3 ways to make friends while helping the planet

Oct 28, 2023 | community, sustainability

Saving the planet is not a solitary task. It takes many hands and many voices. Kate Leaver in her book The friendship cure states decisively that friendship is the cure to our modern epidemic of loneliness. We couldn’t agree more so if you’re looking to make new friends here’s some ideas for how you can go green and connect with some great humans.

  1. Volunteer

Join a local Landcare organisation, become an activist for Greenpeace, take part in a Clean Up Australia Day or Plastic Free July event. Volunteering is a great way to make new friends and meet like-minded people who care about the planet as much as you do. Sonja Lyubomirsky in The how of happiness has even declared that volunteer work makes you happy too!

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

2. Compost

If you’ve got food scraps you can be matched with a local composter who will allow you to use their composting facility for free. Brisbane City Council, for instance, has community compost hubs where you can take your compost and have a chat too! It might be the start of an unlikely friendship but this is a good way to get to know your neighbours and maybe even make a new friend.

3. Little street libraries

Little street libraries have the potential to help you make new friends. Leave your name and mobile number in a book and ask whoever selects it to send you a text or give you a call with their opinion of the book. Little street libraries create community and from community friendship grows!

Photo by Jay Wennington on Unsplash

So if you’re an eco-warrior on the look-out for some company try one of these methods and let us know how you go! We’re big believers that a problem shared is a problem halved and so making friends, therefore, is very important for the future of our planet and ourselves.

By Anne Reddacliff, ALIA Sustainable Libraries Committee Member

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