Waking Wakfield Quests
If we change, the world will change
anonymous
General information
These challenges are here to help us get started. We are likely to discover more that we can do, and we can share that with each other by posting our progress here.
Some of these challenges are perfect for younger children as well as adults. Every completed challenge will result in a positive environmental impact.
Remember, we need to stop the fae from coming back. To do that, we have to show them that we are working to look after our environment.
So, we need to post our progress here.
Waking Wakefield aims to enable and empower us with the positive actions that we can take in the face of the climate crisis. However, exploring environmental issues can feel overwhelming and if your mental health is affected, please seek help and support via this list of some UK mental health charities.
Shifting Season Quests
The Green Man of Wakefield Town
I have lived for as long as green things have grown upon this earth.
That is old. I remember when humanity was young. All of you huddling together. I showed you plants that you could eat. I helped you hunt.
Now the very earth that fed you, needs you to help it. You can, you know. I’ve seen humans rise to every challenge. Will you rise to this now?
Humanity has never known the full force of my anger. I feel it now. But Rombald convinced me to give you this chance. This last chance.
Energy-Wise Quest
Quest Below
A lot of energy is wasted in the UK, or used when great alternatives are available. Here’s a list of some simple things that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint. When you’ve completed this challenge, even if you’ve only be able to complete some of it, remember to report your progress to the Fae and claim you Energy-Wise badge.
Follow these steps to complete the Energy-Wise Quest:
- How often are lights left on in empty rooms where you live? Turn them off from now on.
- Each year in the UK, standby mode generates the equivalent CO2 emissions of 1.4 million long haul flights. Say goodbye to standby – turn it off and reduce your carbon footprint.
- Games consoles are built to become obsolete. You can write to the companies that create the consoles you play, and ask them how they are fulfilling their carbon neutral promises. Consoles also default to standby and voice activation. Choose ENERGY SAVING in settings.
- Linking voice controlled devices like Alexa to televisions etc. more than doubles their energy use. If you don’t need voice activation, don’t use it.
Complete the Energy-Wise Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
These are just some of the things that you can do to fight the climate crisis and stop the Fae from returning.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Quest
Quest Below
In the UK, we buy a lot of things that we don’t need, or that we rarely use. We can have a positive environmental impact by thinking about what we really need, and if there are other ways to access it.
When you’ve completed this challenge, even if you’ve only be able to complete some of it, remember to report your progress to the Fae and claim your RRR badge.
Follow these steps to complete the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Quest:
- If there isn’t a bin when you need it, then pocket your rubbish until you either find a bin, or take it home and bin it there. You can also get involved with litter-picking through Keep Britain Tidy Campaigns;
- Check what can be recycled in your local area here, and make sure you always recycle what you can;
- Give items that are no longer needed to brilliant organisations like The Recycle Yard;
- Have fun making something new out of rubbish;
- Why buy when you can borrow? Things like drills or lawnmowers are only used occasionally by the vast majority of us. Hiring these things is also often expensive. Join schemes like streetbank or the Library of Things to borrow items for free or for small, affordable charges;
- We can all reduce our food waste by only buying what we need, storing food carefully and finding new uses for food that’s still edible;
- Buy second-hand clothing: a lot of clothes aren’t designed to last and the impact on the environment is enormous. We can help by buying at least some of our clothes second-hand from charity shops and brilliant schemes like the Leeds Community Clothing Exchange;
- Plant trees: if you have a garden you can plant a tree there, or get involved with community or school tree-planting.
Complete the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
These are just some of the things that you can do to fight the climate crisis and stop the Fae from returning.
Water Quests
Jen the Kelpie of Normanton
I despise humans.
Always have. Now the others are beginning to understand why.
Look at what you’ve done to the rivers and oceans. They team with plastic. The creatures living here are full of it. All your fault. Short-sighted, short-lived humans.
I hope you fail. Then the kelpies will return to the waters and you will never harm them again.
But Rombald convinced Jack – that’s the Green Man – and he voted with the giant and that gnome. So now you have a chance. Good luck.
The Plastic Quest
Quest Below
Single-use plastics are made primarily from fossil-fuel-based chemicals (petrochemicals), meant to be disposed of right after use. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and service ware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags. Much of this plastic finds its way to rivers, lakes, ponds and oceans.
There are some simple things that we can all do to combat this problem.
When you’ve completed this challenge, even if you’ve only be able to complete some of it, remember to report your progress to the Fae and claim your Plasic-Conscious badge.
Follow these steps to complete the Plastic Quest:
- Swap disposable coffee cups for reusable ones from sellers like ecoffeecup.com;
- Replace cling film and sandwich bags with paper bags or Tupperware boxes or beeswax or vegan wax cloths from sellers like beeswaxwraps.co.uk;
- Carry a reusable water bottle;
- Try using shampoo and conditioner bars instead of bottles from the supermarket from sellers like kinkind.co.uk and likenanadid.co.uk;
- Say no to plastic straws. You can find metal or paper ones online via helpful lists like this;
- Carry a shopping bag with you to avoid buying a plastic bag at the shop;
- Avoid plastic throwaway cutlery. Pack your own from home, or consider getting a camping-set to keep in your bag, from sellers like gooutdoors.co.uk;
- Use a guppybag to limit the impact of microfibre pollution from washing synthetic clothes.
Complete the Plastic Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
Some unseen issues such as glitter and detergents
Local Habitat Quests
Rombald the Giant of Castleford
I believe in you.
Never forget that.
The others took one look at the earth, took one breath of the broken air and they were ready to bring all the fae back then and there. Not me.
I understand humans. Always have.
You just need reminding of your place. You’re part of nature. You belong in it. You must find green spaces, places in nature. Look for the birds and the creatures within them. Get to know them and you’ll get to know yourselves again.
To be Completed
- Name, Know and Care (aimed at younger players to get to know the names of local wildlife and find ways to help the, e.g. bug homes, feeding birds, not littering…)
Resource Quests
Hilde the Gnome of Featherstone
I was with Rombald in the vote to start with. Yes – I was horrified when I put my hands to the earth. I could feel the pain of it. But, you see, I like humans. Always have.
So I thought that you deserved a chance.
I remember the miners; kindred spirits to us gnomes of the earth. I don’t think it’s ever the individual that takes too much, it just seems to be the one’s in charge. There’s a kind of mining that cares. All of those people down the pits… at the end of the day they cared.
And I don’t think you really know how you can help. Or even how you hurt. So takes these quests and you’ll see how much you really can help.
The Tech-Smart Quest
Quest Below
Technology has come to occupy significant importance in our day-to-day lives. The average smartphone is used for just over 2-years before we upgrade to the latest model.
The cost of smartphone production to the environment and to the human beings mining the necessary minerals, often in areas of zones, is too high. There are some simple steps that we can all take to reduce the impact of our phones on others and on the environment.
When you’ve completed this challenge, even if you’ve only be able to complete some of it, remember to report your progress to the Fae and claim your Tech-Smart badge.
Follow these steps to complete the complete the Tech-Smart Quest:
- Only buy a new phone or device if you absolutely need one;
- If you do need a new phone, buy refurbished or a fairphone;
- Recycle, sell or give your old phone away to charities that can raise funds by recycling the phone for you (remember to restore factory settings first);
- Apply these steps to any devices that you need or want: (1) research the environmental and human impact of the device; (2) discover ethical alternatives; (3) recycle your old device – ethicalconsumer.org is a good starting point.
Complete the Tech-Smart Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
Reduce Rubbish Quest
Quest Below
Much of the rubbish in the UK is destined for landfill where it takes anything from several months to hundreds of years to breakdown. Fortunately, there are some simple things that we can all do to combat this issue.
When you’ve completed this challenge, even if you’ve only be able to complete some of it, remember to report your progress to the fae and claim you Reduce-Rubbish badge.
Follow these steps to complete the Reduce Rubbish Quest:
- Turn your rubbish into craft! This is a great activity for children and adults alike, there are some wonderful suggestions online for using things that would otherwise be thrown away, here are two sites to check out: thesprucecrafts.com and rubbishplease.co.uk – start collecting some rubbish with a fun project in mind;
- It might be rubbish to you, but organisations like The Recycle Yard could have a use for it;
- Avoid products made with nylon, polyester and acrylic, you can source ecological and ethical alternatives via sites like uk.buymeonce.com, make the switch to products that breakdown;
- Look after your clothes and other items like bags and shoes to extend their usefulness: loveyourclothes.org.uk offers great simple care tips, take a look and decide to care for products more;
- There are some great alternatives to wet wipes / baby wipes, check them out at ecothriftyliving.com and countryliving.com/uk, and commit to trying one;
- There are alternatives to plastic six-pack can holders, such as the KeelClip, you can look for products that are packaged sustainably in this, or similar, ways and choose to buy these instead;
- Crips packets are not recyclable on the kerbside, but you can recycle them for free through The Crisp Packet Recycling Scheme – start recycling today;
- There are lots of sustainable and eco-friendly toothbrushes now, and peacewiththewild.co.uk is just one of many sites offering some great options, switch from plastic toothbrushes today;
- Collect broken monofilament fishing line to recycle at recycle points and, even better, switch to a biodegradable line;
- There are some great eco-friendly period products out there, scan some options in this Independent Article and commit to trying one.
Complete the Energy-Wise Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
Forest Quests
Áine the Knottingley Faerie
What have you done?
This land was full of trees. Ancient oaks and playful poplars… and so many more. All of them host to countless creatures. And to us. The faerie folk.
I could hear them sing then. Now they’re silent. So silent. They still speak to one another, but not to anything else. Even me.
Did you know that an ill tree is aided by its neighbours? They send one another nutrients through their roots. They are alive and they are caring, nurturing creatures.
You will have to go to great lengths to get me on the side of humans again.
Deforestation Quest
Quest Below
Some argue that planting trees is the single most effective thing that we can do to offset our carbon footprint. Not only do trees provide us with oxygen to breathe, they also lock carbon away and provide homes and habitats for all kinds of creatures, leading to greater bio-diversity.
If we really want to save the world, we need to look after our existing trees and plant more.
Follow these steps to complete the Deforestation Quest:
- Plant trees: if you have a garden you can plant a tree there; you can get involved with community or school tree-planting; you can donate to charities that plant trees; you can use Ecosia, a search engine that uses its ad revenue to plant trees around the world;
- Check that products listing soya or palm oil are sourcing those ingredients sustainably – for example, the Meatless Farm sources soya with care;
- Reduce your meat consumption. There are brilliant meat-free recipes available online, start following people like Jack Monroe for great cost-effective and often meat-free recipes. You can also swap out meat from time to time with plant-based alternatives, like those provided by the Meatless Farm. There’s also a great vegan restaurant in Wakefield called Corarima;
- Recycle paper on the kerbside or yourself. Make something new out of old paper, use your recycled paper for craft activities. If you need a new paper-based product try to find a version made with recycled paper.
- Support environmental policies that protect forests and conservation sites;
- Use fewer single-use items (even those made from paper or wood, like paper plates and wooden cutlery);
- Share what you’ve learned with others.
Complete the Deforestation Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
To be Completed
- Carbon footprint and methods of offsetting as well as reducing
- Visit green spaces that are local to you and look after them (organised and safe litter-picks)
Animal Quests
Padfoot the Dog of Pontefract
Rombald had to convince me to give you all another chance.
He and I are old friends, so I am doing him this favour. Understand that it is a favour to him, not you.
Even before The Agreement I had cause to be wary of humankind. Some of you are good enough I suppose, but others… let’s just say you can tell a lot about a person on how they treat creatures that are weaker than them. I’ve never liked the way that humans treat animals, but it’s even worse now.
My question is can you change? Are you even capable?
Reduce Meat Quest
Quest Below
On average people in the UK eat too much meat for their health and wellbeing, not to mention the environmental impact of the meat industry. We can significantly help both the environment and ourselves by reducing our meat consumption by half. If we eat half as much meat, we can save the world. And perhaps, some of us, might even go a little further.
It’s make or break time, and there are so many great tasting and inexpensive alternatives to try. This one is easy to fix, one delicious meal at a time.
Follow these steps to complete the Reduce Meat Quest:
- Try swapping your beef burger for a vegan burger. You can try an alternative available in the supermarkets, or have a go at making your own following recipes from sites like bbcgoodfood.com and caretobebetter (INSERT LINK);
- Try 3 vegan meals this week to reduce the impact non-vegan recipes have on our land – you could select the vegan option at school or in local cafes for a change. If you’re enjoying an evening out in Wakefield District, try Corarima for something tasty and delightful;
- Try seaweed for a fishy and healthy alternative to fish and shellfish – you can find recipes like this one, and the butter and cheese can easily be swapped out for vegan alternatives if you prefer;
- Take your time and give it a try – you don’t have to change everything that you eat overnight, and you may find that you really enjoy some new recipes, or switching out the meat for a plant-based alternative every now and then. Just remember that those alternatives are at their tastiest when we don’t think of them as meat.
Complete the Reduce Meat Quest by:
- trying some or all of the above challenges;
- trying any additional related challenges that you think of;
- recording your progress in the form below for the fae to see.
To be Completed
- Where have the wild animals gone? Explore re-introduction programmes and their positive impacts; would you like to see something similar where you live?