The green gym

Yesterday, I had a workout in the green gym. The great outdoors. While there I worked up a sweat, and this morning I woke up with practically every muscle in my body aching. A truly great workout.

For a good two hours I was helping my local Wildlife Trust clear overgrown vegetation from a small stream - a job they do every autumn. The stream, which starts way up in the Chilterns, has a gravel base and chalky alkaline water. Removing the vegetation helps stop the build up of silt and leaves the water clear, making it a better habitat for invertebrates and water voles.

Water voles are rare these days as they've been killed of by mink - non-native animals that were originally bred for fur but were let out into the wild by bankrupt fur farmers, animal rights protesters and by natural escape. While we worked we discussed with the Trust warden about the eligibility of trapping the mink. There's many things to consider. Consider the views of The League Against Cruel Sports, The Countryside Alliance and The Hebridean Mink Project.

So, working in the green gym can be good for your health and also informative and thought provoking! Compare that to 45 minutes on on the cross-country machine watching the six o'clock news!

I've already posted about volunteering and the various organisations that co-ordinate activities, but I found out about the stream clearing in the What's On listings in my local newspaper. So if you've got a few spare hours at the weekend, check out your local paper to see if there's someone you can help.

caldini

Online stores

Shopping for green products isn't as easy as it could be. The eco-lifestyle is, for now at least, considered an alternative lifestyle. Hopefully, this will soon change - let's face it, it's going to have to!

Until all the products available in our shops are sustainably manufactured, locally produced and have no major impact on the environment, we'll have to look to alternative sources. Online eco-shops are now becoming more and more abundant. Obviously they don't have the full range of goods that giants like John Lewis or Debenhams can provide, and indeed there's not that many eco-products out there. But they're worth visiting first as you may be pleasantly surprised at what's on offer.

I've been looking around the web for environmentally friendly shops and finding out what they supply. Obviously I can't make any guarantees about the quality of service you'll receive if you buy from these stores, but if you've had experiences with them - good or bad - please let us know.

• By Nature - Green, Organic and Ethical Living. A nice site that's easy to navigate. Provides a range of fashion, home and beauty products.
• Ecotopia - Environmentally friendly, green and recycled products and gifts. The online store of the bricks and mortar shop based in Stroud, Gloucestershire. A large range of products for the home and garden.
• Get Ethical - Online Ethical Shopping. Created by the makers of The Big Issue and Red Pepper magazine. Lots of things from lots of places - this site provides plenty of background information about the products available. Navigation of the site could be simpler, however.
  
• Green Building Store. Like a green B&Q or Homebase. Check this site out before planning any major DIY improvements to your home.
• Go Green - Eco Friendly Products. Mostly hygiene based - the site is owned by Cellande Midland, who specialise in natural soaps. A simple site, but does exactly what it says on the tin.
• The Green Shop - environmental products for a sustainable future. Gadgets a go-go, many are solar powered or wind-up. A great site, but I'd like more in-depth product descriptions.
• The Insight Eco Store. Practical solutions for the home, health and services. A nice site and you can buy in pounds or euros.
  

If you run an online eco-store and want to be added to the above list, contact us and let us know!

Happy shopping,
caldini

Green engage

Another letter in the howtogogreen postbag. This one's from Graham at bynature.co.uk.

A group of key environmental groups have launched an initiative to find out what the public think about the environment and ‘green lifestyles’. The aim is to see if a groundswell of public participation and enthusiasm can reduce pressure on the natural systems of the planet that we rely on, and all too often take for granted. According to these groups, the environment faces a constant squeeze as other things take priority but it provides our life support system in terms of food, air, water and shelter. Keeping the environment healthy is important for people as much as it is for animals and plants.

The Green-Engage initiative is investigating people’s attitudes, opinions and lifestyle choices and assessing how the environmental movement can better provide help and advice for those wishing to ‘go green’. In particular, it hopes to uncover people’s reactions to what environmental organisations have to say. Members of the public of all opinions and views are being surveyed now across the country. The project is supported by By Nature, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, grownupgreen, Passion for the Planet, Sustain, Transport 2000 and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Co-ordinator of Green-Engage, Steve Hounsham, said: “This work is not before time. Environmental groups argue that not enough of us have adopted green lifestyles but many people believe a sustainable, ‘environmentally friendly’ life is one of sacrifice, hardship and pessimism. It’s time the green movement showed it could, in fact, be a happier, more attractive and simply nicer way of life. Green experts must learn to communicate with people better and more realistically, not least because there’s literally a whole world at stake.”

Stephen Joseph, Director of Transport 2000, one of the project partners, said: “This is a critically important project. Environmental groups need to find ways of communicating the positive benefits of greener lifestyles. Too often people assume there aren’t any. In terms of car use, for example, it’s perfectly possible to have a fulfilling life without dragging round a tonne of metal everywhere we go.”

If you would like to have your say on the environment and the work of green organisations, please send an e-mail message with the word “Green Engage” in the subject line to graham@bynature.co.uk.

We will forward you a copy of the survey (which only takes 5 or 10 minutes to complete) and will send your response to Green-Engage. Your contact details will not be passed on to anyone else or used for any other purpose. The closing date for the survey is Friday 23 September.

Want to put your views across?

Send your details to graham@bynature.co.uk.

All the best,

caldini

Podcasts

Thanks to the Internet and the World Wide Web, broadcasting these days is now truly in the hands of the public. There's millions of blogs just like the one you're reading here and now a new phenomena is sweeping the digital world. Podcasts. Essentially podcasts are just a radio show saved as a file you can play on your computer or even copy to your digital mp3 player. However, through the wonders of the Web you can subscribe to regular shows, so each time you go online the latest show will get downloaded. If you regularly log on then you'll never miss a show.

Most podcasts are free and so is the software that collects and plays them - scarily named 'media aggregators'. There's plenty out there to choose from; iTunes, iPodder, Doppler and FireANT to name just four.

So what? you may be asking. Well, I've been looking out for environmentally themed podcasts. The first I found was More Hip Than Hippie. I really enjoyed listening to the show - the hosts, Dori and Val, are very entertaining to listen to and they've got some interesting tips. Highly recommended!

Next up is the irregular but thought provoking Greenpeace podcast. The latest is a look back at the nuclear testing in the Moruroa Atolls.

There's loads of directories of podcasts out there, such as Podcast.net, PodcastAlley and Podfeed.net, so it's easy to find podcasts on any subject you like. If you find any good ones, let us know!

caldini

Digital textbooks

This evening, I received a mail from Jon Cheek who works for Zinio. Here is what he had to say:

Dear How to Go Green,

My name is Jon Cheek. I am a recent college graduate concerned about the environmental impact of printing millions of college textbooks every year. Although I bought used textbooks whenever possible, I frequently had to buy new textbooks to keep up with new editions or to get supplemental software.

However, I recently joined a company called Zinio that provides digital textbooks to college students. These digital textbooks are exact replicas of the new printed version, but are offered to students at half the price. They also have many useful digital features such as the ability to search, take digital notes, and use multimedia embedded directly into the page. Most importantly, since they require no physical production, digital textbooks help save trees and eliminate waste.

Most of my friends who have tried Zinio digital textbooks have really liked them. If you think any of your readers might be interested in digital textbooks, I encourage you spread the word. If you’re curious to see what the textbooks look like, please have a look at our website: http://textbooks.zinio.com. Also, feel free to send us feedback at textbooks@zinio.com.

Best regards,
Jon Cheek

The great thing about digital textbooks are outlined in Jon's mail - "the ability to search, take digital notes, and use multimedia embedded directly into the page". The best thing about them though is the lack of paper used in their manufacture. Fair enough, you're using electricity / burning oil just to read these books, but soon you'll be able to visit them for free as you'll have your own electricity generator in your back yard (consisting of photovoltaic cells etc.) Won't you? We'll see!

I believe you can buy many other books in digital format too, such as Globusz (you can read Dr Dolittle online or as an e-book) or Audible who provide audible e-books such as Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything".

Happy reading!
caldini

Fix that leaky tap

I've got a leaky tap. It's been dripping for several days now. I haven't had the time to sort it out, but at least it's the weekend now and I can get down to my local DIY store. I was interested to see just how much water I had been wasting so I left a pint jug under the tap. It was full within three hours. That's equivalent to eight pints a day, fifty six pints a week or 364 gallons a year. Imagine how much that would cost if you have a metered bill.

Focus DIY provides info on fixing lots of different tap problems. Looks simple if you've got the right tools.


On leaving the house today I also noticed a drip coming from the toilet overflow. Now, this one I know how to resolve. Take the lid off the cistern. You'll notice that although the cistern is full, water is still coming out of the inlet pipe. You should find a small nut that adjusts the height of the ball-cock valve arm. Give it a twist until the ball arm is high enough to cut off the supply from the inlet. For more info, see this page on Housemouse.

caldini

Eat the seasons

I've talked about Food Miles and how we can reduce them by buying British and visiting farmers' markets. To get the best of British, it's good to know what's in season. Some things are obvious, like apples in autumn and strawberries in summer, but there's a whole plethora of seasonal foods out there that you may not have even considered eating before.

Luckily, Eat The Seasons addresses this problem. Each week there's the lowdown on what's in season right now. This week it's leeks and you can find out about their history, biology and nutritional value. Even better are the tips and suggested recipes. Sign up for the weekly newsletter and you'll never miss out.

Big Barn is a great resource allowing you to find local producers and suppliers in your area. Just enter your postcode and the map will show you exactly what and where local produce is available within ten, fifteen, twenty and up to fifty miles from your doorstep. If food is being produced and sold in the same area then it has to be in season!

There's a bunch of interesting articles on seasonal food on the Food Standards Agency eat well web site. As you'll see, eating the seasons is nothing new and in fact seasonal food was virtually the only food available before supermarkets made it commercially viable to import food from abroad.

caldini

Organic Week 2005

From the 3rd to the 11th of September it's Organic Week, brought to you by the Soil Association and sponsored by Hambledon Herbs, Whole Earth and Highland Spring.

The aim is to promote organic food to those people who haven't tried it yet. There's lots of events taking place all over the country including wine tasting, farm walks and coffee mornings.

Want to know how you can help? See their "10 things to do" list. I've bought a whole load of British grown organic veg this week. There's loads available at the moment - lettuce, plum tomatoes, carrots, peppers and celery. It certainly made for a tasty salad this evening. This weekend, I hope to visit an organic farm as part of Organic Experience Weekend (10th and 11th September).

Get involved! The more we vote with our feet, the sooner we will have a better countryside with only organic farms producing our food. For more information, visit the Why Organic? site.

caldini