Eco Friendly House And Garden

These days, can you just pick a chair you like the look of?

Of course you can, but do you want to? I mean, what is the history of that chair? Is buying it going against some of your principles? Have you been paying to NOT buy that chair – and then buying it anyway?

I mean where your chair comes from, what it is made of, who made it and how it was made are all important ethical and environmental issues – as well as how that chair got to your store, how it is held together, and what will happen when you don’t want it anymore.

And is it even safe to use?

If you donate to or fundraise for wildlife, humanitarian or environmental charities you should consider these questions in detail – otherwise you could be causing the very problems your charities are trying to prevent.

By not thinking about the direct and knock-on effects of what you choose to buy – and therefore endorse – you are not only wasting your time and money – you are helping to destroy the very things you believe in.

Does that chair look better in your home that that tiger did in a jungle?

If you could actually see that painted chair off-gassing volitile chemicals in your nursery – would you still want it in your home?

The above examples just tell you what actually does happen in all these cases – but just because you can’t see it at the time – it doesn’t mean you can ignore it.

Study The Facts:
It is very easy for all of us to just carry on as ‘normal’ and buy whatever we want when we want to – and that may still be true for food and medicines – as these are human essentials and people aren’t willing to change that much.

But buying non-essentials like chairs and other furniture and nik naks should really be considered in a lot more detail as you have a clear choice about what you do and don’t buy. And when you buy anything – you are saying to the manufacturers that you agree with, or at least are not bothered by, what they are doing.

If you buy non-FSC wooden furniture you are saying that you don’t mind if rainforests are destroyed along with the animals and plants living in them. You are paying them to destroy an ecosystem.

If you buy non-organic or high VOC paints and adhesives in your chairs you are saying that you don’t mind if animals as well as our own air and waterways are slightly polluted with potentially dangerous or toxic chemicals. You are paying to risk the lives of both people and animals – and ultimately our food crops and drinking water.

photo credit: PINTOY®

The Grey Areas:
Of course, there are always a whole range of factors that go into making a chair, and what you feel strongly about – but say the perfect eco and human friendly chair = 10 points.

Even if everyone only settled on a midway chair or 5 points that is still going to make a huge difference to our planet as well as the lives of individuals. Ironically it is probably schools, nurseries and offices which buy all the worst furniture as the wholesale companies they use for practicality don’t often have such green credentials.

So the very place where young people play and eat, and the very places where adults spend most of the days are causing a huge dent in this 5 point average life.

I know price and ease of purchase are huge factors working against you buying the best eco products – but it isn’t just your choice of chair you are making – you are helping to choose the future, your family’s future.

So next time you really need a new chair – think about what else what you could be losing in exchange.

There are no excuses at all for not creating a haven for wildlife where you live – even if you are high rise!

Every spare flower can help species to feed and survive – as you are helping to create ‘wildlife corridors’ between parks and gardens along the way. Helping our wildlife to get around and multiply!

And by creating this safe haven – you could actually get a certificate to prove you are playing your part in helping garden wildlife.

How To Get Involved:
Ideally you will find a way to feed, water and protect any birds, reptiles or mammals that you can as well as offering then a place to raise their young – depending on your circumstances.

Not everyone needs to find a home for brown bears or wetland birds – even a tiny home for a sparrow or overwintering butterflies can be a perfect wildlife ‘garden’.

Obviously – the more land you have – the more you can offer to help; but every live creature needs a home – and you can offer that wherever you live.

I have feeders hanging outside my apartment window where I regularly see blue tits, great tits, sparrows and squirrels, as well as collared doves and wood pidgeons on the ground eating the fallen crumbs – I’ve even had sparrowhawks here because of this – but they weren’t here for the peanuts!

Visit Garden for Wildlife with Scotts to get some great information to help you get started – as well as information on native plants that will encourage and benefit local species to your garden, yard or window box!

Get Certified!
Scotts are hoping to get 150,000 wildlife habitats created in a massive drive to improve the choices that animals have to move around our urban areas and open spaces.

There are so many roads and buildings in some places that wildlife just can’t get established, Also migrating animals find it hard to pass through some areas due to the lack of essential foods or safe places to rest or sleep.

So why not find out how you could create a feeding station for migrating insects and birds; or how you could create a breeding pond for amphibians; a winter sleepover for cold mammals; or a one night stop-over spot for a wandering anything!

Even if you can only offer 1 of the required actions – you can still apply and recieve great tips about progressing on to full certification – as well as a free magazine subscription!

Or – why not work with a friend who has more space to get certified together – maybe even your whole class – or school!

The more people and places that get involved – the better the results will be in your town and in your state – as well as the whole country.

Animals don’t always just live in one place the whole year – they travel. So if people in the place where these animals live in the summer, people in the places they pass through and people in the place where they spend winter all put in a little effort – we can start to make a real difference.

Join In:

Offer your kids that chance to learn more about their garden with your fun new game!

We all know how identification keys work – but sometimes they are just too complicated and tend to include things that you won't ever need to know; for example, rare wild plants or 7 species of woodlouse which all look the same!

So why not make your own more fun and relevant guides that only include what you know you already have?

By making a simple 'puzzle' for those younger people in your life – you could not only create a game to while away the hours before dinner – but one that is also very informative and hopefully intriguging at the same time.

Where To Begin:

Firstly, you need to do a bit of research yourself – unless you already know a fair bit about the life in your garden.  And you will need to decide what you are going to include – or how many different guides you want to create.

Will you include garden and ornamental plants only, wildflowers and 'pest plants'; maybe even garden birds and trees – depending on your garden of course!

Then you need to decide on which species you actually have present or are likely to have visit – and make a few lists.  Let's imagine you were just doing trees for this example and we can follow the process more simply.

Your List:

Let's say you have 5 trees in your garden; an oak, a sycamore, a holly bush, a horse-chestnut tree and a eucalyptus.  Now all of these have very different leaves to an experienced eye – but to children they are totally new.

So you need to start with the basics and work up from there – so pick the most obvious one first to eliminate it from the search – so the holly bush might be first to go with the question: "Does it have really spiky leaves?".  This way, the child should always remember the spiky leaves if it's a holly.

photo credit: Mark A Coleman (FREE photos to use / download)

This leaves (excuse the pun) 4 contenders – 2 of which could appear quite similar, and 2 completely different – so let's get rid of the noticably different ones like the eucalyptus first with "Are the leaves long, thin strips?"; then the oak with "Are the leaves wider than your hand?" with a no pointing to the oak.

Once you get to the final trees – you can then ask whichever way you want to get to the end – maybe even including your own drawings of the leaves as the final step.

Your Personal Touch:

You can of course, add anything you want to the keys to make it more fun – or more informative.  For example, you could elaborate on each species with a few 'facts' concerning their growth or history – or their benifits to wildlife.  Or you could point them towards certain pages in your field guides so they can learn for themselves.

You could make it a checking off game where some of the answers aren't really in your garden – just to make sure they are using it properly! I mean you aren't going to have a Giant Sequoia in your garden are you?

And obviously you can filter out all the 'hard' parts of identification so that you don't get them bogged down in the details and scare them off of identification for ever.  I mean, kids don't need to know that there are many different violet species – just knowing it is a violet is good enough for starters!

They don't need to know the habitat types, geology, how they reproduce or what season they flower in – that can all come later when they already have a keen interest in the subject.  You just want to harness their interest and give them something worth doing in the garden and in the fresh air!

You never know where it might lead their inquisitive minds in the future!

Deciding to stay at home for the day – instead of a walk in the park – could end up costing more than you thought!

Obviously a day out on a plane won't be better than staying at home, but if you take yours kids out to a local park, woodland or beach – you could be saving electricity, water, food and all sorts of other resources.

Lets take a typical afternoon stroll and a day at home as comparisons for a family with 3 kids, and see what could happen in both instances – good and bad…..

Pack Up Your Troubles:

Right, so the kids are up and have had a tasty breakfast.  They have played about a bit with each other and are starting to get restless.  The sun is shining – so let's get going.

Firstly, you would make a nice packed lunch or healthy sandwiches, fruit, vegetable sticks and maybe yoghurts.  You then fill up bottles with some cordial, grab a blanket and some balls and off you all go.

photo credit: Chris. P

Even if you drive somewhere local first, the whole afternoon spent playing with the kids and eating 'raw' foods will have been very easy on the environment.

The kids will no doubt entertain themselves for most of the time, maybe learn something while they are exploring, find plenty of natural things to 'own' and have worn themselves out for when you get home!

It's Mine!

However, at home there might only be one of something – and so the arguments begin!  Maybe even forcing you to end up buying multiple items in the future to avoid the rows!

And will your kids choose to eat a cheese salad sandwich on brown bread if they had the whole kitchen to choose from? I doubt it.  There will be demands for larger meals of more processed foods (if you have them in the house) or maybe even a cooked meal instead – all adding up over the day and increasing the washing up and filling up the bin!

There is also the likelihood that they will want to play with electrical goods while at home too – as this is where the power is.  No doubt they won't be choosing the watch nature programs and play online puzzles either – they will be watching endless American movies and playing tiny consumer games on they energy-intensive hand-held gadgets!

Share The Love:

I am well aware that all kids like different things – and that taking out 3 kids every day can be very time-consuming and sometimes expensive – I'm just suggesting that a simple trip to the park isn't so bad to force on them.

Many parents I know think that the local park is so boring – but that is a parent-only point of view.  We as adults just see the same old swing, round-a-bout and climbing frame – but the kids will see castles, speed trials and ways to show off their bravery (or stupidity in our eyes!).

I know of kids who beg their God Mother to take them around the block on their bikes every time she visits – just because it is something different for them – rather than a life-changing experience.

So going out for a walk or picnic isn't just great fun for the family and energy-saving - it can also inspire and entertain! 

Is there really an eco difference between a Bulldog and a Beagle?

When you are thinking of buying a puppy and are considering breeds that are easy to train, good with children or don't shed hair – shouldn't you be considering the eco side effects of these breeds too?

All dog breeds and cross breeds (dogs that have obvious traits of one or 2 breeds but are not pure) have a certain amount of 'known' traits that can end up taking up time and money – and maybe affecting their health – and your families enjoyment of having a dog in the first place.

General Health:

Firstly – there are breeds of dog which are known to have certain health issues within the breed circle – for example you might hear the following phrases: all Westies have bad skin; German Shepherds often get bad hips and Yorkies have bad teeth.  Of course not every single German Shepherd on the planet will have hip problems and other breeds of dog can also get bad hips – but there are trends that are common in certain breeds.

So, should you not buy one of theses in the first place – incase it ends up needing ongoing treatment, pain-killers and possibly surgery? 

Of course there are breeders who have made sure that the unhealthy breed traits are not found in their offspring – but should we even consider the risk?

The last thing I would want as a dog owner is a sad sick dog who always has to take certain tablets, can't walk very far, is always in pain or is at the vets every other month.

And all those car journeys, treatments, tablets, operations and specialist diets aren't much good for the environment either!

The Type of Dog:

Not only are there known health issues with certain breeds – there are also certain breeds themselves that can generate problems without really trying.

photo credit: bomb_tea

For example; dogs with very short faces will virtually always get out of breath with exercise, and make terrible breathing noises in hot weather.  Dogs that have heavy flaps of skin will no doubt suffer from some types of skin problems, including ulcers, eczema as well as harbouring fungal infections and ticks.  Dogs with long bodies can find themselves with skeletal and muscular problems if overweight, with too much exercise or just as they age.

Why would you buy a dog with the potential for these health issues before you even take it home?

And You?

Well, nothing genetic that a dog has wrong with it can be 'caught' by humans – but surely you got a dog as you enjoy the outdoors and think that they will be great company in the home – so what if it can't fit that bill?

A dog with itchy skin problems, sore joints, digestive upsets and breathing problems isn't really going to suit your needs.

How can you go out all day with the kids if the dog can only walk for an hour at most before collapsing in a heap?  You won't want to take it to the local park if it has loose stools or patches of fur missing, and you can't ask a friend to watch it every time you go out can you? Or make it wear a giant headcollar so it can't chew itself!

And you won't get a moments peace indoors with a scratchy dog following you around, or a stiff old thing that keeps slipping over as it wanders between rooms, or a dog that has to have a tablet every 4 hours through the night!

So, when you are considering a new dog, don't just think about whether they are easy to train or if they are the same colour as your sofa – think about the environmental effects of owning them too.

Final Note:

Of course, any dog can get ill and as a result suffer from any of these complaints, but there is a difference between 'knowing' that these complaints exist in the dog when you first buy it and having them happen by accident.

I mean your car might break down at any time – and mine have done just that – but would you buy a car that was known to break down every year?  Would you regularly eat spicy foods that make you ill - or do you avoid them completely because of that?

However dogs aren't disposible items – once you buy one, you will have it for around 10-20 years – so think that far ahead!

Shouldn't being eco friendly be easier than not being green?

Why do so many eco friendly alternatives mean 'putting yourself out' or taking longer to get things done?  When you are a busy mum or are running a tight business – green alternatives should be making your life easier – not slowing you down!

So, I have found a few great eco inventions that could make being eco aware that much easier – and hopefully save you time and money along the way…..

Whole House Switch Off:
Why waste time checking all your plugs and appliances are switched off before leaving the house – because if you are in a hurry – you might not be so thorough!

By wiring up your whole home – or just parts of it – to 1 single 'OFF' switch your life couldn't be easier!  Obviously it won't be linked up to your fridge and freezer, or anything else you need to leave on – but all the lights, TV's and other appliances will switch off until you return home!  Easy.

Power Aware Cord:
If you don't fancy a giant one off switch, then maybe glowing power cables can make it easier to see if things are switched off before you go to bed rather than climbing behind units and cabinets to check the wall switch.

Strida 3 Folding Bike:
Rather than having to carry around your bike seat, take spare clothes to work or wipe oil off your trouser leg – you could ride a tiny folding bike instead!  Gone are the days when a bike was in 1 piece and you needed to worry about leaving it outside.  No more riding in the rain or catching your shin on the pedals when pushing your bike into the garage! 

This neat little bike folds up so easily and is so portable that you have nothing preventing you cycling to work or town knowing that you can still pop inot the shops – or catch a bus if it starts raining!  And they are thinking of making an even smaller, lighter version too….

Eco Friendly Room Dividers:
There are several different eco friendly room dividers on the market that can change the appearance and layout of a room without resorting to stud walls, re-decorating or demolition. 

Either made or felt, wood, eco-friendly plastics or strengthened cardboard and designed in a modular fashion – these 'walls' could be made, shaped or moved to suit your needs – without great cost.  And coming in a variety of colours – they could act as temporary 'wall paper' as well then changed with the seasons being used again and again over time.

Just keep them coming…. We need more like these……

Now that the Holidays are over – you will have plenty of things ‘left over’.

It’s not just the food that gets left over after all your family have finally gone home – there are all sorts of other things around the house that need to either be stored for the year, re-used, recycled or given away! 

However – the food is the easiest to sort out – so make that your priority!  No matter how much you plan to buy less this year – it doesn’t always work out like that – so sometimes you end up with much more than you wanted – but don’t worry – you can make it all go to good use if you think ahead!

photo credit: Dplanet::

So, get your pen and paper to hand, and start sorting everything out!

First Things First:
Before you can start making plans for your left-overs – you need a diary!  You ned to be able to plan not only the next 4 weeks – but also the whole next year.

Ideally you will have the next 4 weeks on a day to day diary – and then the rest in months – this way you can organise which days you need to have eaten certain foods by and which days you already have plans for, and then dot things off into the future for birthdays, holidays and next winter!

It’s amazing how quickly days can come around when you are working and visiting friends!

Food For Thought:
So, starting in the fridge you can start planning your food – as this food normally has the shortest dates!

Go through everything in the fridge and write it down on a sheet of paper with the latest date you could eat it by; then look at fruits, cakes and breads etc, working your way through absolutely everything you have in the freezer and cupboards – including those traditionally ‘long-dated’ items – just to be sure. 

I’ve noticed stores selling very short-dated items over the holidays as people are just buying everything!  So never assume that things have long use-by dates – check everything properly.

Once you have listed everything, you can start to put them in date order and plan your meals over the next few weeks.  That way, you can plan to eat everything before it goes out of date – wasting as little as possible!

By actually having a list of when you need to eat or drink things by infront of you – you will be able to see what you can’t use in time – and so could open up the opportunity to invite people over to yours to help finish it off – or take things over to someone else’s house when you visit them!

New Creations:
Don’t forget that food doesn’t need to be thrown away by it’s use-by date if it is made into something else; for example all those root vegetables could be made into a lovely soup and frozen for another month!

Once cooked – meats can be frozen, bakery and dairy can also be preserved ‘on chill’ for many weeks after they can be used in their refrigerated state.  So by using your kitchen skills and your left-overs – you could spread your food over the next month without really trying too hard!

I know your compost heap might miss out on a few things – but we all know that food is in short supply on a world-wide scale, so why not make better use of it all – even if it means buying a specialist book on it – and trying some new dishes with the family!

Future Gifts:
No doubt, on your list there are boxes of chocolates, biscuits, wine and other products that have another 6 months or a year or 2 still to go – so why not think about keeping them to hand for upcoming birthdays and as yet unplanned dinner parties with family and friends.

I have biscuits for cheese and bars of chocolate that has more than a year on it that I am planning to hold on to in my ‘spare’ kitchen cupboard for some get togethers!

Of course – you are more welcome to eat them all yourself!

Welcome back – and I hope the first 2 eco bathroom tips made sense!

I’m still in this holiday cottage – and in just the bathroom alone I am still finding ways to reduce their impact on the environment by making simple changes to the design and function of their bathroom.  Obviously I haven’t mentioned everything – like having a smaller sink – but I hope to have covered the main areas that could easily benefit your home if you are planning an eco-upgrade!

Needless to say all the little things added together really can make a difference if you think of them in the long term and for the whole community too. I mean 1 extra squirt of sealant in your bathroom might not seem so bad this week – but if every household in your county all went to the store and brought a tube of sealant for the same thing in the next 12 months – then it becomes a serious eco issue!

3) Proper Sealing:
The floor is tiled in this cottage – but the skirting is wood – so there is no waterproofing on the floor for cleaning purposes.  I know that it isn’t a full wetroom, but when you mop these tiles, you are going to get the wooden panels wet and allow excess water to seep down behind them and into the floor – not such a good idea really.

photo credit: Ken Doerr

Why not use tiles as the skirting so that you can virtually waterproof the room by using the same grout as the floor and so protect the walls and ground beneath from absorbing moisture.

Same goes for the sink.  Why not get a sink with a raised protective back that reaches a little way up the wall.  So, rather than the white sealant between the wall and basin holding a layer of soap or toothpaste-filled water and eventually going yellow and rotten or becoming mildew – the sink itself is in one piece so feeds the excess water back into the plughole!

It will eliminate all of the above problems and reduce the amount of cleaning and maintenance needed to virtually nothing.

4) Protect The Walls:
I don’t know about you, but I always hit the wall with the swinging light pulls – the larger the handle the more banging seems to occur! As you can imagine, each bang is damaging the wall.

Also, people can’t always find the string in the dark, so end up touching the paintwork or – as I have done if the pull string is too near the wall (as it is here) – chipped off some paint and sometimes plaster under my fingernails!

As you can imagine, it doesn’t take long for the paint to become patchy or the wall to become a bit dirty – so protect the wall with a tile. If you put a large tile or 4 smaller ones in the area where the most contact and therefore damage will occur, you can save having to repaint the entire wall for just that dirty patch!

A few tiles or a whole tub of paint?

5) More Hanging Space:
There are only 2 of us here, but the hanging space in the bathroom is virtually non-existent – so what do we do with the wet towels?

Well, you have to hang them somewhere, don’t you – which will inevitably be the backs of wooden chairs or over other wooden furniture like the stair rail. (Don’t forget that we are in a little self-contained unit away from home and without a garden so a drying horse or washing line just aren’t an option unless supplied).

Needless to say, the moisture from the towels is now being absorbed by the furniture and the room so as a result this could all be reducing their workable lifespan. And seeing as this property is designed to be used almost continually by family after family it is going to get through furniture a lot quicker anyway.

The Answer?
Well, there is nothing much I can do here as it has already been installed by the owners, but it is certainly worth considering these things when redecorating or improving your own bathrooms.

The future is looking towards sustainability and the longevity of our resources – so why not help by reducing the amount of repair and replacement your bathroom needs!

PS – it’s not quite damage to the bathroom itself, but one other thing they did is certainly a big no no and was very uncomfortable too:

6) Toilet Roll Holder:
They have put it right behind the toilet, so you have to reach right round to pull off a few sheets – but inevitably you pull off way more sheets than you actually wanted as you are bent sideways. But now they are all unrolled and in your hand – you are going to use them all aren’t you.

I mean who but the most eco addicts would leave those extra few sheets to one side and use them later?

By swapping the toilet with the sink in this room, they could have had the toilet roll holder to the side of the toilet reducing the excessive use of this already over-used resource.

Eco design should be a part of your eco living – it’s not just about the individual products.

Make some time to go to a show to get some top tips for your eco friendly house and garden!

The whole show doesn’t have to be uber green – just on the right theme, and then you can go and pick out the bits you like and put pressure on the companies that are not offering what you want!

Many tips and tricks for home redecorating or garden landscaping don’t have to be new-fangled and complicated – there are many things that we can do that are eco friendly without even trying!

Also at shows, you get to see products that aren’t found in supermarkets due to their ‘rules’ on listings, like biodegradable toiletries, organic foods and fair trade supplies.  You just won’t find these on the high street – so they bring them to the shows so you can get hands-on experience with them rather than blindly ordering things off the Internet!

1) The National Home Improvement Show - Earls Court, London
With over 18 exhibitors being from energy efficiency companies and talks and seminars from environmentally active lecturers and TV presenters – you know you could be on to a good thing here!

Take your pick from all the departments including renovations, kitchens, bathrooms and gardens as see if you can get some great advice on using the right resources, getting eco friendly appliances and other homewares as well as sustainable produced garden furniture and buildings.

2) The National Wedding Show – NEC, Birmingham
If you are even remotely thinking of getting married – then you must consider a trip to a wedding fair.  Weddings can cost at least £20,000 for a simple affair – so if you are after an eco friendly wedding, then you had better plan in advance to make sure that you get the best products and services booked up in advance – rather than have to settle for second best when you run out of time!

And, there are bound to be things involved with a wedding that you hadn’t really even considered looking in to like car hire and tablecloths!  At a show like this – they have already done all the thinking; just turn up with a notepad and pen and comfy shoes!

3) Mind, Body & Soul 2010 - Olympia, London
Take a day out to unwind from the stresses of life – and try out some of the great relaxation remedies, complementary therapies and practical sessions.

Find yourself surrounded by experts on stress, therapy, yoga and many other well known and well used techniques that could help you realise your potential and make some serious changes in your life, your work or your free time.

Raised Garden

4) Grand Designs Live – NEC, Birmingham
Covering everything from food to flowers, lofts to landscaping and from sash windows to sustainable sheds!

Seriously, it’s not just about buying a plot of land or derilict church and building a massive monstrosity on it like the earlier Grand Design TV Shows – its all about making things better, more eco friendly and long lasting – and not just for 1 home – but for whole communities.  

5) The Baby Show - Earls Court, London
Come here and find out about everything you will need for your little one before they arrive – and for your growing ones who need some new inspiration and equipment – or for yourself to help cope with the new lifestyle that is shaping your every day life.

Not only will your get the chance to try out all the existing products that are new to you – there will also be innovative products and companies out there with something new to the whole world!  Whether it’s a new eco friendly material, new biodegradable toiletries or organic baby foods – you can bet that it is all here!

So, what are you waiting for - make some space in your diary….

National Family Week (UK) runs from May 31st to June 6th – but make yours and eco friendly one!

The event is all about celebrating Family and your time together – either indoors surrounded by books and films or outside knee-deep in grass and surrounded by bird song!

But there is no reason why your events can’t be green, local and without creating enough waste to fill your entire bin!

There are many events being held around the country that are on the official website, but why not use their guide to make a week of eco friendly fun for yourself your family and your friends.

The weeks events are running along a sort of ‘schedule’ to help give people a rough plan if the week, and you can do as little or as much as you like – or create your own eco fun, but the week is as follows:

Monday – Eco Friendly Picnic:
Why can’t you arrange an event where you make an old fashioned outdoor feast, with local or organic produce brought in bulk – rather than everything in it’s own tiny bottle or individual wrapping.  Why not get one person to bake an enormous cake, one to bake a loaf of fresh bread, one to chop homegrown salad and bring home-laid hard-boiled eggs for the filling. 

Buy huge bumper packs of crisp and nibbles to share out and bring all fully reusable plastic plates and bowls to take home after.  And don’t forget some tubs to collect wild blackcurrants or fallen apples in!

Tuesday – Family Film Day:
Why not extend the picnic theme indoors with a great matinee of one or two of the families favourite films – make sure one is a classic musical to get everyone singing and dancing.  Before the first film, maybe all spend time in the kitchen mixing pastry and cakes so that when the film is over there is plenty of home-made food for everyone to tuck into before the next film!

Wednesday – Great Story Telling Day:
Rather than read other peoples stories – why not spend this day surrounded by scissors, glue and old magazines with a selection of pens and string – and have everyone create their own great adventure story from all your old magazines and bits of the outdoors like pressed flowers and leaves!  Something they can take away and keep.

Thursday – Green Road Trip:
Car or minibus, it doesn’t matter – but if there is an adventure to be had getting there is half the fun.  Rather than take the straight route – why not find the country lanes that go through tiny villages, steepled churches and fields of cows and horses.  Maybe even take in a ruined castle or 2 on the way as well – and don’t forget the camera and a tasty home-made packed lunch!

Friday – Eco Friendly House Party:
Anything goes here – whether it’s literally a party that goes on all night (without annoying the neighbours of course) or whether it’s a day-time party where people bring their family and some tasty goodies to share.  Or maybe help out with some spring cleaning or reducing and recycling.

Take one room of your home that really needs a sort out and get everyone involved. Whether it’s taking stuff to the recycling centre, community furniture project or around a friends – many hands make light work! Maybe get together to help an elderly relative or neighbour – or just your own home and ring some green changes!

Saturday – Eco Garden Fun:
Maybe this one could be an eco garden house party, where you all take it in turns to attack someones garden for the better, laying hedges, creating a wildlife pond, a bug corner, putting up bird feeders or just planting some veg! Things you never really get round to yourself – especially with the kids under your feet! Imagine to things you could achieve with 10 people instead of just you and your mum!

Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have fun – and maybe send in some photos!
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