For Animals For Earth - a calm, non-judgemental place to learn

Are zoos ethical?  We’ll help you find that answer for yourself in today’s interview.  As imagined, it’s not a simple yes or no.

Wildlife emergency app, Animal Help Now, provides 24 hour wildlife rescue and advice based on your location.  The database contains only humane wildlife rehabilitators and veterinarians for wildlife emergencies and conflict.

I interviewed co-founder and executive director, Dave Crawford, in episode 76.  The thing that I love most about the Animal Help Now wildlife emergency app is that it was created within the wildlife rehabilitation community.  It specifically lists people who have been trained in humane wildlife emergency and conflict treatment.

They will advise solutions with the best possible outcome for the animal. This is not likely to happen if you simply search Google for help.

Download the app now so that you have it quickly available if you do see an animal in need. And please share this in your neighborhood groups and with friends!

Apple:

Oluwakemi Oluwasegun (“Kemi”) is changing the face of sustainability in her Nigerian community with cassava and kindness, and she's looking for support.

She lives in the quiet and peaceful community of Ila Orangun, Nigeria.  She happens to be one of the most genuine and kind people that I have met.  She has not had an easy life, yet grounded in God, she’s constantly thinking about how she can help other people.  

She discussed three projects with us in this episode: her cassava factory and potential cassava farm (Winners Food Processing), reusable pads for the girls in her community, and donations of physical goods to help local orphanages with the Oluwadabira Foundation.

Investing in or supporting Kemi’s projects is simple.  She’s looking for people who can donate money, clothing, shoes, bags, books, etc. that will keep her projects afloat.  

If we can’t support her directly, we can share her work with those around us.  We never know who may be able to help.  Thank you for listening.

Listen, Watch or Read Details:

Dr. Vicky Bond, president of The Humane League, walks us through the truth about eggs.  We discuss everything from what life looks like for egg-laying hens in our industrialized food system to which eggs to buy at the store if we’re not vegan.

The Humane League is a global non-profit organization focused on helping animals who are raised for food.  The group educates and influences the public, and decision-makers within brands such as McDonald’s and Jollibee, to pledge and work to use only cage-free eggs by 2025.

They started this project in 2015 when only 6-7% of hens were cage-free in the US.  Now the U.S. is at 40% and big brands such as Nestle have proven that it’s possible to go 100% cage-free.

Vicky believes that it is possible that we can end caged hens in our lifetime, but it takes the work of many animal lovers coming together to make that happen.  The Humane League provides the framework, and we simply need to sign up for the Fast Action Network and contribute a couple of minutes per day to be a part of this movement.

FAST ACTION NETWORK:

How to avoid burnout… this is the million-dollar question for so many of us, right?  We want to help animals and the earth but it’s exhausting.  And when other people don’t seem to be on board it gets even harder.

I’ve been struggling with burnout this year.  Our move to Florida was announced a year ago, and the saga of deciding whether to go, and then executing on it has been… intense!  I found myself with very little momentum to do anything.

I did however feel inspired to bounce back after watching my earth-loving friends slay their businesses and decided to ask them how they avoid burnout.  It turned into this panel discussion.  The overarching theme was:

SIMPLIFY.  Begin by REALLY knowing ourselves.  Choose our priorities by NARROWING DOWN and ONLY CHOOSING those that align with WHO WE ARE, and WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS in our life.  And then STAY IN OUR LANE and keep delivering on those few priorities.  Simple right? ;-)

CONTACT INFO:

Hi friend!  Today's episode is a quick update to share the lay of the land for the next few weeks.  Join me next week for "Ways We May Be Promoting Anti-Blackness in Sustainability, Without Even Knowing It".  

FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY:

Tis’ the season for gift-giving, and I’ve curated 5 DIY minimalist gift ideas for your earth and animal-loving friends.

I personally find this season to be a tough balance on my values.  Gifts are expected in most of my circles, and they are a part of our Christmas tradition.  My kids genuinely get so excited when Christmas comes around, and I love to see their eyes light up when they see presents under the tree.  I also like to give something small to my neighbors, and to the people who genuinely light up my life each day.  It’s such a nice way to say thank you.

But… how do we give gifts in a conscious way?  It’s hard, isn’t it?  I hope that this list will give you a good idea to try.  Let me know in the comments if you try any of these DIY minimalist gift ideas, or if you have favorites of your own.  I would love to update this each year with 5 new ideas.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Try one of the DIY gift ideas on this list.

SHOW NOTES:

Ulara Nakagawa of Elephants in Japan taught me today about elephants in captivity. She specifically focuses on helping elephants who are in solitary captivity in Japan, but her organization teaches about elephant welfare all over the world.

She shared a helpful analogy:

An elephant, in captivity alone, in a small concrete zoo, is like a human being, being locked into a bathroom, not being allowed to talk to anyone, and being kept there for 60+ years.

It puts it into perspective, doesn’t it? Elephants are increasingly known as sensitive, smart, and compassionate beings who need significant stimulation and space to roam. They show signs of stress through deeply repetitive coping behaviors such as bobbing, walking back and forth, or flipping over the same toy in the same way, again and again.

Ulara’s investigations have not only uncovered torturous conditions in zoos in Japan but ways to make things better in the short term, midterm, and long term for each elephant. Her findings pertain to elephants in captivity everywhere, and we can all read, learn and spread the word around us.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Read the Solitary Elephants in Japan report on the Elephants in Japan website. Then funnel our emotions into a tiny action to help elephants in captivity. I've rounded up tons of ideas in the show notes and linked to the report there.

SHOW NOTES:

COP26 Climate Summit… have you heard this set of words left and right for the past few weeks?  There’s a good reason why.  This is an incredibly important moment in time as the climate continues to suffer from global greenhouse emissions that are too high and a lack of forests to process them.

COP26 is wrapping up in Glasgow now, but number 26 is just this year’s conference.  This climate summit happens every year, and a lot of pressure exists right now to not only have it happen annually but to require countries to update their pledges yearly as well.

I have outlined what the conference is, some history to it, new announcements that were made this year, why activists are upset, and what we can do to take some power into our own hands.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Spark conversation about the Summit in a non-confrontational way. If you learn something new today, or you choose an idea from the list at the end to try, share that with a friend and see if you can spark some conversation about what’s happening. Send that little ripple into the world. ;-)

SHOW NOTES:

Jess Taylor and Natalie Ringeis of Love the Green Life Org taught me how to build a Certified Wildlife Habitat in my own backyard today!  This is such a cool and simple way to not only help wildlife, but to actually become friends with the animals that we share our space with here on earth.

Put on by the National Wildlife Federation, this is actually pretty simple. We provide sources for cover, food, water, a place to raise young and make it all sustainable. Check out the episode for details and links to get started.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Spend 15 minutes in the backyard. Take coffee, a journal, a coloring book, etc. and observe.  Use this as a starting point to build a certified wildlife habitat that genuinely helps the animals in our yard.

SHOW NOTES:

Episode 62 is a bit of a bonus episode where I share some milestones and turning points in my own personal journey looking for ways to help animals.  It’s been hard for me to make a difference and find sustainable ways to do so over the years as my life changes.  I hope this is interesting and that you can relate with your own journey.  Let me know!

SIMPLE IDEA:

Keep going and don’t give up. (I tell myself everyday lol.)

SHOW NOTES:

Hans Pfister, president of Cayuga Collection, joined me from San Jose, Costa Rica to talk about sustainable tourism.  We spent our time discussing how he does things differently with his group of sustainable luxury hotels.  He says, “Fire can be something very useful, but it can also be very destructive.  Tourism is the same way.”  He urges the hospitality industry and consumers alike to think local, think long-term, and get creative.

Hans took me through how they do things differently at Cayuga Collection, giving us a list of things to look for when we're booking a vacation.  Details can be found in the show notes (linked below).

SIMPLE IDEA:

Ask questions. Call the hotel that we are thinking of booking.  Ask them, “What do you do to be sustainable?  What does sustainability mean for you?”  If we get a good answer, we can feel comfortable booking.  When we’re at the destination, ask the staff questions such as, “How did this place look 20 years ago before tourism?  Has it improved?  Is it worse?” Share what we find with the people around us.

SHOW NOTES:

Hans Pfister, president of Cayuga Collection, joined me from San Jose, Costa Rica to talk about sustainable tourism.  We spent our time discussing how he does things differently with his group of sustainable luxury hotels.  He says, “Fire can be something very useful, but it can also be very destructive.  Tourism is the same way.”  He urges the hospitality industry and consumers alike to think local, think long-term, and get creative.

Hans took me through how they do things differently at Cayuga Collection, giving us a list of things to look for when we're booking a vacation.  Details can be found in the show notes (linked below).

SIMPLE IDEA:

Ask questions. Call the hotel that we are thinking of booking.  Ask them, “What do you do to be sustainable?  What does sustainability mean for you?”  If we get a good answer, we can feel comfortable booking.  When we’re at the destination, ask the staff questions such as, “How did this place look 20 years ago before tourism?  Has it improved?  Is it worse?” Share what we find with the people around us.

SHOW NOTES:

Wondering what to do with an old t-shirt that you just found in your closet?  It’s not straightforward, is it?

We know that if we donate it to Goodwill, it’s likely to find its way to the landfill.  If we hand it off to someone else, they’re likely to donate it, and it comes back around to the landfill.

So what can we do with that old t-shirt?  I’ve put together these 8 unique ideas, with links to easy tutorials in the show notes. 

1. Use dye to cover up stains
2. Repair it
3. Turn it into a cute yoga top
4. Turn it into a tote bag
5. Make no heat hair rollers for curls
6. Create fabric twist ties
7. Make dog beds for the local shelter
8. Create a rice heating pad

SHOW NOTES:

Lesley-Anne Pereira joined me to chat about how to start a sustainable closet.  She is a fashion blogger at Style Me Sustainably (StyleMeSustainably.com), based in Glendora, California.  Lesley-Anne brings a perspective to sustainable fashion that is different from most activists I have met.  She is fun, grounded, and easy going.  She says that she “refuses to let fashion be the villain”, and she exudes that attitude.

Lesley-Anne walks us through her easy tips for starting a sustainable closet and encourages us to bring the fun back into fashion.  Her light-hearted attitude is a breath of fresh air in what often feels like a heavy task – navigating sustainability.

SHOW NOTES:

I love sustainable products marketplaces. They make life as a conscious consumer so much easier by pulling together products that are all made ethically, without significantly harming the environment.

I've added a list of 30+ marketplaces that I think are good and offer a wide variety of options to our free library (linked below). I chose 6 to highlight today: Leaf'd, Made Trade, Blk + Grn, The Cura Co., Ten Thousand Villages, Uncommon Goods.

SHOW NOTES:

Natural remedies for anxiety and panic attacks are a daily part of my life.  Do you ever feel like you are milliseconds away from a panic attack?  I think that’s just part of being an empath and feeling the pain of humans and animals around us. But how do we manage it so that we can continue to go out and make changes in the world?

That’s the million dollar question.

Below are four natural remedies that I pull from in my daily life.  These usually help me calm my nerves enough to pull out of that extreme anxiety mode and move forward.

1. Young Living Valor essential oil

2. Chakra crystals & meditation

3. Boxed Breathing & Gassho

4. Guided meditation on Insight Timer

SIMPLE IDEA:

Try one of these 4 ideas next time anxiety or panic is bothering you. And share one simple idea of your own in the show note comments (link below).

SHOW NOTES:

Why should we care about the environment? Here are 3 statistics that I keep top of mind for conversations about animals and the earth. Please comment below, and link to the source, to let us know of any other statistics that you keep top of mind. Thank you!

3 STATISTICS TO KEEP TOP OF MIND:

Do you sign petitions for animals often? I used to sign things as they came across my view, but it was once or twice a year, and never something that I consciously did.

I realized a few years ago that some non-profits round up lists of current petitions and make them extremely easy to sign. They have forms that look up our local government representatives, or simply add our signature to a list.

This episode includes a list of my 6 favorite sites.

SIMPLE IDEA:

The simple idea for today is to schedule one day per month, pick one favorite website, and sign a few petitions on that day each month. My favorite number is 16. So I’m planning to sign in to one of these sites on the 16th each month to sign a couple of petitions.

6 PLACES TO SIGN PETITIONS FOR ANIMALS:

I get asked this a lot: "What products do you use?"  Over the years I've done countless hours of my own research, deciding whether I believed in companies enough to use their products or not.  And I'm in love with my conscious makeup drawer.

And I'm excited to share it with you!  We can all support these companies together and help them grow.

SIMPLE IDEA:

I’m speaking at the Plant Power Virtual Summit 2021 next week!

My workshop is called “How to Make a Difference, Without Spending a Lot of Time”.  I hope you will come join me.  It’s free!

FULL EPISODE:

Love the Green Life Podcast:

https://www.lovethegreenlife.org/podcast/episode/1d83980a/animal-reiki-and-connection-with-brandy-heyde-montague-of-the-for-animals-for-earth-podcast

SIGN UP FOR SUMMIT:

My view of animal reiki is a little different from most reiki practitioners.  I’ve learned the Let Animals Lead® method by Kathleen Prasad, in which we share space with an animal and let the animal lead the session.

Together we focus on meditation and going within for healing, rather than immediately placing our hands on an animal.  We let the animal decide how the session will go.

I truly believe that a power higher than us connects our souls to each other, the animals, and the earth around us.  I see an animal reiki session as an opportunity to quiet our minds, calm our hearts, and sit together for the higher good of the people, and the animals, present.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Learn more about animal reiki in one of these 3 ways:

What are your Earth Day plans? I was reflecting on the transition of Earth Day over the last 30 years that I’ve been aware that it exists. Now we have Earth Month, which I do appreciate a full April focus. But I think realistically we need Earth 365, every day of the year. I know you all feel the same way. ;-)

Anyway… I do get excited about marking the day, especially with the kids. I came up with 5 activities that you may want to choose from if you haven’t already made plans. They’re simple. And they’ll take you less than 10 minutes to get a plan in place. I’m doing #1 on the list this year.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Pick one of these 5 and make a plan.

SHOW NOTES:

How do we apply the UN Sustainable Development Goals to our personal lives? Here are my favorite resources from the United Nations website.

SIMPLE IDEA:

Sustainability really starts at the individual level.  If we don’t have conversations to support each other, we often don’t understand what others are going through.  We can become discouraged when we look at the world and see that others aren’t aligning with what we believe is important.  And sadly, that can cause us to give up.  Of course we make a bigger difference together when we all align on a topic, but sometimes we don’t align, and that doesn’t mean that we’re not still making a difference, in our own ways.

As you've probably noticed, our minds, bodies and souls flourish when we connect with nature.  But sometimes it's not as easy to get out on a long, nourishing hike as we would like it to be.

SIMPLE IDEA:

This episode includes 5 simple ideas that I use to connect with nature in my daily life.

As well as one easy grounding exercise that you can use to connect with nature quickly if you only have a few minutes to soak it in.

SHOW NOTES & TRANSCRIPT:

Looking for easy vegan and gluten free substitutes?  I remember a friend telling me, “It’s easy to be vegan once you figure out what your substitutes are.” and I have to agree that she’s right.

In this episode I quickly take you through 5 vegan and gluten free substitutes that have changed my life.  I have been a vegetarian most of my life, but about 3 years ago I discovered that I have Graves Disease and need to eat gluten free as well.  

It was hard at first, but I finally found my substitutes, and now cooking at home is fairly easy and straightforward.

I hope that my list will make it easy on you too.  For more of my favorite vegan and gluten free substitutes, visit the show notes at:  

Do you find yourself wanting to buy ethical and sustainable clothing?  But it takes forever to find brands that you trust?  I wanted:

• laborers paid a living wage,
• ethical working conditions,
• sustainable materials,
• sustainable processes,
• cruelty free,
• net zero carbon emissions….

The list goes on doesn’t it?! And it’s really hard to find brands that openly communicate all of these things.

But I found a company that has made it super easy, and one of the founders, Erin Houston, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania came on the podcast today!

Call your local animal shelter or refuge first before taking these items, to make sure that they need them.

1. Old towels and blankets

2. Unused Medication & Cleaning Supplies

3. Buy One, Get One

4. Surplus veggies, fruits, pet food

5. Free marketing

Bonus: Donate old toys to local animal shelters or wildlife refuge.