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!

If you think about how amazing trees can be - you will want to help plant them!

I recently read a leaflet from a charity called Tree Aid - who fund, train and support communities in Africa to give them the skills to use their trees to the best advantage - and saw an amazing list of the ‘Gift of Trees’ which made me stop and think for a while.

I had always been amazed by the growth, resilience, uses and beauty of trees - but had never really thought of them as holding the key to a community’s survival.

So take a look at the list below of all the things that a tree, or group of trees could achieve. 

Some are more obvious - but others seem totally unrelated.  So maybe you too could see trees in a whole new light too!

As Wood To Build Homes.
Also schools, hopitals, warehouses and much more - including furniture and farming tools.

As Fuel For Cooking.
This also includes wood used for making cooking utensils and storage pots for food and water.

As Food Suppliers.
By farming tree-grown crops - a community is self-sufficient through the year.

As Food Attractors.
Trees are the perfect home for bees - and bees means honey!

As Animal Attractors.
Woodlands and even single trees attract benificial wildlife to an area, for the ecosystem and for food.

As Habitat Protectors.
Trees help to create the perfect environment for other plants to thrive and grow.

As Shade Makers.
Trees create the perfect place for people and animals to escape from the heat of the sun!

As Rain Makers.
Trees and their roots can help create micro-climates and generate rainfall - and prevent run-off.

As Soil Makers.
Trees products can help improve the fertility of soil and well placed trees can prevent it blowing away!

As Outdoor Chemists.
Many plants and trees contain ‘medicines’ that communites depend on for their health.

As Pet Stores.
Many trees can be grown specifically to feed livestock, or to build fencing and housing.

As Bank Loans.
Sales of produce and/or wood can be used to reduce poverty and buy new seeds or equipment.

As Education Givers.
Profits earned can put children through schooling - and will allow them the time to attend!

As Freedom Givers.
A productive livelihood can empower women and change the lives of the whole community.

So, next time you get the opportunity to fund or partake in charity events that help communities learn more about trees and farming - think of what you will be helping to support - and continue.

And we all know that young trees are a great way to ‘trap’ CO2 from the atmosphere - so think about the effect you could have by helping to plant just a dozen or so each year.

If you fancy getting your wellies on and digging a hole - then find your local tree planting event!

Every year the National Tree Council run and support National Tree Week - this year running from November 25th thru to December 6th - so more than a week really - but more time to get involved!

What Is It All About?
Basically, it is a time for people to get involved with community planting events in the winter, and make a difference to local woodlands and parks - and to the environment.

Running since 1975 (wow!), this national event has dramatically changed local communities, schools, parks and gardens across the country - and this year is no different! 

With a list of events running all over the country - and the chance to list your own event - they expect over a quarter of a million people to get involved.

What Else Can You Do?
There are plenty of things that you can do to support National Tree Week that don’t involve any costs, and are just as fun!

1) Your Own Garden: If you can’t make one of the tree planting events - then why not plant your own tree in your garden?  Get your family involved and make a day of it - dedicating your tree to your kids, parents, favourite pet or whatever.  A tree is a tree, so whatever the reason - it doesn’t matter.

2) Record Breaker?:  Although, if you can plant your tree on the 5th of December this year - you could take part in the record-breaking event being hosted by BBC breathing spaces.  All you need to do is make a pledge to plant your tree on their website, then take a photo of you planting it and send it in to count!

3) Go Exploring:  You don’t have to plant a tree to support trees - take a walk in the woods.  By regularly visiting your local woodlands you are helping to make sure that they remain.  If people don’t visit these places, they will simply disappear or become private.

4) Capture The Image: Go out loking for great trees to photograph in your area. You can attach your images to Google Maps so that when people search for your town, they can see your photos of amazing trees!

5) Living Giants: Go out looking for huge trees to add to the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Hunt database. THey are hoping to create a map of all the oldest trees in the UK - so need you out there finding the undiscovered ones!

6) Learn More:  Take the time to teach yourself and your family about the UK’s native tree species and how to identify them.  The more you know about something the more you can get involved, and the more your kids know, the safer the trees futures will be. 

7) Collect Seeds:  When you know the difference between an acorn and a hazelnut - you can plant them yourself and grow your favourite trees from seed!  Not all the seeds that fall to the ground in autumn will grow into trees, so why not take home a few nuts and seeds and try to grow them yourself.

If they survive and last the year - you will have your own trees to plant out for National Tree Week 2010!

Did you know you could invest in a castle, a meadow or a farm?

It may not be common knowledge, but locations both home and abroad are actually run like companies.

One example is with a recent case of ‘disgruntled’ Bournemouth in the UK. The UK Weather Agency decided that the delightful seaside town on the English Channel was going to have terrible weather over the Bank Holiday weekend - however it didn’t!

Now, Bournemouth Council are trying to sue the weather agency for losing them £1 million in ‘tourist bucks’! Tourism bosses said that over 25,000 visitors stayed away for fear of rain!

I know you might not think it, but if you don’t visit or support stores and companies from the regions you love - then who is to say that they will remain? I don’t mean that the towns or countryside will become people-free - I mean that locations will change to more profitable options.

Open fields filled with wildlife may be churned up for crops or sold for housing. Cute cobbled streets filled with cafes and gift shops won’t stay open if they don’t make money - fast food outlets may well replace them!

Supporting Shopping!
You need to actually visit these locations and spend your money locally. Stay in locally-run hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, eating in local cafes and buying locally made souvenirs.

If you travel to your favourite hide-away but stay in a hotel chain, eat McDonalds and buy souvenirs ‘made in China’ - how can you expect the local population to make a living and keep their businesses up and running?

Support Your Heritage!
If there is a castle that you like the look of or a large stately home - make sure you pay to go inside.

Just looking at it from the outside is all fair and good and it may be amazing! But unless you actually spend money at the site - you are not helping it to stay alive!

Yeah, you might mention it to a friend and they go there for a look too, but unless there is money going into that area - it might not be worth keeping the castle open for tourists. It’s a business, it has to employ staff, clean and maintain the building, trim and plant the gardens and advertise it’s good bits.

How can it do that if you just peek at it across a wall or over a hedge? Without customers like any good store of restaurant - it will have to close.

Joining a Heritage charity or society can help to fund renovations of such buildings allowing them to remain for future generations to enjoy and you can be a part of that.

Supporting Habitats:
But how can you support a field or river? They are free to visit and they are just there.

Well, by becoming a member of a nature or wildlife related charity or business that has projects in that area will make sure that they have the funds where necessary to purchase or develop open spaces for the benefit of the existing wildlife. It may also allow funds to re-introduce native species that have been lost.

By telling your hosts that the reason you came here was for the river/beach/woods/wildlife/etc will make sure that they know what is making them successful. If they know they get most of their guests to see the rare so-and-so - they will all make sure that it stays right where it is! And your money can really become a powerful tool.

Supporting local organic farms can also keep nature in your neighborhood by leaving fields fallow or leave woodlands and hedgerows standing rather than having to sow crops instead.

Paying more for your food also makes a difference. If you are always buying the cheapest products - especially animal products - the farmers are having to make money from elsewhere - and that could include destroying that patch of riverside meadow or expanding smaller fields into super fields to make ends meet.

The Circle Of Life.
Just like a business - a farmer, landowner, town, or country all need to get support or financial rewards for their actions to keep doing them.

If growing apples makes double the amount that growing cucumbers does - then they grow apples. If selling burgers makes more money than locally made ice cream - then burgers it is! If more people want huge hotels rather than cosy holiday cottages then guess what?

Your everyday choices can make or break a holiday destination, can affect the shape of the high street and can destroy or encourage wildlife and open spaces.

So next time you think of your favourite place - make sure you make the most of your time there - supporting the destination and making sure it’s stays just how you like it!

When you are traveling around the place, either locally or nationally - do you ever think about what a difference your tiny car can make on the environment you are travelling through?

I don’t mean anything about the carbon emissions you chug out your exhaust or the energy needed to produce your car in the first place or the natural resources that are being plundered for fuel and spare parts - I mean the fact that you are where you are when you are.

How Can 1 Little Car Make A Difference?
Well, quite a lot if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time really.  And the wrong time may not be so obvious to yourself - only the person behind you!

How many times have you been cursing the traffic in front of you for the hold up?  But how many of those times have you actually needed to be in that traffic in the first place?

I’ve done it myself - stuck in heavy traffic on the way to just browse an out-of-town book store!  I went at a quiet time - but failed to return home before the rush hour - and have become a terrible part of it!

I’m not saying that people who don’t work should never drive in the rush hour - but we should all bear it in mind when we do drive.  And this is especially so when you are on vacation and driving in and about unknown towns and country lanes.

The Lunch Time Rush:
Have you ever had just a few minutes to grab your lunch in town or at a services only to find the person in front of your has all the time in the world and is sorting through coupons in their purse for a pathetically tiny discount off their shopping?  Or the other person who decides that stopping in the doorway of a store to re-organise their shopping bags is absolutely fine - but basically is just in everyone’s way!

That’s what your are if you are on the roads during the rush hour.  You are wasting everyone else’s time - as well as your own - sitting there jamming up the roads.

It’s not just the commuters or school-run moms that are sitting in that traffic - you are too - and we all know that it is no fun at all!  And if you are on vacation - it is a disaster!

So, Take Your Time:
Before heading out on a non-essential journey check what times you will be on the road and think about the traffic.  Could you take the bus instead?  Could you visit a friend before or after to delay your journey and keep the roads that little bit clearer?  Could you stay in these woods for a few hours more - or enjoy one more drink by the river before heading off.

It’s not just in rush hour that this is an issue.  If you are on the road with 5 other non-essentials on Monday, and there are another 6 on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, etc, you are making the road seem busier than it needs to be.  And this can multiply up.

If town roads always seem to get crowded and snarled up almost everyday, the local government or council may think that something needs to be done - and this can only go one of 2 ways:  A massive by-pass or more traffic signals, speed restrictions and road works!  Do you want any of them in your town?  In any town?

If you are using the roads, people are going to build more.  If you are congesting the roads, people are going to make bigger roads, and so on.

You may only be 1 little car - but there are loads of people just like you out there - and added together, they are clogging our roads, making people get home from work later in the evenings and creating an awful lot of pollution.

So, try to do your bit to stop this traffic problem - just pick the right time and avoid the congestion!

Fit the following Eco-Destinations into your UK green holiday……

If you are going to take a holiday around the UK - soaking up the sights - you may want to make a date with some of the UK’s best eco-friendly centres and technology research locations.  All offer a great day out for families and adults alike.

They are spread across the British Isles so you can visit at least one where-ever you travel to - and it’s not that difficult to combine several together as part of a longer UK break.

1 - The Centre of Alternative Technology - Powys: Wales
Established in 1973, the CAT centre has been a shining example of how to live sustainably. 

Offering courses and hands-on exhibits that everyone can enjoy and learn from, the centre has just built an educational building to further research and design for eco-friendly homes and businesses - as well as technology for the government.

Expect to see houses of straw, allotments, recycling advice, hand-operated machines for generating power, composting toilets, talks and tours as well as a fully-stocked book shop with all the latest titles to help you change and improve your responsible lifestyles.

Adult entry is £6.40 in winter and £8.40 through summer - with £1 off for arriving by train or bike!  Becoming a CAT member (£22) entitles you to free entry as well as Clean Slate magazine and other exclusive offers.

2 - The Ecology Centre - Fife: Scotland
This amazing and diverse location is free to visit and is a great way to explore the countryside of this area. They offer trails of nature walks and have an Access for All route which is wheelchair and pram accessible.

The routes have ponds, woodlands and meadows - and link up the the Fife Coastal Path for an amazing panorama of the firth.  Certainly and beautiful day out for the family.

3 - Whisby Natural World Centre - Lincolnshire: England
With 6 miles of walks in the local nature reserve is what you will find here - and for free!  There is plenty of wildlife and outdoor fun for the family.

There is an extensive visitor centre with exhibits on the natural landscape here and climate change, and with some amazing views across the reserve and it’s 5 great lakes.  There is also a boardwalk nearby as well as some great countryside!

4 - Ecos Millennium Environmental Centre - Antrim: Northern Ireland
Set in 150 acres of flood plain - you won’t be short of wildlife and great views!  This green destination is free and offers visitors the chance to encounter energy-efficiency first hand as well as other environmentally responsible technologies using the natural wetlands.

The visitor centre is great for the kids, with hands on everything - from duck-feeding to tractor riding to working out eco friendly puzzles!  The centre is solar powered and offer visitors a chance to see how easy becoming green really is!

5 - The Eden Project - Cornwall: England
At £15 entry for adults this is the most expensive of the days out -  however, you can change this into an annual ticket if you offer Gift Aid.  The site is delightful and will please all plant-lovers as well as people interested in the natural world and sustainable living.

The iconic domes are filled with horticultural delights and walking through the great rainforest biome and over the waterfall bridge will delight the whole family.  There is plenty to do in the warmer months outside of the domes and plenty to buy in the extensive gift shop!

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To highlight water pollution, a brave millionaire is about to set sail in a 60ft boat made of plastic bottles stuck together!

The ecologist adventurer, Mr de Rothschild, is setting off to highlight the problem of the ever growing ’sea of plastic’ in the Pacific Ocean. This ’sea’ is currently in an anomoly of the world’s wave patterns. This means that all floating rubbish from the worlds oceans eventually ends up stuck together in this one place, somewhere between the US mainland and Hawaii.

This mass of rubbish floating just under the waters surface weighs an estimated 3.5 tonnes and is about the size of Peru, or around 3 times the size of Japan!

Plastic Facts:
The UN estimates that there are around 46,000 pieces of plastic floating on every square mile of the oceans - devastating the wildlife it supports. Seabirds are also affected and albatros ‘catch’ disposable lighters and bottle tops thinking they are fish and feed them to their chicks. However, because they are not digestible, the chicks bellies fill with all this rubbish leaving no room for food - ultimately and painfully they starve to death, hungry in their nests.

And because it isn’t biodegradable, plastic is with us for ever - that means that every centimeter of plastic that has ever been made since if was first invented - is still in the world today. And todays figures suggest that around 100m tonnes of plastic is currently being produced each year!!!

And don’t think that all this plastic is from fishermen or cruise ships (although they do contribute) because your carefully disposed of plastic in your garbage could end up being send overseas for processing, those tiny sample bottles you used at the hotel in Mexico may be dumped not recycled, and even that small piece of packaging that blew out of your hand at a picnic or town event could also make it to the ocean.

How much of your plastic is floating in the worlds oceans and what are you going to do about it?

The Adventure:
This adventurer plans to sail (how eco friendly is that!) from San Fransisco on April the 28th this year - the exact day that his namesake - the Kontiki - set off on 62 years ago.

Heading down to Hawaii from there, he will try to navigate through the swirling mass of trash while charting their progress. They hope that this is a way to highlight the problems of this visible and dangerous pollution to both humans, wildlife and of course the effects it has on the world as a whole.

Your Contribution:
You can help do your bit locally by organising beach collections - where people walk along coastlines collecting litter and plastic then disposing of it correctly (contact your collections agency to make sure that you approve of their disposal or recycling techniques - if you don’t then complain about it).

Collections make sure that less waste gets into the ocean in the first place and wildlife and environments on land can also benefit. Why just do the beach - walk through woodlands, valleys and mountains doing the same!

This way you not only make your local environment that much nicer for yourselves and the wildlife - you can also have a far greater effect on the worlds environment.

Did you know that Cruising was worse than flying for carbon emissions and general waste?

I mean flying is still best avoided, but if you fly to the Caribbean for a cruise I think you would win the prize for the most carbon used for a 2 week vacation!!!

Some calculations would go as far to say that taking an engine powered boat from London to Naples would produce 7 times the amount of carbon as a flight between the 2 cities. Even on a direct route, it is still worse per passenger - the QEII would create about 8 times the amount of carbon as an equivalent flight to New York - that’s around 700kgs of carbon dioxide emissions per person on board more than flying there!

That really is a huge difference considering how much stick the airline industries get for their pollution - you rarely hear an ocean-going luxury cruise ship getting picked on, do you?

It’s not just carbon either:
A flight to Mexico for example, from the UK only takes around 11 hours. In that time passengers on board a standard plane have eaten breakfast, watched a film or 2, slept for a few hours or read a good book then eaten dinner. And you are there. Well, what else can you do crammed into those tiny seats with a steward/stewardess almost constantly in the aisles selling you stuff for over-inflated prices.

However, on a cruise ship which could take several days to head straight to Mexico across the Atlantic Ocean they don’t all just sit still.

The idea of a cruise ship is that the journey is part of your holiday, and it needs to be a pleasant experience. It is basically a holiday camp on water. Hotel rooms, a choice of restaurants, theaters and entertainment, stores galore, a pool and even a mini golf course. And all these things generate waste - a lot of waste.

Apparently there are restrictions on how the ships dispose of this waste, but unfortunately it’s not great news! According to the International Maritime Organisation (a UN body) ships are allowed to dump waste and untreated sewage straight into the sea - as long as they do it ‘at least 12 nautical miles from shore’!!!!

To me, this is outrageous. To think that anyone aboard a cruise ship or other ship in fact, thinks that it is ok to dump anything into the water is unbelievable. It’s just like a land-based hotel driving it’s rubbish to the beach and leaving it there. It doesn’t disappear on land or in the sea - so don’t drop litter anywhere.

And raw sewage directly into the sea is a disgrace. I think we are all aware that the tides and the winds move things around the world otherwise we wouldn’t have invented sailing ships and animals and plants wouldn’t have been able to colonise new lands - so where do they think this ‘poison’ will go? Are they 100% sure it won’t affect wildlife in the water, seabirds and the people, animals and plants on the coasts of the world?

Selfish Travelers?
Being so self-sufficient, these cruise ships are actually like all inclusive holidays resorts. Everything you could possibly need is on-board and even though you stop fleetingly at several islands and ports here and there, you no doubt don’t contribute any real money to the communities you visit.

Yes, a few trinkets might change hands or a piece of pottery, but there will be no lasting effect of your visit - just a poor town waiting for the next ship to come in and flood their stores and markets with loud, greedy tourists. And a ship refusing to visit a port or changing course for a sick passenger could mean disaster for the local people who miss out.

And when you do go to port somewhere exotic, you probably won’t sample their foods, their culture or their lifestyle - and it really isn’t worth learning their language for the 4 hours you are in their country, is it?

Guests on a cruise ship aren’t really ‘tourists’ they are day-trippers on a box ticking tour. Been there, been there, been there. Not experienced that, lived there and learned this.

Conclusion:
To be fair, I would rather someone flew to a continent or country and spent 2 weeks or more there, spoke a few words of their language and lodged in locally run accommodation than just jumped around from place to place not really doing anything of any use to anyone.

And knowing now that cruising is so much worse for the environment in the first place, why not give fliers a break and start to impact more on the damage cruise ships are doing to the world, the seas and the countries they visit.

I know that every little bit helps, but if you can stop the most damaging first, then you make a bigger impact - and much sooner There are around 300 ships damaging our planet at the moment - and I think we should stop that from expanding. Don’t you?