Eco Friendly House And Garden

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!

We all love eating outside – but plan ahead otherwise you could be creating waste.

There is nothing better than eating outside with your family and friends in the summer as it isn't something we Brits normally get the chance to do.  But watch out for potential problems that could fill your bin bags and make you break your eco promises!

Shops across the country are currently selling out of everything disposable – and this is where you shouldn't be involved!  However, it is really tempting to do so.  so here are a few tips to keep you on your toes.

The Barbeque Itself:

Now although the food needs to be cooked – it doesn't need to be done outside.  You can bring all the cooked meat outside along with all the salad and drinks you prepare – but using your own oven will actually be more eco friendly than buying a disposable barbeque that stops cooking effectively after about 5 minutes.

Your fitted outdoor cooker may well do a bit better for you, but all that smoke and open spacing means that a majority of the heat you generate with coals or gas is wasted as it passes right by your food and heats up your face!  Not to mention all that smoke.

photo credit: zoetnet

Food For Thought:

Why opt for the standard outdoor fare of sausages and burger slapped in a white bun with some lettuce and ketchup?  When you are cooking indoors you could rustle up some cous cous, pasta and better quality meat products – as well as using alternatives to bleached bread – like wholegrain pittas, corn wraps and homemade breads as they don't have to be burger-shaped!

And these days you don't need to go an buy lettuces and tomatoes – you should be growing them in your garden.  It is so satisfying to go and collect a handful of salad leaves, asparagus and radishes from your own garden to eat – or step in your greenhouse for fresh tomatoes!

The Washing Up:

No need to wash up after a barbeque – just throw everything in the bin!  Only if you forgot to plan ahead….  Buy buying a set of plastic 'crockery', cups and large bowls you can stop worrying about broken plates and dishes and start enjoying yourself!

The dreaded paper plates – aren't so eco friendly if you think about it.  They never last well with sauces and hot food on them anyway – and you can't compost them with cooked food all over them – or really throw them in the recycling – so they go in the bin.

Plastic cutlery rarely serve their purpose and can't be recycled either, and we all know where plastic cups go.

So spend out on a great set of long-lasting outdoor products that you can use year after year for such events without having to worry about breaks or filled to the brim bin bags!

Or that last minute rush to the shops over the bank holiday to get supplies. 

Your garden might be green – but is your gardening schedule so eco friendly?

Your garden my well be edging on the eco-friendly side with careful planting, reduced disease and greater wildlife balance – so now look at some of the little things that could reduce it’s environmental impact that you might not have thought of.

By understanding how your plants work; you can reduce water use further, create a greener lawn and reduce pollution.  And by learning about garden processes; you can preserve natural landscapes, improve society and improve your health!

Below are some great garden facts for your plants and garden:

Control Your Water:
Many plants actually grow just as well with reduced watering.  They hold more in their leaves and flowers ‘waiting’ for the next watering.  And too much water can lead to rotting anyway.  Try to halve your watering and see the improvements.

Also, by only watering the actual plants rather than all the mud around them – they will make better use of ground nutrients and grow a better root network. 

If you just empty the entire contents of your watering can over the whole plot then not only are you wasting a lot of that water to evaporation – but the plants roots don’t need to spread far to get that water (and seeds could rot where they sit!). 

And if roots don’t spread far enough to take advantage of available ground nutrients this will result in weaker plants or increased feeding requirements.  So try putting small markers in the ground to mark the exact location of seeds and only water the ground right around your plants for best results.

Also, slightly longer grass will allow it to survive longer in dryer weather and the blades can hold more water.  Really short grass will be the first to die in dry sunny weather – and the dry mud left behind won’t absorb water as well – and will only cause localised flooding when the rains do come!

Mulching Makes A Difference To:
Just as the nutrients in the soil are used for your plants – they are also used for your weeds!  Why spend hours every week pulling out all the weeds – when you can virtually stop them growing in the first place?

Germination and all the growth that take places beneath the ground uses valuable soil nutrients that cannot now be used by your plants!  Each seed needs a certain balance of warmth, moisture and sunlight to germinate – so by covering your beds with at least 10 cms of mulch you will prevent these ‘ideal’ conditions from forming for most seeds. 

No germination – no weeds!

photo credit: jeffreyw

And that thicker layer over your earth will also reduce evaporation and help to keep the soil cooler and less parched: perfect for reduced watering and reduced effort from you weeding; both of which could save you the time to be doing something far more useful!

Save Resources:
By actively making your own compost, growing green fertilisers and maintaining your eco friendly balance (attracting natural predators to kill or outcompete the pests) – you can prevent all that growth, processing, packaging and transportation or man-made fertilisers and pesticides as well as limit the destruction of natural environments like peat bogs and wetland landscapes.

Your compost – reduces demand for water and chemicals to be used in fertilisers
Your compost – reduces the transportation of waste to polluting landfill sites
Your compost – reduces demand on peat cutting and packaging of plant materials
Your compost – offers the perfect home for invertebrates, snakes and birds

Green planting – increases the nutrients in your soil for your plants
Green planting – reduces the land available for weeds to grow on
Green planting – reduce the demand for chemical requirements for maintenance

Eco balance – reduces the need for chemical insecticides and treatments
Eco balance – reduces the risk of disease and plant damage
Eco balance – increases the biodiversity of life in your garden
Eco balance – increases your knowledge of ecosystems and climate change
Eco balance – increase your enjoyment of outside space and wildlife

Do you wish you could grow oranges in your garden instead of apples?

Well, you will be happy to know that there is an easy answer: do nothing.  Just continue on with what you are doing today – and your garden will be transformed!

By carrying on as usual, everyone in the UK can make sure that they will never have a patchy lawn again, no dirty pond to clean out in the winter, no leaves to sweep off the drive in autumn and all round sunshine!

How On Earth?
Well, climate change will raise our global temperatures by 2-4 degrees and most of our native plants will die out (along with most of the wildlife) and be replaced by drought-resistant plants (which don’t shed their leaves).

photo credit: a.dombrowski

Higher temperatures will mean less water – and more hosepipe bans – so your lawn won’t be able to get enough water to survive.  You will then have to replace it for a gravel or stone surface, and watch those delightful ornamental lawns disappear and large grassland fields turn to dried mud.

There will be such a demand for drinking water that fountains, ponds and lakes will either dry up or be turned into reservoirs – so all the native wetland plants and animals will have to go – as we don’t want them to pollute our drinking water supplies, do we!

It’s all part of the Earths plan though – as due to the other effects of climate change, sea level rises will mean that there will less land available for farming, housing, leisure and agriculture – so we won’t have too much of a garden to worry about anyway.  We will all live in flats or terraced housing without plants or grassy parks – think of an Egyptian or Moroccan landscape to get the idea.

Make A Change:
I know we are still hearing the advice to ‘turn of your lights’ and ‘don’t leave your appliances on stand-by’ – but we still aren’t doing it!

Honestly: out of your 10 closest friends – how many haven’t even turned down their thermostat by 1 degree?  How many still leave the tap running while cleaning their teeth?  How many still wash a half empty load of clothes?  Or a 60 degree wash?

At the moment I can safely say that I do not do any of the 4 things listed – but I know plenty of people who still do all 4.  Ironically it is the people with kids who are the worst ‘because they are too busy’ – but they should be the most interested in the future of the planet as their kids are going to be living in it!

Knowing what a plant loves best can make your eco friendly garden tick over nicely!

Eco friendly gardening isn’t all about using organic chemicals and using cold bath water – it’s about eco thinking too.

Yes, by reducing the chemicals you use and using ‘old’ water – you can make a significant difference to the energy demands of your garden – no matter how simple it is.  However, by thinking ahead you can reduce these even further without too much effort!

Just as an overflowing desk results in lower output and the fridge at the wrong temperature wastes food – a plant in the wrong place or with too many other plants around it can be a waste too!

Try planting 10 healthy plants into the same pot.  Even if you water them properly and they are all in the right light – they won’t all grow.  Plants have requirements just like people, food, animals and the Earth – so find out what they like best and you are on to a winner!

photo credit: brockvicky

Good Plant Husbandry:
Here are some simple things to consider with your garden – whether it’s existing or you are planning for the spring. 

A few minutes now can save a lot of time next year – for example with having to re-pot a fast growing plant, water a plant in direct sunshine more, treat a sick plant for disease, increase feeding for plants in the wrong soil etc.  It’s all your time wasted – and its wasted energy and resources too! So;

1) Plant the right plant in the right place according to it’s needs – not where it ‘looks best’!  If you don’t have space in direct sunlight for your sunflowers – then don’t plant them this year – plant something less sunshine dependant instead.

2) Use mulch to prevent splashing onto delicate foliage – not only will this make ornamental plants last longer by increasing the time the leaves are beautiful – but it reduces the water needs of the ground and will offer a haven for helpful invertebrates in your garden. 

3) Plant at ideal distances from other plants to improve ventilation- as every fruit tree grower knows; if you don’t have enough space between branches you will get less fruit in the first place and that any fruit you do grow could rot on the branches anyway!  Just as a crowed train gets sweaty an unhealthy – so do overcrowded plants.  They lose leaves, grow too fast (to try to out compete the neighbouring plants) and are more susceptible to disease.

4) Clear away dead leaves and dying plants when spotted- as the decaying matter can harbour fungus, encourage unwanted insects to the area and get to damp over the winter.  Rotten or dead leaves can be good for composting or mulching – but not while attached to the live plant!  Damp and disease can spread up the dying leaf from contact with the ground and infect or damage the healthy part of the plant in the same way that your arm in a bowl of cold water could make the rest of your body catch a chill! 

And, organic waste can be harmful too! Fallen leaves should be composted rather than left on garden plants as they can stain or damage flowering plants. Yes they are all over woodlands – but trees dont usually have leaves at ground level! A even grass cuttings can be a problem for certain plants as large amounts of cuttings can alter the ph of the soil – and could put certain plants under too much stress as a result – so make sure you are not going to imbalance your soils if growing delicate plants.

5) Keep land and paths even to prevent puddles and flooding- by decreasing the chances of surface water collecting in your garden, you are increasing the chances of this ‘free’ water being used by your plants rather than evaporating away!  Also, puddles forming in badly draining soil could in fact rot your plants where they sit!  Either way – make sure that you watch the way the water flows when you water the plants yourself, and aim to ‘fix’ any areas that hold water for any length of time before there is a real rainstorm!

6) Prune and shape plants well to maximise their growth and appearance – by knowing how each plant likes to grow and being aware of it’s ‘mature’ shape, your pruning could help it to grow more efficiently.  If your plant wants to grow in a ball and you keep trimming it in a square – you could be causing the plant to use more nutrients from the soil to keep throwing out new shoots all the time.  If you want a square plant – then try to plant one of them instead to save time and retain the nutrients in the ground! 

Also, if you grow a plant for it’s flowers – then make sure that you have pruned the stems and shoots to offer the most flower heads on stems that can actually support the fully developed flowers in the first place!  Imagine after several months of growing the flowers – they are too big and make the plant droop, or the stems to snap under the extra weight of a huge dahlia or something!

7) Learn which plants are invasive or likely to grow faster than others - this will help you do be quite ruthless with the pruning and planning for next year.  It means that you can plan to keep them in check during the growing season so as not to cover over or crowd and annual plants; let them grow more over the winter to cover more ground; or remove them completely if they take too much time to control or they are actually a ‘pest’ species that are sprouting up new plants from the cuttings – like buddleia or bindweed!

Planning ahead is always great for eco thinking!

They are fast becoming the western worlds favourite pet – but are they eco friendly?

I’m afraid the simple answer is ‘No’.  Due to the biological make-up, behavioural patterns and dietary needs – they are nothing but a drain on the environment in the large numbers we see them in today!

There are however things that a cat owner can do to lessen the effects of a feline family and it is easy to make more ethical and more eco-friendly choices if you already have one. 

The most obvious one is getting your cat neutered as soon as physically possible and never buying a kitten from anywhere – always ‘rescue’ your kitten or cat from a rescue centre.  ‘Rescuing’ a kitten off a neighbour who has let their cat get pregnant is not technically rescuing – it is just offering an outlet to an irresponsible pet owner!

So, once you have your cat or kitten – lets find out what makes then tick!

Feeding:
Cats are carnivores by nature not by choice.  Due to the lack of some essential amino acids in the feline biology – they cannot survive without high levels of meat in their diet – unless you have endless amounts of time and energy – and money, to spend on your cats ‘vegetarian food’ (which is a bit like asking a sheep not to eat grass) and not at all eco friendly!

Due to this carnivorous diet – their faecal waste cannot be composted – unlike bunnies and horses.  Therefore it needs to be sent to landfill as noone has yet invented a biofuel out of cat droppings!  And as we all know cats will go to toilet just about anywhere – and several times a day.

Toilet Habits:
We all need to go to the toilet – but the cat has it’s own little set of options – totally chosen by you the owner.

Option 1:They poop outside where they want and annoy all your neighbours – as well as potentially passing on parasites to neighbours pets and sometimes even the neighbours themselves.  To kill these parasites needs regular use of insecticides – although you can find some milder ‘natural’ remedies that only work well if the levels of parasites are low.

Option 2: They poop indoors and you spend a vast amount of money each month on cat litter, litter trays, litter tray liners, cat litter air fresheners, carbon filters, pet-safe disinfectant and hoovering up the bits that stick to the cats feet which they walk all over your home! 

Now there are wood-based or recycled paper cat litters that will do the job just fine - and you could always just use a simple tray.  You would need to put it far enough away from you that you can’t smell it (or clean it out several times a day) rather than buying the whole confined and perfumed set-up – however, if your living space is tight you may have no choice in the matter!

Hunting:
It has been well publicized that cats are possibly responsible for huge decreases in the population of garden birds due to the habit of catching them in the garden and by raiding nests in bushes.  You can try a bell or discs on the collar or some sonic device to prevent this – but 2 of the following 3 things will happen:

1) The cat will pull off the collar and this will add to the other 1000 collars that are found in gardens and streets every month in the city (cat-related litter to add to the thousands of unwanted kitty poo’s).  Obviously this will also mean that around 1000 people a month will go out and have to buy another collar and bell from the store.

2) The cat will still be able to stalk and catch birds with the collar on anyway as they are genetically designed to be stealthy and so can overcome a badly made cheap bell without too much trouble – and baby birds in the nest can’t really go anywhere – even if they hear Big Ben!

3) The cat will annoy you and all your neighbours by jangling about all over the place with a bell on it’s collar!  It will jingle it’s way around your house all day and through the night, and it will even annoy itself after a while – I mean imagine having a giant set of keys hanging off your neck all day every day!

Accidents:
Cats are generally put outside overnight to ‘take care of themselves’ – but this is the most likely time that they will cause a traffic accident or get themselves run over.

Obviously if they cause an accident, this is not only bad pet care and not exactly socially responsible – but it could cause unnecessary damage and injury to both the car and local houses as well as your neighbours and your cat respectively.

Now, at the moment an accident caused by a cat doesn’t legally put any fault on the cat’s owner – although the results are still the same.  And a car accident caused by a cat is almost totally avoidable if people kept the cats indoors at night.

Conclusion:
In summary then – a quite brutally - for a truly eco friendly cat – you would keep it indoors all the time, feed it complete dry food and use recycled paper cat litter and use herbal flea and worm remedies.

Or opt for a rabbit instead!

Why Not Make Even More Out Of Your Eco Friendly House And Garden This Year?

Rather than just living in your house as normal – why not consider a few of these ways to no only improve the eco friendly qualities of your home – but to make it work for you too.

I mean, why should a house just sit there doing nothing? Make it more useful than it already is by making some small changes or concessions….

Here are a few ideas for you to consider with regards to ‘sharing’ your home with others for the benefit of others – as well as your bank balance in some cases!

Empty Rooms Are A Waste:
Even if you turn of all heating and seal up all windows – an empty room is a waste of resources!

It’s already in a home filled with energy and bodies – so why leave rooms empty when you could make them work for a living and keep the worlds ‘footprints’ smaller – after all, the more people living in the same house can save on so many levels!

If you aren’t into a full time tenant and live in a busy town or city, why not consider a Monday-to-Friday tenant instead. No huge commitment, less belongings and they are usually a reliable adult too!

Or the other end of the extreme – if your house is too big for you but you don’t want to downsize for whatever reason, then why not eco renovate and create a self contained unit in the basement or whatever and rent this out as as a permanent let or holiday home depending on your location.

Hotel Rooms Even More So:
Why not treat your home as a swap for a hotel room – either as a holiday for yourself or while you are away.

Firstly, you could take a holiday swap this year instead of booking a hotel. let a family move into your home while you go live in theirs! Not everyone is looking for an equal swap either – you might get a cute cottage for your family home, or a spacious farmhouse for your city flat!

Secondly, if you live near a local attraction or event (like Wimbledon or a show ground) then why not time your holidays to coincide with a huge demand for lettings! Signing up with an agency could bring you up to £2000 a week depending on your home and the event you are close to!

Parking Spot Or Tennis Court?
Same goes for the outside of your home – why not rent out unused space to others at virtually no cost to you or really any effort either!

If you have land that people could park on and you live in a busy location – why not let someone park there? You aren’t using it – and they probably waste time and petrol every morning looking for a spot!

And the same goes for your tennis court, trampoline, pool, piano, climbing frame or anything else you have sitting around that you aren’t using 24 hours a day. You might not want to charge your closest friends – but a few quid for a game of tennis for some young kids or keep-fit oldies won’t go amiss - basically paying for it’s own maintenance.

Your Skills Too:
It’s not just physical things that can help out others and bring in a few extra pounds – what about your own skills?

Music lessons, language lessons, discussion groups, Body Shop parties and product research groups. All could use your skills and your lounge, conservatory or kitchen – and of course – you!

Or if you are on a country walk or in a cute village, why not sell cakes and tea or garden veg and flowers in your front garden for passers-by!

House In The Country

Get Your Home On TV!
If you live in a city, your home has a great garden, great views or great architecture, or you have some great internal features – you could ‘model’ your home!

Let a photo or TV agency know about it and you could rent your house and garden out for magazines, TV or even movies!

You don’t even have to do anything, they set it all up and then take it all away again – pain free and you won’t be in any of the shots – unless you want to be!

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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