News & Events
Green blog archive19 May 2011
Keeping bees. Part 5: Collecting your bees
The bees you ordered should be ready: here are my tips for collecting your bees and getting them settled.
If you have to travel some distance to pick up your bees, best use a car. If you don't have a car, borrow one or get a friend to drive you.
Why? Carrying a box full of 10,000 buzzing insects on the train or the back of a bicycle is not advisable - although it has been done.
The bees will come in a ventilated travelling box whose entrance is blocked. The box should contain five frames of bees (including a laying queen), brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) and food stores. Wedge the box in the car, so it doesn't tip up. more ...
© Thinkstock
Bee breakfast - where's my coffee?
Yesterday we served breakfast to 50 people at the Century Club in Shaftesbury Avenue. This special bee breakfast was to launch our new report about the decline of bees.
As I chatted to MPs, journalists, fellow bee campaigners and scientists over dry toast I felt smug about my decision to have a strong cup of coffee on the way.
To highlight the importance of bees to a healthy, caffeinated, and tasty diet we had deprived guests of all bee pollinated foods at the start of the event. So you can imagine the relief when the caterers swooped in with coffee, fruit platters and pots of jam - all brought to us thanks to bees. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
A bee-friendly garden. Part 3: Soggy spring could hit more than my cider making
The couple who lived in my house before us were fruit fans. They crammed 3 apple trees and 2 pear trees in to the garden and last year these bore plentiful supplies.
After some subtle hints I secured for my last birthday an apple press and took my first steps in to cider making. And fairly successful it was too. I recommend having a go. I've been looking forward this year to scooping up the windfalls and picking the ripe fruit to make ciders and juices. more ...
© Getty
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 18: One revolution at a time
My Achilles tendons are sore and I have a vague feeling I'm still on the move.
But the first ever Big Green Bike Ride is over. More than 100 people set out from a north London park on 6 May. About 30 of us rolled into Edinburgh 6 days later - to an unexpected cheer from the terrace of that city's splendid Dynamic Earth building. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
How will you help save the bee?
Even in the relentless May drizzle, the wildflower roof garden here at Friends of the Earth is looking spectacular. Most importantly, it's helping protect dozens of bee species, right in the beating heart of London.
We're asking people across Britain to help save the bee in whatever way they can - and we like to play our part too. Our rooftop hanging baskets and potted wildflowers show you can turn an urban office block into a safe haven for bees. more ...
© Istock
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 17: Wind, wheels and natural power
My silence on this blog for the past few days is down to poor internet connections as the Big Green Bike Ride has made its way north from London. But I just know you've been glued to our progress on Facebook and Twitter.
Tonight about 30 of us are taking a break from camping and are snug in a hotel in Great Stainton, near Darlington.
We've cycled more than 300 miles in four days and are over half way to our destination - Edinburgh on Friday.
Too much to tell in one post but here's just one story from the first four days. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
Adam's cycle challenge. Stage 16: We're off and pedalling to Edinburgh
My legs are burning a bit and my backside is sore in a couple of places. But I feel well fed and among friends here in Cambridge. We're camping overnight after the first day of the Big Green Bike Ride.
More than 100 of us left a north London park early this morning - from the lycra clad elite to the baggy track-suited day riders. From teens upwards. Our director, volunteers, local group members, newcomers.
A year in the planning and the Big Green Bike Ride is here at last. 63 miles down, only 450 to go to Edinburgh.
A few of us will wake at 6 in the morning, take down our tents and head for the next stop - Grantham. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
10 ways to recycle padded envelopes
I've recently discovered the joys of internet clothes shopping. I know, I know - about eight years after everyone else. A lovely red jumper from eBay has helped me get over my worries about it being too easy to fritter away money without even leaving the house.
But with the fun of receiving parcels comes the issue of how to recycle padded envelopes. My new click-happy habit means they're starting to stack up.
The 100% paper ones can go in the recycling box. But not those containing bubble wrap - which is most of them.
Fortunately, the recycling ninjas at Friends of the Earth have helped me come up with plenty of ways to re-use Jiffy bags. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
If you think Kinder Trespass is a plastic egg, read this
Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone on BBC Radio 6 is my favourite music programme, so I was intrigued when my colleague Rita handed me Never Mind the Quantocks (David & Charles, 2012, £10.99).
It seems the DJ's thirst for the offbeat isn't restricted to vinyl. Since the late 1980s he's hiked in just about every crag, cranny and backwater of the British Isles. more ...
A bee-friendly garden. Part 2: What a slagheap in Wales did for my bee plans
I'm just back from a lovely, chaotic family holiday in Wales in a beautiful cottage in the hills by Lake Vyrnwy (pronounced "vernwee"). There the trees are still only just waking up and, as yet, the bees are few and far between.
On the way home we visited the fantastic Centre for Alternative Technology, for a boost of inspiration. I recommend it highly. A few decades back a bunch of forward-thinkers transformed a Welsh slagheap in to a thriving community. Since then it's been leading the way in developing new green thinking. It has an amazing centre for the public to visit, engage with, learn at and enjoy. more ...
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 15: Raising money with song
My latest fundraising scheme for the Big Green Bike Ride is a bit Cyrano de Bergerac. I have a big nose and I'm writing songs to commission.
It all started at Valentine's. I was getting a bit desperate - not for love (honest) - but to pull in the sponsorship money.
I offered to write songs for colleagues who wanted a special Valentine's gift for the object of their love or lust. They seemed to like what I did enough to recommend the service to mates.
Now I have a growing order book. But I'm hungry for more.
So if you're stumped for a gift for a friend or family member at a birthday, anniversary, retirement or even a funeral - here's the deal. more ...
How to campaign? You tell me.
Many moons ago I worked at CND where I ran a campaign against the militarisation of space. You might think that sounds interesting or a bit Star Wars. In fact we called it the Star Wars campaign.
It was interesting. But shortly after I started, the attack on the World Trade Centre meant people got interested in events closer to home than space - Iraq. more ...
Watch our bee garden spring up overnight
Check this little video out. It tells the story of how we launched our new bee campaign, The Bee Cause.
Can't get the tune out of your head now? Me neither.
Distract yourself by signing our very important petition asking David Cameron to commit to a bee action plan. Thanks. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
The buzz about The Bee Cause
Guess what? Friends of the Earth is running a bees campaign. I know, I know we've done our best to keep it quiet but these things just get out. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 14: Economic value of the bee
'Swarm out today. (That cost me 10p.) My colleague Rita has set up a swear box for the bees in the office. Make a bee-related pun - which seems to be an irresistible feature of our charismatic fuzzy friends - and you have to put 10p in the box. more ...
Keeping bees. Part 4: Swarming
April is the start of the busiest time of year for experienced beekeepers. It's when their bees could swarm leaving a half empty hive.
Swarming is the honey bees' natural way of propagating, creating two colonies from one.
The queen and half her colony of worker bees leave the hive in search of a new home. They leave behind young bees to raise a new virgin queen and develop a new colony.
Swarming is a spectacular sight as darting bees fill the sky before clustering in the shape of a rugby ball on a nearby post or branch as a temporary resting site. more ...
Life after 40
One of the distinguishing features I love most about Friends of the Earth is the way people are hard-wired into our approach to campaigning.
We are a genuine movement of people taking action at every level: nationally, in communities up and down the country, and on the global stage as part of an international federation.
For us it's about more than a quest for supporter numbers. At heart we believe that the best way to achieve our vision of a new, positive relationship between people and the planet will be the collective efforts of people - in government, in business, in communities. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
Supporter of the week: Esmie Ricks
To celebrate Friends of the Earth's 40th anniversary, I've been talking to some of the supporters who've made it all possible.
And now with Esmie Ricks (right), I've reached the end of a journey where I've interviewed 40 remarkable people.
All of them give their time, money or both for the environment.
And it's because of thousands of people like them that Friends of the Earth's work is possible.
"I remember getting involved in the 1980s when I retired," says Esmie.
"My husband and I went to a meeting in a grotty little room in a pub. more ...
© Charles Glover
Welcome back to my family garden, my Tawny Mining Bee friends
When my partner and I were looking for a house together in Warrington last year we used this basic approach to house-hunting: find the biggest garden we can with the money we have, then make sure there is sufficient house attached to it.
We found just what we hoped for, and me, my partner, my three step-children and our new baby (not to mention the dog, cat and gerbils) have been there about a year now. Out in the garden we've introduced an edible hedge, hens, a pond and woodland area (it's not big enough for an actual woodland sadly) - all as part of our plan to create an organic, wildlife-friendly and family-friendly garden. more ...
Going Swiss - camping out with Young Friends of the Earth
You'd think that an energetic snowboarding holiday surrounded by the beauty of the snow, mountains and trees in the Swiss Alps would be enough excitement for one year. But as soon as it ended last Saturday, I grabbed my bags and jumped on the train to join the second half of the Young Friends of the Earth gathering in Zollikofen, north of Switzerland.
After a few unplanned detours I arrived at base camp - a converted barn nestling amongst some trees by a river - and tucked into a delicious home-cooked veggie meal with some new friends from Croatia and Lithuania. more ...
© Paul Daly
Worried about disappearing bees? Get busy with us.
What a week it's been. We're working very hard in the run-up to the launch of our exciting new bees campaign. Working like busy bees you might say. Let me tell you, it's pun-tastic times at bee campaign planning meetings...
Anyway, the team thought it might be fun to put me in front of a camera and to be honest, spending some time away from my desk on our sunny office rooftop wasn't too much of a hardship. Here's what came out of it, a little video message from me. more ...
© Istock
People and Environment Achievement Awards
In the atmospheric Bankside Vaults under London's Blackfriars Bridge, the People and Environment Achievement Awards took place on 21 March.
As charity partner Friends of the Earth benefitted from the eco-fuelled fun. more ...
My morning at Downing Street
What better place for an environmental campaigner to spend a beautiful spring morning than Downing Street itself? That's where I found myself today handing in a Final Demand petition to David Cameron.
I'd never been to Downing Street before so was pretty excited. As we stood outside No.10, our box packed with more than 30,000 signatures calling for an end to the Big Six energy companies' dominance, I was taking it all in.
It was fun just being there. I got a genuine buzz when the famous door opened and we handed over the box. more ...
© Friends of the Earth
Supporter of the week: Samuel Hillier
To celebrate Friends of the Earth's 40th anniversary, I've been talking to some of the supporters who've made it all possible.
Samuel Hillier (right) is campaigning for Friends of the Earth while still at school.
"I got into environmental issues after someone came to our school to give a talk. It was after the [Gulf of Mexico] oil spill. It was passed off as a maths talk, about buying and selling crude oil, but it felt like propaganda.
"I contacted Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace and handed out leaflets at school. I turned vegan a year and a half ago, and I volunteer in a charity shop. more ...
© Charles Glover
Is it good to feed the birds?
This striking shot of Red Kites, by Guy Edwardes, has prompted a flurry of responses from readers of Friends of the Earth's magazine Earthmatters. Most wanted to get hold of a print. Some asked if it's good to feed the birds. more ...
Saving money on energy bills
When you've already put on three jumpers, it's hard to know what else you can do to save on energy bills. (It's also hard to bend your arms.)
But after a winter of carefully monitoring our heating and hiding under a tartan blanket to watch TV, we've still been landed with a massive gas bill.
So it was worrying to learn yesterday that household fuel bills are likely to rise while our energy suppliers rely on expensive gas that we import from dodgy parts of the world. more ...
© Janetmck
Supporter of the week: Roger Ross
To celebrate Friends of the Earth's 40th anniversary, I've been talking to some of the supporters who've made it all possible.
Roger Ross (right), supports Friends of the Earth's environmental campaigning from the world of business.
"I've been in the auction business for over 30 years - I'm director of Lots Road Auctions in London - and still find it exciting. I'm attracted to the chaos.
"Since the early 90s, we've donated part of our income to charities, including Friends of the Earth.
I don't know exactly how much [I've given], because I've never added it up, but definitely more than £5m. more ...
© Charles Glover
Supporter of the week: Baroness Bryony Worthington
To celebrate Friends of the Earth's 40th anniversary, I've been talking to some of the supporters who've made it all possible. Baroness Bryony Worthington (right) promotes changes in public attitudes to the environment, and action to tackle climate change.
"I was appointed to the House of Lords as a Labour peer a week before my son was born. I got the call while I was in hospital.
"It's an interesting time to be there. It feels like an unexpected privilege, so I want to do something useful with it.
"Climate change has been my area of expertise since I joined Friends of the Earth in 2000 to head its climate change campaign. more ...
© Charles Glover
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 13: A choice between cheating and eating
I was tempted to do a Prince Harry last weekend. If you missed it, the young contender beat Usain Bolt in a sprint by setting off when the Olympic champ wasn't looking.
On Saturday I wolfed down breakfast, got on my bike and headed out of London. If I'd kept going I'd have hit Cambridge 8 weeks ahead of the pack on Friends of the Earth's Big Green Bike Ride. more ...
Adam's bike challenge. Stage 12: You are not alone
My least favourite question right now is: "How's the training going?" Because it's not going very well. Not very well at all.
In about 8 weeks I'm getting on a bike to cycle the 500 miles from London to Edinburgh in 6 days.
When I committed to this I fondly imagined that by now I'd be merrily doing at least a hundred miles a week. more ...
01 Mar - Supporter of the week: Kate Eldridge - Hannah Booth
22 Feb - Supporter of the week: Ron Cook - inventor of the bottle bank? - Hannah Booth
22 Feb - The answer is blowing in the wind - Neil Verlander
16 Feb - Supporter of the week: Rachna Shah - Hannah Booth
09 Feb - Supporter of the week: Dr John Hemming - Hannah Booth
09 Feb - Keeping bees. Part 2: Getting the right kit - Alison Benjamin
03 Feb - Supporter of the week: Jonathon Porritt - Hannah Booth
01 Feb - Bike Dynamics - Louise Gebbett
31 Jan - Oh, what a night. Celebrating green business - Beth Dawson
31 Jan - Livia Firth and the green carpet - Amy Golledge
26 Jan - Supporter of the week: John Crocker, organic grower - Hannah Booth
25 Jan - Mark Wood reflects on reaching South Pole - Phil Byrne
23 Jan - Will anyone lend me a green new year's resolution? - Rich Hines
23 Jan - Free learning and training in 2012 - Tim Gee
23 Jan - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 11: The God particle and fundraising ideas - Adam Bradbury
19 Jan - Keeping bees - our new blog - Alison Benjamin
19 Jan - Supporter of the week: Stanley Knill - Hannah Booth
13 Jan - Our solar victory - and why we're back in court - Oliver Hayes
12 Jan - Supporter of the week: Pete Wilkinson - Hannah Booth
10 Jan - Mark Wood wombles to the South Pole - Phil Byrne
10 Jan - Polar explorer hits his deadline. Will we? - Adam Bradbury
05 Jan - Losing the Christmas muffin top the green way - Katharine Tatum
05 Jan - Supporter of the week: Suzannah Evans - Hannah Booth
05 Jan - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 10: Cycle 500 miles in 6 days - it's a breeze - Adam Bradbury
29 Dec - Hurry - last chance to enter holiday competition - Louise Gebbett
27 Dec - Too many mince pies? - Louise Gebbett
22 Dec - Enter now to be judged by green business gurus - Beth Dawson
20 Dec - Our solar legal case: why we're in court - Oliver Hayes
20 Dec - Christmas doesn't need to cost the Earth - if you're crafty - Katharine Tatum
19 Dec - Supporter of the week: Kendra Ullyart - Hannah Booth
16 Dec - Supporter of the Week: Amyan Macfadyen - Hannah Booth
16 Dec - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 9: Don8 via text - Adam Bradbury
16 Dec - Yorkshire Dales - win the perfect weekend retreat - Louise Gebbett
14 Dec - Badly Drawn Boy, Tim Minchin - and other exclusive backstage videos - Amy Golledge
14 Dec - Supporter of the week: John Fulljames - Hannah Booth
14 Dec - Christmas shopping: love it or hate it? - Melanie Kramers
09 Dec - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 8: Not as tough as skiing the frozen planet - Adam Bradbury
07 Dec - Supporter of the week: Dina Baird - Hannah Booth
02 Dec - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 7: Free audio books while you cycle - Adam Bradbury
01 Dec - Supporters of the week: Nigel and Margaret Woodward - Hannah Booth
24 Nov - Supporter of the week: Ali Abbas - Hannah Booth
23 Nov - The Hunger Games - my thoughts - Amy Golledge
23 Nov - Backstage with Greg Davies - Amy Golledge
22 Nov - BBC sells Frozen Planet without climate change episode - Marie Reynolds
22 Nov - We laughed, they laughed... even the polar bear laughed - Amy Golledge
18 Nov - Feeding the 5000 in Trafalgar Square - Sarah Allan
17 Nov - Supporter of the week: Susan Poupard - Hannah Booth
17 Nov - The 99%: Why Occupy matters to us all - Neil Kingsnorth
17 Nov - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 6: The sweet glow of watching the cash roll in - Adam Bradbury
16 Nov - Pedal power - 5 top health reasons to cycle - Louise Gebbett
10 Nov - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 5: My best fundraising ideas - Adam Bradbury
09 Nov - Supporter of the week: Codes in the Clouds - Hannah Booth
09 Nov - Good news. Russell Howard returns - Amy Golledge
09 Nov - Environmental education: Earth Course breaks new ground - Tim Gee
07 Nov - Has Panorama fallen for some dodgy figures? - Nicky Stocks
04 Nov - How Boris got me on my bike - Abby Rudland
04 Nov - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 4: Soreness and saddles for long distance cycling - Adam Bradbury
03 Nov - Supporter of the week: Susie Hewson - Hannah Booth
02 Nov - The Thrifty Forager, by Alys Fowler - book review - Adeela Warley
01 Nov - Wind turbines of change - Nicky Stocks
26 Oct - Dishing up some great recipe ideas for the British winter - Amelia Collins
21 Oct - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 3: Do I need a new bike for long distance? - Adam Bradbury
21 Oct - Clever comedy - Amy Golledge
20 Oct - Supporter of the week: Walt Patterson - Hannah Booth
19 Oct - Fracking in Lancashire - a village-eye view - Andy Atkins
19 Oct - Apples for storing - Dominic Murphy
17 Oct - View from the streets: live launch of our new Final Demand campaign - Melanie Kramers
13 Oct - Supporter of the week: Steve Bell - Hannah Booth
13 Oct - Adam's bike challenge. Stage 2: Why I'm buying a new cycle helmet - Adam Bradbury
13 Oct - Hoarders anonymous: how one person's trash is another's treasure - Melanie Kramers
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