Sustainable Table has the runs. And no, it wasn’t a veggie curry gone bad. The organisation is hosting a program of charity marathon events this year in an effort to raise money for their Kenyan Compost Toilet project. Why? Well, heartbreakingly, lack of sanitation is still the single largest cause of illness in the world, claiming the lives of some 4,900 children every day. Compost toilets can do wonders in turning this statistic around – and at the same time, also turn human waste into nutrient-rich organic fertiliser so communities can grow their own food naturally. It’s a win-win. To get involved, sign up to participate in either the Great Ocean Road Run (May 19-20) or Run Melbourne (July 15), or sponsor someone doing the legwork for you. Distances are flexible to accommodate all fitness levels and Sustainable Table ethical hampers are on offer if you need incentive to get your friends involved too. So, in the words Sustainable Table themselves, sign up, shoes on, and let’s all look forward to getting the runs together.

Trash Amour sounds like the way Oscar the Grouch would dish out romance. It is, however, the latest exhibition hosted by Reverse Garbage to help celebrate loved-up February with attitude and edge. This romantic, handmade and junky art show will feature the work of over 20 local artists, crafters and designers who all work with salvaged and recycled materials. Pieces include fine art, jewellery, sculpture, fashion accessories, cards, home wares and more. Join them on Saturday February 18th 6-9pm for an opening night of entertainment, drinks and late night shopping. Oui oui!

The annual Sustainable Living Festival has been injecting old Melbourne town with daily doses of green goodness since Saturday. An absolute bumper program of events (they don’t call this Australia’s largest sustainability festival for nothing!) has been taking place across the city, but what would a festival be without a market to top it all off? Next weekend is the Festival’s Big Weekend which means that The Green Market will once again transform Federation Square into an eco haven. From Friday Feb 17th to Sunday Feb 19th, more than 80 eco-minded vendors will pop-up and pop-out their finest wares – from food, coffee and lifestyle products to building materials, home improvement goodies, green services and alternative transport, energy and waste disposal options. The markets will be complimented by a range of other must-see events, including a Climate Quiz with Adam Hills and Tanya Ha, a Green Inventors forum, Dr Karl tackling renewable energy and ‘off-the-grid’ gigs by Lisa Mitchell and Amanda Palmer. Check out the full, irresistible program here.

Roses are red, violets are blue. Flowers are great, but a rainforest is… even better? Roses, as beautiful as they are, come with a high carbon footprint – all the travelling and refrigeration they endure. With Valentine’s Day coming up this Tuesday, why not be a good little ecoista and find or ask for native Australian flowers instead? Alternately, you could give a sweet growing gift such as this little herb garden window box or a GrowBottle? (Give herbs and you might just be given a delicious meal in return). But if these ideas still don’t express how great your love is, why not give a whole rainforest tree? Your feelings would be forever represented in a beautiful tree which will surely outlive any sad roses wilting on the mantle piece in days to come…

There are some things you can do which are helpful in teaching the public about climate change; then there are some which are not. We’ll start with the good shall we… Utilising the data of the two century-long Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) study, developer Nick Orenstein has created an app for iPhones and iPads which literally tracks climate change as it happens. Using colour-coded, moving maps which demonstrate how today’s monthly temperatures compare to historical averages, the free Just Science app is the antidote to disengaging scientific and political rhetoric around the topic, and helps users get involved and interested in what’s happening to the world around them. Also, it’s an app, and people like wasting time on apps – at least this way we’re learning something. (Although it should still be noted, climate change is a lot more complex than just changing temperatures – but hey, Nick Orenstein, we’ll let you get away with it this time). Now, ready for the huge, glowing negative of this whole thing? Someone let Orenstein and friends create their own video explaining the study and the app! It seems they hired their phones’ voicemail robots to narrate the whole thing (and no, not someone nearly as advanced as Siri), and the result is, well, it’s definitely not a win for anyone. Just stick to science, we thinks!

Clean lines, neutral colours, comfy fits, affordable price tags – this could only mean one thing! Yes, trusty Peppermint faves SOSUME have just launched a new basics range. Made using 100% fair trade organic cotton and stitched locally in Melbourne, there are five cuts and three colours to choose from. As the cooler months creep up on us, so will more styles and shades to keep our wardrobes fresh year round.

Sometimes your weekend just falls into place. Like when the lovely Hayley from Sticky Fingers Bakery, who you may have read about back in Issue 11, launches a new cupcake flavour range and invites you to come and sample them for free. It gets even better when you discover that things like ‘Choc-Chip’ and ‘Banana’ don’t exist in this world, and instead it’s Coffee & Doughnuts, Chocolate Cherry Cola and Raspberry Beret (as good as it sounds) – all made with local and organic ingredients. The new range will be available for all to try later this week, meanwhile there are still Hayley’s tasty, tasty classics to tide you over – as well as full-sized cakes, if you dare. A little birdy also told me that with Valentine’s Day coming up, Sticky Fingers will even do you a special, candy-hearted, loved-up half dozen, delivered to your sweetheart’s door for only $27 (*Melbourne only). We all knew Cupid had a sweet tooth.