Hosted by the UK for the first time last month, Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson shares her reflections on the European Straw Bale Gathering 2019. Read more …

Are you tempted to give learning to spin or weave a whirl but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you have a friend or family member looking for a new craft challenge? Our new online courses are for you! Read more …

The Land Justice Network national gathering is your chance to learn about their work campaigning for land reform and to together help plan next steps. Read more …

Sophie Paterson of Lowimpact.org takes a look at the diversity of tastes offered by fermentation, a low-impact form of food preservation which has endured through time and across cultures. Read more …

In this latest update on the Human Power Plant experiment, we learn just what a daily power generation schedule might involve when it comes to 750 students of Utrecht University literally producing their very own electricity. Read more …

Sophie Paterson explores how a movement founded in France is connecting communities to local farmers and food makers across Britain: enter The Food Assembly. But does it really offer the best deal to producers, hosts and customers alike? Read more …

Eco-consumption, ethical consumerism, sustainable shopping. Call it what we may, “buying green” has grown into something of a hot topic in the last decade. But is it the sustainable solution some claim it to be or is it in fact the perfect distraction? Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson explores. Read more …

In this post Sophie Paterson of Lowimpact.org explores the power of sharing in a growing movement including The Library of Things, Streetbank, Share Shops and more. Read more …

We take a look at the food it may take to fuel the great Human Power Plant, an experiment in the making where students of Utrecht University in the Netherlands will power their very own carbon-neutral accommodation block. Read more …

Perhaps these days most commonly associated with the garden, there’s more to the humble wheelbarrow than you might think. Sophie Paterson explores its potential, past and present, as a low-impact form of transportation. Read more …

With UK media decrying a recent YouGov survey revealing a whopping 69% of 18-24 year olds in the UK don’t know how to bleed a radiator and 54% would be flummoxed replacing a fuse, what hope is there for a repair renaissance amidst the current tide of throwaway consumerism? Read more …

We’re excited to introduce our new Facebook group Living Low Impact – and you’re invited! Read more …

With winter on the way and inspired by a recent visit to the Weald & Downland Museum, Sophie Paterson explores a selection of historical personal heating methods. Could they be adopted in homes today? Read more …

Regular readers of our blog may recall an earlier post about an exciting experiment taking place in the Netherlands in the form of a hydro-pneumatic human power plant harnessing human energy. Here’s an update on progress so far. Read more …

Once a mainstay of households in times gone by, the humble larder provided a practical storage solution for foodstuffs requiring storage over a longer period of time. Read more …

Downshifting means working less, earning less and spending less and it’s what Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson has spent the past year attempting to do. She shares what she’s learnt so far and why she’d encourage others to embrace downshifting too. Read more …

Asked to describe the average greenhouse, many readers might picture a mainly glass structure. There is, however, an alternative which offers even greater growing potential across the seasons with far less energy consumption: the solar greenhouse. Particularly popular in China since the late 1970s, solar greenhouses make use of passive solar energy to retain the maximum possible amount of heat. Read more …

Taking pedal power to a whole new level, an ambitious project will see the conversion of a 22 floor building into an entirely human powered community of 750 students at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Dubbed the Human Power Plant, Kris de Decker of Low-tech Magazine and artist Melle Smets will lead a team exploring the feasibility of modern human energy production in what promises to be both a technical and social challenge. Read more …

A groundswell of farmers around the world are working out how to farm in a more ecologically-friendly way. One the farmers leading the farming revolution in the UK is John Cherry, who has set up a 2-day conference on his farm in Hertfordshire, 28th and 29th of June. Read more …

You may remember from our post in May that the month of June marks The Marine Conservation Society’s Plastic Challenge. But what is it actually like to give up plastic? We spoke to campaigner Kate Armstrong of plasticisrubbish.com about her decade-long journey towards and campaign for a plastic-free existence. Read more …