Arctic Circle Cartoon - Going Plastic Free

Plastic pollution is a problem everywhere and particularly near waterways. And sending it to landfill isn't the answer, as New Zealand found out recently when heavy rains caused a huge part of a landfill to be washed into the Fox River. You can find plastic on nearly every beach in the world. Even on the relatively pristine beaches near New Zealand's Abel Tasman National Park. I went to Stephen's Bay yesterday.

Stephen’s Bay

Stephen’s Bay beach

It's a small beach, but I still picked up a couple of pieces of plastic (the packaging was something I found en route to the beach).

The best way to prevent single use plastic ending up in the ocean is to not buy it in the first place.

Since it is plastic-free July, I'm going to try not to bring any new plastic into my life this month. The challenges so far have been contact lens solution, which only comes in plastic bottles (I will make the one I have last longer by wearing my glasses more), and crisps. Crisp packets cannot usually be recycled. I love crisps and it is hard to make them from scratch without a deep fat fryer. But I discovered that Proper Crisps (based in Nelson, near where I'm staying at the top of the South Island) have released a crisp packet that it is biodegradable.

I'm amazed to see if that it even looks like foil inside.

Is this really going to break down in my compost? Watch this space.

I saw this by the beach too. Although it looks manmade, it is actually a basket fungus!

Arctic Circle Cartoons - Inspired by Greta Thunberg and the Extinction Rebellion

It is amazing how one girl has done more to inspire the western world to act than countless other protesters. And I admire (and took part in) Extinction Rebellion’s peaceful protests.

Arctic Circle Cartoons - Trying Out a Plant-Based Diet Though Not Being Proper Vegan

I'm trying out a plant-based diet this month for health as well as environmental reasons. I’d really like to cut my meat and dairy consumption drastically, but the boyf isn’t as keen…

That said, being the sweetie he is, he treated me to a vegan lunch at Grater Goods, a plant-based delicatessen and cafe.

We went for the “Reuben” sandwiches and I thought it was better than a regular Reuben. But I have always struggled a little with the texture of meat, as well as the idea of it.

Reuben sandwich at Grater Goods

I’m not going the whole hog (ha!) though - I am keen to emphasise plant-based diet over veganism, as I still love wearing wool and leather.

Update 3rd July 2019:

I went the entire month of June with a plant-based diet. Eating at home was okay, but it was really hard to eat out apart from when we went to the vegan deli (see above).I didn't miss meat at all, but boy, did I miss cheese … and yes, I did discover the delights of nutritional yeast and I made vegan parmesan. And that was okay. But the vegan cheese on pizza? Not the same…

I celebrated being off the cheese abstinence wagon with a cheese and sauerkraut toastie yesterday. Yum!

Arctic Circle Cartoon - Eating Invasive Species

I really enjoyed drawing panel 3 of this cartoon. Poor Oscar...

And here are some more cartoons I’ve drawn about invasive species (we have quite a few in New Zealand, but so far I haven’t featured possums and stoats in the strip).