Water: Our end of year theme

Our end of year theme this year is water.

In Australia, our year has been defined by water - in some parts we've suffered the devastating impact of too much water and in other parts we have haven't had enough.

Many of us enjoy spending time in it and we all need it to survive. Our new home, located on the shores of Sydney Harbour, has been a source of joy for us as we revel in the sparkle of the sun on the harbour, marvel at the frolicking of a seal or are mesmerised by the grace of the yachts as they fly by.

As the only inhabited continent surrounded by water on all sides, the ocean defines us as a nation and shapes our country. Water is central to the cultural, social and spiritual identity of Australia's First Nations Peoples. On a dry continent, fresh water is critical and there are often thousands of years of memories and sacred places in these water places. Our final exhibition for the year which will commence early December entitled "Ngapa Jukurrpa" (Water Dreaming), explores the theme of water from the perspective of the artists of Warlukurlangku.

"We have this relationship, this invisible connection to water, with spirit, culture, songlines, our dreaming,” Phil Duncan, Chair of the First People's Water Engagement Council said. “Rivers form tribal boundaries, are travel highways and provide food. Fish have different totemic value for different peoples, for example the eastern cod has great significance for the Ballina, Tabulam and Baryulgil mobs, and so does the turtle."

Source: Water: Meaning and management - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/water-meaning-and-management, Phil Duncan Chair of the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council

Our charity partner for this holiday season is the incredible organisation, The Ocean CleanUp a non-profit organisation, using design to create systems that aim to remove 90% of floating ocean plastic by 2040. At least 14 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year, enough to cover every metre of coastline on earth. Plastic makes up 80% of marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediment and studies estimate there are now 15-51 trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans - from the equator to the poles, from Arctic ice sheets to the sea floor. More than 3 times the total number of fish in all the oceans.

All gift-wrapping proceeds throughout December will be donated to The Ocean CleanUp. Gift wrapping is $3.50 per parcel. 

This year's gift guides, features rubbish our team collected from a small beach near our new home. At first glance the beach looked clean but when we started to look more closely there was so much rubbish everywhere from sushi fish, to high amounts of small sections of clear plastic wrapping, bottle tops, packets and pieces of styrofoam cups. We collected 4 reusable shopping bags of rubbish in 1 hour plus a rake and a large section of plastic rope!

At Koskela our ambition is to furnish the world using only sustainable design and materials. We believe that as originators of products we have a responsibility to ensure that our products have as minimal an impact on the earth as possible. Our end goal is that that they help regenerate the earth. We are constantly trying to improve our environmental footprint by making changes to the way we operate. 

Wherever you live, the easiest and most direct way that you can help solve this problem is by reducing your own use of single-use plastics. Single-use plastics include plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, utensils, dry cleaning bags, take-out containers, and any other plastic items that are used once and then discarded. Most plastic packaging is used only once, and only 14% is collected for recycling every year, with tens of billions of dollars’ worth of plastic packaging material lost to the economy.

Support businesses that are playing their part and encourage those that aren't on board yet. It's going to take a mammoth team effort by businesses, Governments and consumers plus some really inventive design-led solutions to tackle the problem but experts are confident that with some will and a bit of pressure we can get there.

Source: Water: Meaning and management - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/water-meaning-and-management, Phil Duncan Chair of the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council