Get the recognition your business deserves for being green...

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph Business awards 2009 have now been launched.

Why not put in an entry in the environmental achievement category.

What the judges are looking for:

Companies must demonstrate a commitment to environmental sustainability and, in doing so, a contribution to Peterborough’s growing reputation as the UK’s Environmental Capital City.

More info...

Or contact:
linda.pritchard@jpress.co.uk,

The deadline for entries is 4th September.

Teens save water...

A group of teenagers from Peterborough are embarking on an ambitious initiative to raise awareness about the need to save water.

The youngsters, from the Youth Group at Wellspring Community Church Peterborough, plan to use as little water as possible between 31st August and 4th September.

The teenagers will not be allowed to use any water from their homes for five days. Instead the teens will have to travel to fetch water from the homes of friends, neighbours or family members.

The 'Turn off the Tap' initiative aims to raise money to install a Rotary Water Drilling Rig for North West Kenya. The Rig will help provide clean, fresh water for local people in the area and will be installed by charity Nehemiah Construction Ministries.

Youth Leader Chris Wild got in touch with me after reading my column in the ET last week which was all about water. Read it here...

One in six people in the world don't have access to safe drinking water, and things are set to worsen with climate change. Chris aims to spread the word about how precious a resource water is and encourage people to do their bit to conserve it.

Chris said, "The group will be allowed to use a bicycle or trolley to transport water from the homes of friends and family. If the water runs dry, then they either go and get more water, or do without. They are committed NOT to turn ON the tap!” The process will be repeated each day. For five days, the teenagers are endeavouring in some way, to put themselves in the position of millions of people in the developing world, who have to walk many miles every day of their lives to get water."

For water saving tips visit Anglian Water...

To sponsor the teenagers 'Turn off the Tap' campaign contact Chris Wild...

Tel: 01733 361709 or 0968819662.
E-mail: chedzy@nehemiahconstruction.org.uk

Allotment Diary - Week 4

MONDAY 13TH JULY 2009
I picked up some packets of seed from Peter at about 7pm tonight and headed straight to the allotment to get some seed into the ground. On arriving at the allotment, I notice the fella who has the plot next to mine has pulled up all his lettuce and had left them to rot in the ground. They had gone to seed anyway, but it's a good example of how you can grow too much of one crop. As with most things on an allotment, nothing goes to waste and at least they will compost down to give the soil some nutrients.

I removed the fleece covering the existing beds to expose the plants. I am amazed at how quickly things grow and the Broad Beans have had a definite spurt of growth in the last 24 hours.

My next job was to measure out a new raised-bed, so that I'm planting the seeds within a planned area. Leaving a gap of 600mm or so for walking on, I put some sticks in the ground to mark the corners of where the bed will be, then tie string between the sticks to mark out the border, 3.8M long x 1.2M wide. I had to turn over the soil with a garden fork in some parts, where the soil had become compacted, then raked it over to level it out ready for planting. The bed I've marked out this time runs lengthways down the plot at a 90 degree angle to the other two raised-beds. This is for no other purpose than to bring some variety to the appearance of the allotment as it gets established.

Now for planting. Instead of planting the seeds in rows along the length of the bed, I decided to plant them across the width. Again, this will add to the aesthetic look of the allotment as it grows. I had time to plant three rows of Turnips and four rows of Carrots. There's room in the bed to plant some of the other seed - Onions, Beetroot and a different variety of Carrot - but I needed to get the plants and seed-beds watered and covered before nightfall. I covered the seed-beds with a sheet of netting that fits nicely over the area of the raised-bed, by simply hooking the corners of the net over the sticks I had placed in the ground to mark out the area. This will need replacing with a horticultural fleece when the seeds germinate and start to come through.

My final task of the evening was to give all three beds a thorough watering before putting the fleece covers back over the original two beds. A good evenings work again, which I'm very pleased with. It's much more rewarding than vegging out in front of the TV for the evening and is giving me a good workout at the same time! More seeds to go in later in the week.

TUESDAY 14TH JULY 2009
It was raining during the afternoon, so I've no need to go to the allotment today. I did, instead, pop into Wickes Builders Merchants after work though to check out their decking boards and agreed the same deal with them as with B&Q. Between the two stores, I should be able to find enough 'damaged' stock for my needs.

WEDNESDAY 15TH JULY 2009
I didn't get to the allotment at all today. After work I went home and then straight out again to Sinead's school presentation. It looks like rain anyway, so no issue.

THURSDAY 16TH JULY 2009
The seed potatoes have arrived with Peter, so I'll get them in over the weekend. It did rain last night, but I popped down this evening just to have a look over things anyway. I didn't water or do anything other than check over things, but planned out in my mind where the spuds will go.

FRIDAY 17TH JULY 2009
OK, so this blog is getting thin, but it's not through lack of trying. It rained again today. In fact it absolutely poured down during the afternoon. I have put aside some time over the weekend, so I really hope the weather improves!

SATURDAY 18TH JULY 2009
I woke up early this morning, raring to go. The sun is out and, although it looked like showers, I quite fancied getting a lot done today. My first task was to go shopping at Wickes. I purchased 5 lengths of decking and 10 lengths of 2.4M x 25mm x 38mm wood. I have a plan.

When I got home I quickly knocked-up the components for the raised-bed I'd marked out on Monday. Now I've got all the measurements clear in my head, it was just a simple case of making 21 measured cuts and screwing in 12 screws and I was ready to load up the car. With the 25mm x 38mm wood, I simply cut the 2.4M lengths in half and then screwed in some small brass hooks. The idea is to drive the 1.2M lengths into each corner of the raised-beds, leaving just under 1M exposed. The hooks are positioned in several places up the exposed length, which will allow me to simply hang the nets over the beds and replace the fleece as the plants get bigger. The only problem it poses is that I will need some side netting too, so that birds and insects cant get in... mmnnn???

After popping into Peter's to pick up the seed potato, I went to the allotment with Megan. We unloaded all the wood and quickly positioned the raised-bed around the seed-bed that I'd planted on Monday. After uncovering the existing two beds and folding up the sheets of horticultural fleece for future use, I then drove the 1.2M x 25mm x 38mm poles into each corner of all three raised-beds, ready for the netting to go over.

To ensure we only walked on the areas that won't be used for planting, Megan and I also measured out the next area for raised-beds, leaving a 600mm path, and then marked it out with string and sticks. There is now room for 2 triangular beds, which will add even more character to the allotment when it's fully utilised.

It's starting to look like rain again, so there's only enough time to get in three rows of Potatoes, of the Carlingford variety. Each row is planted with twelve seeds, with the rows about 12" apart. I've got another two bags of different variety seed-potatoes to go in, but they will have to wait until tomorrow.

SUNDAY 19TH JULY 2009
I popped to the allotment at about 2pm for an hour, just to finish seeding the raised-bed I built yesterday and to plant the rest of the spuds. There was enough room in the bed to sow three rows of Onions, two rows of Beetroot and four more rows of Carrots. The whole bed is now full of root-crops. When I put the triangular beds in place in a couple of weeks time, I'll fill one with root crops and the other with salad crops. In total, that will be 2 x leaf/brassica beds, 2 x root beds and 1 x salad bed, plus the potatoes. It's been pretty hard work, but not bad for a months effort!

Peter had decided to pop over and take a look at what we're doing. Looking over the plot, it's been really, really satisfying for us both to see how quickly it has taken shape. Where only a couple of weeks ago it seemed a huge task to get the 100 sq.M into production, over half of it is now planted. I mention to him the problem of netting the sides as the plants grow higher and he came up with the ingenious idea of using pallet-wrap. Like cling-film, but thicker, pallet-wrap comes in rolls about 500mm wide x 300M long and I can just wrap it around the outside of the raised-beds and build the height as the plants grow, raising the height of the net over the top using the brass hooks to keep it in place. Ingenious idea Peter!

It looked like rain again, so Peter headed off and I finished planting three rows of Maris Piper Potatoes before the heavens opened. I've still got another three rows to go in, but they'll have to wait.

Help keep the River Nene clean...

To get involved contact: MAndy Somers - mSomers@anglianwater.co.uk

The Prince's Rainforest Project...

What's the worst that could happen?

Climate Change Denial...'flat earthers'?

A You Tube Channel dedicated to dispelling those ever loyal companions of the 'climate change denier' (otherwise known as 'flat earthers') - the 'climate change myth'.

Ever heard the one about how scientists predicted catastrophic climate change in the 70's and it hasn't happened yet so why should be be bothered now?



Or the - 'it's cold outside so there is no global warming'?

So, who's paying the bill?

It's just 4.5 minutes long, it's with subtitles - but really worth watching right to the end...

Wake up, freak out...then get a grip

Great short film, worth a watch if you have 5 mins.

Really easy to understand explanations of the 'tipping point' and what 'runaway climate change' means...



Watch it here...

Allotment Diary - Week 3

MONDAY 6TH JULY 2009
Well what with the massive downpour and subsequent showers, I've no need to head to the allotment today. Just as well, as I'm out of town until near 9pm! I did manage to exchange emails with Peter during the day to make plans for the next stages of planting. Peter has ordered some seed via the internet and I've pointed him towards a good supplier for late spuds, which will give us a crop to pick for Christmas Day!

TUESDAY 7TH JULY 2009
Again, showers all day, so no need to head to the allotment. As we plant more crops, I'll probably have to pop in daily to check things over, but things are quite relaxed at this early stage.

WEDNESDAY 8TH JULY 2009
I popped into B&Q to buy some more horticultural fleece today, which will be needed on Thursday when we get to planting (subject to weather). I also took a look in the B&Q timber department for some wood that would be suitable for constructing the raised-beds. Timber decking is ideal, as it's been pre-treated for outside use, but it's £4.46 for a 2.4M length of board. I want 2M lengths, but noticed that some of the boards were split or damaged, so haggled the price down to £1.50 per 2.4M, including them cutting off the damaged bits to make it 2M. I can use the off-cuts to make the stakes that will hold the boards in the ground. Essentially, it will cost £9 to build each 2M x 4M raised-bed.

THURSDAY 9TH JULY 2009
Before heading to the allotment this evening I popped into Peter's to pick up some seedlings. A tray of Broad Beans, Cabbage and Cauliflower are ready to go into the ground. Some of the seeds that Peter ordered has arrived too and we've got plenty of seed that can go straight into the ground over the weekend, including lettuce, carrots, onions and beetroot. There are also a range of seeds that will give us a spring crop, including carrots, cabbage and onions - but these won't go in until September. The potatoes have yet to arrive.

The weather held out today, so it was a lovely evening at the allotment. There were two other allotmenteers pottering around and the peace and quiet is blissful. My first task was to measure out a 2M x 4M bed over the existing plants with a tape measure. Perfect! A raised-bed will fit over the existing plants perfectly in length and allows room for another row. The other seedlings I'm putting in tonight will fit into another raised-bed.

My next task was to turn over some more of the soil ready for planting. It's still hot work, even at nearly 8pm when the heat has gone out of the sun. After preparing the soil, I then levelled it by raking over it and then layed out some string across the plot to ensure I'm planting in straight lines. My wife Michelle and daughter Sinead turned up to have a look at how things are progressing. Michelle was amazed at how quickly the plants have grown and we chatted for a while about plans for the allotment over the coming weeks and months. When Michelle decided to head home, Sinead decided to stay with me for a while longer.

Now for planting! After another 40 minutes or so, the Broad Beans and Cabbage had gone in nicely next to the previous crop of the same plants from the other week; so we will get a staged harvest. It was now getting on for 9pm and I didn't think there was enough daylight left to plant the Cauliflower, water all the plants and cover them before nightfall, so I settled for watering and covering the plants, which Sinead helped me with. We left the tray of Cauliflower covered for planting over the weekend. A good evening's work!

FRIDAY 10TH JULY 2009
We had a family wedding to go to this evening, so I didn't go to the allotment at all. Everything had a good watering last night, so I'm sure it will all hold out.

SATURDAY 11TH JULY 2009
Amongst my other weekend chores, my plans for Saturday included going to B&Q to find some 'damaged' planks of decking. I managed to find 12, including 2 discoloured ones which they also let me have at £1.50 each. The trade department was closed, so there was nobody to cut the boards down to 2M lengths for me, but I've got an electric saw at home, so it's no big deal.

As it turns out, not getting them cut to size turned out to be a God-send. Having laid out the proposed bed size of 2M x 4M in my driveway, it was clearly too wide. The idea of raised-beds is that you can reach everything without having to step foot onto the bed, so 2M across is too wide. After much thought and deliberation I plump for 1.2M, which means I can simply cut a board in half for the widths - easy! As for the length of the beds, I decided to make them 3.8M instead of 4M. This allows me to cut each 2.4M board down to 1.9M leaving me a 500mm off-cut, which will allow me to maximise the number of stakes I can make from each off-cut. Two of the 1.9M boards will make up each long edge of the raised-beds.

After making all the cuts I need, I've only the stakes to cut to size and screw onto the boards. I've got to get ready to go out and, as it looks like there's rain on the way, I there's no need to go and water the plants, which suits me because measuring and cutting everything to size took longer than I anticipated.

SUNDAY 12TH JULY 2009
During the afternoon, I spent another hour or so making the stakes out of the remaining 500mm off-cuts, by sawing them in half to 250mm and then sawing them length ways in approx 1" widths. I then took each of the boads and screwed the stakes onto the sides with 40mm wood screws, leaving about 100mm of the stake overlapping the board, so it can be stuck into the ground to hold the boards in place. 24 stakes and 48 screws later, the finished boards for my raised-beds were ready. I loaded them into the car along with some gardening tools and headed to the allotment, stopping off at Peter's along the way to drop off some trays and let him know I was heading to the plot.

After unloading the boards from the car, I had to measure up again to find out how well the new sized beds were going to work with my previous planting. It worked. After getting the first raised-bed in place, Peter arrived with his carer and we discussed how we can lay out additional raised-beds as we need them. I've deliberately left a 1M gap along the right-hand side of the plot, so that Peter can get down the side of the allotment in his wheelchair once it's grassed over. It's threatening rain, so Peter heads back home and I position the second raised bed, leaving a gap of approx 600mm between the two. While this is quite a lot of room to leave between beds, it is a practical amount in terms of the space needed to kneel down for planting and weeding. As there will no longer be any need to actually tread on the beds now, plants can be placed slightly closer together; so it's swings and roundabouts in terms of how much 'useable' soil is available.

I managed to plant three rows of Cauliflower from the seedlings left over from Thursday night. I then moved the row of Cabbage I'd planted on Thursday into the second raised-bed. Now all the seedlings we have in the ground are in one of the two raised-beds. I give the plants a thorough watering and cover them with the horticultural fleece. It's been a good weekend of work and the allotment is looking very smart now a couple of raised-beds are in place. There's not been time to get any of the seed in over this weekend, as I'd planned, so I'll have to make it a priority early next week.

New website for Peterborough Environment City Trust

Check out our new website at www.pect.org.uk

New website offers eco and fairtrade products

Newly launched website www.saferplanet.co.uk has over 600 organic and ecofriendly products!

The website also has a Green Room which features games for children to help them to learn more about climate change.

Site founder Karen says, "Our products are sourced from across the world. Some products are made especially for us under the wikaniko label, like our hand made organic soaps are sourced from a fair trade partnership in Khayelitsha Township in Africa.

"Over the next 12 months, in association with Environmental Partners Ltd, we are aiming to plant ten thousand trees in Africa. Already with the help of our many customers and friends we have planted numerous trees. With more help we could plant a whole lot more and reach our target faster! It is estimated that if you helped with the planting of just 5 trees you can actually offset your own carbon footprint.

"We are also looking for people to join our business. With todays current climate there is a shortage of companies expanding, and we are expanding dramatically which is so positive."

Check out the website: www.saferplanet.co.uk

Allotment Diary - Week 2

MONDAY 29TH JUNE 2009
I'm worried about my crop already. We're in London all day today and for the best part of tomorrow too and I'm concerned about the plants dying out in this scorching sun! It is seriously hot and the plot has no shade whatsoever, so I'm hoping the horticultural fleece will offer some protection. My friend Peter is unavailable too, so the plants that went in the ground on Sunday are going to have to hold their own for a couple of days. Poor planning on my part, by not arranging for a friend or neighboring allotment holder to give them a sprinkling for me. I do hope they'll be OK.

TUESDAY 30TH JUNE 2009
It's even hotter today and I spend most of the day in the car enjoying London's traffic jams and worrying about my young crop. I arrived for my business meeting an hour early, so took the opportunity to pop into the nearby B&Q store to pick up an extension for my watering hose. I already have a hose at the allotment, which was a spare I had taken from home, so it didn't cost me anything. However, it's not long enough to extend the whole length of the plot, so I needed an extension. I've also purchased a spray gun attachment for the end, which controls the power and pattern of the spray. Another £20 spent.

We arrived home just after 6.30pm and my first job was to get changed and head straight to the allotment to see if the crop had managed to survive without water for two days. However, my friend Nick had popped in to pick up a bike that I'd promised to sell him. After taking it for a quick spin, he decided to buy it and we then relaxed on the patio for a while and enjoyed a nice cold drink. I'm anxious to get to the allotment, but another few minutes in the evening sun can't do the plants any more harm, surely? I notice the books I ordered have arrived, but they'll have to wait until later. The second Nick heads off on his newly acquired bicycle, I'm off to get some water on the plants!

It's nearly 7.30pm before I get onto the plot. I peel back the cover and the plants are fine, phew! The horticultural fleece has done its job. A couple of the younger Broad Bean and Cabbage plants are looking a touch wilted, but nothing a good soaking won't sort out. Most of the plants look very healthy and strong. The shoots from the Pepper seedlings look particularly strong and a vibrant green, which is surprising, as they were the most delicate of all the seedlings we planted on Sunday. I connect up the new hose extension and gun-attachment and create an artificial rain shower over the crop for the next fifteen minutes. Then I cover the plants with the fleece once more and all is well once again in allotment land.

WEDNESDAY 1ST JULY 2009
Being less anxious about the plants today, I got home about 5.30pm and decided to get acquainted with the new books that have arrived from Amazon, before going to water the plants. Both books look very good indeed, although at first glance, the Alan Buckingham book 'Allotment Month By Month' looks the more practical of the two, whereas the Andi Clevely book 'The Allotment Book' seems to have quite a 'lifestyle' angle to it; in the sense that there are more pictures showing an allotment as a place of relaxation with shading trees and grassed areas and one picture showing a caravan being used in place of a shed, with plants growing in it, on it and under it; and people sitting outside on deckchairs drinking tea!

However, both books concentrate on three main things to start with. 1. Having the right tools and equipment (which I do), 2. Clearing the site (which is done), and 3. Planning how you want to set out your plot (which I haven't done yet). For the moment, all I've done is copy the neighbors by planting across the plot in simple rows. According to the books, there are several ways of doing it which avoid compacting the soil by treading up and down the rows and also allow you to manage crop-rotation much easier over the seasons. The raised-bed system looks of particular interest. I'll cover this in more detail in a future blog, if indeed, it's the system decided on.

On my way to the allotment this evening, I popped in to see Peter. He is as keen as I am to get some more plants in and has already planted some of the seeds we brought last week into pots. There's still time to get some crops going this year, including carrots, cabbage, broccoli and spuds, which we can harvest up to and during the winter. We chatted about our plans and decided we need to find out more about the soil type, which will be a task over the coming weeks and something I can consult the books about. We also chatted about composting and how we can conveniently collect our food waste and get it to the allotment. Peter made a very valid point in that "you only get out of the soil what you put into it", so we need to do everything we can to maintain its fertility.

Getting to the allotment tonight, my only task was to water the plants and, what with the hose being set up and laid out properly now, it was just a case of switching on the water, uncovering the plants and pointing the spray onto them before covering up again. I've got plans for tomorrow night, so won't be able to water until Friday, but am now confident that the crop will manage OK until then - especially as I gave the cover a good watering too, which will maintain a little more moisture.

FRIDAY 3RD JULY 2009
Possibly the very last thing I expected when taking on this allotment, was to get an email from Peter listing the various seeds we have in a spreadsheet, along with a calendar for planting them. Welcome to allotmenteering, 21st Century style! Peter is going to join me at the allotment on Sunday.It rained at lunchtime, so there was no particular need to go to the allotment today.

SATURDAY 4TH JULY 2009
Nothing to report today, other than going over to the plot in the evening to give the plants a good watering. It's amazing how much they've grown in only a week, which is very encouraging.

SUNDAY 5TH JULY 2009
Peter came with me today and took his first look at the allotment. I think he was quite taken aback at the physical size of it and had visions of it being only half the size. The plot is 100sq.M and will be enough to keep us fed for a good part of the year once we get into full production next year. We examined the neighboring plots and it was clear that some were over-producing and that some crops would go to waste - something we're keen to avoid doing. Other people, however, had the proportions right and were obviously staging the planting of each vegetable so they could get a staged harvest throughout the season. These are the people to learn from.

I mentioned to Peter the idea of creating raised-beds as mentioned in the books, which he liked a lot. Rather than planting in regimented rows (like everyone else seems to be doing), we will create growing areas by arranging planks of wood, each measuring 6" high x 2M long. Most beds will be 2M wide x 4M in length, which will work perfectly for the dimensions of fleece and netting that might be used to cover them. The beds don't all have to be arranged in the same direction either, so we can create a more interesting vegetable garden to look at. We can also create triangular beds 2M long on all three sides. However we decide to arrange these beds, the plan is to leave a 1' gap between them for walking on. This will ensure that the soil only gets compacted in the walk ways.

There should be many benefits to having the raised-bed system. One of the major benefits is that it will help keep slugs away from the plants, as there will be a physical barrier to stop them from getting to them. Another is that the planning of crop rotation will be much easier to ensure that soil fertility is maintained.

When we got back to Peter's house, he showed me the seeds he had planted a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed to see that the cabbage and cauliflower seeds had already germinated and were growing fast. The beans he had planted were yet to shoot. I will take the cabbage and cauliflower seedlings and get them into the ground this coming week.

Age of Stupid - personal opinion

Earlier this year Peterbrough Environment City Trust (PECT) screened climate change film the Age of Stupid. The audience participated ina debate afterwards. Here is the view of one of the attendees...

Thank you to PECT for putting on the film at the John Clare Theatre.

There were some interesting stories being told in the film. Personally I had more sympathy for those in the developing world understandably wanting to catch up with the west (even in a way the new Air Plane Company mogul in India), than the frustrated businessman (who the film said operated all over the world) trying to sell his wind farms and the mixed up hero from New Orleans that worked in the oil industry (notwithstanding they were making some good points).

I disagree with comments in the audience criticising the balance of the film and saying there was too much on the Third World. Yes, the First World has been the source for most of the problems up to now and primary responsibility for action should be with us, but I think the comments perhaps missed the point that this film is not just about or for Western Audiences (many people in this country just think it’s about us) as is demonstrated on the Age of Stupid website. Far too often the voices of many in the world are not heard and if we were to be concerned about balance I think it could be easily argued that there should have been more said from the developing world in the film.

As to the overall impression of the film, I think some of the bigger messages of the programme did misfire and I do think its dangerous becoming very political in such matters. It’s a lot about perception and it’s easy to undermine genuine cases if you are perceived to take sides. I note that the film’s director Franny Armstrong previously produced the documentary film, McLibel and further reading online does suggest to me she comes from prospective of being concerned about globalisation.

But whilst saying that I do feel ultimately the film makers message that the responsibility for action is in the hands of the few and the power of the people is relatively weak is spot on – its reality.

We, me included (and sometimes despite my best endeavours), look after ourselves primarily. Is human nature to look after number one and our families first (law of the wild), and its difficult fight against those instincts for the greater long-term good. Furthermore we are always looking to better ourselves (essentially greed), we are often weak willed and can be easily influenced (why else do the big businesses spend so much on marketing products we often don’t need), and when it comes down to voting and using the little influence we have the research has shown its nearly always the economy and what’s in it for ourselves that is the driving force behind our decisions. The reality is we are mostly simple ‘stupid’ folk, just trying to get on with our lives, and if we look at each of those lives in isolation we could probably understand most of their decisions.

The message I got from the Age of Stupid is that we need to someone to save us and I suspect it will have to get a lot worse before real action is taken, and potentially too late. The film was trying to shock us and in some ways we need that, but as with other films and world news generally it does have a habit of raising our fear thresholds (another natural coping mechanism), and reason for in action. As the following graph illustrates I can see the problems of climate change having to impact on us all much more in the future before there is real acceptance of needing to take decisive action.

The difficulty is that we need a mechanism to bring about positive change to turn that curve into at least more of straight line. Market forces and consumerism has benefitted us massively, but in many ways its taken us to the problem we are facing and the reality is it’s the only movement that really spurs action in us. ‘Experiments’ with other forms of regimes have so many downsides (and in any case can be a discouragement for action) that I just don’t want to go there. As in many things it comes back conversely on the one side to the common good against the individual rights (which we understandably fight for), and on the other big government/business versus the powerless individual.

One could get very depressed about this, but we can just campaign for real change and hope it comes as soon as possible, and you can only campaign seriously if you are setting the right example – hence why I support Peterborough’s goal to become Environment Capital!!

Julian Sykes (These are my personal views)

Copenhagen...Hopenhagen

The UN (United Nations) is holding a climate change conference in December 2009...

This is an important event where world leaders will come together to discuss how to deal with climate change.

There is also a linked campaign calling itself - Hopenhagen, the premise of which is that we shouldn't have to just cope with climate change, but we should have hope about it.

Allotment Diary - Week 1

THURSDAY 25TH JUNE 2009
Well, I signed the paperwork for an allotment today - my first. Actually, it's a half-plot measuring approx 5M wide x 20M long. The site caretaker, Joe, suggested taking only half a plot to start with because many 'beginners' like the idea of having an allotment, but just can't manage it. Even 100 sq.M looks quite daunting and 200 sq.M looks impossible - especially for someone in full-time employment and with a pretty active social-life to boot!Joe has rotavated my plot for me, so it's pretty clean to start with. Thanks Joe!

FRIDAY 26TH JUNE 2009
Purchased two books from Amazon; The Allotment Book by Andi Clevely and also Allotment Month By Month by Alan Buckingham. Total £20 inc P&P... I'll let you know how I get on with them as this blog develops!

SATURDAY 27TH JUNE 2009
A quick trip to the allotment with my wife, Michelle, to show her where it is and to start boasting about how I'm going to be the hunter/gatherer of the family

SUNDAY 28TH JUNE 2009
A trip to B&Q this morning set me back near £100. Some of it perhaps wasn't necessary, as we already have a garden fork, hoe, rake etc at home, but the idea is to put a small shed at the bottom of the plot and store a few tools onsite. I also purchased some planting pots (reusable), some netting (to keep the birds off), some small canes and some plastic tags to write on with a permanent marker (so I can remember what I planted and where!). I also spent £20 on 200L of manure. I probably could have got this cheaper elsewhere, but I was determined to get started today! Oh, and some Wellies and gardening gloves.

My good friend, Peter Chilcott will share some of the cost. Peter has some experience in growing veg from seed and will come over to the allotment with me occasionally to help out and, no doubt, share in the booty! This is fine though, as not only can Peter offer a lot of help and advice, he also has some plants started in pots, so they went into the ground today - Broad Beans, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Peppers. We've also invested in some seed between us, which Peter will start off at home before getting them into the ground. We've missed our window for many crops this year, such as Onions, Tomatoes & Runner Beans; but we are still in time to plant some Carrots, Parsnips and Lettuce. We're now on the look out for some seed-potatoes to plant, which we will eventually put-aside up to 20% of the plot for on a rotational basis, so we have spuds all year long! And I've already asked the site-caretaker, Joe, if he can help me get my hands on some Rhubarb to plant later in the year.

My 11 year old daughter, Megan, came to help today. It's the first time she had seen the plot and is clearly as keen as me to get started. I ferried the 4 bags of manure, various tools and a garden hose from my car, while Megan ferried the potting trays we had picked up from Peter's. I then laid out the bags of manure strategically across the plot, ready to be split open and dig into the soil. I can feel already that running an allotment is going to be quite physical and I'm looking forward to the exercise... some would say I'm desperately in need of the exercise!The first job was to split open one of the bags of manure and spread it over approx 25% of my plot, then dig it in. 2pm on a hot day is not the best time to be turning over the soil with a garden fork to dig in the manure and it was seriously hot work. After turning over about 20% of the 25%, I was sweating cobs! Megan hooked-up the hose pipe and it was a good excuse for a break. We had a drink from the hose and a good hosedown with cold water to help cool down. Of course, I made sure Megan got a good soaking too and we giggled like idiots before starting work again. Megan picked out any weeds as I turned over the soil. The hose scene was experienced twice more before digging manure into that section of the plot was completed.

As we stood back to admire our work, a neighboring allotmenteer walked past holding a bunch of flowers he had just picked from his plot. I commented on how good they looked and he offered me a smell of them. The smell was divine! We chatted for a few minutes and I told him what we were up to and planning today. As I hoped would be the case, he offered his help and/or advice any time I needed it.

Let the planting commence! One 5M row each of Broad Beans, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts and Peppers, with the rows about 8"/9" apart and the seedlings separated a similar distance from each other. Megan wrote out the plastic tags and then helped me remove the plants from the starter-pots as I planted them. At this point, Joe the Caretaker arrived and came over to chat. This is clearly going to be a very social pastime too! While Joe and I put the world to rights, Megan finished off the planting and before too long, all the seedlings were in the ground. A good watering to help them along and then, with Joe's advice close to hand, we covered the rows with horticultural fleece to stop the pigeons getting to them! Ideally, as the plants get established, I'll need to put netting over them, which will keep the birds off and Joe showed me how to erect a makeshift frame for future reference.

3pm and time to go home for a well-earned Sunday dinner and another opportunity to boast to Michelle how the veg on the plate will soon be coming from the land cultivated by my own hand! Megan and I giggled again like idiots... a great start to being an Allotmenteer!

Amazing allotments!

My Mum (Mrs Ambarchian) has had fantastic success with Year One of her allotment effort...

Check out the fantastic fruit and veg she has grown along with neighbours Chris and Colin Floyd who she shares the allotment with (by all accounts Colin ends up doing most of the work!!)

Not sure whether it's the carrot of love, or if little carrot is gradually squeezing the life out of big carrot!

A Green New Deal...

UK needs ‘Green New Deal’ to tackle ‘triple crunch’ of credit, oil price and climate crises

On the first anniversary of Northern Rock falsely reassuring markets, and 75 years since President Roosevelt launched a New Deal to rescue the US from financial crisis, a new group of experts in finance, energy and the environment have come together to propose a ‘Green New Deal’ for the UK.

And, as the Green New Deal Group launch their proposals, new analysis suggests that from the end of July 2008 there is only 100 months, or less, to stabilise concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before we hit a potential point of no return.

The Green New Deal is a response to the credit crunch and wider energy and food crises, and to the lack of comprehensive, joined-up action from politicians. It calls for:

Massive investment in renewable energy and wider environmental transformation in the UK, leading to:
-The creation of thousands of new green collar jobs
- Reining in reckless aspects of the finance sector – but making low-cost capital available to fund the UK’s green economic shift
- Building a new alliance between environmentalists, industry, agriculture, and unions to put the interests of the real economy ahead of those of footloose finance

Check out more information on this here...

Love Food Hate Waste...

If you haven't already checked out this website, make sure you do now...

Every year in the UK we throw away £10 billion worth of food which could have been eaten. Love Food Hate Waste is a campaign from WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) which shows that by doing easy practical everyday things in the home we can all waste less food, which ultimately benefits our purses and the environment too. If we all stopped wasting food that could have been eaten, it would have the same environmental impact as taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads. lovefoodhatewaste.com has lots of delicious recipes to use up leftovers, handy hints and tips for storing food to make it last longer, a portion calculator to help you cook the right amount, and information on what food date labels mean. There is something for everyone, whether you are a keen cook, or simply want to reduce the amount of food which you throw away.