Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Sep 22

If your kids are always asking how long until we get home – think on your feet!

There is plenty going on in the countryside even when it all looks a bit bleak – maybe not noticable to us adults who are just thinking about the weather and the route back to the car.

But to the kids; the autumn cold weather and wildlife is nothing but one huge adventure!

So here are a few things that might inspire you to think about the fun side of things. Maybe walk less distance and do more things – that way you can keep the kids happy rather than constantly making them catch you up!

Don’t Leave The Leaves:
Plan to gather up all the leaves you can find that have fallen from trees into one great big pile – and then run through them kicking them up in the air! This game is so easy to play over and over again!

Autumn Gathering:
Why not use the opportunity to search the woodland floor for branches and twigs to build a secret den? There are no wildflowers in the way; just leaves, moss and building materials!

photo credit: Steve-h

Counting Conkers:
Depending on the woods – there should be plenty of conkers for you to collect – still in their spikey shells! Once you have a winner (and some string) you can set up your own tournament!

Searching For Seeds:
It’s not just conkers you will find – there are hazelnuts, acorns, berries and even helicopters! Why not try to guess which ones need to be eaten by animals and which ones float in the wind!

Puddles And Painting:
Find some different coloured berries, grasses and muds and mix up your own paint pot to make your own autumn scene – using real leaves and twigs if you want!

Get Lost!
Why not set up a treaure trail using chalk marks, wooden arrows and leaf designs. Follow the clues through the woods to the treasure – hopefully a nice picnic!

And – it doesn’t cost a penny or require any great planning!

posted by Catherine on Jun 22

What is the fun in making a whole load of rules about the countryside?

The Countryside code is something that people rarely ever read – and this is for 2 main reasons. Either the people being shown the information are too rude and selfish to consider what might be best for the countryside itself and everyone else sharing in it’s beauty, so they have no interest in being ‘told what to do’.

Or they already know the code inside-out as it is all common sense to the the eco thinker!

I mean how more obvious could it be to anyone that dropping litter isn’t a great way to keep the countryside healthy! If you drop litter here today – what do you expect it to look like tomorrow?

The basic principles of the Countryside code are really just the exact same things as we see everywhere else in our lives – but maybe with sheep instead of hamsters, and oaks instead of rose bushes.

Would you leave the door to your friends hamster cage open after you put something inside? Would you start pulling roses off your neighbours bushes because you wanted a closer look at the leaves? Would you hit your dog waste under a hedge with a stick and into the school playground? While looking around a shop, would you start opening all the doors just to see what’s on the other side?

Strange. Because that is just what people expect to be able to do in the countryside.

How Are They The Same?
Unfortunately, because the countryside (and beaches and woodlands and mountains, moors and marshes) are all free to visit – some people assume that they have no value. And so they treat them as such.

For example, Family A travel to a small village for a visit and decide to wander off up a footpath as it is sunny. As they have not ‘done this before’ they may well ‘lose’ their way, find the path turning the ‘wrong’ way or come across a huge muddy puddle.

photo credit: robertsharp

Rather than thinking that the footpath goes another way for a reason or that the place they want to go might be private anyway – they say to themselves: ‘Well, we can see where we want to go – so if we just jump this fence, we can walk across this dry field and get there anyway’.

Now if you went around your friends house for a visit, walked to the end of their garden and saw a beautiful lake across someone else’s garden – you wouldn’t just bunk over your friends fence and trample your family across somone else’s garden to get to the private lake, would you?

So what makes it OK when it is just a farmers field?

All Are Welcome:
The countryside is usually ‘free’ to enter as many charities and private owners alike want people to experience to wonder and amazing character of the open countryside.

They do this by opening up for private business, extending their existing footpath and bridleway network to allow great freedom of the visitors and by making their land as easy to access and walk through as possible.

However, at any time they can revert to the bare minimum of access for walkers and riders. And repreated trespassing and vandalism will only bring this about sooner.

For example, shops that find large numbers of children encourage thefts restrict the number of children they allow in to their stores. Private Houses and Gardens open to the public often put barriers around precious items, flower beds and lawns and even close of certain rooms – usually due to past visitors damaging or breaking something with their carelessness.

The same could be true for your favourite areas of the countryside.

Imagine if all footpaths were fenced in; Open Access land was restricted back to the by-ways and gardens and houses were closed of?

Imagine also that due to the cost of repairs and alterations due to damage by visitors was placed on future visitors.

I remember a whole host of places that used to have ‘free parking’ or ‘free entry’ all year round – and churches that were left open all day.

That is not always the case anymore. More and more landowners, farmers, clergymen and charities are finding that unquestioning hospitality and generosity just are not traits that keep things ticking over.

Times are changing, but hopefully people can too!

Please pass on the Countryside Code to whoever you take out with you on your eco adventures. Pass on the reasons – not the rules – and hopefully you can change a few yourself.

posted by Catherine on May 14

Rather than recite facts to your kids out on a walk – let them find it out themselves.

Why not spend a while at home creating a wildlife, tree or plant id guide yourself – specific to your local woods, park or open downland. Maybe even specific to the season!

Most field guides contain ‘all the plants in Britain’ or the ‘Birds of Europe’ – when all you need is the small number of common plants or animals living near to you at that time.

When searching through a field guide, you will have to sift through hundreds of species that will never grow where you live, or in winter – but they are still hindering you in the book – taking up valuable pages.

photo credit: kasthor

Also, you might think you have seen a certain species, only to find out that it is only found in the remote snowy highlands or on volcanic rock only – and you are in a city park!

Be Specific – But Not Fussy:
Find the most common species to where you are and focus on them – there is nothing more dissapointing to an amateur wildlife detective than not finding in your guide – the very thing you are looking at on the ground.

I have done it many times myself, only to then have to resort to reading about all the most likely alternatives to see if they ‘could’ be the one – or taking a photo to show someone more in the know than me! Very frustrating!

So, save the kids the trouble of being stumped by another yellow flower or brown bird and only show those you know are found here – or settle for the family or genus rather than the actual species. For example knowing that a plant is a violet is good enough for the kids – they don’t want to get bogged down with the fact that there are actually around 500 species of it around the world!

And a ‘warbler’ is good enough for basic bird id – considering even regualr bird-watchers can’t always tell them apart without scopes, songs and the bird to sit still for about 30 minutes on a noticable branch with the sun shining on it!

Make It Special:
Also, rather than prattling on about it’s distribution, egg size and mating ritual; focus on its benefits to the environment or the landscape.

Why is it there, not somewhere else? Did we plant it or are we trying to get rid of it? Is it edible or useful around the home? Do butterflies feed on it, does it attract bees or is it poisonous!

All of these things are far more interesting to a child who is new to the world of wildlife and nature. You don’t want to bore them with charts and maps – you want to inspire them with ideas and let them feel like they have achieved something in the process.

You never know where it might lead them in the future!

posted by Catherine on Apr 27

Would you know what to do if you found an unconscious person while out on a walk?

How about if a friend of yours just suddenly fainted, cut themselves, feels unwell, or had a burn? If you said no – or aren’t sure, then you should think about going on an Emergency First Aid course.

Many people only do a First Aid course because they ‘have to’ for work or volunteering – but why should we be forced to do it? Why haven’t you thought about saving your family and friends in an emergency rather than having to help a random person who happened to visit your shop or office?

Why do we wait to be asked to learn such and important skill – we should be climbing over each other to get on a course!

And it isn’t about what to do with the casualty either – it is about assessing your needs as well as those of the patient. And your actions also affect the emergency services and complete strangers who could be 30 miles away from you.

How? Well think of the larger picture as well as just your little part in it.

Just You:
Before helping anyone in an emergency situation – you should check that you are safe to help in the first place – there is no point you getting injured, electrocuted, trapped, burned or drowned as well as the casualty! And if you do get hurt – who will be there to help you?

Don’t forget that 999/911/122 calls will get routed through to the emergency services even if you are in an area with no mobile coverage – so if in doubt about your safety – call them first for advice.

The Casualty:
If you can get to them safely – then you need to assess them before you call the emergency services – as you will need to know a bit more about them. For example, if they are not breathing at all – then those first few minutes could be vital to their survival, so don’t waste them trying to make a phone call!

And you might find that they are not that seriously hurt or were just sleeping! Needless to say that if you do call out a helicopter or ambulance for someone who ends up telling you that they were just sleeping or drunk – you have wasted a lot of peoples time and resources.

photo credit: Artotem

The Complete Stranger:
He was just in his garden at home when he started getting chest pains – they didn’t go away when he laid down so he struggled to the phone to call an ambulance as he thought he was having a heart attack.

He speaks to the emergency staff and they tell him that they will be there as soon as they can – but they know that their last ambulance is on its way to that collapsed casualty in the woods 15 miles away.

Your casualty turns out to be hung-over while that complete stranger is getting worse! There are a limited number of emergency vehicles in any one area – so make sure that you don’t waste their resources by calling them for a non-emergency.

The Emergency Services:
Obviously if you find an unconscious person anywhere who is not responding to your loud voice or a firm shoulder pat (as they could be deaf) – then you should clear their airways and make sure that they are breathing and then call the emergency services for advice.

However, you must assess their situation first to be of most help to them. They have been trained to save lives and have the equipment to do so – but if they are 20 miles away from the casualty then they can’t do their job.

There are also alternative emergency advice solutions – particularly if the casualty is conscious and not in a life-threatening situation. Taking them to one of the many minor injuries or illness clinics is a great first option, calling NHS Direct (UK only) can answer many of your questions and advise you of the best course of action.

But nothing beats getting your own skills in Emergency First Aid – that way you can help your friends and family immediately – and offer the correct help to others in need.

You’ll never regret taking the course – only not taking it.

posted by Catherine on Feb 16

As part of the ‘Making Wildlife Watching Easy’ series, here’s a nice simple wildbird guide: How to tell the difference between Blue Tits and Great Tits.

These 2 garden birds are both small, both love feeders, both look blue and yellow and both sing pretty songs – so how can you tell them apart?

Well the answer is ‘easily, if you know what to look for’.

So, what is the difference between a Blue tit and a Great tit?
Well, there are many differences, but the easiest thing to spot at the feeders is that the Great tit has an almost entirely black head and neck apart from a giant white cheek pouch – see below:

Once you can spot this – all the other differences aren’t so important. However saying that, I still haven’t got it spot on yet. I have to watch them for a while until I am sure.

And although pictures of them side by side can clearly show you the differences, when they are upside on a feeder with 10 other Blue or Great tits – it’s not so easy, so you can also look at their behaviour too to tell them apart.

photo credit: Mostly Dans

Blue tit on the left and Great tit on the right. Did you get it?

So, based on your observations outside – I have written down the main differences below as they are ‘clear’ differences – things that you can see in a second – rather than saying Species A has ‘a slightly bigger patch of white’, etc. These things should be obvious to you, with or without binoculars:

Great Tit – Totally black head and neck with giant white cheek patches.
Great Tit – Wide black solid line from chin to underbelly in adults splitting the yellow breast in half.

photo credit: ahisgett

Blue Tit – Light blue ‘cap’ on top of head – seperated by a white band around the head.
Blue Tit – Dark line running through the eye, with white feathers above and below it.

photo credit: chapmankj75

Obviously there are natural variations on this like juvenile Great tits don’t have the solid black chest line or bold white cheek patches, but still don’t have the dark eye stripe of the Blue tits.

What If It Looks Like A Great Tit But Isn’t Blue Or Yellow?
Coal tits are another common garden bird and can look a bit like both the Great and Blue tits, but for a few observable differences.

They have the same black head and large white cheek patches of the Great tit but have a seemingly longer flatter head giving them the appearance of having ‘no neck’. They do have a grey/blue back, but do not have a yellow chest at all, it is normally buff to brown.

posted by Catherine on Feb 8

If you see ‘poisonous’ Ragwort alongside a footpath – would you destroy it?

After all, Ragwort is known for it’s toxic nature – and is always destroyed on equestrian land and is generally unwanted on cattle grazing land and in hay meadows.

Eating it over a period of time will usually cause permanent liver damage, but this is very, very rare in reality. However, some walkers take it upon themselves to snap off the ragwort stems as they pass them by – for reasons only known to them.

However – I bet it didn’t oocur to them that the land owners or reserve wardens may in fact be actively encouraging the ragwort to grow there.

photo credit: MGSpiller

Who’s Land Is It Anyway?
Many countryside walkers assume that the land is unchecked, not cared for and little visited by the owners – but they would be wrong in nearly all cases.

All land is ‘owned’ by someone and they would either look after it themselves or have someone else look after it for them (usually with some financial incentive).

And if you studied any biology or geography in your life you would know that there is a natural pattern of succession in the plant world, starting with bare rock or dried riverbed, leading up to mature forest.

(If you are one step ahead of me now you will know what I am about the say.)

As a result of this natural pattern – if land wasn’t tended to or ‘controlled’ by somebody – then the very grassy patch or field where you just snapped that ragwort in half in wouldn’t actually be grassy – or even have any ragwort in. It would be a mature forest.

And as with your own land (generally just your garden) – even if it looks a bit messy and you are at work 5 days a week – you really wouldn’t want someone to walk through it while you were out and then take it upon themselves to cut down your only tree and uproot your rhodedenron bush.

Understand Nature’s Way:
By cutting down young or densly growing trees down to create a glade, or patch of open grass in the middle of a woodland can be a fantastic haven for dozens of butterfly and moth species – and some of them just love Ragwort!

The day-flying Cinnabar Moth (a bright red medium-sized moth) is most renowned for this association and has bright yellow and black striped caterpillars that feed on the ragwort plants. Many other moths also use the plant for parts of their lifecycle.

photo credit: MGSpiller

And strangely enough – bearing in mind how horrible the plant tastes – sheep tend to love an appetiser of Ragwort amongst their normal grasses and flowers. It is believed to kill off internal parasites for them!

Woodlands all over the country are managed to a certain extent – even though they tend to take care of themselves most of the time – but if you want to attract any birds, mammals or insects that don’t live in woodlands, then you need to cut them down.

And that is just what happens throughout the year on the very land you are walking on.

Some plants are best cut down at certain times of the year – and of course you can’t disturb a nesting bird over the spring – so rather than taking on the role of dangerous plant destroyer (ivy cutter/squirrel scarer/dead wood clearer/or anything at all that isn’t agreed in advance with the land-owner) – just walk on by.

If you have anything you would like to share with them about their land, then contact them in the appropriate fashion rather than just sabotage their property.

So, when you are out exploring the countryside – think of their trees as you would of your garden fence; their plants as you would of your rosebush; their gates as your own front door.

Would you want someone to leave your front door open, break down your fence and snap your rosebush in half?

I didn’t think so…….

posted by Catherine on Jan 23

Nothing beats actually doing something – so book yourself on a course.

If you are one of those people who says ‘oh, I’ve always wanted to do that…’ then you need to start doing them!

Sometimes they are such simple things, like going to a local castle, walking along a certain coast, climbing a certain mountain – all of which are usually free, but we never seem to fit them in, even though they are so simple to do.

Other things people might not get round to are new skills – or improving existing skills – where courses can be free, or the cost going to a great cause.

You will never learn how to identify fungi unless you get out there and actually search for them; learning bird calls is impossible without listening to the birds themselves and you certainly can’t learn how to manage a woodland, divert a stream or grow your own food from just reading a book!

Local Courses:
So, by booking yourself on to a course with a local agency, charity or organisation, you will finally get around to achieving something outdoorsy and eco friendly – and have a great time learning!

Build You Own Bug House

Here I have listed some courses and talks that I have found available in local advertisings – things that you could easily do:

Sustainable Building Talk – Local Permaculture Group:
Spend the morning listening to a talk by a leading local expert with a Q&A session – and then have a tour of an existing sustainably built and run eco house and get to see what is working where inside and outside.

Make Your Landscape Photography Come Alive – Local Wildlife Trust:
An intensive 1-day course for landscape photography for beginners and improvers. A few hours in the class room first thing to cover the basic settings, composition and equipment – then out in the field to experiment with emotion, light and adding your own style.

Basic Bushkraft – Local Independant Adult Ed Centre
Covering an array of outdoor skills – you will spend the day with adults all experimenting with basic survival skills. These skills include; green wood-working, shelter building, fire lighting, knots and cooking.

A Weekend With A View – Local Youth Hostels
Stay for 2 days at a local Youth Hostel in a picturesque location – with activites and walks planned throughout. Explore the local area and landscapes with your guide before settling down for group dinner and stories in the evening. Wake up to fresh air and a great breakfast and then head off on more adventures till hometime!

There Is Something For Everyone:
Even if none of those sound like your kettle of fish, then hunt around for other adventures to get you outside and exploring – and hopefully learning a new skill along the way.

Whether its an evening with badgers or bats, woodland or heathland ecology, an introduction to beekeeping or butterflies, or maybe rock pools, painting, basketry and bryophytes! You can always find something you like.

So, no more excuses – do what you have always wanted to do!

posted by Catherine on Dec 10

Have you ever seen your local woodland or riverbanks coated in the morning frost?

We all love walking in the woods, on the Downs, through the valleys, on the moors, along the coast and beside the rivers – but have you done it first thing on a winters morning?

There are some scenes you just won’t see in the normal run of things out with the kids or walking the dog – you need to make the effort to get out there really early for a people-free, wildlife-filled and weather dependant great view.

Being first up on top of a frosty hillside and seeing the low clouds rolling over the sides is priceless.  And watching herons feed in the misty waters first thing could make you see your local walk in a new light.

Local Tours:
There are always local organisations and charities offering winter walks at this time of year – and many of them are themed so you can choose the one that most appeals. 

For example some are about the wildlife, some about the landscapes and some about the history surrounding us – some are even one-offs like a festive wreath walk, where you get to cut your own holly and ivy etc, and then are helped to create your own designs for your home!

And needless to say, these walks are great in 2 main respects; the first being that they are run by an expert.  You won’t just be wandering around the usual footpaths with a group of people aimlessly – you will be led to all the main features and given specific information about plants, animals, people and the past.

These guides will be well aware of everything in local area and will be able to answer most of your questions there and then as they would have a passion for it – otherwise they wouldn’t offer to do the walk in the first place!

photo credit: maxim off

Secondly, they will be able to take you to places that you might not have been to before – such as on to private land, through farms and fields that the general public don’t have access to.  For example, there are huge areas of land that are owned by wildlife trusts which are kept free from the everyday general public as essential work is carried out or sensitive areas where animals are being surveyed/preserved/introduced.

Taking a tour with these charities or groups that have agreements with local landowners and farmers can allow you a new view of the same landscape - or access to rare or protected habitats.

Feel Encouraged:
Of course, noone really wants to get up in the dark on your day off – but if you have signed up to one of these walks or are aware of it – then you are more likely to get up and out.

The photo opportunities on these walks are huge as well as the possible wildlife sightings.  I mean you may well be there before all the morning dog walkers – so you are more likely to see some of the more shy native wildlife – and even hungry owls hunting for those few extra hours in the cold.

If you are a duvet diva – make sure you arrange to get a lift off someone or pick someone else up on your way - that way you can’t talk yourself out of it when the alarm goes off!

posted by Catherine on Dec 4

Walk your way into the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

We all have many pairs of shoes – but are we thinking about their eco impact? We buy Fairtrade clothes, eco friendly materials, organic cottons and the like – but what about our footwear?

Do you own any shoes that you could call eco friendly shoes?

Probably not. But now there are some on the market that you could buy – and they are by a well-known footwear specialist!

Timberland Shoes:
This outdoor shoe and boot specialist – with a high street name – have come up with the perfect eco friendly shoe and boot which could possibly be a first for mainstream footwear.

And it’s not only the shoe that is eco friendly – the box is too!

Plus – the sole of these shoes is totally natural and reusable – something that isn’t always the case in other eco friendly footwear (where the ‘upper’ is usually holding all the eco credentials!).

Yes – leather is technically ‘natural’ in all leather shoes – but with artificial and damaging dyes, glues and solvents used – they aren’t so good for recycling!

The sole of these shoes is a solid mass of natural latex rather than multiple layers or man-made materials glued together, and is filled with a spongy layer made of coconut husks to act as a natural shock absorber!

And as all 3 component parts are minimally treated – they will all decompose naturally into the environment if they are not recycled into new products.

Their Afterlife:
Not only are they great ecological shoes in the first place – but they have a very eco friendly after life too.

They have been designed to be taken apart into their basic parts very easily so that the individual bits can be used again if possible – for example to make new shoes!

By grating down the latex sole – new soles can be created and the leather can be reused for other products.

The coconut husks are also used for creating their unique ‘shoe-box’ unit that is a sturdy carrier for the shoes – as well as totally biodegradable if left in the right conditions. Being made of 60% husk and 40% latex – these boxes can be used for plant or vegetable trays which when planted out into the ground will naturally break down allowing the produce to root into the soil naturally.

Yes, the traditional cardboard will sort of do the same thing – but cardboard involves cutting down the whole tree – whereas both coconut husk and latex can be harvested while leaving the tree itself still alive and well!

Conclusion:
Well, you can now feel totally at ‘eco ease’ when buying and wearing shoes like this – not only will you eco adventure itself be eco friendly – but your shoes will have had virtually no impact on the environment at all!

Oh, and one last thing – by using the design of their shoes to it’s full potential – you can have shoes and boots in the same package!

Imagine the traditional loafer design with the threaded edge around the opening – now imagine ‘sewing’ on a high top that will instantly transform your shoes into a pair of boots! 

2 eco pairs for the price of 1!

For this new range, Timberland have joined forced with Po Zu – a well established ecological footwear specialist with a whole range of indoor, outdoor and convertible shoes, slippers, sandals and boots!

posted by Catherine on Nov 19

Rather than investing in gold or oil – why not invest in the planet?

When you have some ‘spare’ money – you tend to run to the bank with the best APR or whatever – planning for your future obviously.

But aren’t you forgetting about what ‘investment’ actually means?

If the money at the end of your pension is all you want to invest in – then I hope you don’t mind giving up a few things along the way; like rainforests, rural communities, biodiversity and everything else that we are trying to save at the moment!

What sort of holiday do you think you will be spending all your savings on when you retire in 30 years if the sea levels have risen, all the coral has died, countries are at war over resources and people in the developing world can’t afford to eat?

The Baddies?
Well, that would be you wouldn’t it?  Big ‘Bad’ businesses still need to go on - I mean we still need oil and coal to run just about everything we own at the moment (just think of everything you need that doesn’t need or run on electricity or petrol/diesel)!  So at the minute they are not baddies through choice – but you are.

You can make a decision to spend your money on green and eco investments and technologies – and by doing so you are helping to make the alternatives the new mainstream.  If people want change then businesses will make changes.

We take care to only buy things that we approve of, and check whether it’s sustainable, fair trade or organic – but we seem to forget this all when we use banks! 

Think Ahead:
By asking your bank or financial advisor where your money will be invested – or actually seeking out an eco investment in the first place – you could actually be making your future a whole lot better.

Like with timber schemes.  By using your ‘spare’ money to grow hectares and hectares of young trees for timber you will not only be making a nice return on your investment – you will also be preserving that woodland and the animals and plants that live there and creating a carbon sink (where the growing trees absorb and store CO2 from the environment).  It will also be creating a sustainable and natural supply of building materials as well as a whole host of employment opportunities.

And of course, if you are using this land for wood production – then you don’t need to raid wood from actual forests.  By growing a variety of soft and hardwoods from scratch – you can divert attention away from illegally logging ancient woodlands and raiding pristine forests.

Kerr-ching!