achievable tips for doing our bit for the planet this summer – smart swaps that really do make a difference

Life has been turned upside down in the last 18 months, and with the summer holidays ahead of us and restrictions (hopefully) continuing to relax, we’re all looking ahead to a return to normal and letting our hair down a little.

We’ve had months of being told we can’t do this, and we can’t do that, and the very last thing any of us want to be told is that we can’t have fun over the summer because of the planet.

The good news is that there are loads of easy, ‘sustainable(ish)’ swaps you can try out, that will lighten your impact without massive demands on your time, budget or headspace. Plastic-free(ish) picnics It’s easy to do a supermarket sweep of the deli aisle if you’re venturing out for a picnic, but not only can this leave you with a small mountain of single use plastic to ram into the bin, it can be pricey too.

If you’ve got time, then prepping a few bits at home can help you to save some money, and some plastic.  Swap clingfilm for beeswax wraps for sandwiches. If you haven’t got any wraps, then foil is a good alternative. If it’s clean, I’m the weirdo who wipes it over, folds it up and saves

it for next time. If that’s a step too far for you, then make sure you gather all the bits of foil and scrunch them into a tennis ball sized ball before popping it into the recycling.  Buy share bags of crisps and dole them out onto plates at the picnic – not plastic-free, but definitely less plastic than lots of individual bags! If you’re looking for a plastic-free option, some zero waste shops do crisps, or check out

Two Farmers Crisps (www.twofarmers.co.uk) for delicious crisps in home compostable bags.  Grab yourself some reusable pouches for yogurts and smoothies on the go. My favourite are the ones from Nom Nom Kids (www.nomnomkids.co.uk)  Take reusable cutlery – if you haven’t got any specific picnic stuff, just use some from the cutlery drawer, and take a Tupperware pot to bring the dirty knives and forks home with you.  Reusable wipes – if you’re taking napkins, then it’s a super easy swap to bung in some reusable wipes instead. You can buy them from places like Cheeky Wipes (www.cheekywipes.com) , or simply cut up an old towel, or use flannels.

If you’ve got younger kids that you think might need some wipes, one option is to simply take some damp reusable wipes in a wet bag, or alternatively pour a little water on when you need them.

Slip, slap, slop Sun creams can be laden with chemicals that not only have potentially adverse effects on us, but can also damage marine life if we use them and then swim in the sea.

Look for organic and cruelty-free versions, like Odylique (www.odylique.co.uk) and Green People (www.greenpeople.co.uk) who do an easy to apply formula especially for kids.

If you’re looking for a plastic-free sun cream, there is a UK brand called Shade (www.shadecream.com) that comes in a metal tin. However, it needs to be rea-applied every 15-20 minutes, which might make it slightly less appealing given how traumatic it seems to be to put sun cream on kids… We all scream for ice cream… Nothing says summer like the first ice cream of the year.

If there’s no allergy concerns, then simply asking for your ice cream in a cone rather than a cup helps cut down massively on the plastic footprint!

If you like to keep a stash of ice lollies in the freezer at home, then how about having a go at making your own? You can simply use fruit juice (recycle the bottle once it’s empty!) or there are loads of different recipes online. You can find all kinds of funky moulds – IKEA do some ‘Callipo’ style reusable moulds, and Lakeland have a good range too.

Keeping your cool It takes a run of just two or three sunny days for us all to start complaining about how hot it is, and for the kids to want the paddling pool to be set up.

Paddling pools use up a huge amount of water, but can also provide bundles of fun as well as the possibility of some peace and quiet on a hot day, so it may well be that this is one area where you’re embracing the ‘ish’.

If you’re lucky, you might be able to delay the point at which you have to either buy a new paddling pool or drag last year’s out of the shed, with water pistols, or simply sponges and a bucket of water for a good old fashioned water fight.

If/when you do have to resort to the paddling pool, popping a fitted sheet over it at night can help to keep the water a little cleaner so it might need replacing less often.

When you do empty the paddling pool, if you can resist the urge to simply open the plug, and instead fill up watering cans and water your garden plants, or pour it into a water butt, your eco-halo will be thoroughly well polished.

If/when your paddling pool or inflatables develop a leak, don’t bin them! Instead send them off to Wyatt & Jack (www.wyattandjack.com) on the Isle of Wight to be made into gorgeous funky bags and accessories. On the beach If you’ve not made a sandcastle, have you even been on summer holiday?

Sadly though, buckets and spades seem to crack and break super easily, meaning that it can feel like we end up buying new ones each time we visit the beach. Enter the ‘scrunch bucket’ (www.scrunchkids.com) – a flexible silicon bucket that saves space and won’t crack.

Body boards are also a big issue for beach waste, with thousands being broken and/or discarded on our beaches every year, often after just one use. Buy a new or quality second hand board that will last. Or if it’s your first time and you’re just trying it out, then many surf shops and beach stores now have rental schemes.

While you’re on the beach, either ‘take three for the sea’ or do a ‘#2minutebeachclean’ – beachclean. net. The idea is that you leave the beach a little cleaner than it was when you found it. Lots of beaches now have ‘beach cleaning stations’ with litter pickers and bags, and some beachside cafes will even give you a free coffee in exchange for collecting a bucket full of rubbish!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR JEN GALE is an ordinary, knackered mum whose life changed when she encouraged her family to do a year buying nothing new in the name of the environment. She began her hugely successful blog A Sustainable Life and has gone on to win the Britain’s Greenest Family award at the UK’s leading sustainability awards, the P.E.A. Awards. On top of this, she hosts the Sustainable(ish) podcast, and is the founder of the Knackered Mums Eco Club. Jen lives in Wiltshire. Visit www.asustainablelife.co.uk

The Sustainable(ish) Guide to Green Parenting:

Guilt-free Eco Ideas for Raising Your Kids by Jen Gale (Bloomsbury, £12.99) is available to buy now

See page 27 for your chance to win a copy of Jen's book

Sun-Maid’s Sour Raisin Snacks – the perfect fruit-packed treat after a Tumble Tots Class!

Sun-Maid’s famous little red boxes have been enjoyed by children and adults alike, for over 100 years.

Sun-Maid California Raisins are naturally sundried, and unlike some other raisins, they have no added oils or glazing agents.

Sun-Maid Raisins contain only naturally occurring fructose sugar and have no added sugar.

Parents are always looking for healthier snacks for their children, but the products must appeal to the children as well. It is difficult for mums to get the right balance between giving their children something they will like, as well as being good for them.

Naturally sweet, portable and convenient, SunMaid California Raisins are an ideal healthy playtime snack, lunchbox treat or a versatile ingredient to add natural sweetness to many recipes, when baking or cooking for your family.

Just one serving of 30g (a heaped tablespoon) counts as one of your 5 A Day - so Sun-Maid Raisins are a good way to get your little ones to eat more fruit. If you love our raisins, why not try our Sour Raisin Snacks. If it’s called a fruit snack, it should be fruit, right? At least that’s what we think.

Naturally sweet and wonderfully sour, SunMaid Sour Raisin Snacks are whole golden raisins infused with natural flavours – no artificial colours, flavours or added sugar. Just a great healthy children snack, that adults love too! Available in Strawberry and Watermelon flavours. You can buy them from Waitrose or Ocado.

Don’t forget to take some Sun-Maid Raisins with you next time your little one goes to a Tumble Tots session; they are bound to be hungry after – they are a good way to defuse those ‘hangry’ moments.

For more information and delicious recipe ideas visit our website at www.sunmaid.co.uk Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @SunMaidUK

Piece by piece to big discoveries

The BRIO Builder open-ended construction system offers endless possibilities for children to design and build their own creations time and time again.

Watching children putting the pieces of a construction set together is fascinating, and it should be. It’s not just a car, a robot or a house they’re making – you’re seeing them make incredible discoveries and developmental steps with every stage of the play. Whether they’re planning their imaginative creations or practicing fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination as they build, there are big connections to be made among those small pieces. With the BRIO Builder range, children are free to explore their ideas in unlimited ways with a system that is not only built to last a lifetime, but could be the start of a lifetime’s love of learning and discovery too. Thinking outside the box Everything that is inside a BRIO Builder box has been carefully designed to inspire children to think outside the box. Budding engineers,

“The possibilities are endless when children start building in this open-ended construction system. Now they can bring their toy creations to life with motorised movement too.” Dan Nordlund, BRIO Designer

architects and designers can unleash their imaginations as they plan, investigate and problem-solve their way to builds that reflect their unique creativity and personality. As they play, they’re not only experimenting with early science, engineering, maths and technology ideas, they’re also using their amazing artistic creativity to design their builds too – the beginnings of STEAM learning. Every day can tell a different story as they design, build and rebuild time and time again. What’s inside the box? BRIO Builder sets contain the tools and components for children to begin constructing their own designs. The inspirational leaflet included within each set is just the beginning of their journey as they grow in confidence and let their imaginations run wild. Like all BRIO products, the sets are created using FSC-certified wood from responsibly managed forests along with other high quality and durable materials to enhance functionality. All sets are compatible and suitable for children aged 3 years and older.

The BRIO Builder range is available in toy stores nationwide and online, with prices starting from RRP £16.99. Please visit Brio.uk for more information.

Choose from a range of BRIO Builder sets including;

BRIO Builder Motor Set Take the action to a new level with the addition of a battery-powered motor to bring movement to

Builder creations. With 121 pieces. BRIO Builder Starter Set A great place to start putting construction ideas to the test with this BRIO Builder Starter Set. 49 sturdy pieces are included in a handy storage toolbox, including components and tools.

BRIO Builder Activity Set Budding engineers will have more than enough to let their design ideas run wild with a huge 211 pieces in the Builder Activity Set.

BRIO Builder Construction Set 136 building components in this set, including easy-to-use tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and wrenches.