Autumn has arrived in the Northern hemisphere and bringing us new weather. There are lots of ways to cut our carbon footprint and protect biodiversity in our Autumn activities, whether it is staying inside more or celebrating Halloween. We can make many easy adjustments to the way we heat our home, manage our garden or throw a party.

Heating the home

As Autumn sets in the Northern hemisphere, we will be spending more energy on heating up our homes. There are low-cost ways to keep your house warm. You can insulate water tank, pipes and radiators to keep energy bills down. Getting an 80mm thick jacket for the hot water cylinder will save up to £45 a year and only costs £20. Radiator reflector panels can be put behind radiators on external walls and are a low-cost option to reduce energy consumption. They reflect heat from radiators back into the room rather than letting it escape through external walls. Pipes that are in, out and around the house can be insulated. Pipe insulation can be bought from DIY shops and can be made from different types of material: polyethylene foam, rubber and foil tape. Insulating pipes will prevent them from freezing and cracking.

Gardening and Animals

Biodiversity around the world is suffering a large decline. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report on biodiversity recently published stated there has been a 73% decline in monitored wildlife populations across the globe. Biodiversity is suffering more with extreme weather brought by climate change and we can play a part in restoring it.

Keep Autumn leaves on the ground

It is really important for biodiversity and the environment to keep Autumn leaves on the ground rather than rake them into bin bags and throw them away. Autumn leaves contribute in two important ways to the environment. They add nutrients to the soil and suppress weeds. It acts as a natural fertiliser for the soil so there will be no need to buy any fertiliser for the garden. Autumn leaves also act as shelter for a wide range of animals, from reptiles to mammals and insects. Many animals use leaves for nesting and food and raking leaves away takes this away from them.

What happens when Autumn leaves are put into bin bags and sent to landfill? They create methane, a deadly greenhouse gas instead. It is estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency that Autumn leaves make up 13% of solid waste.

So what can you do instead if there are still too many leaves in your garden? You can compost them, put them in flower beds or share them with local community groups who want it for their plots of land.

Support reptiles, amphibians and insects

During the Autumn and Winter months, reptiles and amphibians hibernate. You can help them by creating hibernating areas, known as hibernaculum. Find a quiet corner in a grassy area near some shrubs which has a mixture of sun and shade to dig a hole. Fill the hole with logs, branches and rocks, and add drainpipes or tubes on either side of the hibernaculum so reptiles can access it. Once this is done, put soil on top to cover the pile. You can also help insects by providing them with shelter, such as an insect house or bee hotel. These can be bought in garden centres or you can make your own.

Birds and mammals

You can make your garden bird-friendly by providing a bird feeder, water and shelter. Bird feeders and bird tables should be placed away from areas where humans cause disturbance, such as back doors where you come in and out of your home because this will scare off the birds. They should also be placed away from potential predators and near places they can fly to safety.

Providing water is beneficial for birds for drinking and cleaning. Birdbaths need to be topped up with fresh water regularly to keep it safe and appealing. It is also becoming vital to provide shelter for birds due to natural nesting areas declining rapidly.  You can do this by buying a nesting box.

There are a wide range of mammals in your garden, from bats and mice, to voles, squirrels, badgers and foxes. You can provide food for them, such as mixed nuts for squirrels and dry cat or dog food for hedgehogs. You can also buy shelters to protect mammals, such as hedgehog houses, a mouse box, a squirrely box and bat boxes. This will help reverse the declining population of some of these species.

Halloween

Halloween has arrived and is celebrated by millions. Retailers are now saying Halloween is even bigger than Christmas! Here are some ways to reduce carbon emissions if you are decorating your house, throwing a Halloween party or going trick or treating.

Avoid beef, dairy and lamb in party food

The most carbon-emitting meat is beef and lamb. Beef is the main driver of deforestation in the world because so much land is needed to rear cows. Lamb has an almost equally high carbon footprint. If you can substitute beef and lamb for chicken, pork and fish then this will massively reduce the carbon footprint of party food. Dairy products have high carbon emissions because their products include milk which comes from cows. When it is possible, substitute food that typically has milk in it, such as cakes and biscuits for dairy free substitutes.

When it comes to food, what you eat matters more than where it comes from, so you should be less worried about food being locally sourced.

Compost food leftovers

Food waste is one of the biggest challenges we face and contributes to 8-10% of greenhouse emissions. Food waste causes methane if it goes to landfill, which is a greenhouse gas that warms up the Earth faster than carbon dioxide. To prevent this, do not buy more food than you need for a party. What is left over can go in the freezer or can go in the compost bin.

Avoid plastic

Most plastic is hard to recycle and ends up in landfill or in the sea, harming sea life. It doesn’t help that there are many types of plastic of which only some can be recycled. Flexible plastic can’t be recycled, which is part of lots of packaging. So where possible avoid using single use plastics like balloons and party poppers.

Reuse what you need for a party

You may not think twice about buying single use items such as paper plates, cups and napkins, but paper products cause 13% of deforestation. Each year 16.5 million trees are cut down to make paper cups. Once these products are contaminated by food they cannot be recycled even though they are made of paper. Ultimately they will end up in landfill and create more greenhouse emissions. Choose reusable items where possible to help reduce deforestation and waste. Also keep and reuse any Halloween decorations you may have used the year before so there is no need to buy more products next year.

Think about whether you can take more low carbon journeys to parties

Think about whether you can share journeys with other people going to the party. Car-pooling takes cars off the road and reduces greenhouse emissions. Taking public transport is one of the lowest carbon emitting forms of transport and is the best way to travel to a party. If public transport is not an option then there could be options to rent low carbon electric vehicles, such as electric cars, electric bikes and electric scooters.