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

How’s your Muck?

Perhaps not in the headlines but it has been Compost Awareness Week.

One of the quickest, and simplest, ways to reduce the rubbish you throw into your bin is to compost your kitchen and garden waste.

Many councils offer special deals on compost bins and they are extremely simple to use. Not only do you reduce your land fill waste but you actually get something free in return - brilliant compost for the garden, patio or planter.

Lets face it, compost isn’t that expensive in the main supermarkets these days, but you do have to go and fetch it (normally in the car because the bags are heavy), and you end up with another massive plastic bag to trow away. If it you have a compost bin in your garden it is always ‘on hand’.

The guardian has a top ten guide to the basics of composting and some of those questions you have been burning to ask.

More infomation" www.compostawarenessweek.org.uk

Follow the Eco Family

We all like to see how other people are doing – reality TV has been a massive audience ratings success. Personal blogs are all over the Internet and now, we can follow the adventures of a normal couple in New Zealand who are documenting (blogging) their attempts to be greener.

Matthew and Waveney live in Christchurch with their dog and two chickens. They want to last an entire year without producing any domestic rubbish and started their 'adventure' on February 1st

You can follow their experience on their website: http://www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz/ where there is information about the challenge they have set themselves, how they hope to achieve it and what they are up to each day.

There is also a very helpful ‘Rubbish Free Guide’ packed full of useful information. Might just inspire you to reduce some of your own household rubbish.

Biodegradable Tableware

No doubt many of you will be entertaining in the coming weeks and get into the party spirit. One of the drawbacks is all that washing up afterwards. You don’t want to use disposable tableware because it’s just – well – DISPOSABLE! But you still want to invite lots of people and reduce your stress level.

Enter biodegradable tableware – plates, ‘cutlery’, straws and drinks beakers all of which can be recycled on your compost heap. Some of the ‘cutlery’ is made of wood, which biodegrades like any other part of a tree, other products are made of corn start (which looks and acts like plastic but is biodegradable!).

Now, we don’t suggest you use them for every meal but for those festive parties they might just ease your Eco conscience.

We have found a whole collection of these products on a site called ‘Silly Jokes”, which is odd because it is mainly full of jolly party products and not the place you might expect to find eco products. So, you can shop for eco friendly partyware and buy a whoopee cushion at the same time – we live in a strange world.

Have a look at http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=AndyPepper&page=http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/party/tableware/biodegradable/index.html for their biodegradable products.

How to reduce the waste in your bin miraculously overnight!

A few years ago I was introduced to bokashi and tried it in my gardens. The results were amazing.

The bokashi process: recycling 100% of food waste. This unique recycling system uses bokashi to ferment food waste inside a sealed container. This means there are no rodents, no insects, no spoiling, and NO ODOUR. The end result is a pickled mass of food waste, which, when placed in a garden, breaks down into rich humus within a matter of days, releasing nutrients, microbes and structure to the soil.

If you can’t use it, no doubt a gardening friend will love it!

And unlike other forms of recycling, such as composting and worm farming, there is no food waste you cannot put in - the bokashi system treats paper, citrus, onions, dairy, even meat!

To make the buckets is easy.

Take two buckets that fit into eachother and have a good fitting lid for the top bucket. Drill holes in the bottom of the top bucket so that any valuable juices can drain into the bottom bucket.

How to use it:

Fill the bucket in layers as and when the waste is created. Start with a layer of bokashi bran then a layer of compostable materials which you sprinkle with bran whilst it is waiting for the next day's waste and so on...keeping the lid on all the time. When full, leave for 2 weeks to ferment whilst filling up another set of buckets. When ready, you can dig a trench/hole and put it in, it will rot very quickly and you can plant into it virtually immediately.

View a short video about how to make your own bokashi bran. I omit the powder and salt in the beginning and at the end stage I spread the bokashi on my garage floor for a few days to dry out thoroughly otherwise it starts to get moldy.

If however, you would like to buy your buckets and bran ready for use, have a look at the following websites: Natural Collection ; http://www.evengreener.com/Shop/Kitchen_Composting/KCOMSLV2_Kitchen_Composter_2_pack.html ;

Keep up the good work! [K]

Get green in the garden

Don’t forget you can have an environmentally friendly garden too. By creating a compost heap you’ll be able to produce your own nutrient rich soil using your natural waste, such as left over food, helping to reduce your weekly rubbish quota.

You can also turn your garden green by installing solar powered alternatives, such as garden lights. David O’Reilly, says: “Solar powered garden lights, shed lights and even outdoor garden thermometers are some of the eco-garden gadgets available, which will help you transform your garden into an energy efficient haven without it costing the earth.”


More from the "Top Ten List to create a greener home" on the Maplin's Solar Week website

Celebrate Green Weeks in West Bridgford

On Saturday 9th June the West Bridgford Summer Gathering will take place between 10am - 2pm

Join us (behind the farmers' market in Bridgford Park), to help celebrating Green Weeks and visit the variety of people taking part: Freecycle, Ecoteams, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Craft, Plants, Cakes, Clipper Tea, The Green Box Shop, River Nene Organic Deliveries, Money saving Eco tips, the Vendablenda, Jo Jingles, U3A.

Eco Schools

They say “start them young” and that is just what the Eco Schools web site is helping to do.

It provides help and information about how schools can reduce their environmental impact and offers advice on education for sustainable development. Schools can enrol in the Eco-Schools programme, and its award scheme so that pupils and staff can work towards three certificates and, at the same time, raise the profile of the school within their local community.

Biodegradable Furniture

US based, British designer Julian Lwin produces objects using Eco or recycled elements. His Bio Tube Bench is constructed using cardboard tubes with embedded seeds. This can be grasses, herbs or wildflowers. You water it, the bench sprouts and, eventually, biodegrades so you can have a place to sit in the garden and allow it to become part of the garden once it has degraded. Visit Lwin Design for more details.