Don’t worry, it’s not an environmental disaster! No, a new green festival ‘Green Wave’ - billed as ‘The Eco Family Fun Weekend’ - is headed for Brighton on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 July.

You’ll be able to experience all the fun of the green fair in the beautiful setting of Preston Park with eight different interactive Zones, from the Earth Zone - where you might find wormeries, composting ideas and a mini eco farm - to the Energy Zone, for products harnessing sustainable energy, ranging from mobile phones to solar powered cars, and an Energy Play Area or eco circus for children. (click on the image to the right to see the flyer full size)

The emphasis is very much on our favourite watchwords: biodiversity, eco-friendly, Fairtrade, homemade, locally produced, low carbon footprint, recycled and sustainable!

Take a stand!

If you are a Sussex-based ethical business, charity or NGO there is still time for you to take a stand at the fair. Charities and NGOs are eligible for free stands, and there may even be a few free stands available for small ethical businesses that add value or pure fun to the event!

If you are interested in this opportunity, do get in touch with the organisers:

Frank Jay on 01273 323 200 or 07721 633 233 or at frank@neweraassociates.co.uk

Or Jacqui on 01273 323 200 or 07740 201194 or at jac.cuff@talktalk.net

Or simply download the Green Wave booking form and return it to them.

It should be a fantastic event!

Take care,

Katie
Ethical Weddings

We are really excited about our World Fair Trade Day event this Saturday 10 May!

Greg Valerio of Cred Jewellery is going to be telling us all about the process of seeking Fair Trade certification for gold and diamonds. So if you’re on the lookout for an ethical engagement or wedding ring, are confused about conflict diamonds and focused on Fair Trade, it really is a must.

The event takes place this Saturday 10 May at The Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton.

If you happen to be in Brighton on Saturday and can tear yourself away from the beach for an hour or two, we’d love to see you there…!

Midday – 2pm – fair trade stalls and information stands

2-3pm – speaker event – ‘Fair Trade that glitters’ - raising awareness of the social and environmental issues surrounding gold and diamonds (going beyond conflict or blood diamonds) and the route towards fair trade certification that Greg Valerio of Cred Jewellery has been spearheading.

Greg will be talking about his experiences to date and what future he sees for fair trade gold and diamonds. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.

3-4.30pm – chance to chat to local ethical businesses

4.30pm – late! – chat some more in The Cricketers pub over the road (The Cricketers, Black Lion Street, BN1 1ND)

The event is free but donations to cover costs will be gratefully accepted.

You are very welcome to come along to all or any part of this day-long event.

Hope to see you there!

Katie & Jamie
www.ethicalweddings.com

For all green art enthusiasts, this is the event for you!

A charity art auction, ‘Art Aid: Embrace‘ will be taking place on Saturday 21st June to raise money to support poor communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America adapt to climate change.

The work of around 50 artists from the East Midlands will be displayed in the View from the Top gallery in Nottingham from Wednesday 18th June until the reception and auction on Saturday 21st June.

The many artworks available are:
Painting and Drawing
Mixed Media
Original Printmaking
Ceramics and Sculpture
Photography
Signed Print

So there’s something for all art lovers out there!

If you’d like an evening of culture, treat yourself to a beautiful piece of art and help raise money for those affected by climate change then pop along to the website www.art-aid.org to find out more.

I have to admit it but we don’t have the best view from our front room window. In fact for lovely leafy Leamington it’s perhaps not the best view or most typical of our town. I live opposite a car show room that has flags flying in the daytime, lights glaring at night time and balloons by the dozen at the weekend to promote their special offers. So as you can imagine for someone who is passionate about sustainable transport it’s not a view I tend to marvel at.

Now a few months back on a Sunday afternoon we were lazing in the front room with our Sunday papers when I happened to look up and see a staff member walk around the car park and cut all the balloons free. Up, up, up they floated as the worker continued to set about 50 balloons free.

I was flabbergasted, as to me it was just plain littering. A business wouldn’t throw out 50 odd leaflets or food wrappers on the street. Just because they float upward and out of site doesn’t mean they are not litter when they land. They obviously weren’t thinking about where they were going to land as it would be far, far away out of sight and not on their land. Not their problem! I was also annoyed as I’d read that they posed a danger to wildlife as birds and marine creatures can mistake them for food similar to plastic bags and can choke on the remains.

The following Saturday to my shock horror when I drew back the curtains there were pink, blue and yellow balloons (yes, all colour co-ordinated) promoting their latest cut deal offer. This time there must have been over 100 balloons gracefully bobbing in the breeze. I wont go into the next half an hour but it involved me stomping around the house whilst my poor long suffering partner looked on bemused followed by me marching across the road to see the manger.

Luckily I ‘d found some info on the net about balloon littering and that organisations could be fined up to £2,500 if caught littering. Needless to say the manger did take seriously what I had to say and promised not to release (litter) any more. Whilst balloons are no way on the same scale as plastic bags for polluting our landscape. I still think it’s important for companies to realise the risks to our wildlife and that there is no excuse to litter. Hopefully the ‘Don’t let go’ campaign will raise awareness of this issue.

For more information about the campaign you can download a Don’t let go fact sheet. This has details of the threat to wildlife and more information about fines, the environmental protection act and the Marine Conservation Society.

Did you know that 2008 is the 100^th anniversary of that wonderful children’s book, ‘Wind in the Willows’?

For those of you who recollect the classic story you will remember characters such as Mr. Toad of Toad Hall, Mr. Badger, Mole and also ‘Ratty’ who was actually a European Water Vole.

In addition to 2008 being the anniversary of the book, it is also the year that the Water Vole has been finally provided full legal protection. Six years after a change in the law was first recommended, ‘Ratty’ is finally to receive full protection from the law, under new proposals announced today by Defra.

Photo by Aphid Twix, source Flikr.

Water Voles have been threatened due to habitat loss and predation by American mink. Back in 1990 there were seven million water voles in the UK.  By 1998 numbers had crashed to less than a million and they have since continued to fall.

I am delighted to hear that ‘Ratty’ is finally being provided the legal support to be protected. In addition to the new proposal, all across the UK organisations such as the Wildlife Trust are embarking on river restoration projects which will help to create suitable habitats for water voles and other threatened riparian mammals such as Otters. Projects include the Trent Holmes in Nottinghamshire, the Itchen Navigation in Hampshire, River Eden in Cumbria.

For some fantastic footage of water voles check out a video created by John Keeling for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

If you would like to help protect ‘Ratty’ then check out Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Adopt A Species scheme.

Last month I had to attend a seminar in Paris for work. Most people in Scotland fly to Paris, it’s quicker and more convenient (apparently). I chose to go by train. My main reason was that I don’t like flying (who does?) and would spend most of my time away worrying about it and therefore not be able to do a good job. Of course the other reason was environmental, as a member of my office ‘green team’ I felt I should set a good example. Work were fine with this and so that’s what I did.

National Express, who currently run the Edinburgh to London East Coast rail line, offer through tickets from their destinations to Eurostar ones. I had already enquired earlier about the cost of this, having been thinking about going to Brussels for my fiance’s birthday. If you’re lucky, it can cost you just £79 return. Even though I booked the work trip nearer the time, it still only cost £120.

I should say that if you want to travel from Scotland to Paris by rail, you need time on your side. Not everyone’s company would be ok with them basically spending two days on the train, I’m very lucky. I set off from Edinburgh at 8am and got to Paris at 5.30pm. Coming back I set off at 10am and got back at 6pm. It would have been earlier but engineering works meant I had to get a coach between Darlington and Newcastle. I don’t mind long train journeys though, I’ve grown up doing them having lived in Orkney and visiting relatives in England during the holidays.

The National Express legs of the journey were perhaps the least comfortable, at least compared to the Eurostar seats and leg room (I hope one day you can get a through train). I was really glad to get off the train in London and stretch my legs with the short walk over the road to St Pancras International. Since last November this has been the new Eurostar hub, and it’s lovely, a vast improvement on the St Pancras of my student days in Sheffield, only a few years ago. Much more convenient for those coming from King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston, it also has much better facilities than Waterloo (well, before you go through check-in and passport control that is). Although the Eurostar departure lounge may not have as many overpriced souvenir shops as it’s counterpart at Gare du Nord, it is very comfortable and offers power points for those with laptops to use.

I arrived in Paris relaxed and calm, having had time to read through my presentation, do a bit of knitting and watch a beautiful sunset over the French countryside. For me, this is the only way to travel.

When I received details about this event in Nottingam the organiser said “The name of the event is ‘Smarter than Yeast?’ Check out the dictionary definition of yeast and let’s hope we can prove we are!”

‘Smarter than Yeast’ is a day of fun and education for people in Nottingham who are concerned about environmental issues taking place on Sunday 3rd February, 2.00pm - 10.30pm at The Art Organisation, 21 Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3AJ

From 2pm to 6pm there will be:

A free shop - Take home some new (to you!) clothes

V3 Power- Learn about renewable technology and hand built wind turbines

Still Within- Find out about permaculture

From 6pm to 10.30pm there will be:

Peak Oil Talk - by local Ecological Economist Brian Davey

Plus - Eco Poetry, Collaborative Art, Live Music & Veggie Food

If you would like to showcase your group or share skills at this event contact Hannah or May at maisiebate@hotmail.com.

Made famous by tales of Robin Hood the Sherwood area of Nottinghamshire is known all around the world. Unfortunately though due to industrialisation and other factors this historic landscape is no longer the majestic place it used to be.

However don’t despair as this could be about to change!  A project titled ‘Sherwood: The Living Legend’ has been short listed (amongst four other great projects) for the People’s Millions lottery initiative and is with a chance to win £50 million.

This extremely important project is being led by Nottinghamshire County Council in conjunction with a variety of partners including the Sherwood Forest Trust and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.

Restoring Sherwood Forest

Recreating the forest to its former glory is a key element of the project. The plan is to convert at least 300 hectares of farmland (that’s roughly the size of 400 football pitches!), north and west of the River Trent back into wood and heath land.

Most of the new trees will be native oak and birch along with other shrubs sourced from the Sherwood area.  The new trees and heath will connect together existing but fragmented remains of the original forest and improve the visual landscape along the main routes into Sherwood Forest, giving locals and visitors alike a much better sense of how the most well known forest in the world appeared hundreds of years ago.

And of course all of these new trees, shrubs and heathland will help to absorb Carbon ensuring that Sherwood Forest can truly be the lungs of England.

Cycling, Walking and Horse Riding Network

If successful the project will also create a 250 kilometre network of walking, cycling and horse riding paths. 95 km of these will be completely new and introduce new road and river crossings to connect existing routes together. How sustainable is that!

Yes, you can help Sherwood Forest

You may have read the tales of Robin Hood when you was younger, you have probably watched at least one Robin Hood film and you may have even watched the BBC Robin Hood TV series….

….But now you can actually give Robin Hood the home he deserves, please vote for Sherwood: The Living Legend project to win the £50 million. The project is being backed by a range of celebrities including Brian Blessed, Kevin Costner and Jonas Armstrong who plays Robin Hood in the BBC TV series.

How to vote

To vote online for the Sherwood: Living Legend project please click here.

You can also vote by telephone, by calling:

However hurry as the voting ends at 12pm on Monday 10^th December.

Please vote Sherwood, thank you!

Anna-Lisa

Have you ever fancied visiting an organic farm?

Maybe you’d like to find out how they do it - without all the chemicals?

Or perhaps you’re intrigued about whether an organic farm is high tech, low tech or back-to-basics?

One of the best ways to find out how passionate organic farmers are is to go on a farm tour. And it’s easier to arrange than you might think.

The Organic Farms Network is a group of farmers who are keen to show people what is happening on their farms. They are working with the Soil Association to give you access to farm tours and their countryside trails.

You never know, your local farm might be part of the network.

If you’d like the chance to visit an organic farm, send an email to the Soil Association, to find out where your nearest participating farm is:

farmnet@soilassociation.org

For anyone in the Cirencester area, our nearest farm is Abbey Home Farm on the Burford Road. Call 01285 640441 to arrange a visit and find out more.

Enjoy!

Clare

Veg Box Recipes

Based in Findhorn in the North East of Scotland Trees for Life is aiming to “restore a wild forest, which is there for its own sake, as a home for wildlife and to fulfil the ecological functions necessary for the wellbeing of the land itself. “

Today just 1% of the original Caledonian Forest of Scotland remains and thanks to overgrazing and deforrestation is fragmented and is struggling to regenerate naturally. It is Scotland’s equivalent of the rainforest needs our help.

At Trees for Life you can help by:

• Buying a Tree for £15
• Volunteering to help out at one of their work weeks.
• Or paying an annual subscription and become a member - reiecieveing a thrice-yearly newsletter, Caledonia Wild, including a species profile and a Trees for Life sticker. The woodland Trust also run a similar scheme where you can dedicate a tree or plot of woodland.

Global Trees is another company encourage us to plant trees.

The core aims of the non-profit company are to:explain global warming in plain English;allow people to calculate their carbon footprint and help reduce carbon emissions.

and reverse global warming by allowing individuals and organisations to plant trees.

Alternatively you can calculate your carbonemmissions at The Carbon Trust or buy trees from the Woodlands Trust.

Remember a Tree is for Life not just for Christmas