Eco Friendly House And Garden

Has your spring clean left you with quite a lot of things you don’t want?

Well, someone else might find a good use for them - so why not take yourself out to a car boot sale and see what you can make for things you don’t even want!

There are many car boots held every week across the UK although they may not be as widespread elsewhere, and they are great fun to do.

However, there are a few tricks of the trade that will make your car boot experience a lot better than just plunging feet first into it on that early Sunday morning!

1) Check Out Some Sites As A Buyer.
Make sure that you have visited a few local sites before you pitch your spot.  Some car boots aren’t as organised as others and can have stalls spread out over a large area of land but with stalls quite some distance apart - not good for sales!

Other sites can be a field of mud, others too small, and yet more with terrible access (or exit afterwards).  Some have a set start and finish time, but others just let people come and go throughout the day - which can leave you alone in the field if all your neighbours go home early!

And find out the price of a pitch - if the car boot costs more than £10 for your car - then make sure you have enough stuff to make the difference.  You will have to get up early, drive to the site, sit there all day hopefully selling at least that amount in goods and then probably queue up for ages to get out afterwards - so is it worth it?

2) Contact The Person In Charge First.
Make sure you have spoken to the person who is in charge before you get up early one day - as there are protocols to follow!

One car boot I went to where the entrance of which was on a main road had an unknown secret: you had to join a queue about 1/2 a mile away in a main back street half an hour before it opened to get a spot.  If you queued up outside the site when it was due to open - you were told to drive around the block and join the others - at the very back!

3) Find Out What You Can Sell.
This might sound strange, but some car boots will only allow old things to be sold - so if they see you there with plants, bulk goods and maybe even certain electrical items, you may get told off or outed!

Other places might be really strict on the amount of space you get, so having a clothes rail would be virtually impossible if you have a long table too!

Other sites have so much space that you can park your car sideways, therefore getting metres of space to display your things, and allowing you to have everything within touching distance of the customers, rahte than them having to rummage around in boxes under the table or having to ask you to pass stuff across to them!

4) Bring The Right Equipment.
Make sure that you can display most of your goods around hand-height so that everyone can see what you are selling and can have a good look - so this means a table of sorts like a decorating fold-up table (as you need to fit it in your car with all your stuff as well) and if you are selling clothes a rail would really make a huge difference.

Boxes on the floor for books is perfect - but preferably pack them together in prices if you have enough, so a box for 10p and box for 50p books etc. Same goes for tiny toys or other little things, so, ‘Anything in the Box = 50p’ type of thing.

You will need a fair amount of small change if you are going to be serious about this, so at least £10 worth of 50p’s and less and £10 of £1’s should be a minimum - depending on the price of your goods. There is nothing worse than giving a price for something and then have to refuse the sale as you have no change left! Most customers bring small change - but it’s best to be prepared!

And along those lines - bring plenty of carrier bags from your re-using stash to give to customers - they are more likely to buy more stuff if you offer them a decent bag!

And a plastic sheet to cover everything if it rains wouldn’t be a bad idea!

5) Set Your Prices For The Good Stuff.
If you are selling some large or really nice items, then make sure you set a minimum price before you set out as otherwise you could come away with less than you deserve.

There are also the ‘early scavengers’ as I like to call them, who go to car boots for a living. They know what stuff is worth money and what things they can sell on their own stall round the back of yours for twice what you were charging!

How they do this is to start rumaging through your things while you are still getting them out of your car. They pester you with seemingly reasonable prices, or offer for bulk goods - which you think is great!

You are making money before you are even finished unloading - but remember, they are only buying it from you as you are a ‘newbie’ and they want to buy yours cheap and sell it on for more! So it’s something to think about - make less money straight away, or hold on to your higher prices and sell them for yourself through the day.

In fact, why don’t you do a spring clean with the car boot in mind - as it could help you be a bit more ruthless - especially if you are not sure if you want to sell a certain item. By setting a high price you definately won’t go below you can come away with a result either way - making a decent amount for it - or keeping it yourself anyway!

6) Enjoy Yourself!
Make sure you plan to make a day of it. Take decent clothes incase it is cold, and convince someone to come with you if you can (or at least pop in to see you half way through) otherwise you won’t be able to go to the loo or to buy yourself a hot drink if it’s cold!

Take a packed lunch if you can as some can start as early as 6am in the summer and finish after 3pm. Do you want to have to go hungry - or end up spending your takings on a car boot burger?

I’ve done them before and I would do them again - but I have made all my mistakes, so hopefully your won’t have to…..

It’s Monday and you haven’t started cooking dinner yet - so make it the start of your ‘Meat Free Mondays’ campaign!

If you are not already a vegetarian, vegan or a meat-free Monday participant - then maybe you could try it for a few weeks and see if it really makes that much difference to your lives.

There are many celebrities who have given up meat altogether including Brad Pitt and Clint Eastwood, but it can be a difficult life to continue of your diet revolves around processed foods and take-aways.

So, if you can manage to eat at home on the rather sensible day of Monday, you could easily make it a meat-free one.  For example sausage and mash with gravy; pie, chips and peas and even a roast dinner could be made using meat-free ingredients - and I have had them all and they were yummy!

And if you are eating meat on up to 6 other days of the week, I’m sure you won’t really think anything of it - however, you could be making a huge difference to people, wildlife and habitats across the globe!

Benefits In A Nutshell:
There are many good things that can come out of cutting out meat from your diet - even if it’s only for 1 day. As don’t forget that it won’t be just you - so multiply the meat your don’t eat by 1000’s of other people in your neighbourhood, and we are stopping hundreds of cattle from traipsing through the Amazon……

Meat Uses More Land To Grow - By using a field to ‘grow’ cows or sheep, we need to use another piece of land to ‘grow’ the food to feed the cows and sheep.  So meat uses more land to grow than the tasty vegetables we love.

Meat Uses More Energy To Grow - More energy goes into growing a cow than into a cauliflower - so if we ate the cauliflower instead we could save all that waiting around for the cow to be ready for slaughter.

Meat Uses New Land To Grow- More meat in our diet means more land is always needed for farming them - and in South America, we have heard that the rainforests are being cleared to feed more cattle - or more correctly, rainforests are being cleared to make us hamburgers and cheap steaks.

Meat Gives Of Methane - Cows fart!  A lot…….

Meat Cannot Be Composted - Uneaten meat cannot be composted in your garden like leftover vegetables and fruit - and may well attract vermin anyway, so the disposal of meat can become a problem for businesses - and the environment.

Vegetables Are Good For You - By taking the focus off the meat part of your dinner you may well find that you eat more vegetables in your meal instead - all good news for your health.

Your Choices:
Just as with new products and new fashions - if people don’t buy it, people won’t make it. 

So if everyone could just take 1 day a week of meat, you will see a great reduction in the meat in stores, and therefore the amount of land being used to farm them.

I’m not saying that this will be an instant reaction from the farming industry, but it will certainly make a difference over the next few years.  And from current environmental thinking we may well need to start doing this anyway.

So, why not take a stroll up the vegetarian aisle next time you are in a store and try some of the alternatives - you might quite surprise yourself with what is available, and how much you like it.

And to be honest - dinner guests will eat whatever you cook them as long as it’s tasty - and if you don’t tell the kids or the partner when you serve up a fantastic vegetarian meal - they probably won’t even know the difference and so you can easily convert dozens of people you know without any fuss!

Planning to lose weight and give up smoking - 2 perfect eco friendly resolutions!

Every New Year there are thousands of people vowing to give up smoking and lose weight for the new year - so why not do it for real this time rather than just putting in a little bit of effort in front of the friends!

We know the reason we manage to eat a bit healthier in January is because we have eaten so much junk over the winter that we would rather not face another strawberry trifle or fried leftovers! 

And the symbolic start of the new year makes us decide that it’s a good time to be a bit healthier - but when you go back to work and the month end bills start to come through after the longest month of the year - it virtually always has 5 Fridays - you are stressed enough to just keep on smoking!

So why not make these 2 count seriously towards your new eco friendly lifestyle for 2010.

Losing Weight:
This has 2 sides to it’s eco benefit; eating less and exercising more, so lets look at these in detail.

Eating Less - we all know that we buy, cook and eat much more food than we need - and much of the food isn’t nutritious enough to make a difference.  So by restricting your meal size and number of meals, you can reduce the pressure on farmers and local stores to grow so much in the first place.

The food has to be grown and transported to the stores too which uses valuable energy and petrol or gas as well.  In a larger scale example the advantages become clear: if the average person buys 20 sprouts from the store, and a lorry from the farm can only fit in 1000 sprouts in it’s hopper - that means one journey feeds 50 families. 

But what if each of your 3 dinner guests only really eats 5 sprouts each and you throw the leftover 5 away?  That means that that lorry carried 250 sprouts for nothing.  And if people only brought what they actually ate - that original lorry could have fed nearly 67 families (17 more than before).

And who says we should be eating until we are stuffed anyway?  Buy less, eat less, waste less.

Exercising More- Clearly, if you are exercising more then you may well be walking or cycling a lot more than before - both of which have massive eco benefits.

By spending more time out of your car, you are saving on fuel and emissions - but you are also making your local area richer.  If you visit local parks and other amenities you are making them worth keeping and maintaining - and you could become involved in local projects.

And by taking a bit longer to get somewhere or exploring somewhere in closer detail you could become a bit more knowledgeable of local species and habitats - and even see places, buildings or wildlife that you haven’t seen before (as you fly at 50 mph down the link road!).

Also, more exercise will make you a healthier person, delaying the signs of aging and reducing your need for routine medications and treatments - all saving you and the community money and energy.  Which leads us on to the other resolution….

Stop Smoking:
Not only is smoking bad for your health on it’s own, it is also bad for your health in terms of the reduction in exercise your may well be having due to being so out of breath.  It has been scientifically proved that smoking causes lung damage - and your lungs are what helps you to be active and exercise more.

However, buying you cigarettes is a never-ending job.  Unless you are a very light smoker or stretch out your roll-ups beyond the meanest student - you will be having to visit a store several times a week.  Smokers never seem to buy them in bulk, they go back and forth all the time, just buying another 20. and I bet the don’t always walk there?

The packaging, the transport, the ingredients - all bad for the environment and your body.  So make an appointment with a hypnotist and get over it!

There are many other ways to help improve your eco friendly lifestyle - so maybe instead of New Year resolutions - have New Month resolutions where you can improve your lifestyle throughout the year!

With the recent bad weather across most of the northern hemisphere - should we stay home?

I haven’t left my place apart from to go for a great walk through the woods and a walk to the local store - so what did you do - and could it have caused problems for others?

There is an argument for both sides really, but which is more eco friendly?

The Case For Staying Home:
For a start, you will be one less car on the road in the way of other important people or vehicles that need to use the roads.  Many people like doctors, vets, firemen, police, grit lorry drivers, petrol tankers, grocery vans and ambulances that need to use the roads all day and at any time. 

So what would you do if you had got stuck on ice on a slip road and were now holding up one or more of the above people?  Stopping valuable staff from doing their job when you were only off out to do a bit of shopping or to visit a friend?

You would also be one more person that local services would have to worry about.  For example on 1 road in the UK earlier this week, there was a reported 25 mile tailback in the snow.  All those people were stranded in the freezing cold and the emergency services, local hotels and recovery drivers were now having to work overtime and through the night to help them all - and I bet all 25 miles wasn’t filled with doctors and food supplies?

And talking of medical care - if you went out and injured yourself on ice or through a car accident - you are adding to the pressures that emergency services are already facing.  If you can’t get to town in the bad conditions - what makes you think that nurses can either?  So more injuries and less nurses is really only going to mean longer waits and over-worked staff. 

The same goes for any other business as well.  Just because you managed to get yourself to a store, it doesn’t mean they will be able to offer you their best service, as they may also be short-staffed or have deliveries that cannot make it to the store due to accidents etc.

The Case For Going Out:
If you are one of the services that keep everyone else going then yes, you should try to get to work.  Hopefully all the non-essential journeys have ceased and so the roads should be clearer and safer for people like yourself to get through.

Also, many small businesses couldn’t function without their staff, and so struggling in to work could be the only option for some people. 

Imagine if everyone stopped going to work on the same day - countries would come to a standstill as no energy would be available, no need food would arrive in stores - and if it did, there would be noone there to sell it.  No gas, no gritters, no ambulances……….

People need to go to work in these terrible conditions - but think about who you are before deciding, as it’s not about how important you think your journey is, it’s about how important you know your job is.

Many eco friendly people will live near to where they work anyway - so a walk to work in the cold is going to be a million times better than a drive anywhere - and less of a drain on society during these hard times!

The Answer:
Stretched resources or reduced services? Neither is better than the other if you have to get to work - but there is a clear winner if you are not needed anywhere.

People not working, on a day off or who can work from home are the ones that can make a real difference in this whole thing.  By limiting their impact on the outside world during this stressful and very cold time, they can make all the difference to those who don’t have a choice.

So wrap up warm and go visit your elderly neighbours today - or snuggle up in front of the TV and watch a good movie instead.

It’s as simple as sitting in your own front room with a cup of tea watching the birds!

What could be a better way of finding out if your efforts to create an eco friendly wildlife garden are working than to record the wildlife that visits it?

Starting with the birds is the best way to start your surveying as they are the most obvious and easy to identify of your garden visitors during daylight hours!

Yes we can all identify a hedgehog and a fox, but you have to stay up late in the cold to do that! Birds come out when the sun is shining and you are wide awake! What could be easier?

Why Count Birds?
The RSPB survey takes place every year - as it has done since 1979.  Joining in this survey will not only help you to identify more and more of your garden visitors, but it will also allow you to take part in national efforts to record and protect our native species and migrant visitors.

It will also help you to gauge the avian diversity of your garden and local neighbourhood - and help you to choose your feeding sites and foods better; for example blackbirds generally feed on the ground, robins would like a bit of animal protein in their diet and blue tits would love some niger seed from a feeder!

If you know which species are around your garden, you can tailor what you offer them.  Not only will this help you attract those birds that you like to see, but could help you see a much wider variety of species throughout the year if you make a few changes.

The Survey:
Added to your own pleasure of watching the birds, you could also be helping the RSPB to extend their knowledge of species distribution and to watch out for serious changes in species number.  Some birds are key indicator species for certain habitats, so watching their numbers increase or decline could make a big difference.

And, the RSPB can’t be everywhere at one time - they rely on people like you and me to spare them an hour of their day at the end of January 2010 to count everyday birds. 

You don’t have to be an expert like Chris Packham or Bill Oddie - you just need to be able to count the most common birds in your garden.

The RSPB offer a guide to identifying some of the species that you are likely to see on their website - and a review of these and a few practice watches should help you to get the basics under your belt.

If you can tell a robin from a blackbird and a blue tit from a magpie then you are good enough!

And, if you want to get the kids involved at school, then check out the details for info packs and guidelines for schools!

In our new digital world, we can buy anything online - so why not make your home one of them?

If you are planning to move to a new home - either to rent or buy - then do all the groundwork from the comfort of your own home rather than out in the cold or in traffic!

We are quite happy to choose clothes and toys over the internet - so why not use that same tool to narrow down your property search - and save paper and petrol!

Why Online?
Well, we know that most estate agents create a printed sheet for each property detailing the size of the rooms and having at least 1 picture - as well as their logo and all their other sales and legal pitch - but what a waste when you compare it to what your computer can offer.

Firstly, you don’t need to print details that you don’t want, and estate agents don’t need to keep piles of sales literature in their filing cabinets - saving them money to spend on other services.

You can scan the properties online - and this means more pictures and even videos.  Rather than 1 simple picture of the outside of the house - which isn’t really of any use other than so you can find it when you drive past - you can see multiple images of each room, inside and outside, back and front.  Basically you can decide whether you like a place without a wasted journey to the property itself.

Save Your Time!
There is nothing worse than getting off work early to drive out of town to see a property to find that it is a complete mess inside, with totally the wrong layout for your needs.  Whereas, by looking online first you can narrow down you list of properties without leaving your own home!

You are free to view them at any time of day, and you don’t have to have the owners listening to what you say about their choice of decor either!

And, if you are the one selling your home - there is nothing worse than having to keep it uber tidy all the time incase someone wants to visit when you are out - only to find that they aren’t interested at all.  Needless visits to your home on your time just because they only had an external picture and a list of measurements to go by before arriving.

The agent is the key to a quick, efficient and time-saving sale.  So whether you are after Liverpool Lettings or York Estate Agents - check their credentials out first to see that they are going to do a good job for you.

Make It Easy On Yourself.
So whether you are in the market for a move or you are desperate to sell - make sure you choose your agent with care - helping to reduce the wasted viewings that don’t go anywhere - but take up your time!

1) Make sure that they take multiple images of all the important features and angles that buyers are looking for. 

2) Make sure that they offer a plan-o-gram of the property so potential buyers can get a feel of the layout before they arrive. 

3) Make sure that they have a great website that is easy to search on - try it out for yourself first to see if people will be able to find your home when it is on there.

4) Speak to the team to make sure that they are friendly, approachable and eager to promote properties that suit your needs rather than just what is on their books!

Following these simple rules can make sure that you find or sell your property as easily as possible, which is great news for everyone really!

With all this talk of climate change and preserving the rainforests - it’s time to get to grips with the facts!

And, to help you understand all the issues surrounding deforestation, climate change, CO2 emissions and what you can do to lessen the impact - the Princes Rainforests Project has produced a small, free, easy to read guide for everyone who is interested in learning more.

HRH The Prince of Wales heads up this booklet and it is supported by a host of other celebrities and ordinary people like you and me.

Why Care?
The Rainforests are a lifeline for our planet, not just for CO2 - although this can make a huge difference to the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

The forests absorb and emit moisture that can help cause rainfall in other parts of the Americas - including the plains of North America and the grasses of South America - which in turn feed the world and it’s animals.

The animals and plants that have evolved to live in these areas are also dependant on the forests for their very lives.  Medicinal plants are key to our search for cures and treatments and we could be losing them before we even find them!  And key wildlife can support all the other creatures that live in these delicate ecosystems.

Also, people depend on these areas for their livelihoods and survival.  Generations of native indian tribes have survived in harmony with the rainforests and their way of life is being destroyed by our way of life.

Why Are We Destroying It?
Unfortunately cutting down trees is no longer just about the trees, it’s about what makes more money for the person using the land.

If, for example, a field of trees are worth nothing to anyone apart from the odd free fruit you can eat.  Cutting the trees down to sell for wood could make a decent profit - but using that land for growing simple crops for yourself could make even more money. 

Selling that cleared land for cattle ranching though could make you a hefty sum, and selling it to large scale farmers for soya beans could make a small fortune.

And can we blame them for doing it?  No, if that was your land - and you needed to feed your family - what wouldn’t you do the same?  Everyone needs money - and why not get the most money you can for the same thing - after all, it’s just a field.

Is There A Solution?
There are many ways we can slow or stop this destruction, but it’s not going to be easy.

People are going to have to make an effort to change things and that includes you as an individual checking a few things when you shop, or maybe even being pro-active. A few ideas found in the booklet are as below:

1) Pay to keep trees standing by supporting a charity - and your support doesn’t have to be with money - your time can be just as important.

2) Stop the demand for rainforest products - check your sources for wood, paper and toiletries.

3) Pay to visit that field of trees - if people pay to visit these rainforests while they are standing, they could be worth more than if they were farmed, remember it’s all about what makes the most money forthe people who live there!

4) Help get your voice heard by contacting the government to share your concerns, whether you do this alone or you associate yourself with a larger charity or organisation.

So, go to Rainforest SOS to get your guide and more information about getting your voice heard!

Posting something isn’t just about getting it totally wrapped up in paper - it’s about sending with love!

What I mean is, that the actual packaging and size of the packaging you use can have a huge environmental impact when sent through the post - and also the item you are posting could be better selected if you really want to save resources!

The Packaging:
Starting with the materials you choose for wrapping, it would make sense to avoid non-recyclable materials in the first place as they can only be thrown in the trash upon receipt.  And wrapping something up and then putting it inside an envelope or another layer or wrapping for posting seems to be just a waste of resources.

Bubble-wrap should be used inside the packaging rather than as part of the wrapping so that it can be re-used at the other end in both parts.  I mean, if you send a gift wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap and then put inside a normal envelope or sheet or parcel wrap - then both parts can be put to use again by the recipient or the envelope recycled!  However, using an envelope with it’s own bubble-wrap concealed within cannot be recycled - only reused as a whole.

And, you don’t really want to use heavy packaging - like loads of sticky tape - as this will make your entire package heavier to post and therefore it will use more fuel and energy to move from your post box to the recipients!

The Size Of It:
Many, many, many people use the wrong sized packaging when posting an item.  It makes sense to find out the categories for your countries postal charges so that you can find out which is the most cost effective way to post it - and - the most energy-efficient way to post it.

Buying or using a larger-than-necessary envelope will take up more room in the postal system than a smaller one - creating more journeys for the postman and their fleet of trains and vans when added to all the other post going the same way. 

And in the UK, the rates charged for packages depends purely on the dimensions - so folding a pliable gift a certain way could save you a lot of money!

Anyone who sells things over the internet will know all about the best way to package something!  For example sending a ‘packet’ weighing up to 750g (1st class) is £2.65 - but sending a ‘large letter’ weighing the same (1st class) is only £1.77 - with just a few millimetres between them!

It’s worth knowing the small print if you have a lot of gifts to send! 

And why post items that the recipient can get for themselves - for example; toiletries and cosmetics.  Why send weighty bathroom goods through the post when they can buy them in their own stores?  Just use a paper voucher for that store - or make a personalized voucher telling them what you want them to buy with your money.

It’s still going to be the same gift - just from the store 10 minutes from their home rather than your store 500 kilometers away!  The items have already been driven across the country from the factory to the warehouse and then to your store - why get the postman to drive it somewhere else as well!!!!

The Gift Itself:
If you know you are posting something - then make sure you choose wisely.  Why send an item that is going to be costly to post in the first place?  And - are you going to pay the postal service to guarantee it arrives in one piece or more importantly credit you if the item is lost or damaged before it even arrives!

And, would it not be more eco friendly to have the item delivered directly to the person in the first place.  I find it quite funny that the wrapping of a gift is so important.  Some people have a gift delivered all the way to their home (at a cost) then wrap it themselves (at a further cost) then post it back out to the recipient (at even more cost!).

Why not just get it sent directly to the recipient in the first place - and have already told them to expect it and not to open it until you desire.

It’s still ‘wrapped up’ by the company - and it is still a gift from you?  This is even worth doing for overseas deliveries in some instances as the company your order from may well have overseas distribution sites that make posting items direct more cost and energy efficient!

Or better still - buy them an item that is virtual, so you don’t have to post anything!  Why not buy a ‘gift’ that helps others rather than clutters up our homes further, like charity gifts, memberships, or other good causes!

Make a difference with your money rather than making more things for landfill!

The RGS are hosting a fantastic EcoFair on the 5th and 6th of December in London.

They are bringing together some fantastic international eco friendly companies and charities to fill your day with excitement and fill your bags with great goodies!

Stalls include some of the old favourites like the RSPB selling wildlife gifts, memberships and information for your gardens and great days out and the CO-OP will be promoting their eco friendly and fair trade clothing ranges.

There are also products available from around the world, with alpaca clothing from Peru, ethical accessories from Nepal, hand-made silks from Cambodia and Luxury fabrics from India.

There are also creations from the UK, including recycled household goods, hand-made bespoke jewelry, fair trade organic babywear and luxurious oils and soaps.

There is also a free puppet show being performed at the show just after lunch time - called the Forest of Fables, and is performed using Japanese style puppets (made from recycled materials) to African music depicting well known Greek fables!

In addition, there is even a puppet making session beforehand - so your children can make their own recycled puppet like those from the show and learn how the show is put together - including a sneak preview at some of the songs - and they get to keep their puppet!

The whole show is free entry to all - with free fairtrade wine for all RGS members and guests - see the RGS website for more details……..

Here is your chance to take part in something amazing!

BBC Breathing Spaces in the UK, is attempting to break some Guinness World Records in the tree world.  As a part of National Tree Week in the UK, they have decided to try to break 2 World Records on the same day.  1 of the records is for individuals, and the other record is more of a massive effort of over 100 people!

Needless to say I will be focussing this article on the record that we can all take part in - for individuals and families around the world.  And, although this record attempt stems from the UK, you can live anywhere in the world to take part!

You can live in any country in the world to join in the effort, and so far - according to the website today - there have been people from 67 countries pledging to plant a tree!

How Do You Join In?
To get yourself and your friends involved you need to add your pledge to the growing number of ‘planters’ out there - but first of all, you need to decide on where you could plant a young tree - and of course, getting your hands on a suitable tree to plant!  Their FAQ should help.

There are strict rules regarding the planting - well, it is a world record so needs to be taken seriously - and there are natural ‘rules’ to make sure your tree actually makes a difference to the environment you plant it in!

So, here’s a summary of the guidelines in the order you need to worry about them:

1) You will need (digital) photographic evidence of you planting your trees - which shows the date and time of the planting, as these need to be emailed to the adjudicators after the event.

2) You must be free between 11am and 12 noon on the 5th of December 2009.  If you live outside of the UK, you need to be free at the exact same time - but obviously this won’t be 11am where you live, so you need to work out the time you need to plant your trees. For example, New York planters would need to be digging at 6am on the 5th, and people in Victoria, Australia would need to be planting at 10pm on the 5th.

3) You need to get decide on a suitable tree species to plant in a suitable habitat.  Ideally it would be a native tree species sourced locally and with other similar trees already doing well in that area.  So, don’t plant a small hazel tree in a densely packed conifer woodland, and only choose birch and the such for wetter areas. The whole point of the record attempt is to make a difference to the environment - so a badly chosen tree or location is a waste of time!

4) So, use their tree guide to decide on planting and caring for your baby trees to make sure that they benefit the wildlife they are surrounded by and so that they make a long-term difference to your community.  The UK are offering participants ‘free trees’ for the record attempt - so go to their stockist listings to see where you can get yours from!

5) Now, get online and make your pledge!  There is a Tree-O-Meter on their site to keep track of the numbers of tree pledges - 263,669 right now - but the current record is 653,143, so loads to go!

Make sure you are one of them!