Tell the Tardigrade - 3 mossy actions for January
Each month we’re going to share three actions for a brighter greener future. We’ll try to keep these moss-like in their simplicity, accessibility and do’ability!
This month we’ve got a tech-based action (love it or hate it, innovation and new technologies have a role for us to reduce our footprint), an action, and a ethos/way of thinking.
The Mossy Carpet aims to share a wide variety of actions through interactive audio - you might hear something new that you’d like to try out, or feel motivated to keep on with something that you’re already doing. Remember, like many tiny mosses forming a lush green mound, it’s all about many small do’able actions adding up to make a difference.
Have you got an action you’d like us to share? Call the Tardigrade to tell us all about it! (More info at the bottom of this page).
Reduce image file size - the WhatsApp shortcut
Mosses are tiny plants. Let’s embrace the small things!
Web pages and emails are held on internet host's servers, requiring lots of energy to store and access the data, by reducing file sizes the energy demand is reduced… I’ve struggled to find a system to calculate the difference, but it’s one small step towards reducing our footprint.
There’s lots of software that you can use for this. We wanted to share our shortcut - we use WhatsApp!
Simply send yourself the photo and it reduces the file size significantly. You can also download the app to your laptop and use this trick to transfer at the same time. For example, I took this photo on my phone, the original was a whopping 5.6MB (6070x2200px). I WhatsApp’d it to myself, shrinking the file size to just 52.1KB (1024x371 px), reducing the file size to less than 1% of the original! This reduction in quality wouldn’t work if I needed the image for a large display, but for use in most documents, emails or website it’s perfectly adequate.
I litter pick!
This has to be the message recorded most frequently on the Tardigrade Telephone, and we love it!
Litter is an eyesore, plus it’s a serious hazard for wildlife. It’s not easy to put a carbon-accounting type figure to litter picking as much of what’s collected still ends up in landfill or energy-from-waste plants, but it can certainly make a huge difference in terms of the ecological emergency. Caring for our natural spaces helps us to notice them and appreciate them more.
Whether you’re a hard-core litter picker volunteer, or you spend 10 minutes now and again, it all makes a difference. One family at a Mossy Carpet event told us that they challenge each other to collect 5 pieces of plastic rubbish each time they visit the beach; What could you set yourself as an achievable goal?
Clean Our Patch litter pickers are a community group based in Plymouth, Art and Energy’s Jenny and Cat often take their families along. Groups like this bring communities together and share communal litter picking kit, it’s a great way to explore the local area, meet new people and take action together.
So far we’ve received messages about litter picking at the beach, in school, and in in towns. Where have you spotted that could do with a little litter picking TLC?
#BeMoreMoss by slowing down and staying local
Mosses grow slowly, making the most of the changing conditions. For many of us, this one’s easier said than done… in today’s world we’re all under pressure to do more faster, but don’t forget who won in the tale of the hare and the tortoise.
When we slow down we often make better thought-through decisions. With online shopping platforms there’s a temptation to click, click, purchase… but it’s worth considering what you already have, and what other options there are locally too.
For example, when purchasing materials for The Mossy Carpet artwork we aren’t always led by cost or convenience, using Dartmoor fleece wasn’t the easiest option, but it enriches the projects connection to the mossy landscape and helps to support regeneration work on the moor.
What could you take your time over and find locally, supporting your local economy and eco-system?
Have you got an action you would like us to share? We’d love to hear all about it. Give the Tardigrade a call and record a short message, this will be incorporated into the carpet, sharing encouragement and ideas as we face the climate and ecological emergency.
