Green Holidays

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The streets of London are now filled with 500 new community bicycles!

As with many cities in Europe, UK’s capital is now promoting the use of city bikes – a simple hire system for local people, commuters and tourists.

Whether you need to get from A to B without the fuss and congestion of the roads or the sardine-like underground system – or you want a leisurely cycle ride through the Royal Parks – this system could be for you.

The Scheme:
Put simply, there are bikes parked up around London that you can borrow for any length of time (albeit the longer you have them the more it costs).

You can sign up online and ‘pay as you go’ so to speak, or soon you will be able to pay with your credit card at a paypoint on the street and take a bike there and then – with your card being charged at the end of your hire period (24hrs after taking the bike).

It is all very simple once you know the limits of the system and the basic charging periods: basically you pay 1 fee for the bike in the first place (for 24hrs) and a seperate fee for the length of time you use the bike for in that 24 hours.

And the fees vary considerably. If you sign up online for annual membership, you can pay less than 12p a day for a bike – paying on the street for it will cost you £1 a day. For the usage fee it varies from Free if you dock the bike within 30 minutes of use – all the way up to £50 for the full 24 hours (and a lot more if you forget to return it before that time!).

Needless to say – as with most things – the more you plan to use it, the cheaper it becomes. What a great incentive!

The Bikes:
The bicycles will be spread all over the City at docking stations – secure lockable bike racks around the streets. All the bikes are identical, suitable for basic riding for over 14 year olds, and all fit into the docking stations perfectly!

The number of bikes at each site will vary, as will the popularity of others – so it is a work in progress to find out how the bikes are used and when.

There are currently over 12,000 registered users and only 500 cycles – so it will be interesting to see how it goes from here!  In theory people will use them at different times for different lengths of time – but the data collected in these first few weeks will be all important in shaping this great scheme for the future.

There is of course always the chance that you turn up at a docking station and there are no bikes for hire – or you arrive at a docking station to find that there is nowhere to park your bike!  Ideally, their maps will help you find the closest alternative – but you could lose time in the early days!

Obviously, for some people this is a much better and cheaper way to travel - as using the bikes for less than 30 minutes is free – so could save a few £’s each way over the bus or tube, and in the summer it will be all that more of a pleasure!

The Future:
Well, I am hoping that the rise in the use of bikes around the busy London streets will make headway for a more pedestrian and cycle friendly destination.

Why do pedestrians always have to have their path blocked by metal railings and have to walk well out of their way to cross a road while congestion-making drivers crawl past in straight lines? 

Why do people and cyclists have to stand in the rain waiting for traffic lights to change to cross the road while polluting drivers are in the dry?

Shouldn’t pavements and cycle lanes have priority over traffic?  If we want a people-friendly and green city – then surely this is the way to go. 

And the more people supporting cycling in the city – the sooner this could happen!

Have you ever wondered where you can watch bats from your own front door?

Well, I have put together a short list of some bat watching holiday destinations where they virtually guarantee you a sighting or 1 or more species every night – and are working for the bats best interests!

Now, although you yourself will not be allowed to touch the bats or disturb their roosts, by going out on an adventure with a bat specialist you may well get to use highly specific equipment on your trip.

For example, the organisers may well lend out night vision goggles, bat detectors and know specific roosting or feeding sites that you can stake out from a distance. And of course – being experts – they will actually already know how to identify the species you see in an instant, making your experience even better!

1) In The UK;
Many of the buildings that are managed by the National Trust contain bat roosts – and many have had camera installed too. Dunster Castle and Arlington Court have both installed viewing and information for visitors – and even do late night bat events throughout the year.

And other nature charities like the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and various Wildlife Trusts offer night-time events through the year. There are 18 species of bat found in the UK – although not all in the same place – some can be quite location-specific.

The Bat Conservation Trust also offers a range of free or paying courses to get you closer to bats and their habitats.

By offering up your time to train as a volunteer or if you pay for a introductory course – you will certainly get close up and personal to bats in their natural environment – and willl be taking a huge step forward in studying them and identifying bats day to day!

2) EcoTours Hungary Bat Tour:
If you are a bit more serious and want to really see a huge variety of bats, then maybe this bat watching holiday in the Bükk and Aggtelek National Parks in Hungary will impress you – with 26 bat species to choose from!

They virtually guarantee you will see 15-20 of these as standard – and that adding on a further 3 days and another location could help you see even more. You may also see beaver, lynx and wolves as well as many other unusual species along the way.

The tours offer all safety precautions for you and the bats of course, with a little waiting around sometimes to allow only small group to intrude into roosts at a time. Obviously disturbing the bats is the last thing they want!

There aren’t many great – or green – bat watching holidays, but there are plenty of ways to see some great wildlife without over-running their habitat or destroying the very things you went to see!

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What a great summer we have been having here!  I have been out and about almost every day!

I have taken a few eco courses with some local charities and helped out and attended several green summer carnivals and general fairs with the family.

There are a few more on the horizon as well and maybe some educational volunteering at a local wetlands reserve for me too!

So, what has everyone else been up to?  Well, lets take a look……..

One Family enjoyed some hiking in the woods for the day – so join their story – with great photo’s – for Enjoying Yosemite Valley with Kids – A Trip Report. Amazing!

And if that puts you in the mood for the great outdoors and you are thinking of camping for the first time to save some money, then take a look at Beata Antoszek’s quick post with 6 Tips for Camping on a Tight Budget.

Or, will you be on the road this summer? If so – is your car prepared for the journey? Look in on Jena Ellis’ article for a list of 10 Essentials for a Car Emergency Kit, and then hop over the Eco Holidays for a quick guide to help you Check Your Car For Basic Safety. 

On The Road

This way you can be doubly sure you don’t get held up by some stupid basic problems instead of enjoying your trip!

And what about your clothes? If you need new travel or camping gear – make sure you read Eco Living Advice’s tale of whether natural or man-made materials are more eco-friendly – and as usual it is not as straight-foward as you might think! So open up Eco Clothes and see both sides of the debate!

But if you want to get away from where you are for a while – or for ever – then maybe take a look at The Investor’s information with some help Researching moving abroad.

Whatever you decide – do take plenty of photos!

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Have you ever wanted to know what that beautiful orange butterfly was? 

You must have been sitting in the garden, or walking in the countryside and watched the most delightful and brightly coloured butterfly waft past you on a breeze.  But what was it?

Or maybe you followed it as it hopped from flower head to flower head, fanning it’s wings open and closed. And we have all tried to photograph them only to have them flutter away on a breeze.

So, why not take part in a survey this July (2010) to help identify some of our most common butterflies here in the UK – and get to learn what they are for your own benefit at the same time!

Butterfly Identification:
There are plenty of very distinct butterflies in the UK – but there are plenty of similar species too – so when trying to identify any butterflies, you need to be looking for key details like the placing or spots or the position and amount of white on the wings for example.

There are also more expert ways of identity – such as the shape of the wings, the coloring of the underside of the wings (normally totally boring compared to the the top) and which plants they are settling on.

Butterflies are very specific in the types of plants that they will eat and so this can sometimes be the key difference between two similar looking species.

Best course of action for the butterflies (as with all species id) is to start learning the most common species in your area and get these 100% right. Only then is it worth learning all the other similar species.

Butterfly Id Guide:
It is always great to have a simple colour guide to these common species that you can carry with you – and then refer to immediately you see the butterfly.

Peacock Butterfly - With Obvious Large Spots

This way you get to learn their patterns much quicker, For example the Peacock butterfly (above) and the Small Tortoiseshell (below) can both appear quite a reddy-orangy colour to the novice as they flutter about – but they are so different when you see them in display.

Small Tortoiseshell - With Distinct Patterning

So by knowing to look out for stripes on the one and spots on the other can make all the difference when trying to identify them. Then if a Painted Lady appears, you will be able to tell it apart from these 2 as well rather than getting all 3 muddled up!

Painted Lady Butterfly

Download the Butterfly Identification Guide off the Big Butterfly Count website and start practising!

The Butterfly Survey:
What a great opportunity to get outside and away from the busy town than to plan a walk or a picnic out in the countryside or local woods – than to go count butterflies!

Butterflies are a key indicator or damaged habitats and changing weather patterns as they depend on only a handful of specific plants for their lifecycle.

So a drop in numbers of one species can mean a drop in the numbers of the other species that live in the same area – including the mammals and birds that feed on the missing butterflies!

All you have to do for this survey is spend 15 minutes in the sunshine (and it has to be sunshine otherwise the butterflies won’t be flying) and log your sightings!

What easier way is there to help your local wildlife and have a great outdoor adventure at the same time!

Big Butterfly Count – Takes place between: 24th July and 1st August 2010

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Do you know enough about both biodegradable products and biodegradable packaging?

I know it might seem obvious what they are when you just think abut the word ‘biodegradable’ as we all sort of know what this means – but what about behind the products?

When you think about biodegradable washing up liquid or shampoo for example, are you thinking about the product itself, or the packaging – or both?

And what exactly are the benefits of each – if any?

And is a product that breaks down even better than one that stays in it’s original form – chemicals or not?

Well, in this article I have put together a very basic summary of the good and the bad of both – so you can make a more informed choice when you think about your next purchase.

The Products:
Well, holiday toiletries and suncreams, etc should all ideally be biodegradable as otherwise your everyday shower is washing all these ingredients into the waterways and rivers of the village or vacation spot you are visiting.

This way, when you wash off your shower gel when in your hotel or out camping, it passes into the neighbouring ground or lake and gradually ‘breaks down’ with the help of bacteria, sunlight or water into virtually harmless little bits. 

Although it could still cause a bit of a problem in the first few days or weeks – it will eventually be gone – which is better than always being there for years and years no matter how diluted it is.

However would you be interested to know that there is no legal definition of ‘biodegradable’ for products in the US or EU – it’s just a vague assumption.  That assumption being that the product will break down more or less naturally into naturally existing particles in around 6 months or so.  However – it doesn’t have to do this at all to use the phrase on it’s packaging or advertising!

Needless to say – anyone can use this ‘claim’ on the product accompanied by a standard flowery or plant looking picture or image – and you can’t prove either way, you just have to take their word for it.

It is the same with the word ’natural’ on products.  This word has no legal right or wrong on packaging – and anyway, petroleum oil is natural and so is arsenic, so the word natural is a bit of a strange one anyway!

The Packaging:
Then there is the bottle it’s in.  It would be virtually impossible to not use plastic bottles when traveling, so you should really try to use biodegradable plastic bottles, right?

Well, there is an argument for and against strangely enough – and it’s all quite simple: if you buy a container that has been designed to degrade naturally over a period of time – then you can’t use it over and over again can you?

Buying a normal plastic bottle means that you can either recycle it or use it repeatedly for any product – but if that bottle is liable to start breaking down, then you certainly can’t use it over and over, it’s unreliable.

And of course, you can’t really recycle it either as otherwise the recycled products you make out of it will be unstable too and just as liable to break down as well!

So, it’s a tricky one really.

Buying biodegradable plastic bottles is encouraging continued plastic production – but is better than new regular plastic being made.  But if the demand for recycled plastic products drops as a result, then surely that is a bad thing; as all the existing non-biodegradable plastic will be left for ever on earth in dumps and floating in the sea!

And if regular plastic isn’t made anymore, then we won’t be able to reuse our bottles and tubs again and again forever – we will always have to buy new!

The End Result:
I can’t say for certain what is the better in terms of the whole plastic situation, but it certainly makes you think a bit further into the issue than just assuming that a biodegradable product is instantly better.

However, I certainly recommend seeking out products that really are made of safe natural ingredients and those which should not have a harmful effect on wildlife – as it means that they will probably not be harmful to humans either.

I mean using products on your body that contain man-made chemicals which are known to poison fish can’t really be that good for you either, can it?

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What’s the difference between an SSSI, a SNCI and an AONB?

There are plenty of acronyms all over the countryside and in wildlife literature, but what are they and what do they actually mean?

How could they affect your green adventures closer to home – and which are the best for wildlife, best for families or best avoided!

Well, I have found out about the main contenders in the UK – and details of what they are about:

NP – National Park
These are large areas of the country that have been chosen to be preserved and improved for the enjoyment of people and for the safety of local plants and wildlife – or ways of living/heritage.

Most of the land within National Parks is privately owned and so there are certain areas that cannot be visited by tourists – and this can also lead to conflict with local businesses and excessive congestion in the ‘best’ places.

Parts of a National Park can also be designated as any of the following as well, for example the South Downs National Park is dotted with SSSI’s and smaller Nature Reserves.

SSSI – Site of Special Scientific Interest
This is the name given to areas in the UK that have special features which need to be protected, and fall into either biological SSSI (mainly habitats like peat bogs and cliffs) or geological SSSI’s (which have been chosen to represent a specific geological or visible feature of a landscape specific to the UK).

Pulborough Brooks - Sussex - SSSI Nature Reserve

They do not need to be on public land, and in fact many are in private hands and cannot be visited by the public, however National Charities and Organisations like the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts run them as Nature Reserves.

The SSSI’s do not need to a beautiful places to visit – they just contain certain elements or are in certain locations that should be protected.  They could just be an old field by the side of the road!

AONB – Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Only covering abut 10% of land in the UK, these areas are given special protection with regards to development and housing – so that the areas cannot be destroyed or divided by roads and buildings.

These Areas are normally smaller than National Parks and are more or less places to roam freely.

NR – Nature Reserves
These are totally different from National Parks as they are specifically run to protect and preserve the habitat and wildlife – rather than as places for people – although many are open to the public. 

They can be either a National NR (NNR) and ‘run by Natural England, or they can be a Local NR (LNR) and run by non-government groups or private owners.  They could also be Marine Nature Reserves (MNR) a and protect the coastal edges or the UK. 

It is often created in an area where a particular species of plant or animal is endangered, and so by protecting the area and restricting access and development, the species may survive and thrive.

CA – Conservation Area
These areas do exactly what they say – they are created to protect a species or landscape that would otherwise be lost to development.  They are usually quite small and are part of or all of a LNR.

They tend to have a variety of names as they are run by the county, so a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) is virtually the same as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC)

CP – Country Parks
These are just areas of the countryside that have been set aside for human pleasure – with no particular interest in conservation.

They are usually large areas of managed woodland and open space with extensive and well marked trails for people on foot, on horseback and more recently on mountain bikes.

The park may well have a campsite and other facilities (cafe/shop/toilets/play park) on site, and there may well be a charge for the car park!

So, now you can plan your trip to better suit your needs – and you will know what to expect when you get there…….

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Don’t just enjoy that rare wildlife moment all to yourself – tell the world!

Did you know that there are wildlife charities and businesses out there that would love to know what you see on your day to day trips out of town – and even what you see closer to home!

You don’t need to wait for a specific ‘wildlife survey’ to come up – you can just tell them what you see when you see it. Even if it isn’t that unusual.  I mean a fox in your garden, squirrels in the city centre or the odd bird of prey by the roadside: they are all important to someone!

The Problem:
I recently saw the scatter distribution maps of rabbit populations and thought; why are there so many areas without rabbits in them – I thought they were everywhere?

Well, they are everywhere, it’s just that some people think that rabbits are so common that they needn’t include them in the survey! As a result it looked like there were huge areas of the UK without any bunnies!

And of course, we all assumed that hedgehogs were in every-one’s back garden until they actually did a survey and found that they weren’t! They had gradually becoming less and less common – but we hadn’t noticed!

So why not start becoming a contributor to your local – and ultimately the national - database for our wildlife. And it could also help you to brush up on you species id!

Or you can just specialise a bit if you find that easier, like reporting all the species that you see in your garden only. Or reporting only the species you already know, or making a point of trying to find the unusual sightings!

It’s Easy To Do…
And quite addictive. I have found myself reporting everything I see apart from only the very very obvious – like herring gulls on the sea front and swans on the Thames! Everyone can see them every day – so I can leave those for someone else to report or wait for a general bird survey.

Only if I DON’T see them will I report anything!

There is always a space for other comments too, so you could say what the animal was doing at the time, how long it was doing it, and other times you have seen it there. Or even whether you were sitting still or making a noise. It could all be useful to the people at the other end.

So rather than you deciding what is important – leave it to the experts! And anyway – they take your email address on the form, so will no doubt politely ask you to stop sending certain sightings in if you get a bit too enthusiastic!

Nearly all these reporting systems will ask you what your location is based on the Ordnance Survey grid system as well – so find out yours at home for starters, and use Multi-map to find all the others (it has a OS version and gives you the exact location!).

Tiny Little Mouse

And if you can manage to get a photo of the said creature – that could well be a bonus, especially if it a rare sighting, and different colouration or a migratory species.  And then at least the experts can get their beady eyes on the specimen – it could be more unusual than you think……

So, it’s over to you to start emailing in your sightings!