During the time we were working to achieve our Live Simply Award we asked parishioners to complete a couple of questionnaires, one near the beginning of the challenge and one when we submitted our achievement report
Oct 2016 – March 2017 QUESTIONNAIRE
Did you take part in the Reverse Advent Calendar for the Food Bank?
51 32%
Did you try any of the Saving Water suggestions?
Not running the tap when cleaning your teeth?
130 83%
Having only a 3 minute shower?
86 55%
Fitting water butts to your downpipes?
92 58%
Using a bucket for car washing?
61 39%
Did you buy any CAFOD World Gifts this Christmas?
14 8%
Are you trying to Love God, People and Creation?
102 65%
Have you made a resolution to live simply this year?
107 68%
Recycling
Did you take your old clothes to a Charity Shop or to a Clothes Bank?
136 87%
Did you try burning junk mail in a wood-burner or on the open fire?
40 25%
Did you recycle your Christmas Cards and Wrapping Paper?
130 83%
Did you recycle your unwanted presents to the Charity Shop?
74 47%
Did you take your old small electrical items to the recycling centres?
97 62%
Living Simply and Living Sensibly
Did you try and switch off unnecessary lights?
142 91%
Did you try to buy only what you needed?
124 79%
Did you try and menu plan before going shopping for food?
106 67%
Did you cook an extra portion and freeze it for another day?
98 62%
156 Forms completed and returned (180 distributed)
COMMENTS FROM THE MONITORING QUESTIONNAIRES
I will think more carefully about what more I could do.
You have inspired me to eat unwanted leftovers
Educate the young who are institutionalized where lights and heating are left on permanently at boarding schools and universities. They have not been educated to turn off lights or heating. My children were forbidden to turn off lights at school and university hence they never think to do it at home
Wonderful project which encourages one to really consider the implications of using too much of the world’s resources when there are those who have no sustainable resources
No longer put loo roll down the pan – have a dedicated small waste bin in the bathroom, then burn the bag of paper on the fire in Cambodian style
‘Live Simply’ has really made me more aware and thinking about things more deeply
Excellent initiative – most of which we already do
Suggestions in newsletter may prompt those who do not usually think about it
Keep up the good work! We try!
Always room for improvement!
The saving water suggestions completely miss the point of trying to save the planet. We live in England not the middle of a desert! Saving water with these suggestions might save a few pence but not the planet in any way. We should instead do things that take us out of our comfortable world
Making suggestions on a weekly basis does tend to keep you focused and reminds you to live simply
It is just common sense and it saves you money
I changed light bulbs to use less electricity
I cooked extra portions for freezing for Mum
Carry on the good work
Do not burn junk mail as it is salvageable
Many of these we do already
Great ideas and reminders. Thank you
Not yet taken old small electrical items to recycling
I don’t wash my car
Not possible to fit water butts to down pipes
Burning junk mail is an environmental disaster because it causes pollution
I am trying to be more organised
This should really always have been part of our Christian life
Many of the suggestions are things we carry out on a regular basis to make our pensions meet household bills and food needs
I do not need to be told this. It is a normal way of life
I do not need reminding to live this way. I find it patronizing
I really think it is a shame we, intelligent adults, have to be treated in such an insulting and infantile way. Many of us observe these practices
a) because we have to for economic reasons
b) because we naturally don’t want to be wasteful
Not everyone has access to an open fire or log burner so may be an option for recycling instead
MARCH 2018 QUESTIONAIRE
Our assessment date to gain the LiveSimply Award is scheduled for the 14thMay so please would you complete one final questionnaire today to help us show the Award assessors the changes we have made and will continue to make in order to live more simply, more sustainably and more in solidarity with the poor. The results from the questionnaire you completed last month are below
2018 2017
Did you take part in the Reverse Advent Calendar for the Food Bank?
68 60% 32%
Did you buy any CAFOD World Gifts this Christmas?
21 18% 8%
Are you trying to Love God, People and Creation?
98 87% 65%
Have you made a resolution to live simply this year?
91 81% 68%
Water Saving suggestions;
Not running the tap when cleaning your teeth?
95 84% 83%
Having only a 3 minute shower?
60 53% 55% N/A 8
Fitting water butts to your downpipes?
49 43% 58% N/A 7
Using a bucket for car washing?
43 38% 39% N/A 11
2018 2017Recycling
Did you take your old clothes to a Charity Shop or to a Clothes Bank?
101 90% 87%
Did you try burning junk mail in a wood-burner or on the open fire?
40 35% 25% N/A 6
Did you recycle your Christmas Cards and Wrapping Paper?
93 83% 83%
Did you recycle your unwanted presents to the Charity Shop?
78 69% 47%
Did you take your old small electrical items to the recycling centres?
73 65% 62%
Living Simply and Living Sustainably
Did you try and switch off unnecessary lights?
100 89% 91%
Did you try to buy only what you needed?
93 83% 79%
Did you try and menu plan before going shopping for food?
88 78% 67%
Did you cook an extra portion and freeze it for another day?
75 66% 62%
112 questionnaires were returned
COMMENTS
Great initiatives, we already did these things but good to prompt others
I love the prayer but the suggestions on living simply really ought to be unnecessary as this really is ordinary thoughtful Christian living, it is sad that people have to be reminded
We have been doing most of these for some years
Whoever came up with the suggestion of burning mail in a wood burner has no concept of global warming
Many are normal activities not just Living Simply
Regular reminders and ideas to focus on worked really well in keeping the campaign high profile, very effective
In the future we would like to give up our time to help others in need e.g. homeless soup kitchen
Many parishioners say that the things suggested are patronizing and that they do everything already – Good well done! But for many of us it is helpful to be reminded of ways to LiveSimply. I have been letting the tap run whilst cleaning my teeth so I can refocus on this, thank you
I don’t use a bucket as I go to the carwash
I hope I think more about what I use
Several people commented that you should recycle paper and not burn it on a wood burner or the open fire
I am trying to live simply and am grateful for the weekly suggestions
I recycle junk mail as I worry about a chimney fire
I haven’t made a resolution to live simply as I am a pragmatist and I do not like, or say the Live Simply Prayer as it is both poor English and silly, meaningless posturing. The intentions are worthy but incompletely expressed!
Next year our family are not buying Christmas presents but will be sending money to CAFOD and I will do the Reverse Advent Calendar next year
APRIL 2018 LIVESIMPLY LIFE STYLE CHANGES
125 QUESTIONNAIRES RETURNED
Since we started to work towards achieving our LiveSimply Award in October 2016 do you think you have made any significant changes that you would like to share?
Have you changed to a green energy supplier? – 20
Always seeking to lower bills
Have you installed solar panels at your home? – 8 (2 not permitted)
No but I will
It is not financially possible for us
Can’t afford to
Have you become a CAFOD MP correspondent? – 13
Are you an improved recycler with your rubbish? – 119
Always good
More aware
Have you reduced the amount of plastic you use? – 113
Always try – pretty impossible
Difficult when everything is plastic wrapped
Are you using LED or low energy lights in your home? – 114
Only if desperate
Have you managed to reduce your annual water consumption? – 87
Not proven yet
No paddling pool over Easter with the weather
Don’t know
Used the teeth brushing suggestions
Have you managed to reduce your annual electricity consumption? – 76
Not proven yet
Trying to train little people to turn lights off
Don’t know
Possibly by a little
Have you found more time to appreciate our wonderful creation? – 105
We do live in and around such beauty
No change
Have you felt that we as a Parish are now more in solidarity with the poor both locally and abroad? – 105
Abroad yes, but not locally
LiveSimply is surely a lifelong effort
Yes but we could do more
Yes a valuable initiative
Will you continue to give CAFOD World Gifts or other Charity Gifts to your friends and family at Christmas and at other times of the year? – 91
We haven’t done so yet but they will be considered
We haven’t done this before
Maybe but I donate to other charities
I have told my family about this
Probably not
Will you continue to support the Reverse Advent Calendar for the local Food Banks? – 94
Next year
Yes excellent idea, I’ve just joined the food bank volunteer team in North Walsham
Are you trying to walk or cycle more rather than using a car? – 75 (6 have no car)
No but I use my care only infrequently anyway
Where possible, Walk more, unable to cycle and don’t drive
Have you been able to offer lifts to others to parish events and weekly Masses? – 45 (6 have no car)
When asked
No because we cycle
I work
No but would be willing in the future
Are you able to compost your kitchen waste? 67
We compost garden waste but not kitchen waste
Yes and will target this
Have you felt trying to live more simply has been a worthwhile initiative and will you keep up your efforts? – 114
Helps us to appreciate people who have little
Doing much of it already
The campaign has not changed my habits, I already practice Eco as best I can
I think it is a very good initiative, the Reverse Advent Calendar is excellent and a prompt like that really helps. Perhaps another could be done in February when stocks at the food bank are lower
All the time
Yes being reminded and set challenges has been worthwhile and will continue
Thank you for your support in working towards our Livesimply Award, please add any further comments about any other changes you have made and would like to share.
Not buying unnecessary ‘stuff’
I support the principles but cannot bring myself to join in the prayer, which is so weak and depends on nonsense metaphor. Could not this be re-composed into good English and abandon such awful expressions such as ‘create in us a desire’ which is meaningless inaction and what are ‘pillars of injustice’ end this posturing
It is difficult to support CAFOD or other charities by buying cards at Christmas, we buy the cheapest because we still have a mortgage and this limits what we can do, but we will give money to support charities when it is requested.
I have enjoyed the suggestions and for me they are helpful and a reminder of what I should be doing, I would like to have zero plastic and waste but it will take time
Buy fruit and veg from the market and not wrapped in plastic
Pick up 3 pieces of litter a day you see on the street or beach and put in the bins
I’m please we are generally thinking about living simply, if we can get outside more and see how wonderful nature is, its an amazing time of the year
I cut up my teabags
God Bless
Also reduced gas consumption and reduced food waste
I’m a regular supporter of CAFOD and Water Aid
I also give presents that are simple and perishable like a cake, sweets or a few flowers rather than as I previously did – buying objects that could not be used or were not liked by recipients
I believe I was fairly conscious of the LiveSimply philosophy before the campaign. I have probably changed little, with the exception of trying to use less plastic – not easy. I can, for example, use soap instead of shower gel, butter in foil rather than plastic tubs but wholesale changes are difficult.
