Power in a bottle - A look at essential oils

Many years ago I came across this wonderful book The Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood.

Not only did it show how essential oils provide the most natural way to give your home a delightful aroma, it also pointed out that the oils have much more to offer than their fragrances, you can even choose oils which are anti-bacterial or anti-viral and some attract or repulse pests in your garden.

You need never worry again about what the chlorofluorocarbons in your commercial aerosol or air-freshener are doing to the earth’s ozon layer, or what the chemicals it contains are doing to your family’s health. Essential oils provide a far better option all round.

Swap your bulky plastic packaging for some small 10ml glass bottles instead. Better for you and better for your environment.

In the coming week I will highlight a daily digest of oils I use regularly in and around the house. Hopefully this will inspire you to go out and get some yourself so that you too can enjoy these oils so powerful and natural. [K]

In the past I have bought my organic oils from http://www.essentialoilsdirect.co.uk/ I can definitely recommend this company.

An Eco Team will give you a chance to DO something!

Are you concerned about climate change and environmental issues? If you are, and you’d like to know what else you can do…

Make a real difference! Become an ECOTEAM PARTICIPANT

What’s it all about?

An EcoTeam is a group of 6-8 local people who meet to discover simple, effective changes for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and is a great way to meet new people in your local area.

Previous members have;

• Cut household bills
• Improved the environment
• Received our newsletter
• Lead a healthier lifestyle
• Visited eco houses
• Made new friends

No-one can do everything - but we can all do something!

Everyone is welcome - It doesn't matter if you’re already very green or not! EcoTeams are easy, supportive and free to residents in Broxtowe, Rushcliffe, Gedling and Nottingham City!

EcoTeam meetings are held locally (usually within walking distance of participant’s homes) and are informal and very friendly on dates convenient to the participants. It takes just five monthly meetings to take the EcoTeam from start to finish. We look at shopping ethically, saving resources, saving energy and traveling wisely and even have a celebration meeting! Every participant receives our information folder which is filled with useful tips, web-links and information. And, if you’d like to be more than a participant, why not receive our one day training to become an EcoTeam Facilitator?

With simple monitoring, you’ll also generate your own ‘before’ and ‘after’ results showing the effect of your more sustainable lifestyle.

For more information on joining an EcoTeam, contact Global Action Plan on: (0115) 9223298 or nottingham@globalactionplan.org.uk

Tip 4. Supper Swap!

Cook only one night a week.

You want to prepare exciting, nutritious meals throughout the week, but busy schedules often mean the same ho-hum recipes. Wouldn't it be nice to have a fresh, home-cooked supper delivered a few nights a week? A cooking co-op could be the answer, and it's easier to set up than you might think.

The idea is pretty simple, you cook a big meal once a week to share with your co-op and, depending on the number of people in your group, you get two or three in return. That means you save trips to the supermarket and really only mess up the kitchen once. For the rest of the week take advantage of leftovers or prepare simpler meals.

The co-op meals usually consist of a soup, main dish, vegetable, and starch. In addition to saving money, a co-op allows a family to consistently eat a wider variety of foods and time spent in the kitchen drops dramatically."

Handy tips on starting a co-op,Getting Started:

• Keep the group small (a co-op of three to four families of similar size is ideal).
• Create your own general guidelines (such as vegetarian, nothing too spicy, or no fish).
• Make the group aware of allergies and nutritional needs.
• Set up delivery times that are convenient for everyone, such as when picking kids up from school or soccer practice. Have a cool box at the door if you are not likely to be in.
• Be honest. If your family doesn't like something, tell the group so no one wastes time and effort.

Food Preparation:

• Try to include at least one vegetable and one starch with every meal.
• Deliver a meal that is ready to go except for reheating or that requires only minimal work to finish.
• Package food in containers that are both freezable and reheatable.
• Most recipes yield 6 to 8 servings, so you may need to double or make recipes twice to serve everyone in the co-op.
  
  This is what Trish did:
  http://www.trishberg.com/Adobe/Articles/MealSwapping.pdf

Want to do your bit, but don't know where to start? Set up an Eco Team

A New Year, A new start.

After a hopefully wonderful Christmas and New Year most people are wondering what this New Year will bring. Lots of good ideas on how we want to change or improve but don't necessarily know how to go about it. If that is you, why not set up an Eco Team with your street?

An Eco Team is a group of households (usually 6-8 in one street) who, for 6 months, commit to monitoring their habits with regard to waste, gas, electricity, water, transport and shopping.

EcoTeams are designed to help households reduce their environmental impact from energy and water use, household waste, transport and consumer behaviour. The aim is that, by measuring improvements, the household will be able to change its behaviour and play its part toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.

"An EcoTeam is not simply a discussion group, it is a practical workshop where words and thoughts are translated into action." says Karina Wells, the founder of EcoTeams in the UK.

EcoTeams are built upon a few simple principles:
Nobody can do everything, but we can all can do something
The work is shared by a group so that members can support and encourage one another and share experiences and ideas.

It's a step-by-step process that helps you to change your lifestyle by small adjustments that become good habits By measuring resource use, improvements can be monitored during the course of the programme. Not to mention the friendships that can be made with people in your neighbourhood you never knew were there! It simple and sociable (if that is what you want)

For more information contact: karina.wells@ntlworld.com

Realcycle It!

"Realcycle Nottingham is a recycling group based on the internet for the people of Nottingham and its surrounding areas. The Realcycle Nottingham group currently has a membership of over 5500 members from across all areas of Nottingham and is run by local volunteers. Our main aim is to keep items from our landfill's.
Everything about the site is FREE! It is free to join, free to post, free to request items and free to declutter your house!
If you require any further information about Realcycle Nottingham please contact Paula on pussicat.paula@yahoo.co.uk or visit the Realcycle Nottingham website which is located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/realcycle_nottingham "

I have used this service now for many months and have been amazed what people were happy to pick up and use again from half full pots of paints, to games and electrical equipment. Most of these are not taken by our local charity shops but still find good homes.

With landfill sites bursting at the seams, incinerators smoking along and bins overflowing, Do your bit and become part of this exciting group.
Signing up is easy, just follow the link above. Good luck! K

What is in your bin and how can you reduce it?

In the coming week we shall try to help you with some ideas on how to reduce your waste in your bin to a bare minimum.

First of all, are you brave enough to put a sheet on the floor and empty your grey bin onto it?

If not, why not?

Are there food and compostable materials that are there festering away?

Have you got smelly cans, plastic bottles and yoghurt and magarine tubs in there?

How many plastic bags and pieces wrapping did you throw away?

How much paper and card board was in this bin?

If you said 'none' to all these questions, you probably have very little in the bin and you need not worry about any charges, if you had quite a bit, wait for the tips in the next couple of days, direct from the Queen of recycling (K).

EC Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

The WEEE Directive aims to minimise the impact of electrical and electronic goods on the environment, by increasing re-use and recycling and reducing the amount of WEEE going to landfill.

It seeks to achieve this by making producers responsible for financing the collection, treatment, and recovery of waste electrical equipment, and by obliging distributors to allow consumers to return their waste equipment free of charge.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was agreed on 13 February 2003, and entered into force on 2 January 2007.

When my iron broke the other day, I went back to my local ASDA store to return it. They were surprised and did not know anything about the directive. They investigated it and confirmed that I was entitled to return it, they needed a little time (a week or so) to set up the process in store but after that I could come and hand in my trusty old iron. Shows that if you perservere you might get a surprising result. K

Battery Recycling

Fire alarms, walkman, toys, remote controls, calculator— just some of the things that need batteries to function in our daily lives.

Millions of batteries are purchased annually in the United Kingdom and when they are dead what do we do with them….?
Most of these end up in landfill or incinerators and will eventually leak into the environment and our food chain, causing serious health risks to humans and animals.

Batteries are a unique product comprised of heavy metals and other elements that make things “portable”. Some of these toxic heavy metals include nickel cadmium, alkaline, mercury, nickel metal hydride and lead acid. It is these elements that can threaten our environment if not properly discarded. Try and use the wind up versions of equipment if at all possible, otherwise use re chargeable batteries and if you have to use 'normal' batteries dispose of the safely.

The Good News is that if you make your way to your local Sainsbury Store and ask at the information desk for the Freepost battery recycling pouch, you can now do your bit so keep your batteries out of the waste stream. They will be send to Norfolk to be sorted and then end up at G&P.

Go on, make your way to your local Sainsbury’s or ask a friend who shops there already, to pick one up for you.

Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth

"Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth - written by Donnachadh McCarthy lays out the case for urgent environmental action in a whole range of areas from home maintenance to your workplace and from reducing waste to tackling energy use. It gives 500 simple steps to a greener lifestyle" He relates his own experiences in making his lifestyle more planet-friendly in each area, which helps bring the global arguments down to an accessible human level.

Then at the end of each chapter he lists simple practical steps that you can take in your own life. He also provides a really easy do-it-yourself environmental audit to help you get started and to monitor your success in implementing a greener lifetstyle.

Over 70% of the over 500 suggestions will either cost you nothing or will actually save you

money.

"Buy it, read it and do it. The world will be a better place because of it." Mark Hinnells, Challenge Magazine

Available from: www.amazon.co.uk