And here I was thinking Paris has a street rubbish problem… 177 pieces in just over 15 minutes in about 250m of one side of my local street 😢

Friday was the 2nd and last day of Hello Tomorrow. Whist we are not ‘Deep Tech’ it was certainly worthwhile coming to experience and learn from this innovative ecosystem. The way ahead for us as a company is forming. And another bags worth of rubbish, some 60 pieces was picked up along my walk to and from the venue. There are two causes for the rubbish other than its manufacture: in areas with large numbers of shops that unwrap plastic, the storage areas are inadequate, this despite daily visits by council to clean. Secondly attitudes. The second photo is a bottle tossed there casually by someone in front of me. I put it in the bin 10m away. Sad.

First day at the Hello Tomorrow conference in the impressive Le Centquartre in Paris. A ‘deep tech’ conference with many worthy ideas and plans to benefit our world. However, I also know we need to start now with action. I walked the 6km return trip to and from the venue. And I picked up rubbish along the way with my pick up stick. Into bins in the morning as I didn’t want to turn up with a bag of rubbish! And 80 pieces on my return. I suspect looking at the day in isolation I did more demonstrable action than the vast majority of the 3,000 delegates. And I got two compliments in French from passers by! 😊

Went to a shop called Leroymerlin. Sorta like a chic French Bunnings in the middle of Paris to get myself a pickup stick. On my way there I noticed this chip packet outside Cartier and wondered whether it would be there on my return. It sure was lol. So I picked up one piece of rubbish for every bin I saw on my way home. 13 in all. Imagine if a sizeable minority did the same regularly whilst walking. The rubbish would be sorted!

In preparation for Earth hour 23rd Mar 2024 I was fortunate enough to be given 2 sets of native Australian seedlings. Time to germinate them and then plant them in the garden!

There is a lot of rubbish in Paris, much more than I remember from 10 years ago. Some places are worse than others. But it’s sad to see we’ll dressed young Parisiennes casually toss their cigarette butts in the beautiful cobbled streets 😢 I picked up a single bottle today in Maurecourt, but I’m feeling like making a statement by picking up rubbish wearing my greenbrand shirt!

I headed to Maurecourt on Wednesday on the outskirts of Paris. Vines appear to be a problem here too, over growing fences. I don’t know whether Ivy and the other two vines in the photos are invasive. But invasive species are a global problem as outlined in this article. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2023/01/17/france-struggles-to-eradicate-invasive-species_6011864_114.html

My first full day in Paris. I’m exploring the neighbourhood of South Pigalle. There is an acknowledgment that the few green spaces are important, with information signs and nest boxes. And greenery can appear in the most unlikely spaces!

On first impressions, the UK and Europe are much more advanced in taking action to help the environment. The Tate Gallery has declared a “climate and ecological emergency”. There is rewinding occurring on the southern entrance, and I did my bit in collecting a handful of plastic for the bin. Every piece, every action, no how small, helps.

Arrived in London en route to Paris for the Hello Tomorrow and Change Now conferences. Very exciting! Had a look at the Tate Modern gallery. Some amazing and massive artworks made out of bottle tops linked together. Also a bees/wasps/insect hotel installed in fenced off trees out the front.

On Wednesday 13th, the last day before leaving to France and the conferences, I spent an hour removing about 50 regrowth glycine vines and a bag of rubbish from the biobasin. I’m researching the number of native trees I’ll need to plant to offset the 3.4ton of CO2 my flights will generate. Saving the planted trees from vines is just as important as planting.

We have recently bought a small place at an EcoVillage called 'The Cape' at Cape Paterson. We look after the native plants around the village by regularly tending to weeds and picking up rubbish. We grow many of our own vegetables and we have a self sufficient power supply from solar panels and a battery. Last weekend I spent a half day walking around the village clearing paths of weeds as my small contribution the community. We have a mob of kangaroos who live close by so we do our best to make the place as kangaroo and wildlife friendly as possible.

I have planted more than 500 heliconias on my block where I live last 6 years. I hope they help with reducing carbon. I wish China and India plant them in the city.

Planted indigenous flora to bring back fauna.

More vines popping up every day

Waiting for a ferry to go to Karragarra Island. Thought I’d pick up the bits of rubbish. Every bit of positive action helps.

Always new rubbish from 7/11, KFC and Starbucks. Cleaned up as much as I could on my walk.

I love the bush grounds at the Sleeman Sporting centre at Chandler. Dropping off my girls for a school swimming carnival. A really caring team of gardeners. Native plantings, weed control and nest boxes everywhere, including car parks, for bats, birds and gliders. Imagine if this gold standard was replicated Brisbane wide, private and public, in time for the Olympics and Paralympics. Visitors and tourists will be impressed with nature in our city.

Walking with my daughter to the local bakery. Picked up a couple of plastic bags that would end up in the drains with approaching rain. Took no time to do, but feel good in making a positive difference, no matter how small.

today i realised i didn’t have a vase for my flowers so i reused a plastic bottle, reusing plastic bottles is a great idea as each one you reuse, is saving it from staying in a land fill for thousands of years… it’s a great and innovative idea that will save you money and the environment

I think this is exciting and thought provoking! Watch the video (Sound Up!) I was walking through Post Office Square near where I often work and was actually noticing that bin chickens (white ibis) and feral pigeons were the only birds here. Then I heard a familiar trill sound I wasn't expecting. Whilst this little fella (Superb Fairywren) seemed to be away from his tribe, seeing him in the middle of the CBD brings hope, along with thoughts about how we need to make our cities more friendly towards biodiversity. Say by having more shrubbery and groundcover to provide protection, food and housing. Brisbane has the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming in 9 years. Tourists and visitors will be expecting to see wildlife. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could see some more iconic and unique species in the city! I checked iNaturalist. Hardly any sightings recorded in the CBD. Just a couple near QUT in 2023.

helped my dad pick up rubbish on a walk and picked up rubbish found in park in my own time

I planted another 3 gums and a casuarina at Prince Henry Dr. Not easy digging holes due to all the volcanic basalt. The Toowoomba range first formed some 300 million years ago. Are these rocks that old? And is this the first time they’ve seen the sun??? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Created a chemical free garden.

I saw all these plastic bags just waiting to be washed and blown into the drain and into our rivers and oceans. At least this bag of plastic and rubbish didn’t make it!

My girls are growing up and so I cherish any time they are willing to spend with me. Today we had a lovely walk and a chat. They even tolerated to be seen with me picking up rubbish. Lots of people tell me that they pick up rubbish on their walks. Our Greenbrand platform is the perfect way to document those good deeds. And by pooling them together we can create that movement of repair that so many people hope for.

The last day of 2023! Multiple reasons for posting; rubbish in the gutters with more storms predicted, so don't want this rubbish flowing into our streams and the ocean. I'm retraining myself with the movie making ability of the mobile phone and You Tube, as amateurish as I am. And I need to get into the habit of posting, 2024 is the year Greenbrand.org will take off. So if I'm going to be a social media mover and shaker (insert a couple of laughing emojis here) I need to be able to post regularly and seamlessly.

I visited Mum on Boxing Day at Dovetree Aged Care. She was a bit better (more with it) than Christmas Day. I noticed some rubbish in the car park so thought I’d pick it up. I collected 12 masks in total in amongst the bag of rubbish that won’t flow into our rivers 😊

On Sunday 10th December I planted another 5 seedlings, including a couple of native mulberries (first photo). I put tree guards around the others in the long grass as I knew council would come and either cut or poison the grass. Sadly they whipper snipped the wattle (background photo 2) that was growing so well despite being identified by ribbons and posts. I’ll assume it was an accident as none of the other seedlings were harmed. So whilst I’m a bit sad, these things happen in nature, and hopefully the others will grow to their potential 🙏🤞

Up at my parent’s place in Toowoomba. A number of large, old Eucalyptus trees died during the terrible drought of 2019-2020, both on the property and in the adjoining park. I’ve started to plant replacement trees for those lost, and add in some variety with acacias and bottlebrushes to help create an understory.

We have designed a very efficient Tidal Energy Turbine to harness kinetic energy from tides and rivers. This can be used in remote locations to remove dependence on diesel generators.

Spent a day visiting Lamb Island in Moreton Bay with my great friend Mark and his son Alex. Saved 3 young casuarinas from mile a minute vine as we explored the island.

Walking in the countryside of Aude in France. Luckily not much to do as the weather keeps people inside. Still, we met few people strolling around and enjoying a bit of sun. It feels like people keep their rubbish and take care of the wild paths. Only pick up few litter here and there.

Beautiful walk through the Christchurch botanic gardens picking up the odd piece of rubbish here and there. It was sunny, hot, cold, windy and raining in the hour and a half we were there lol. Beautiful!

Firtirized garden

I often go down to Gibbon's rent for yoga practise. It's peaceful and quiet. Unfortunately, lots of rubbish around. But luckily some residents like me do take the time every now and then to put them away. Here is it's story: A permanent community garden transformed from a previously neglected space in London Bridge designed by Andrew Burns and Sarah Eberle featuring impressive sculptural structural planting enhanced by smaller scale contributions from the community. Created in collaboration with The Architecture Foundation, Team London Bridge and Southwark Council. Designed by British landscape architect Sarah Eberle working in collaboration with Australian architect Andrew Burns, to transform Gibbon’s Rent, a neglected cut through between Magdalen and Bermondsey Streets in London SE1, into an urban oasis. The unique project took a new approach to creating public spaces, with input from both public and private sectors, international designers and local residents. Not only is it a truly innovative work of urban design, it is a dynamic one which will continue to transform and adapt to the needs of the community stakeholders. The design incorporates a series of large concrete pipe planters filled with an exotic array of plants, arranged around a harlequin pattern walkway. Smaller pots with plants are placed within the scheme by local residents, modifying it according to their needs and seasonal interests – cultivating a community of gardeners in a previously barren urban space. The garden was opened as the inaugural event of the London Festival of Architecture in May 2012 and has continued to develop with the introduction of a Little Library and entrance arbours in 2014. The garden is maintained by the St Mungo’s Broadway horticultural initiative Putting Down Roots. Gibbon’s Rent won the Society of Garden designers ‘Designing for Community Spaces’ Award 2013

Beautiful and clear beaches in Norfolk, UK. Not much work to do as it currently is low season. Still, the few walkers there seemed to be looking after the beach paths well and to take care well of the nature.

The cows live and eat amongst the rubbish..

I picked up some rubbish in Vrindavin, lndia. It has been 18 years since last here. Unfortunately the pollution has increased and u cannot see the blue sky.

On Saturday 14th October I watered the 6 seedlings I’d planted earlier this year. They are all growing nicely. You can see a Brisbane Wattle in the pics next to the pink ribbon on a stake. I also collected a bag of rubbish, rubbish that had been washed into the basin during the last storm a couple of weeks earlier

Let s do something together. Let's save us from the heat.

measuring biodiversity on stradbroke island for school trip. Learnt about Rock pools and sand dune ecosystems.

Supported John, Tony and Steve playing Div 6 cricket at Briggs Park in Palmwoods. I picked up some rubbish, and saw a number of birds! Magpies, plovers, a kookaburra, and most rarely..aGolden Duck!!

I no longer eat fishes unless they are farmed. Our Ocean is dying. Fisher men also kill dolphins, sharks, whales when they catch fishes with nets. One big whale co2 storing amount equals 1000 trees. Please watch this 6min video below.

i picked up a rubbish bag outside my house

So much rubbish accumulating against fences on Warragul road, I suspect mostly from the construction site, shopping centre and local fast food restaurants. Felt great making a difference on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

So much rubbish flows into our streams from gutters and stormwater drains. I picked up about 40 items just from this grill alone on Warrigal road. Collected a full bag from rubbish on the footpath nearby.

Planting trees have never been this important !!! We only have 7 years till tipping point (2030), when it is too late to save Earth ! 8 billion people on earth plant one tree and maintain it to grow, we offset 0.6% on CO2 8 billion people on earth plant 10 trees, we offset 6% on CO2 8 billion people on earth plant 100 trees, we offset 60% on CO2 8 billion people on earth plant 166 trees, we offset 100% on CO2 That is Total one trillion three hundred twenty eight billion trees need to be planted to offset CO2 100% !!!! Even 30 % CO2 offset can delay tipping points by many years.

Few ideas for global warming. 1️⃣ Plant 10 trees or plants. If you are renting or living in an apartment, consider planting in pots. 2️⃣ Use 100% disposable plastic bags at home and during beach cleanups. When going shopping, take them with you. 3️⃣ Power your world with solar panels. 4️⃣ Choose EV or Hybrid cars when you upgrade your car. 5️⃣ Choose drinks in can or glass instead of plastic. 6️⃣ Ask for paper bags and paper containers at shops to motivate shops to change.

My good friend Sameer showed me around the wonderful site at Tivoli Social Enterprises and their conservation park