Hi there
Check out the winning entries for the Key Stage 2 school art competition. Great stuff and congratulations to West Town Primary and The Discovery Primary! These awards were sponsored by Recoup and The Environment Capital Partnership.
Nick
Monday, 22 December 2008
Did you know...?
Peterborough is renowned for innovative green projects – the city’s Seeding Sustainable Communities project was dubbed the blueprint for behaviour change by green experts including BBC2’s Penney Poyzer and the then Chief executive of Friends of the Earth Tony Juniper. The project saw 1,000 local people cut their carbon footprint.
45% of Peterborough’s schools are currently Eco Schools and local teachers have now laid the challenge for 100% of schools to become Eco Schools by 2010.
Peterborough’s Get a Green Grip campaign saw millions of plastic bags kept out of landfill and off the city’s streets. Shops like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waterstones backed the campaign and encouraged shoppers to ditch plastic bags. If everyone who received a reusable Get a Green Grip bag stopped using plastic bags this means 1,308,000 plastic bags have been prevented from damaging local wildlife and clogging up landfill in Peterborough.
45% of Peterborough’s schools are currently Eco Schools and local teachers have now laid the challenge for 100% of schools to become Eco Schools by 2010.
Peterborough’s Get a Green Grip campaign saw millions of plastic bags kept out of landfill and off the city’s streets. Shops like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waterstones backed the campaign and encouraged shoppers to ditch plastic bags. If everyone who received a reusable Get a Green Grip bag stopped using plastic bags this means 1,308,000 plastic bags have been prevented from damaging local wildlife and clogging up landfill in Peterborough.
Have you considered having an eco Christmas party this year?
Peterborough Environment City Trust is one organisation that is holding a Christmas party with a difference.
The charity has decided to go for a green and novel option for their end of year celebration for their twenty staff. The team from the environmental charity will head down to Flag Fen Archaeology Park in Peterborough for an Iron Age adventure.
The party will be held in one of Flag Fen’s Iron Age roundhouses. Flag Fen has three round houses altogether which have been reconstructed based on findings from archaeological digs to mirror the original designs.
Staff from PECT will enjoy a meal of locally sourced food cooked outdoors before being treated to grisly tales by firelight within the roundhouse. These will be told by an accomplished story teller from Flag Fen.
James Beatty is Park Manager for Flag Fen, he says,”The rich history of the Fens is often forgotten but here in Peterborough we have it on our doorstep. The Iron Age roundhouse is an example of how clever our ancestors were at using the materials available to them. The building is very effectively designed to keep warm using natural materials for insulation. Today’s architects are using the designs of the past to make buildings in the future more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
“Flag Fen is a pretty amazing place to come and is ideal for a Christmas party with a difference. We are keen to welcome other organisations to hold their Christmas event at the centre this year or in future years.”
Hugh Cripps is Chief Executive of Peterborough Environment City Trust, he comments, “We wanted to do something different for Christmas this year that was fun and low impact environmentally."
To find out more about alternative Christmas events visit Flag Fen.
The charity has decided to go for a green and novel option for their end of year celebration for their twenty staff. The team from the environmental charity will head down to Flag Fen Archaeology Park in Peterborough for an Iron Age adventure.
The party will be held in one of Flag Fen’s Iron Age roundhouses. Flag Fen has three round houses altogether which have been reconstructed based on findings from archaeological digs to mirror the original designs.
Staff from PECT will enjoy a meal of locally sourced food cooked outdoors before being treated to grisly tales by firelight within the roundhouse. These will be told by an accomplished story teller from Flag Fen.
James Beatty is Park Manager for Flag Fen, he says,”The rich history of the Fens is often forgotten but here in Peterborough we have it on our doorstep. The Iron Age roundhouse is an example of how clever our ancestors were at using the materials available to them. The building is very effectively designed to keep warm using natural materials for insulation. Today’s architects are using the designs of the past to make buildings in the future more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
“Flag Fen is a pretty amazing place to come and is ideal for a Christmas party with a difference. We are keen to welcome other organisations to hold their Christmas event at the centre this year or in future years.”
Hugh Cripps is Chief Executive of Peterborough Environment City Trust, he comments, “We wanted to do something different for Christmas this year that was fun and low impact environmentally."
To find out more about alternative Christmas events visit Flag Fen.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Shades of Green
Read my weekly column Shades of Green in the ET every Saturday or online.
This week - get top tips for a green Christmas, and find answers to everyday eco-dilemmas...
Nyree
This week - get top tips for a green Christmas, and find answers to everyday eco-dilemmas...
Nyree
Greenormal...
Check out John Grant's blog: Greenormal ( blog following hot on the heels of The Green Marketing Manifesto by John Grant).
Friday, 5 December 2008
Tips for a Green Christmas...
It’s easy to forget the environment at Christmas, but a more sustainable festive season may not be as difficult as you think.
Each year we produce approximately 3 million tonnes of extra waste during the Christmas period; in the UK a billion cards could end up in the bin and up to 30% more glass will be thrown away.
The UK spends £20bn on Christmas with £1.6bn going on food and drink. Seven million children leave mince pies and a drink for Santa on Christmas Eve, we consume around 10 million turkeys, 25 million Christmas puddings, and drink 35 million bottles of wine!
However, most of the extra waste we create during the festive period can be reduced and recycled.
Each year we produce approximately 3 million tonnes of extra waste during the Christmas period; in the UK a billion cards could end up in the bin and up to 30% more glass will be thrown away.
The UK spends £20bn on Christmas with £1.6bn going on food and drink. Seven million children leave mince pies and a drink for Santa on Christmas Eve, we consume around 10 million turkeys, 25 million Christmas puddings, and drink 35 million bottles of wine!
However, most of the extra waste we create during the festive period can be reduced and recycled.
- Take the bus to go Christmas shopping.
- Take your own re-usable shopping bags with you when you do your Christmas shopping.
- Around 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging are thrown away over Christmas. When buying presents look out for those with minimal packaging, or items packed in recycled or recyclable materials, e.g. cardboard.
- Send e-Christmas cards or recycled cards. Last year we sent around 744 million Christmas cards. If all these were made from recycled paper, it would help to save the equivalent of 248,000 trees.
- Buy recycled wrapping paper, or even use old magazines or newspaper. More than 8,000 tonnes of wrapping paper will be used on Christmas presents - the equivalent of 50,000 trees.
- Don't bin your wrapping paper. Recycle it in your green bin or reuse it. Last Christmas, it was estimated that 83 square km of wrapping paper ended up in UK rubbish bins.
- What's in season in December?Broccoli (purple sprouting), brussel sprouts, cabbage (savoy, spring green, winter green), carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, kale, leeks, parsnips, potato, turnip.Most people buy too much food at Christmas much of which goes to waste. This year try to plan your meals and only buy what you need.
- More than 10 million turkeys are bought and 4,200 tonnes of aluminium foil are thrown away in the UK each Christmas - if you can't re-use the foil for cooking, make sure you put it in the recycling.
- Buy a locally grown Christmas tree and remember to recycle it after Christmas. Trees can be taken to the Householders Recycling Centre where they will be turned into compost.
- Take any unwanted Christmas gifts to a charity shop or list them on Ebay.
For more green Christmas tips visit www.pect.net