Plupp is a children's book character created by Inga Borg.
He is invisible to humans but can talk to animals and he lives in a very cozy little hut on the fell. If you have grown up in Vilhelmina, you can relate to Plupp's gathering of berries and mushrooms for the winter because winter is both cold, dark and long here. There is especially a book called "Kalas hos Plupp" when he invites his friends Ermine (Didn't understand why he is called Ermine in the book when he is a Stoat but, -well, well. When I got older I understood that in standard Swedish it is called Ermine and not Stoat) Lemming and Crane to all the good things he has collected and saved.
This time of year I feel a bit like Plupp! I want to gather all the good things nature offers in the stores and then crawl down into a warm and cozy bed and wait for spring.
Besides it feeling a bit cozy, it is also quite important from a sustainability perspective.
The food issue is one of our biggest knots to untie if we are to be able to solve the climate problem. Unsustainable production of food is a major contributing cause of greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity, something that makes us cross the planetary boundaries.
Picking lingonberries, blueberries and other berries is free in Sweden so if you have the opportunity to combine exercise and utility by going out and picking.
Oatmeal porridge with homemade jam is incredibly tasty, cheap and climate-smart, so by having a few "porridge lunches" a month you do both the planet and your wallet a favor. And as the icing on the cake, you also got a walk in the woods ;)
Autumn is the perfect time to be both frugal and climate-smart!
I was inspired to write this blog post when I read on the Stockholm Resilience Center's news page about Researchers and chefs joining forces for a sustainable lunch week. If you, like me, are a bit interested in sustainability and what is actually sustainable and climate-smart in reality, then I want to recommend you to read more on the Stockholm Resilience Center's website.