Author Archive | Jennie Lyon

These days, more and more people are talking about the benefits of online learning and how it can help you learn new skills. These skills can then be used to search for a new career, but they can also be used to augment your existing skills to provide you with new opportunities to climb up the career ladder. There’s no doubt that online learning has become one of the best ways to grow your skills, but there are some unsung environmental benefits to online learning that makes it even better.

So in this post, we’ll be taking a look at some of those environmental benefits that come with online education and why you should consider it over alternatives when possible.

Reducing paper waste

Deforestation is one of the biggest issues when it comes to safeguarding our planet. Despite efforts to replant trees that are cut down, we’re using more and more products that come from trees and our usage isn’t going to slow down. One of the most common products that we create from trees is actually paper. Paper is one of the biggest waste products created by schools and companies around the world. In the context of education, it’s perhaps the most concerning waste product that we create. In fact, a single tonne of paper waste is equal to around 16 large trees.

In addition, traditional academic study requires the use of large and heavy books that are reprinted over and over again to account for small changes. Since the contents of a book cannot be changed once it’s printed, publishers need to release new revisions. In some cases, these revisions only change a handful of things, but the whole book needs to be reprinted and the old books need to be purged. Many of these old books end up in landfills or aren’t recycled properly, meaning they end up becoming paper waste.

But this is where online education comes in handy. Instead of using copious amounts of paper for educational purposes, online education allows you to access online resources that don’t need to be printed out and they can easily be revised by making changes digitally. If you’re looking for a good reason to try online education instead of studying at a college, then reducing paper waste is a great choice.

Saving natural resources

Large academic buildings use a surprising amount of resources for power and heat. These large buildings need plenty of energy because of all the electronics inside, and they also need to be left on for long periods of time because classes can take place at any time during the day or evening. Studies have shown that online learning consumes a fraction of energy compared to traditional learning, and part of this is because large buildings require an enormous amount of power to function correctly. With so many staff members travelling to and from work and many different systems needing to be online, we can save a lot of natural resources if we decided to utilise more online learning programs instead of relying on traditional learning.

If you’re looking for careers in the green industry, then you don’t need to visit a traditional classroom anymore. You can study many of these concepts online and save on natural resources. While a handful of students switching to online study won’t make a huge difference in the natural resources that are used to power an academic facility, it can become a trend that gradually converts more and more people to the alternatives. There are other benefits to online learning too, such as being a convenient way to study at home without needing to leave the comfort of your personal space. Combined with the environmental benefits, we believe that it can be easy to convince people to try online education instead.

Lowering gas usage and emissions

One of the surprising environmental benefits that come with online education is being able to reduce your gas usage. Since many towns and cities are split between residential, commercial, and government zones, it means that you’ll typically need to drive a fair distance before arriving at your college. Unfortunately, driving can also cause a lot of gas waste, especially if you have to sit in stop and start traffic for a long period of time. Idling in your car or even driving to college just for a single class can be a huge waste of gas and use up a lot of natural resources.

This can be amplified when it comes to certain courses. For instance, you might be expected to drive to a local hospital to continue your education, or you might need to drive a long distance to a workplace that has accepted you as an intern. While some of this might be unavoidable if you want the best education, you can certainly reduce the environmental impact your education has by utilising online learning. In fact, you can even study an online MBA in health administration–a course that typically requires you to study for many hours in a classroom and even attend a local hospital for the experience. By keeping you at home for studying, you’ll lower your gas usage and you can study in the comfort of your own space.

But gas usage isn’t the only thing that is lowered when you stop commuting to classes. According to studies, distance learning courses result in a 90% reduction in emissions. In addition, the study also talks about full-time traditional students creating around 180 pounds of CO2 emissions, compared to just four pounds that an online student would create. This is a massive difference and goes to show just how impact travelling to our lessons really is.

So if you’re looking to help the planet, why not consider studying at home instead of attending your classes? These days, more and more educational institutes are offering distance learning courses and most of them don’t require you to come into the college at all. You can learn a surprising amount of things with online learning and many of the courses even offer proper certifications and qualifications at the end.

Gardening is an enjoyable pastime for so many of us. By creating a beautiful garden you can extend your living space, get some exercise, and learn about the natural world. You can even grow your own vegetables, and save yourself some money. To create a lovely garden, you need to focus on the health of your plants. To help you make some improvements today, consider these five ideas.

1 . Avoid crowding your plants

To create a healthy garden, you should avoid overcrowding your plants. Plants need their own space, when they are too close together, it’s difficult for plants to grow. If plants are crowded together this creates more humidity, making it easier for plant diseases to thrive. Plants that are crowded may be prone to diseases like rust or powdery mildew. Crowded plants will compete for nutrients and light, and may struggle to grow as a result.

2. Pest control 

To keep your garden healthy, you’ll need to keep the pests away from your plants and flowers. There are a few natural products that you can use for pest control. Chrysanthemum flowers are useful for pest control. You can purchase powdered chrysanthemums, and dust this powder over your plants. Alternatively, you might like to plant these flowers in your garden. Diatomaceous earth is another great option for pest control. It’s a kind of natural sand, which contains fossilized algae. Some pests are harder to remove than others, if you’re having an issue with mosquitoes you may need to contact Mosquito Control services.

3. Make healthy compost

With a healthy compost pile, you can grow delicious vegetables. Make sure that you use ‘green materials’ and ‘brown materials’ in equal measure. Brown materials include prunings, chips of wood, or cardboard. These materials produce carbon for the pile. Green materials are rich in nitrogen, and include vegetable scraps, clippings of grass, and plant waste. You’ll need to aerate your compost pile to keep it healthy. You can use a compost tumbler, or a garden rake.

4. Permaculture gardening

Permaculture gardening means growing fruits, vegetables and herbs in your garden. This type of gardening depends on the wind, rain and sun, to help the garden thrive. It essentially means, ‘permanent agriculture’, with a focus on holistic gardening.

According to the Ecologist, ‘a natural growing system sustains a continuous cycle, with dead plants becoming mulch for new growth.’ The idea is that food waste is used as compost. Natural predators replace weed killing spray or slug pellets. Natural solutions help us to practice sustainable gardening.

5. Disease control 

To keep your garden healthy, it’s important to think about disease control. After the fall, you should have a clean up, removing dead leaves. If you clear away dead leaves it’s less likely that plant diseases will spread in your garden. When you’re planting new flowers, choose those that are more resistant to diseases. Ensure that you clean your garden tools, and always rotate the crops you are growing. Small adjustments like this will help you to prevent plant diseases.

With so many ways to improve the health of your garden, your plants and vegetables will soon be thriving!

Creating a healthy garden isn’t always easy. Plants are prone to various diseases, and it can be tricky to get rid of pests. To help you protect the health of your plants, try these five ideas.

1. Use Organic Fertilizer

Fertilizing your plants will help to keep them nice and healthy. Using an organic fertilizer will keep your plants strong against disease. You can also use composted manure, or regular compost. Organic fertilizers will help you to enrich the soil, improving the texture, and increasing healthy fungal and bacterial activity. Using synthetic fertilizers has the opposite effect, these products actually remove nutrients from your soil. Organic fertilizers are also safer for the planet.

2. Rotate vegetable crops

Rotating your crops is another great way to avoid disease. If you keep planting vegetables in the same place, you’re more likely to get diseases and pests. First, you’ll need to separate your garden into different areas. Decide which vegetables you will grow, and allocate one area per type of vegetable. Each year, move the vegetables, so each type is planted in a new area. To help you get started, try the Veggie Garden Planner app. The app provides plenty of great tips about crop rotations, and which vegetables work well together. You can also learn what you need to know about harvest and sowing times.

3 . Remember Sanitation Practices

To prevent plant diseases, remember to sanitize. You should clear away plant debris regularly, and cut back unhealthy stems. Ensure that you remove weeds swiftly, as soon as you spot them. If you leave the debris of diseased plants, the disease will spread throughout your garden. It’s best not to add diseased plants to your compost pile. It’s also a good idea to clean your gardening tools regularly. With the correct sanitation practices, you’ll keep your plants healthy.

4. Use Mulch

If your soil is infected with fungi, a layer of mulch can help to protect your plants. Mulch is also useful to prevent weeds and help the soil to retain moisture. There are several other benefits of mulch including:

• Protection for plants in extreme temperature conditions.
• You won’t need to water your plants as much.
• You’ll help microorganisms to thrive.
• Mulch is inexpensive and versatile, and you can use it in your garden all year around.

5. Deal with pests

To protect your garden, you’ll need to keep pests of your plants. Natural pest control options include chrysanthemum powder or diatomaceous earth. Sprinkling these on your plants should help to keep the pests away. With natural products and practices it’s easier to create an eco-friendly garden.

If you have trees in your garden you’ll need to prune these regularly to keep them healthy. Diseased trees can be more difficult to treat. If your trees are showing signs of disease you’ll need to call a Tree Disease Control specialist.  As you can see, there are plenty of ways that you can improve the health of your garden.