Look After Your Planet - 22nd March 2006

Nicola Baird, co editor of "Save Cash and Save the Planet", visited the Rural Training Centre in March to give a morning workshop on this hot topic.  Those attending had common interest – to do their bit to combat climate change.  Through her insights and stories Nicola was able to cut through the often confusing and conflicting information we are all bombarded with, providing inspiration and practical tips along the way.

Whether you are a seasoned eco-warrior to someone developing an environmental conscience and wondering what to do about it, there are a huge variety of ways in which we can do our bit to help the planet. 

Lots of easy tips

With the aid of demonstrations and illustrations from the Save Cash Save the Planet book, Nicola quickly got a discussion going on ways to be green.  Most people quickly realised that there was plenty of scope for improvement, although there were lots of ideas and tips forthcoming from the group.

Some of the ideas discussed were:

·         Share tools and DIY equipment with your neighbours. Does every house in your street need a lawnmower, a folding workbench, and a steam cleaner?

·         Use a lid on saucepans and save energy and money with every meal.

·         Make your own compost. Shop-bought costs about £2.50 for 20 litres. A heap in your back garden is absolutely free.

·         Start a walking bus group to get children to class on time without having to do the school run twice a day.

·         Cut the cost of cleaning. Lemon juice, soda crystals and bicarbonate of soda will get your taps sparkling, dissolve grease, and shift stains on your work surfaces – chemical free and cheap!

·         Switch to energy-saving light bulbs. They cost £3–9, but save up to ten times their price over their lifetime.

·         Stop your heating bill going through the roof. If you don’t have any loft insulation at the moment, you could expect to see savings of £80 – 100 for an outlay of £170 upwards if you do the work yourself. Or £220 – 250 upwards if it’s done professionally.

Spreading the word

As part of the session the delegates were asked to share ideas on how they could spread the message in their community.

Here are the ideas they reported:

1. Waste minimisation trial in Leicester
   1. 50 households targeted to monitor what goes into the home
   2. Households supplied with washballs, reusable bags and green cone
   3. Use of recycling and shopping lists will be encouraged
   4. Newsletter circulated to participants
   5. Nappucino (nappy information/meetings for parents)
   6. Radio advertising for publicity
   7. Monitoring for 6 months (free scales provided)
   8. Recruitment through schools, supported by lesson plans
   9. Prizes offered

2. Letter to village friends
   1. Use existing channels (newsletters, noticeboards etc)
   2. “Did you know” format – easy to do, quick to implement
   3. 10 points of local, useful information
   4. Chance to swap information
      
      
3. Community ideas
   1. Village hall event – ‘”Freecycle”
   2. Recipe swap using local produce/producers
   3. Directory of local businesses in newsletter
   4. Offer a lift scheme
   5. Route maps of local walks from home
   6. Job for a job (barter scheme)

4. Community swap shop
   1. At village hall – advertise in newsletters
   2. Quarterly to use seasonal needs
   3. Tell people about local stuff available
   4. Lobby local shop to stock produce
   5. Kids walk to school bus