Eco Church

Eco Friendly Approach to our Wardrobe

Being eco friendly means living in a way that is not harmful to the environment, protecting our planet from man made damage.

One area we can look at to reduce our harm is our clothes.

Have you considered:

• buying clothes made ethically from natural fibres.  Synthetic material sheds micro plastics that pollutes the sea. (16% of the 500,000 tonnes that are deposited yearly into the oceans comes from washing synthetic clothes).

• buying from charity shops is now very fashionable. You will find  a wide range of garments in very good condition at reasonable cost.

• donating wearable clothes to a charity rather than putting them in the rubbish bin. ( UK produces around 1 million tonnes of textile waste per year which ends up in landfill for hundreds of years releasing greenhouse gases.)

• washing clothes less - many items don’t require washing after one wear, especially in the cold weather when we are wearing multiple layers or when the item has only been worn for  a short time.  

• removing stains by spot cleaning without washing the whole garment. 

• washing clothes at a lower temperature. - check the washing instructions - many items are now recommended to be washed at low temperatures and shorter cycles saving fuel and reducing the wear and tear on both the washing machine and the garments

• mending garments rather than replacing them - here is a link to some clear instructions and videos for common repairs if you would like to give it a try  https://repairwhatyouwear.com/

Eco Team Autumn Ramble 2024

On Friday 27 September, after meeting at the Donmouth Nature Reserve, 10 of us set off to explore the lower reaches of the River Don to Persley. 

Birds spotted on the walk included a whooper swan, cormorants, mute swans, mallards, black headed gulls, a buzzard and a great tit. The Donside Heritage Trail highlights the association of the River Don with the textile mills industry and there are a number of information boards describing the existing links to the industry and the wildlife of the area. 

We were fortunate with a lot of sunshine for the day to show off the autumn colours. We followed the south side of the Don to the Brig o’Balgownie with its attractive early 17th Century gothic arch of granite and sandstone, then into Seaton Park, and on to view the Donside Hydro which was Scotland’s first community hydro scheme, providing green energy and income for local environmental projects. 

The group continued to the Grandholm Bridge. The existing steel bridge replaced the original wooden “White” bridge in 1922 providing access for the workers to the Grandholm Mills. 

We followed Persley Den, the wooded valley through which runs the Grandholm Lade which took water from the Don to the Crombie Mill. After refreshments at Tesco we crossed the Persley Bridge, inspecting March stone 49, one of 67 stones which mark the historic boundary of Aberdeen’s Freedom Lands. 

Then we went into Persley Walled Garden, dedicated in commemoration of Workers Memorial Day. The garden is beautifully maintainedand has a small black obelisk dedicated to those who lost their lives in industry. Our next feature of interest was Persley Castle or The Barracks, which provided accommodation for children who worked in the textile mills and were known as the “bun boys” because they were apprenticed to the calico printing industry. 

We then walked along the south side of the Don past the sluice gates which form a bridge over two lades, stopping again to inspect the two large drive wheels near the site of the Woodside Works. Crossing the Grandholm Bridge again we could see Andy Scott’s statue of Mother Earth draped in “steel” fabric before crossing a narrow footbridge over the Grandholm Lade. The final leg of the walk took us past the Thomas Glover House and past the Brig o’Balgownie before completing our “figure of eight”.