Years ago, the superb fairy wren was a common sight in our gardens. Now, only if we’re lucky, can you catch a glimpse of these little blue beauties in the shrubs along our coast. Sadly, this is the case for many native small birds.

Christmas is just around the corner, a time for cheer and gift giving.

Unfortunately, between the wrapping and the packaging, more often than not this gift giving can leave us with mountains of waste. And that's rubbish (literally!). 

Our country is in the midst of a terrible drought. Sydney’s dams and catchments, responsible for bringing water to our taps, are currently at 69 per cent capacity. Farmers’ hardships are giving rise to city fundraisers and stirring up a collective concern for our people on the land. 

It’s official, folks! Single use plastic bags are on the way out from your local supermarket. Coles and Woolworths, amongst others - in a progressive move to prevent these bags making their way into landfill, or worse, into our environment - have voluntarily removed those grey plastic bags from their shelves all across Australia.

Kicking the plastic habit is not only giving our planet a break, it’s making good business sense. To celebrate Plastic Free July, meet the entrepreneurs and business folk who are innovating, designing and educating in our local patch to help create a plastic-free world for us all.

"Children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way”, sang Whitney Houston in one of her all-time favourite songs. And it certainly seems that learning good habits while young is far easier than un-learning bad habits when we are older.

Heroes don’t always wear capes. They are usually amongst us, doing their bit to make this world a better place. You’re probably one of them…!

Not yet, but there’s been a flurry of positive action since the ABC’s recent TV series hit our screens six months ago.  With over 3.7 million viewers, the three-part series shone a light on the stuff we consume and throw away, hitting a raw nerve with the nation. 

Interview with Seb Berry, Found of the TODAY App and FutureKind

Ever felt helpless in the face of big problems challenging our society? Climate change, environmental degradation, plastic pollution. Keen to make a positive contribution to the health of our world, but not sure where to start? You aren’t alone. Meet Bondi local, Seb Berry: Five years ago he felt the same way and set on a path to help himself and others take action, one day at a time.

Seb didn’t feel like he was doing ‘enough’ to show up and use his position of privilege in the world. “I wanted to focus on what was important and live with more purpose, but didn’t know how to,” says Seb.

Like all passionate change-makers he threw himself into a new project to create the TODAY app.

Here’s the low-down from my catch-up with Seb:

It’s that time of the year when the gardeners amongst us emerge to tackle neglected green patches. We prune, trim, plant, mow, and clip. And weed. Many of us curse (and relish) removing weeds that have flourished in winter.

Yet, contrary to popular belief, not all weeds are evil. A weed is just a plant growing in a place where it is unwanted. In fact, many of your stubborn garden weeds can have benefits.

Here’s the ‘dirt’ on why many garden-variety weeds can be happily left in the ground, under control.