The Beach Shack Project specialises in handmade unique pieces of jewellery made from flotsam and Jetsam. Sea glass, old Victorian pottery shards, driftwood, nylon, monofilament, plastic, shells and stones all make up the unusual components used in each design.

Although the beach is a great place to source new objects and inspiration, the items gathered whilst beachcombing can also pose a threat to the coastal eco system. For example, huge tumbleweed sized balls of monofilament, discarded by fisherman or thrown over board can be an unfortunate end for any bird or fish unlucky to become entangled. They are also un-biodegradable, so can become a very permanent feature on the beaches. These tangled balls are collected and laboriously unraveled, unknotted, and even reknotted until the nylon is left in workable strands. These balls are then washed thoroughly in antibacterial soap so they are squeaky-clean and then ready to design with.

I can find working with found materials limiting, but this can result in an unusual creative output. It makes you really think about what you are using, because you work with what you find.

Currently, here at the Beach Shack Project we are working with Surfers Against Sewage by donating a percentage of profits from the reclaimed nylon range of jewellery to their campaign.

Surfers Against Sewage is a campaign group set up by surfers who wanted to use clean safe oceans. One of their missions is to reduce “Marine Litter” which is a problem for the wildlife and the many diverse groups of people who use the sea for recreational sport.

15% from the sale price of each piece of reclaimed nylon jewellery goes to the group and most of the pieces available are one offs. To see the range available please visit
www.beachshackproject.bigcartel.com/category/surfers-against-sewage-promo

Currently, there is also 50% off the other lines in the store until the end of January to make way for new stock. Please login to www.beachshackproject.co.uk for more information and to access the discount code. And there is also a fabulous necklace giveaway too, win a handmade organic hemp knitted fisherman’s rope necklace with a chunky bottle green sea glass pendant.

Article by Hannah Marshall
www.beachshackproject.co.uk

Writing my new book, ‘The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment’ saw me undertake several remarkable spiritual adventures. All of these were performed in the pursuit of a higher wisdom and deeper spiritual enlightenment. Each experience aided my understanding, and in turn added amusement for my very modern readers. A side effect of my newfound spiritual interest was a burgeoning love for the planet, and a deep concern for all the horrific abuses we commit upon her.

To me spirituality now comes hand in hand with a responsibility to make the world a better place. As grand an ambition as they may sound, it is nonetheless true. Frankly, there is no point sitting upon an enlightened pedestal and then watching the world you love turn to garbage around you. Indeed any wannabe enlightened being had better get used to the idea that balance, moderation and mindfulness are going to be key to her peaceful and spiritual journey. Such things come as part of the deal, and impeccable spiritual credentials include more than a love of meditation and a connection to spirit. In our godforsaken consumer culture, being spiritual also means treading lightly on the earth.

This heartfelt belief was exhibited to me by a number of incredible alternative systems of belief. The one that grew closest to my heart was Shamanism. Shamanic people worldwide feel a deep affinity with Pachamama (Mother Earth). They see nature as our equal, and believe that humans are just one part of a greater spiritual organism that makes up this planet, and indeed the universe.

Without being privy to our first-world satellite systems or eco-knowledge, Shamans have always known that the abuse of Mother Nature will bring us naught but trouble. They know it and for thousands of years they have truly respected it. Nature to the Shaman is a stronger force than any number of intelligent human beings. Shamanic people court nature, living in it, loving it, worshipping it and treating it with reverence. Somewhere along the lines our Western society moved away from pagan earth-worshipping principles, and we all got greedy. Leading of course to our wasteful, ‘have it all’ consumer culture.

Shamans were the original environmentalists; their simple lives and naturalistic based beliefs could teach us modern humans a great deal. My personal studies of Shamanic belief have brought strong spiritual focus to my love of nature and the environment. It was good for my soul and in tandem I rediscovered the naturally shamanic part of me that adores the world we live in and the creatures and flora that reside upon it. For all Green Goddesses a side dish of shamanic style spirituality can help bring a meaningful mix of harmony and super consciousness to your sincere eco-friendly lifestyle.

Article by Alice Grist
Read more about Shamanism, and other alternative spiritualities in Alice Grist’s book, The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment available in all good bookstores worldwide.
www.alicegrist.co.uk
www.o-books.com

When Sir David Attenborough opened the Attenborough Nature Centre in 2005 he described it as “a lifeline to the natural world“. Go there and you will understand.

Living in the city it is easy to feel disconnected from nature, craving the peace and tranquility of open spaces and fresh air in your lungs. So, who would have though that just a few miles away from the hustle and bustle of central Nottingham and Derby there’s such a getaway, the Attenborough Nature Centre and Reserve?

ANC tailors for all nature lovers, young and old, from beginner to established birder and their facilities and  events demonstrate just that. Their full calendar includes all kinds of activities such as health walks, wildlife and wildflower courses and clubs for kids. They also provide educational programmes for schools from Foundation to ‘A’ Level. I really wish that Attenborough Nature Centre existed when I was at school, with education sessions on subjects like wildlife habitats, water life, saving our planet, wildlife art and outdoor adventures.

The nature reserve is managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and is a designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It was established in 1966 and over the years has become a very popular place to see many species of native and migrating birds. Keen birders can keep up to date with sightings at the Attenborough Nature Centre website.

Once you’ve taken the Attenborough reserve nature trail and soaked in the beautiful views you may want a cup of Fairtrade tea and a home made cake in the centre cafe. The cafe menu includes sandwiches, cakes and drinks made from Fairtrade, local and organic ingredients. You could treat yourself or someone else to a little gift from the nature shop too.

The centre was awarded the Gold award for sustainable tourism in 2007 and was listed in the top 10 eco destinations in the world by BBC Wildlife Magazine.

ANC can also boast a super eco-friendly building design from the construction materials to the furniture in cafe, conference rooms and offices. Heat loss is minimised by high levels of insulation in the walls, floor and roof and electricity is produced by photovoltaic panels on the roof. They also use a green electricity provider. For those of you interested in construction and green building take a look at their sustainable building leaflet.

So next time you’re in the Midlands and you’re looking for a little inspiration or simply to connect with nature, visit Attenborough Nature Centre. You can get there by foot, train, bus or car and there’s no admission charge. Take a look at some of the things you can expect to find in their online picture gallery and plan your visit soon. I know I’m going to be spending some more time there this summer.

www.attenboroughnaturecentre.co.uk

All photographs in this article are copyrighted to Attenborough Nature Centre.

Our footprints are all over this planet…..but do we have to stomp so hard!?

My name is Laura Bergman, the creator of Bottled Up Designs. I have lived all my life in the beautiful Pennsylvania Amish Country, where as a child we would dig around old foundations pulling old treasures from the ground from a simpler time.

The love of old glass and bottle digging stayed with me, and have always been an avid bottle collector. One thing that has always bothered me, though, is how we take away the pretty whole pieces, but leave all the broken remains behind for the environment and wildlife do deal with.

When I walk through these pretty wooded habitats, the sun slants through the woods and lights these little pieces of history. The ruby glows in the sun, looking like it’s on fire, amber from old medicine, beer, and the countless broken Clorox bottles used and carelessly tossed there so long ago. Another common find is the pretty ice blue glass of broken Mason jars, and always envision them in someone’s pantry full of the summer’s work “put up” for the coming winter. I am always a little sad when I see the broken depression glass, wondering if during those lean times there was the money to replace the pretty dishware that had broken.

To me, this glass still has history and real beauty behind it, and out of love for the pretty glass and the environment, I now bring home the broken pieces and create my jewelry. Each piece is handmade from this reclaimed glass, and wanting to share the history with those that wear it, have created “The Story of the Glass” detailing for each piece what it was originally, and the approx. age of the glass.

Recently, while walking my dog through a peaceful part of the woods, I spotted a baby fawn and her mother laying in the dappled sunlight. Of course, they caught the scent of us and were up and away, and where the fawn was laying was the broken shards of a cobalt Noxzema bottle. Hoping that she was unhurt, I sighed and picked up the glass to bring it home, wondering once again how we ever thought we had the right to treat our environment so carelessly.

To see all of the pretty vintage colors and how they are wonderfully transformed into beautiful artisan jewelry, please visit www.bottledupdesigns.com.

Read GGG editor Henriette’s review of Bottled Up Designs and this beautiful necklace.

So I have had the privilege to review a necklace from Bottled Up Designs.

I would actually claim that the necklace already won my heart over by the packaging it came in, please see the enclosed picture.

You can see a larger picture here of the packaging

I have been wearing it for a couple of days and people thought it was really cool, especially when I told them the story of the glass and the idea behind the jewellery.

Bottled Up Designs is an idea of an avid bottle and glass collector called Laura Bergman from Pennsylvania, bothered by the fact that glass collectors take the “valuable” whole bottles of glass, but leave the broken glass on the ground. You can read more about her story on Bottled Up Designs.

I really encourage people to support stores that are making a difference by recycling stuff and actually make it into something MORE valuable than it were. It’s a turn-around of the whole concept of value – which is great.

We need to make value out of something that could be trash – I mean my great grandmother used to wash her plastic bags because she had lived through a couple of depressions and knew that you shouldn’t waste your money either! So this is a truly great initiative – putting value back into broken glass.

So go check their store out, they have a lot of great stories – and jewellery.

www.bottledupdesigns.com

See Laura Bergman from Bottled Up Designs Guest Editor article.

This is the most amazing time of year, everywhere you look there’s new life.

Flowers are beginning to bloom, birds are preparing their nests, tiny rabbit kittens graze on the grassy roadsides – there is ‘ahhh factor’ galore!

Even in our own back garden we’ve had some special babies this year. For the first time the frogs have laid spawn and we have hundreds (literally) of fat tadpoles swimming around in our pond.

I’m always fascinated with the pond because only a couple of summers ago it was just a plastic lining filled with tap water, a couple of bunches of pond weed and two water snails. Now it is so full of life, aside from the frogs, tadpoles and snails there are all kinds of insect larvae, plants and even the land dwelling wildlife such as blackbirds rely on it for baths and drinks. I always think of our garden pond as a tiny example of how resilient nature is.

The other newborns we witnessed this week were some spider babies which had been nesting in the corner of a window pane in our back door. The most incredible thing was to watch them collectively construct a long thread of launch web which allowed them to float off and make their own way in the world.

Nature is resilient but it is also a delicate balance and it is things like this that remind you why we must do our best not to cause it even more damage.

Who’s your favourite Wildlife presenter? My personal favourite has always been David Attenborough who inspired me at a young age to connect with nature. Through his programmes and many other wildlife documentaries I felt inspired to watch real wildlife and undertake some nature surveying of my own, and whilst it was only my back garden in my young and creative imagination it was every bit as exotic as the jungles on the TV documentaries.

My passion for the natural environment stayed with me and eventually led me to a job working for a wildlife charity. Whilst my job is office based and involves fundraising and some marketing as opposed to being a qualified conservationist conducting surveys, my enthusiasm and eco adventure remains and I still participate in exotic surveys……… ok they are still in my back garden.

However such amateur survey skills can come in very handy, for example the conservation charity ‘People’s Trust for endangered Species’ is currently trying to recruit volunteers in the UK to help them with their annual ‘Living with Mammals’ survey which runs through the UK during April, May and June.

Through the project they aim to find out how wild mammals use the built environment and the green spaces within it so that they can begin to understand – and encourage – the biodiversity on our doorstep. Participants are being asked to choose a site in the built environment (such as their garden, allotments, a playing field or churchyard) and to record sightings and field signs of mammals for eight or more weeks in the survey period.

So if any of you GGG readers are keen wildlife enthusiasts like me and you would like to undertake some surveying  then I encourage you to participate. For further details about the Living with Mammals survey click here. If you want to brush up on your mammal knowledge then I highly recommend David Attenborough’s ‘Life of Mammals’.

I will definitely be participating and yes my childish behavior will most likely not have progressed as my back garden in my mind will be just as exciting and important in terms of biodiversity as the Galapagos Islands.

Houses, flats, shopping centres and commercial properties are being built everywhere these days. You would think that nowhere was safe from development!

Think again! Organisations such as the Wildlife Trusts are reviewing planning thousands and thousands of planning applications in order to try and protect greenbelt and even brown field sites from being unnecessarily or unsympathetically being developed on.In addition to protecting such sites, various Wildlife Trusts are also purchasing land in order to transform them into wildlife havens for the benefit of people and wildlife. For example through a recent fundraising campaign Gwent Wildlife Trust managed to raise over £525,000 in order purchase a 104 acre dairy pasture in Penallt, near Monmouth, South Wales, UK.

Whilst this piece of land is currently extremely wildlife poor it was an essential purchase for Gwent Wildlife Trust in terms of the site acting as a wildlife corridor between a wildflower meadow at the Trust’s Pentwyn Farm reserve and a woodland habitat of the Wye Valley.

When transforming the site, Gwent Wildlife Trust will be stepping back in time to the stone ages in order to create to a traditional ‘open wildwood forest’ of neotholic Wales’. It is estimated that the project will take up to 25 years however upon completion it will be rich in biodiversity and I think truly majestic.When thinking of Wales, you may already imagine a Country rich in wildlife however intensive farmland still dominates areas of Wales, leaving vulnerable patches of isolated wildlife rich grassland and woodland. Instead of fragmented nature reserves it is vital that wildlife corridors are established.

As a child I spent a couple of wonderful holidays in the Welsh countryside, to me Wales was a beautiful and magical place thus I am delighted that strong progress is being made by the Wildlife Trust in order to create a truly wildlife rich Wales.

If you would like to help Gwent Wildlife Trust with enhancing and protecting South Wales then why not:

- Click here to donate money to help them transform the dairy pasture

- Click here to find out how you can help them campaign against the building of a new toll motorway across the Gwent Levels

Attention Nottinghamshire based GGG readers! Here is an interesting event for you.

Event Name:

Professor Tim Burt’s lecture, titled Long-term monitoring of the natural environment: perceptive science or mindless monitoring

Date: Wednesday 23^rd January 2008      Time: 6pm

Location:

Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly Lecture Theatre, Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, UK.

Details:

Long-term observation of the natural environment has too often been dismissed as low-grade science which contributes little to our understanding. However, the value of long observational records has recently been recognised, for example in relation to global warming and the impact of pollution. This lecture will use examples from the UK to argue that well designed monitoring programmes provide our best chance of studying effects that can only be identified over long periods of time and for revealing new questions of interest that could not be anticipated at the time the measurements were begun. Case studies will cover some of the UK ’s longest records of climate and water quality, and will even include some ‘blue skies’ thinking about heavy rainfall and floods!

Professor Tim Burt is Professor of Geography and Master of Hatfield College at Durham
University . His research interests include hydrology, geomorphology and water pollution; a recent focus has been the export of dissolved organic carbon from Pennine catchments. He is also interested in long climatic records and has run weather stations at Oxford and Durham , the two longest records for any university in the country.  

Booking:

This lecture is free to attend but will be ticketed. To book your place at this event please click here to email the Events Team

Another positive news post following on from the last positive conservation news post titled ‘Endangered monkeys found in Vietnam’.

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshires & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has managed to raise enough money (£850,000) from a successful public appeal to be able to buy a piece of precious floodplain meadow habitat at Gallows Bridge Farm on the Bucks/Oxon border.

The floodplain which is home to a range of threatened species including curlew birds will be restored by the Wildlife Trust and transformed into a wetland habitat. This new properly managed wetland will also help local people by acting as a natural flood defence, absorbing water which could otherwise cause problems downstream.

For further details about this project please click here to be redirected to the BBOWT Wildlife Trust website.

Photograph: Curlew image copyright David Kjaer