It’s the first of March and Spring has sprung. In the last week, our mild winter has melded softly into more blue sky days and some double digit temperatures. Bunches of green pointed leaves have broken through the soil and the anticipation of bright bursts of yellow daffodils lies hopefully in parks and gardens. It would appear that unusually, the heralding of Spring has corresponded with its calendar counterpart.

It’s come after months of storms and torrential rain which has put something of a dampener on the start of 2014 for many in the UK. And waging a watery war with this, one of the harbingers of climate change, brings us to this month’s Calendar Challenge from Simon Drew…I was reading an article about the impact on rising sea levels this week. A report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers released five years ago suggests that areas like London and the Norfolk Broads could be consigned to a watery grave if society’s impact on the environment continues unchecked. Images source: http://www.carbonmanagers.com

Ecologically speaking, one could argue that this small island nation has good reason to worry.  And yet on the other hand, a large – or certainly larger than it should be – proportion of the world’s population has no access to water.

A recent campaign by Water Aid UK shows a young girl walking more than two hours to draw ‘life-giving’ water from a muddy pool, dirty water that could kill her or her family. How often each day do we simply turn on the tap – to fill the kettle, brush our teeth or even take a drink of cool, clear, safe water?  Even with all of our efforts at limiting water waste, we live in our Western ‘bubble’ where having no access to a flushing toilet or a morning shower occurs not as a part of everyday life but rather as a short term immersive ‘experience’ in the realms of adventure travel.

So this year, I’ve started donating to Water Aid UK – as little as £10 per month is enough to fund a well to reach clean water far underground.

There are a myriad of ways to contribute more to the world we live in and this is my small step into this battle alongside the elements. But every journey starts by putting one foot in front of the other and along with my monetary contributions, I’m also hoping that tuning my environmental antenna to such a cause will lead to more opportunities to educate myself and understand how I can make a difference.

Oh and I’ve also resolved to stop grumbling about the rain.

Calendar Challenge 2014 – Back Catalogue

Keep calm and carry on

Sour grapes