Your Green Family Blueprint and The Going Green 7 Day Online Challenge
“Sustainability”, “eco-friendly” are the usual buzz words put forward as alternatives to ecological apocalypse. But what do these words really mean?
Author and sustainability coach Tracy Lydiatt comes to the rescue with her books, Your Green Family Blueprint and The Going Green 7 Day Online Challenge.
Lydiatt worked as a geologist before moving to Sweden to complete a Masters degree in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability Program at the Blekinge Institute of Technology. She has since worked in Australia to advance sustainability practices in engineering, as well as given workshops and TEDx talks throughout the world.
In Your Green Family Blueprint, Lydiatt combines realistic strategies for families to educate themselves on “green” practices while successfully incorporating these practices into their daily routines. If you’re like myself and have no children or spouse in the mix, don’t fret, this book is just as helpful for single homes.
Lydiatt is passionate about not only bringing awareness to families and individuals about the importance of living “green”, she also understands that every family unit is unique, allowing for a non-judgmental strategy depending upon your situation. If you live in the country with no available transit, she won’t advise you to give up your car. Similarly, if you’re on a budget, she won’t advise you to go out and buy everything organic or to start up a chicken coop in your backyard if it simply doesn’t work for you.
“Your Green Family Blueprint” outlines not just what to do, but how to do it. Utilizing 4 basic “ground rules”, Lydiatt’s approach is simple and engaging. Focusing on “areas of influence” and the “ripple effect” where everything that we do as humans has an effect on the community and ultimately, the biosphere, Lydiatt provides activities for families to engage with each other and make the process fun.
The “ground rules” cover areas in which humans have had a significant effect on the biosphere and each other, from “digging up” minerals and introducing toxins into our environment, to modifying how we communicate with one another about these issues.
With the online “Going Green 7 Day Online Challenge”, Lydiatt has created a social media platform to connect people who are looking to address their “green” challenges. Interaction between fellow members is encouraged and while the site might be complicated for those not as familiar with social media tools, I found it reasonably easy to navigate. On your profile page, you can customize how you share information with the readers and other members, from the colour of the text to the background images, headers and photos, amongst others. If you have a Twitter feed it can be connected to your profile also. Sharing challenges, concerns and ideas with other members is encouraged on your own profile page and in the forums, where everyone introduces themselves.
Lydiatt has produced a video tutorial for each day, giving in depth knowledge regarding the particular day’s topic. For example, one day we covered the bathroom and the products within it. Toxins are easily found in shampoos, soaps, lotions and toothpaste. Lydiatt makes them easy to identify and offers solutions that won’t break the bank.
Personally, I really appreciated the opportunity to share with other members on the forum because everyone has new and interesting information to share. It can be tricky to identify where toxins are present, or what stores sell organic food.
In the past few years I have made a concerted effort to eat organic, non-GMO and to rid my life of toxins but there are still areas of influence that I could work on. After completing the seven-day challenge and reading Your Green Family Blueprint, I can say that the content and delivery of the information from Lydiatt was incredibly easy to digest. Her writing style is approachable, capable and instead of giving you all of the bad news about your lifestyle, she offers real solutions that can be tailored for each unique household.
Visit http://www.thegreenfamiliesguru.com for more details on Tracy Lydiatt’s programs.