Counting On … – Page 18

Counting on … day 113

21st July 2025

Prayer was once described to me as ‘wasting time with God’. It is an activity that doesn’t have to achieve a particular outcome, or be marked according to words spoken or topics covered. It can simply be time spent in one another’s company.

Perversely while there may be not clear purpose or outcome, such prayer calms our anxiety and strengthens our relationship with God.

This thought relates well to yesterday’s Gospel, when Jesus honours the value of what Mary does by sitting at his feet, whilst Martha allows herself to be overwhelmed by domestic tasks – Martha doesn’t appreciate the value of wasting time with God. (Luke 10: 38-42)

Counting on … day 112

18th July 2025

Is wasting time a waste of time? Not so according to the poet W H Davies:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

It can be all to easy to be drawn into thinking that unless we are working flat out, or filling our days with ‘useful’ activities, we are not living life to the full. This feels like a 21st century problem or maybe it’s a problem of the western world. Having spare time, time that we can ‘waste’ do anything we want or nothing of any importance, is highly rewarding, good for our wellbeing and good for our communities. It can be those spare time moments when we can notice the world around us, chat to a neighbour or shop assistant or passer-by, take time to think, read a notice, pick up a piece of litter, watch a bee, enjoy the warmth of the sun or the cool of a tree, that make us who we are, give us a sense of our true identity. They are also moments that can strengthen the glue that makes a community a community. They are also those moments that bring us joy.

Counting on … day 110

17th July 2025

Over the centuries the British landscape has changed and changed again as farming practices have changed. In recent decades one of the big changes has been the removal of hedgerows to create ever larger fields and the use of ever larger (and heavier) farm vehicles. The Woodlands Trust reports that ‘118,000 miles of hedgerows have disappeared since 1950.’ (1) The hedge was seen as a waste of space. Yet that linear strip of land can serve as a valuable green corridor for wild life and a unique ecosystem supporting a rich biodiversity of plants, animals, birds and insects. Thankfully about 500, 000 miles of hedgerow remain in place but that resource still needs care and protection.

Farm land shouldn’t be seen as solely a place to grow food but as land that provides clean air, fertile soils, pollinators, relief for mental wellbeing, water stewardship, and life-giving biodiversity. Farming needs to include both the production of food and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, with space for nature to thrive.

Hedgerows are not a waste of space; rather their absence is a waste of ecological benefit.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/habitats/hedgerows/

More information

https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/protect-the-environment/why-are-hedgerows-so-important/

Plant and manage hedgerows

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/why-are-hedgerows-important

Counting on … day 110

16th July 2025

Might one think that a ditch is just a wasted bit of land that collects water as and when it rains? Or might it, like the verge, be a potential green corridor benefitting wild life? Here is an example from Bedfordshire where a ditch was turned “into a complex wetland habitat.” (1) Or in southwest London where the work of previous generation, who canalised a local stream with the consequence that rainwater quickly flowed through causing downstream flooding, was overturned to create a vibrant biodiverse rich habitat. (2)

Rewilding ditches, streams and ponds not only improve biodiversity but help with flood prevention. (3)

(3) https://assets.rewildingbritain.org.uk/documents/Rewilding_FloodReport_AUG2016_FINAL.pdf

Counting on … day 109

15th July 2025

The strip of land that separates road from hedge/ fence/ wall of other boundary might be termed waste land – but that waste land has the capacity to be a thriving green corridor. Warwickshire County Council has developed a successful strategy for planting verges with wild flowers. (1) In York the banks abutting the city walls have also been successfully planted with wild flowers -but not without some opposition! (2)

Green corridors are important allowing plants, insects, and other creatures to migrate, forage and breed across a wider territory that improves the viability of the different species. Plant Life reports “Our road verges and green spaces have the potential to act as a sanctuary for wildflowers and a network of connective corridors across Great Britain’s 400,000 km of public road verges and almost 85,000 hectares of public green spaces.” (3)

Counting on … day 108

14th July 2025

The UK has committed to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 (30by30), to support the global 30by30 target agreed at the UN Biodiversity Summit (COP15) in 2022. (1) Currently just over 14% of land in England meets this target so achieving this goal will require significant change and input from landowners and government.

Gardens can make a small contribution. Rewilding part of a garden is not to waste one’s garden but to create a space where wildlife – be that insects, beetles, birds etc or wild plants (often discarded for being weeds) can thrive. Collectively wild spaces in gardens can provide green corridors for wild life.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criteria-for-30by30-on-land-in-england/30by30-on-land-in-england-confirmed-criteria-and-next-steps

Further information

https://greentau.org/2022/04/04/the-green-tau-issue-39/ (Since writing this blog, the green proportion of Greater London is now almost 50%)

Counting on … day 107

11th July 2025

Once the jam – or peanut butter/ marmite/ olives etc – has been eat, is that the end of the road for the empty jar?

If nothing else it can be recycled. Glass is readily recycled time and time again – but there is an energy cost involved in melting and reforming the glass. Reusing the jar is a better outcome. In our kitchen jam jars are filled and emptied in a rotating cycle as jam/ marmalade/ peanut butter/ bottled fruit/ chutney/ pickles are eaten and refilled. Peanut butter comes from the refill shop; marmalade is made in January when Seville oranges are in the shops; jams, chutneys etc are made as fruits are picked in the garden or bought when gluts appear in the shops.

In an ideal world jam jars like milk bottles would be collected and reused – a better use of a ‘waste’ item.

Counting on … day 106

10th July 2025

Using waste water. Is rain water from the roof waste water or a valuable resource? Collected in a rainwater butt it is ideal for watering plants. Rainwater butts are also useful in terms of preventing flood because the flow of storm water is delayed before it enters the drainage system and therefore helps the system cope with peaks.

Mains water coming into our homes is drinking water quality. We don’t need that same quality of water with which to flush toilets. ‘Grey water’ – ie water that has been used to wash hands or shower, launder clothes, etc – is perfectly adequate for flushing toilets. Grey water is waste water that can be reused. We have a small bowl under the taps in the wash basins to collect hand wash water and a jug to empty it into. This jug of grey water is used for flushing the toilet (unless a bigger flush is needed). We also collect water in a larger bowl from the shower when waiting for the hot water.

A jug by the kitchen sink collects water from cleaning or boiling vegetables, rinsing plates etc and goes to water the garden.

Households are asked to keep a 2-3 day supply of drinking water on hand in case of emergencies. Not wanting to stock up on bottled water – which will in time have to be replaced – I keep two demijohn jars full of drinking water. I empty one (into the pond) and refill it each day so that that our emergency stock of water is constantly fresh without wasting the water.

Counting on … day 105

9th July 2025

Mend, darn and repair clothes. Ideally clothes and household fabrics will give us years of use and pleasure. And even as they wear out, they can still be of use.

Initially we can avoid waste by looking after our clothes and household fabrics will – ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ is a reminder that the sooner we restitch a broken hem or seem, or mind a tear, or darn a hole, the smaller will be the necessary repair. It can be tempting not to repair an item if it’s replacement is cheap – eg holes in socks, but we should consider not just the cost of replacement but the cost of discarding the sock. On that basis darning a hole makes even more sense. (1)

We have moved from a society that would turn collars and replace cuffs rather than buy a new shirt (2), or that would cut old sheets in half and resew, sides to the middle, to get maximum use from the sheet (3)

You can also patch clothes, sheets and even towels (4) but eventually you may get to the stage where the item is no longer useable in its present form. Then rather than being throw away waste, maybe the item can be repurposed. An old sheets and even might be transformed into a pillow slip or a pile of handkerchiefs. A towel might become a set of flannels or cleaning clothes. Old socks make good dusters or shoe polishing cloths. A t-shirt might become a duster or a pair of pants. (5)

(1) https://www.woolovers.com/page/how-to-darn-a-sock

(2) https://mathomhouse.typepad.com/bluestocking/2016/11/turning-shirt-collars.html

(3) https://forum.lettucecraft.com/t/turning-a-sheet-sides-to-middle-saving-the-planet-one-mend-at-a-time/22619

(4) https://designmom.com/living-well-4-secrets-to-patching-clothes/

(5) https://www.redhandledscissors.com/2010/06/17/t-shirt-to-underpants-upcycling/

Counting on … day 104

8th July 2025

Waste paper – not all waste paper needs to go into the recycling bin. Much can be reused.

Writing paper that has been used on one side only, can be used in the printer – including business letters which are often printed on really good quality paper. (But use discretion if you are sharing print-outs that you don’t accidentally share private information).

Christmas cards can be cut up for gift tags (but how many do you need?) or alternatively cut up into useful sizes for shopping lists, memos and phone messages.

You can cut the picture from a greeting card and reuse it as a post card. Oxfam even prints postcard outlines on the box of their cards. And if you are hand delivering a card, write on the envelope in pencil – and don’t stick down the flap – so that it can easily be reused. Reusing envelopes is generally another idea.

Wrapping paper too can be reused if carefully folded and kept after use. Using string or ribbon – or elastic bands – instead of sticky tape is good practice.

Old paper bags or sheets of newspaper can be used to line kitchen compost buckets.