Monday, February 23, 2009

Where'd Your Dinner Fly From?


Am I such a connoisseur that I need my diced tomatoes flown in from Italy? And am I so arrogant that I won't let a non-authentic Japanese noodle pass my lips?

This morning I spent 5 minutes pulling everything out of my cupboard. More than half the stuff had been shipped in from overseas. So I've taken a pledge to look for food grown in my community first.

They say the benefits are not only cutting down on food miles but also eating fresher food, creating social connections, cutting down on sprays and chemicals. I have to research the impacts on third world economies. There's more on local food here at www.kids.net.au.

This was inspired by Action 51 over at We Are What We Do.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Write to Someone Who's Lonely


My Nan's in a nursing home and, while she's well looked after, I live a long way away and don't get to visit her as often as I'd like. I have a lot to thank her for - hundreds of games of Boggle, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit as a kid, trips to the city to see Rocky  movies and buy books in gigantic bookstores. She's an important force in who I am.

This morning I spent my five writing her a letter while my wife printed a photo and my boys made her some artwork. I usually think of doing something like this but then don't make time to do it. Hope this is the beginning of something.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Read to a Child (Even if You Are One)


Stories are a place where you get to do stuff you'd never do in the real world. Like I recently read a Barack Obama bio, so I got to hang out with B-Rock for a couple of weeks.

Everybody loves to be read to but, for kids it's especially important. Listen to this, from Action 2 in Change the World for Ten Bucks - 'Reading and listening to books actually rewires a child's brain, speeds up their grasp of language, helps reduce stress and boosts self-esteem. So how terrible that 60% of children go to bed without a story.'

So go find a kid to spend 5 minutes reading to. Or, if you are a kid, start a campaign and don't let up till someone agrees to read you something every night. Maybe you'll get to hang out with Barack or some other cool cat.

www.tristanbancks.com

Friday, February 6, 2009

Plant Something to Feed Yourself


We're on the verge of growing Australia's Biggest Watermelon. Sure, we only have leaves right now but I can sense that something big is about to go down in that patch.

We've never consciously grown anything before but Landcare had a Watermelon Challenge and we spent fifteen minutes (ish) digging up a square of yard and throwing in the seeds, Jack and the Beanstalk style.

Now we're just kicking back waiting for the carbon-mile-free, prize melon to reveal itself. Some school students completed this challenge in my film here. It is also Action 103 in Teach Yr Granny to Text here.