'Living the Change' was recently drawn to my attention via an article on Organic NZ which gives a great synopsis of this Kiwi documentary. It is quite long (98min) but I did find it inspiring and as a result viewing it, our household has started a project to dedicate more of our tiny urban section to food production. If I had one criticism of the documentary, is that it does focus on Kiwis on larger properties whereas the bulk of us urbanites do live on more limited plots of land that have more challenges around usage. Having said that, it does inspire one to review the best use of your limited plot.

When we walk around our local town we often comment on the huge expanse of lawn that many properties have, especially those larger sections that are often common in some smaller towns. We see the owners slaving away on their lawn mowers, often on a weekly basis, keeping those 'outdoor carpets' under control. We rarely see anyone using the same lawns on the days when they are not mowing them). Rather than belching carbon emissions from those ride on mowers wouldn't it be a great idea to grow more of your own food on that land. Even plant some of it into trees, shrubs and other companion planting to attract the insects and birdlife. It looks (and could sound) a far more interesting environment that an expanse of lawn.

View the video trailer: