What is Landshare?

With allotment waiting lists massively over subscribed and people right across the country keener than ever to grow their own fruit and veg, the aim for Landshare is to become a UK wide initiative to make British land more productive and fresh local produce more accessible to all.

Landshare aims to give you the chance to be an active, founding participant in an important country-wide initiative to help more people have access to locally grown fruit and vegetables. It has the potential to help enable people across the UK to:

• access healthier food
• reduce their food bills
• reduce their carbon footprint
• increase this country’s food security
• build greater community spirit
• take more pride in their local environment
• be more active and healthy
• have a lot of fun!

But the Landshare dream cannot happen without you! They need would-be growers and landowners to sign up now to make this happen.

Sign up to help them build the momentum needed to launch this exciting project in early 2009. In the meantime, via monthly updates, you'll get the chance to help shape the initiative and make sure you’re amongst the first to have the opportunity to be involved. landshare.channel4.com

Passion for the Planet has received a Special Commendation in the “Green Business” category at this year’s Merton Green Guardian Awards. The awards are designed to recognise businesses, individuals, schools and projects that are making a positive difference to their local environment.

Passion for the Planet is the UK’s only radio station focusing on health and environmental issues, and their commitment to the environment doesn’t stop there. Sustainability and caring for the planet and its people are also core to the company’s ethos.

Listener Teresa Wingfield was so impressed with Passion, both on and off air, that she decided to nominate the company for the award.

“I’ve learnt so much listening to the radio station, I definitely recycle more now that I understand what happens to these materials and how they are recycled. I’ve started composting, reduced my car use (haven’t quite got round to swapping the car for a bike... yet!), use less water, less detergent and less energy.” said Teresa as part of her nomination.

“Passion for the Planet doesn’t just talk about being green – it is green. Co-founder Chantal Cooke is more committed to the environment than anyone I know. She does not have a car, she composts and grows her own organic vegetables, she finds ways and places to recycle almost everything.” continued Mrs Wingfield.

Recently the company launched Passion for the Planet TV. The ethos and aim is the same as the radio station; to change the world. They are giving free airtime to independent film makers who are making films about issues seldom given any mainstream TV space.

“Awards like this are an important way to encourage people to make green choices and to recognise those that are already making a difference. Green is sometimes portrayed as a bit dull and worthy, it’s our mission to make it fun, easy and acceptable, and winning an award is certainly fun!” said Passion for the Planet’s Managing Director Chantal Cooke. www.passionfortheplanet.com

Ethical Xmas Shopping in Oxford Street - 3 December!

Oxford Street's first ethical Christmas marketplace is being held on Wednesday 3 December 2008. Thousands of ethically minded consumers are expected to attend the event where they can purchase ethically traded gifts, Fair Trade Christmas pudding and recycled fashion from a variety of stalls.

Retailers at the event at The Salvation Army Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, include Soho's Fair Share shop, reused and handmade London fashion designer Flawless, and international company Freeset that sell bags crafted by former prostitutes in India. 

Fair Christmas Fayre will feature craft corners and knitting workshops to help inspire people to create recycled and personalised gifts. Or people can exchange an item for free and rejuvenate their festive party outfits at the "Swap Shop" stall.

The organisers of Fair Christmas Fayre take heart in research from Christmas 2007 where one third of consumers surveyed suggested they were planning to buy ethical presents. To encourage people to buy their presents at the Fayre every person who makes a purchase will be automatically entered in to a draw to win one of three boxes of Fair Trade chocolate bars!

Event organiser Lucy AitkenRead says "Fair Christmas Fayre is an ethical marketplace that aims to inspire people to do Christmas in a more sustainable way and to provide alternatives to expensive shopping for those feeling the squeeze of the credit crunch.

Event organisers hope to raise enough money from the Fair Christmas Fayre to buy a Bush Ambulance for some of Malawi's rural poor. The vehicle will be used to transport sick people and expectant mothers to hospital in Malawi where there are no available vehicles or suitable off-road transport is required.

New Holiday Gift Vouchers

Frustrated by conventional mass produced plastic cards or wallets, which seem to have lost the spirit of thoughtful giving, Foot Trails team are launching this week a new way of buying a gift voucher experience.

The team has compiled a complimentary gift pack to accompany the vouchers that customers buy.

Hand-tied in gold leaf cellophane, the gift packs are filled with Fair Trade goodies including chocolate and a sachet of hot chocolate, a coffee table style brochure (with stunning colour photographs taken by co-founders Alison and David Howell) descriptions of the holidays, and finished with curling ribbon and a gift card.

The idea is that recipients will relax and indulge with their goodies and enjoy choosing as much as receiving.

Foot Trails are expertly crafted travel for feet.  With one of their gift voucher packs your recipient will have all the fun of choosing an award-winning walking experience that will in the words of co-founder Alison Howell, knock their socks off!

Vouchers can be purchased at any value, with a minimum £25 and postage and packing is just £3.95.

For more details and to order, visit www.foottrails.co.uk  or call 01747 820 626.

First mounted in 1975, National Tree Week is UK's largest tree celebration annually launching the start of the winter tree planting season.

National Tree Week is a great chance for communities to do something positive for their local treescape and this year runs from 26 November to 7 December.

Each year, Tree Council member organisations such as voluntary bodies and local authorities, up to 200 schools and community groups, The Tree Council's 8,000 Tree Wardens and many others, support the initiative by setting up fun, worthwhile and accessible events, inspiring upward of a quarter of a million people to get their hands dirty and together plant around million trees.

You can be part of this great collective achievement by finding out if there are events and activities in your area.

You can even organise your own event and get some useful tips on how to organise successful tree planting activities and to register your event, so that other people can come and join you!

To see what events are taking place around the country and how to register for an activity visit www.treecouncil.org.uk

Recycle Your Mobile with the WSPA

Millions of us change mobile phones every year, without knowing what to do with the old one.

WSPA has teamed up with Greener Solutions to bring you this exciting and environmentally friendly fundraising opportunity: each time you recycle an old handset Greener Solutions will donate £2.50 on your behalf to our worldwide animal welfare work

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Greener Solutions is an expanding leader in end of life mobile phone recycling and provide bespoke fundraising and recycling solutions.

So it couldn’t be simpler, and it won’t cost you a penny either.

Rather than shoving it in a drawer somewhere, what if you could use your handset to help animals in need?

Just make sure that you have removed the old SIM card from your phone.

And why not collect your colleagues‘ old handsets at work? Once you have collected 20 mobile phones or more Greener Solutions will arrange for a courier to come and collect them free of charge.

Get all the details at www.wspa.org.uk and help two worthwhile causes at the same time - animals in need and the environment.

Eco Hotels of the World

With green and environmental issues surrounding responsible travel so much higher on the agenda, what on earth should we do to keep our travel as ethical and sustainable as possible? 

“Eco Hotels of The World” is a guide, printed on FSC sustainable paper helping all of us to get away from guilt whatever our holiday or travel pleasure, listing 87 green holiday venues around the globe, rating them in five individual sections from one to five green stars:  Energy, Water, Disposal, Eco-Active and Protection. 

“The book is the culmination of our work collecting and rating green establishments, and has been produced entirely independently without taking money from the listed properties, ensuring complete honesty and impartiality from our reviewers to give the public a genuine appraisal of the venues and their claims and qualities,” says the book’s author Alex Conti.

In the book you will find destinations including safari parks, island dwellings and even beaches in Alaska, and is intended for use by eco-warriors and eco-wonderers alike. 

Timeout says of the website “Now there’s no excuse: plan your holidays with an eco-conscience this season.”

www.ecohotelsoftheworld.com

WWF Sets Sail!

WWF-UK, the conservation organisation has teamed up with Ecover and leading yachtsman Mike Golding to raise awareness of the issues facing our marine environment. Mike with the WWF panda logo emblazoned on the sail of his Open 60 yacht, ECOVER 3 is already well on his way in the Vendée Globe around the world singles race.

Dr Simon Walmsley, Head of Marine at WWF-UK said: “Our oceans are a valuable resource, supporting a multitude of sea users and a rich variety of marine wildlife. But they are under severe strain and urgently need safeguarding if we are to prevent further biodiversity loss. By teaming up with Ecover and Mike Golding we hope to spread this message further and increase understanding of the need to look after our seas.”

Mick Bremans, MD of Ecover comments: "Ecover are delighted to be taking the WWF Panda around the world. Mike Golding and ECOVER 3 will be working in harmony with the power of the marine environment and it is vital to us to spread messages about how to protect it."

Taking this crucial message around the world is of upmost importance to the conservation of out marine environment with oceans covering 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

You can keep up-to-date with Mike’s progress in the race and follow his route across the globe. An interactive map provides facts from WWF about some of the threats to the regions Mike will be sailing through, such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and climate change.

Mike Golding said: “Over the past 16 years I have been around the world five times, so it has been interesting to see the changes over this period. It is really important that we continue to protect our oceans, they are truly awesome and I would like to see my son being able to enjoy them as I have." 

www.wwf.org.uk

Win free personal home style and design advice from Oliver Heath

EcoCentric are giving you the chance to get a home interior decorating question answered by Oliver Heath, the award winning TV designer and architect.

Well known for his work on BBC's Changing Rooms and Home Front, and more recently on the Discovery Channel's Dream Homes, Oliver is the author of two books - 'Home', and now 'Urban Eco Chic' (winner of the 'Hot Brands Cool Places' Green Award) and has had widespread media coverage of his views on sustainable eco living.

By submitting your home style design question at the ecocentric website five entrants will win a personal email response from Oliver, with invaluable professional advice to sort out their eco design problems.

Questions could be anything from converting an eco home, interior styling, or decorating on a budget.

This is a fantastic chance for entrants to get a fresh, professional eye on home design challenges and inject a bit of eco chic style into their life, all for free!

And if that wasn’t enough, each question submitted will be put into a prize draw for a chance to win a personally signed and individually dedicated copy of Oliver’s award winning new eco design book – ‘Urban Eco Chic’.

So that’s not one, but two great prizes! This fantastic competition closes at midnight on November 12th 2008.

To enter the competiton visit www.ecocentric.co.uk

Rubbish Questions!

On Monday the 10th November, Tracey Smith, author of The Book of Rubbish Ideas will be hovering over a hot keyboard and delivering live answers to your most burning rubbish and sustainable living questions!

The Book of Rubbish Ideas is a guide to reducing household waste and stopping wasteful behaviour.

Tracey Smith is also the creator of InterNational Downshifting Week and her goal is to help us de-clutter our lives, lean towards the green and to pull back from a consumer-driven existence.

You can now send in your questions to her any anytime between now and Monday 10th, but as they cannot predict how busy the event is going to be, and if you want to ensure you get an answer in good time on the day, drop your question over sooner rather than later so Tracey can crack on with any necessary research.

'There will be no shilly-shallying with the answers.  My advice will come straight from the hip and I hope it’ll help you reduce your rubbish even further and help you live more sustainably too, keeping your hard-earned cash in your pockets.' says Tracey.

'I’m hoping your questions will be challenging, diverse, bizarre and obscure like...'

Should put lemons in my composter? Or What is the best rubbish-free method to buy cheese and ham at the deli counter?

So check out the website on Monday 10th as you'll find the most up to date and accurate information you can lay your hands on!

For more info on the book and the Q&A session go to: bookofrubbishideas.co.uk

Get set for UKAware April 2009

Following the success of its May 2008 inaugural show LondonAware 08, UKAWARE will take at Olympia Two on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th April 2009 and expects in excess of 10,000 visitors.

It is the UK's only public facing green lifestyle show with a proven track record. Zac goldsmith of the Ecologist magazine said; "The sheer diversity of activities on show at UK AWARE is testament to how much we can all do to make a difference. It's inspiring."

UK AWARE has chosen Olympia because it was imperative to use a venue which aligned itself ethically. EC&O have recently won an AEO award in recognition of their sustainability initiatives, so it was a natural choice. In an industry which traditionally has a large carbon footprint it is great to be able to work with a venue which is setting the industry standard, not just as a venue, but as a sustainable venue.

Danny Carnegie, Founder of UK AWARE said; "We've got an interactive, mainstream show which is going to blow the socks off the UK Consumers. Expect lively debate, amazing exhibitors and an opportunity to experience the future of consumerism for the benefit of this planet.

Exhibitors and speakers include Oxfam, Trevor Baylis OBE, Fairtrade foundation, Method, Green Homes Concierge Service, Greenpeace, G Wiz and many exciting consumer products and services. Live music and entertainment plus other unique exhibitors will be announced in due course. Keep up-to-date at www.ukaware.co.uk

New jobs on the horizon as Britain leads green motoring revolution

New initiatives to put Britain at the forefront of a green motoring revolution by encouraging a mass market in electric and hybrid cars have been announced, with the potential to create up to 10,000 new British jobs and help preserve many thousands more.

Speaking at this International Experts Meeting, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon set out the next steps across Government to deliver a £100 million commitment to accelerate the emergence of the greener vehicles of tomorrow. As part of this 100 electric cars will be provided in UK towns and cities to allow families and other motorists the opportunity to feedback the practical steps needed to make greener motoring an everyday reality.

He said: "Electric cars and other low carbon vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, cut fuel costs and reduce harmful emissions. If we can inspire more people to use them, it will help us to make a positive impact on climate change.

Motor manufacturers will be invited to bid for the opportunity to participate in a £10 million project to run electric car and ultra low carbon vehicle demonstration projects, overseen by the Technology Strategy Board.

At the same time, up to £20m has been dedicated to UK research into improving technology that could make electric and other green cars more practical and affordable. nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/

Free GreenServer Initiative To Reduce Operational CO2

Britain’s green IT manufacturer, VeryPC, has launched www.freegreenservers.co.uk to help organisations exceed current government pressures for ‘greener’ ways of working by exchanging new for old servers for zero capital outlay. 

The ‘Free GreenServer Initiative’ is set to help businesses reduce server C02 footprint by over 60%, improve system performance and reduce operational costs.

VeryPC is inviting organisations with data centers to trade-in their existing servers for VeryPC’s energy efficient Janus 2 server.  The company has a database of 150 approved servers that customers can trade-in including some of the most efficient in the marketplace like the Fujitsu TX120, Dell’s Energy Smart range and SunMicrosystems Sun Fire servers. 

All the customer has to do is pay the energy related cost difference between the old and new servers on a monthly basis over the server’s lifetime.

Sheffield based eco-computing company VeryPC hopes to kick start the cycle of refreshing to greener hardware.

“Greater levels of ecology, economy and performance are key elements in plotting a course towards more sustainable best practice IT." says Peter Hopton, Managing Director

“Using 50% less electricity to do the same work is a bonus for the environment, but data centre managers will have additional ‘hidden’ savings to look forward to such as increased capacity in their input transformers, uncompromised server speed, uninterrupted power supply capacity and support for virtualization technologies. 

To find out more go to www.very-pc.co.uk

Retail ‘Therapy’ takes on Alternative Shape

A novel form of retail therapy has been made accessible to lovers of fashion in the form of garments that have a beneficial effect both on the wearer and in the community in which they are made.

This unique range of therapeutic nightwear has been produced through the collaboration of designer sisters Lucy and Hannah Housman and a small co-operative based in southwest India.

The pieces, which have been created using silk that has been dyed with a complex variety of ayurverdic herbal extracts, are simple, stylish and very wearable.

This is the first range of several planned by the duo who will continue to develop collections with both silk and hand-woven organic cotton. The clothes utilize the concept of ayurvastra and are specifically designed to be worn close to the skin to maximize benefits

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Derived from the ancient life science ayurveda, ayurvastra is based on the principle that yarns and fabric infused with organic herbs and medicinal plant extracts can help relieve metabolic disorders and provide an added dimension to holistic living.

In fact the health benefits of this dyeing process begin at the workshop where a number of people who are involved with the production of the fabric who have previously suffered from asthma have seen a marked improvement in their health since working with some of the dyes. Amaiyah is available through libertorre.com

Streamline your makeup bag with organic mineral makeup

Mineral makeup is the latest cosmetic sensation and for once, the concept behind these flawless foundations, eyeshadows, lipsticks and even mascaras, appears to be going in the right direction, away from artificially produced chemicals and towards more naturally derived ingredients. 

Top luxury organic online beauty store buyOrganics has tried and tested a number of ranges before settling on organic, vegan makeup by Inika and now stocks the entire range which will leave your complexion flawless and healthy as well as caring for the environment!

Lowering our toxic overload from personal care products must be high on everyone’s beauty agenda right now, as we aim to create a flawless finish without clogging our pores, ingesting carcinogenic ingredients and polluting the environment with manmade chemicals.  Organic mineral makeup products are made from a pure mixture of mica, iron oxide and titanium dioxide as well as a range of different organically extracted essential oils. 

With such gorgeous products giving supermodel effects without the chemical nasties, and also vegan and organic, why would you choose anything else? www.buyorganics.co.uk

UK Aims To Support Small Renewable Power

Britain says it wants to guarantee a price premium for small producers of renewable power, for example from the wind and sun, from 2010.

The government included the proposals in amendments to an energy bill being debated and due to pass into law by December this year.

The plan would support households and communities which install solar panels or small wind turbines on their property.

They would earn a feed-in tariff, which guarantees a price premium for supplying electricity from renewable sources into the national grid.

"We hope to have it available by 2010," said a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change on Thursday.

Britain's present price support, or renewables obligation (RO), is considered complicated and bureaucratic for small producers, and will be replaced by a feed-in tariff for microgeneration of renewable electricity up to 3 megawatts (MW) -- enough to power about 1,500 homes.

The 3 MW cut-off would make feed-in tariffs available for schools, hospitals and communities as well as households.

The RO forces utilities to get a certain portion of their electricity from renewable sources or else pay a penalty, money which is then used to pay renewable power producers.