You might already be aware that it's part of my mission to continue improving my sustainability and environmental impact as I work to help charities and for-purpose organisations with their comms. To keep me on track in continually improving my positive impact, I'm recording the steps I take each month in the blog post below. At the end of each year (April to March), I also do a roundup of that year's impact:
Last updated 3 November
Impact in... November 2024 to date
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 1,241 emails
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to 4myplanet to help protect coral reefs via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฎ Turned our dog walk into an impromptu beach clean
๐ Submitted 2 mermaid's purses to The Shark Trust's Great Eggcase Hunt
โ Signed a Change.org petition calling for the ban of single-use coffee cups (thanks to Enviral's Joss Ford for putting this on my radar)
Impact in... October 2024
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 1,645 emails
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to 4myplanet to help protect coral reefs via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฟ Funded around 320 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
๐ง Shared my expertise with early career professionals wanting tips on how to start off as a conservation writer
๐ด Planted 29 trees (for free) through Treeapp
๐ฆ Provided a couple of hours pro bono support to the Madagascar Whale Shark Project
โ๏ธ & took some time out before I burned out so I can continue to have a positive impact through my work (yes, that counts!)
Impact in... September 2024
๐ Took some time out of work to donate blood
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 764 emails
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to help build 15 latrines in 4 schools in Togo via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
โ๏ธ Signed a petition to protect the coastal rocky reefs in Espiritu Santo National Park (via the Manta Trust)
โฎ๏ธ For the UN's International Day of Charity (5 Sept), I made a small donation (ยฃ25 each) to some important causes: RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Woodland Trust and Dogs Trust
๐ง Shared my expertise with early career professionals wanting tips on how to start off as a conservation writer
๐ฟ Funded around 233 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
๐ด Planted 34 trees (for free) through Treeapp
Impact in... August 2024
๐ง Shared my expertise with the fab Gen-Z copywriting community at Word Tonic to help them find ways of making a positive impact through their copywriting careers
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 1,121 emails
๐ฌ Shared my advice with another writer who wanted to make a positive impact through their work
๐ฟ Funded around 217 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to help build 15 latrines in 4 schools in Togo via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฐ๏ธ Spent half a day helping WWF identify walrus from space as a citizen scientist (don't forget, you can help too! Just have a go online)
๐ด Planted 36 trees (for free) through Treeapp
โ๏ธ Signed Oceana's petition to ban bottom trawling in Scottish MPAs
Impact in... July 2024
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 2,459 emails
๐๏ธ and spent some time clearing out my Google Drive - deleting 8GB that had somehow built up in the cloud
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to provide medicine for people in Niger via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฟ Funded around 240 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
๐ง Shared my expertise & tips with a career switcher who wanted to make a positive impact through their work
๐ด Planted 35 trees (for free) through Treeapp
๐ฐ๏ธ Spent an hour helping WWF identify walrus from space as a citizen scientist (don't forget, you can help too! Just have a go online)
Impact in... June 2024
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 835 emails
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to Movember via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฟ Funded around 230 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
โ๏ธ Added my name to the Marine Conservation Society's petition to Stop Ocean Poison
๐ฌ I shared tips & advice with some junior writers and career switchers so they can try to make a difference through their work
๐ด Planted 34 trees (for free) through Treeapp
Impact in... May 2024
๐ฟ Funded around 273 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 768 emails
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to The Oceancy via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ฏ Set some impact goals for this year to try to keep on track
โ๏ธ Signed an open letter urging the end of whale hunting in Iceland
โ๏ธ Added my name to the Marine Conservation Society's open letter on a Manifesto for Our Seas
โ๏ธ Signed an IFAW petition to make the ocean safer and quieter for whales
๐ด Planted 36 trees (for free) through Treeapp
Impact in... April 2024
๐ฟ Funded around 400 seagrass seeds by donating to Project Seagrass via Work for Good
โ๏ธ Kept my digital carbon footprint down by permanently deleting 1,267 emails
๐ฐ๏ธ Spent half a day helping WWF identify walrus from space as a citizen scientist (don't forget, you can help too! Just have a go online)
๐ Donated 500 โWardsโ (aka ยฃ2.50) generated by my steps to The Oceancy via WeWard (referral code: MELL-J7s3F)
๐ด Planted 34 trees (for free) through Treeapp
Ongoing
Proudly supporting Project Seagrass โ๏ธ
Default search engine = Ecosia โ๏ธ
Continuing to share stories about why we should protect the ocean through my marine science and conservation journalism โ๏ธ
Changes between '23-'24 and '24-25
๐ฒMy default search engine Ecosia has stopped showing individual impact... so I won't be able to count this from now on ๐
๐ณ Activities of the Ecologi Climate Committee are currently on pause
๐ด I am currently pausing my Ecologi subscription and will focus on donations to Project Seagrass instead
Goals
To try to keep myself accountable, here are some goals for the 24-25 year:
๐ 7+ days of pro bono support, volunteering and citizen science
๐ฟ Funding enough for 2,500 seagrass seeds
๐ฐ Donating 1.5%+ of my income to good causes
๐๏ธ Sign 30+ petitions
๐ฎ Take part in 2+ beach cleans
๐ Submit 10+ mermaid's purses to The Shark Trust's Great Eggcase Hunt