Digi Download

Got a great Lil app? Podcast? Other? Let us know! Here's some we love …

Good on You

An ethical guide to sustainable fashion in the palm of your hand. OK so some of the search function is a bit problematic but as a quick guide to whether a brand delivers for the environment, for its workers and for animal welfare its great. Those new Birkinstocks you wanted for summer? Birkenstock = a ‘not good enough’ rating. The limitations come in when you try to look for a suitable alternative but they are working on it all the time.

I really like their articles - really useful, practical advice & guides as well as news from the sustainable fashion sector and guidance on greenwashing (& Pink Washing during Pride!)

Available on IOS or Android

Merlin

LOVE this app! If you sit listening to the birdsong in the morning and wonder who’s singing, want to know who’s living in your local woodland patch or would like to id the birds at your bird feeder this is the app for you. Upload a photo, record the song or work through a series of questions to id your birds.

I particularly enjoy the sound id function - just press record and as the birds sing it will id each one and then continue to highlight the one that is singing at that moment. Soon you’ll start recognising the song yourself

🌲🌲🌲Forest app

I'm a recent convert and love it. Pop the timer on and get rewarded for focussed time by planting a tree.

How does it work?

Hit the stopwatch icon to help you keep focus for as long as you can, or set a break for how long you want to focus (for example, aim to take a break in 30mins).

It keeps you motivated (My fave phrase from it is “stop phubbing”), keeps a track of how long you've been working for, and rewards you with planting trees. Obviously the tree is enough of a win, but I also do love seeing that I have actually been working for longer than I thought 😂 love what you do and it never feels like work right? See my tree grow in the pictures below.

Forest app uses advertising income to pay for planting.

Get it here for Android and Apple. Forest says they plant with Trees for the Future, to plant real trees on Earth. “When our users spend virtual coins they earn in Forest on planting real trees, Forest team donates to our partner and creates planting orders”. It’s less accountable than Treeapp (next) on its planting, but the Trees for the Future website boasts 2mil trees planted through it, and it’s helping me focus, so I’m optimistic.

Treeapp 🌲

Another app that uses advertising income to plants trees, for both Apple and Android. Working with different planting partners, like Eden Reforestation and Source, Treeapp sends me a prompt to watch its advertising for about a minute, and then it’ll plant a tree when I’ve sat through said adverts, unlocking new countries and projects as a reward for planting.

I love Treeapp for its accountability. It shows me the projects, the species, and has an “Impact” tab where I can input info about my lifestyle, to get a broad brush carbon footprint and then measure my tree planting impact against it. Downside is the advertising and that it prompts me to get my phone out (even mid-conversation, sorry!) but I figure if it’s worth it overall.

Olio

We love this food waste app. Volunteers share food from supermarkets - or share your leftovers! There’s a tab as well for items you’d like to share, like a Freecycle, as well as those you’d be keen to borrow or loan, making it a virtual library of things. The more of you in your local area that get on it and use it, the better it can be. Food waste, if it were a country, would be the third biggest carbon emitter - and most of that comes from individuals, not businesses*. Such an easy one to reduce! Stats from Love Food Hate Waste

Searching

Ecosia plant trees while you search, it’s as simple as that. I love too that websites that they have rated as sustainable get a wee leaf icon to help you identify who’s using good tags in their social media vs those who are doing good.

OceanHero takes a plastic bottle out of the ocean for every 17 tabs, using money from paid for advertising. It’s a great way to search and save the oceans.

Podcasts

BBC - 39 Ways to Save the Planet is an oldie but a goodie; Net Zero: A Very British Problem has comedian and environmental economist Matt Winning looks at how the UK could reach net zero; and I’ve really enjoyed Burn Wild by Leah Sottile and Georgia Catt, exploring eco terrorism.

I’m a sucker for BBC Sounds, but I know Sarah enjoys a broader range and will update others too xL