LATEST NEWS
Environment Week Event
Dear All, Our Environment Week event in the St. James Cemetery yesterday [Friday 28th May] was a resounding success. The day started at 7.00 when the gates of the Park were opened for the marquee to set up, portaloo, tables and chairs came shortly after and then workshop presenters with all manner of equipment, aids etc.
With fruit to promote 5 a Day, drinking water from Aquaid to keep all hydrated, presenters were ready and prepared for our schools, who arrived promptly at 9.30.
Schools came from across Merseyside - Widnes, Greasby, Toxteth, Maghull and Aintree, with 150 boys and girls supported by older students acting as marshals from De Savio School, Aintree and Maghull High School everyone was prepared!
John Moores University students 'dressed' as the Mad Scientists provided an opportunity for our younger students to see into the world of soil fauna and learn more about what these remarkable mini beasts do!
Biobank gave an insight into the Flora of Britain and what we need to do conserve and promote our species.
Faiths for Change showed how African Bag Gardens can save water and produce home-grown food.
Read Write, a charity promoting the recycling of books, were on hand to have a Swap Shop.
Year 11 De Savio students helped our young visitors to St. James make feeders for garden birds.
A lesson in plumbing was being given so the enthusiastic audience could get 'hands on' experience on understanding the problems of water conservation in third world countries and finally looking to the future and how we can expect the world to cope with diminishing oil reserves was explored in a game called 'Fly on the Wall'.
With our departing visitors heading back to school at 14.00 hrs we prepared to welcome our supporters, guests from both MET and St. James for our early evening 25th anniversary celebration of MET.
Our President and Founding Member, Grant Luscombe welcomed everyone to the 'party' and spoke of the ethos behind MET, about those who built it with a firm foundation and to those who are still here ensuring its continuity. Today's event demonstrates and reinforces what MET is about: to increase public awareness of present day environmental problems, to ensure that our policy makers are equally aware, join in the discovery, development and formulation of solutions and to achieve this by public meetings and by representations as appropriate.
With the superb sound of Clarinets playing, courtesy of Janet Crossley and friends, we raised a glass and chatted about the future work of MET and the partnership, with those who had come along during the day to say ' Happy Birthday' Merseyside Environmental Trust
The Grey to Green campaign
Green infrastructure does not receive anything like the investment or management that goes into grey infrastructure. CABE's Grey to Green campaign fuels a debate about whether this is smart, given the dangers of climate change and the opportunities to improve public health.
The High Line, New York. Photo by Iwan Baan © 2009.
Parks and gardens, waterways, allotments, tree-lined streets and green roofs can provide a network of green resources. This green infrastructure could be a powerful tool to help towns and cities to adapt to climate change and improve public health.
Yet decades of under-investment in green space services mean there is an urgent need for more people, with the right skills, to manage this living landscape, and turn green features and spaces into a functioning network.
CABE’s Grey to Green campaign is calling for a shift in funding and skills from grey to green infrastructure. This means moving a proportion of investment in projects like road building and heavy engineering to networks of green spaces to provide flood protection and cut carbon emissions.
The Grey to Green campaign is supported by 13 organisations including English Heritage, Green Space, Keep Britain Tidy, Landscape Institute, Landex, Lantra, Homes and Communities Agency, Institute of Groundsmanship, Institute of Parks and Green Space, Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure, Royal Horticultural Society, Sustrans and Trees for Cities.
Another supporter, landscape designer Dan Pearson, talks us through how creating green infrastructure is not just a technical exercise in environmental engineering.
Find out more about this project at http://www.cabe.org.uk/grey-to-green
HOW CAN I CUT 10%?
For most people cutting 10% of emissions is easy, and usually means saving money on bills in the process.
10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.
To find out more go to www.1010uk.org/
Annual conference of the Energy Saving Trust
Green Communities: Turning ideas into action
Wednesday 25 November 2009, Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool
The conference is FREE to members of Green Communities.
energysavingtrust.org.uk/community
With the launch of Green Communities over the summer, the aim of this year’s conference is to help members turn their ideas into action utilising the full range of services available from the programme.
Guest Speaker: George Marshall, Founder of the Climate Outreach Information Network
Wild Merseyside
By John Dempsey
Discover nature in your own backyard!
Take a walk on the wild side with John Dempsey and discover the enchanting plants, animals and birds found on Merseyside – some of it quite rare!
Wild Merseyside is packed with information to help you find and enjoy the wealth of wildlife in the region.
Featuring a full colour map with 38 key wildlife-spotting locations including Liverpool, Wirral, Southport, Formby and Ormskirk every page is illustrated with incredible colour photographs that bring you the breathtaking beauty of the natural world.
Written with knowledge and passion, journalist John Dempsey’s enthusiasm for the subject make this practical and visually stunning guide a fascinating read for both wildlife fanatics and novices alike.
Sometimes the most amazing wildlife can be found right on your doorstep, back garden or neighbourhood Park, it’s just a question of knowing when and where to look.
Leach’s Petrels of Leasowe, Orchids flowering in Sefton’s protected dunes, and Brown Hares speeding across our farmlands – Wild Merseyside has got the lot. Join us on a rich and rewarding journey that will delight families and enthusiasts every day of the year. You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy these treasures.
This glossy and handy sized book is the essential companion for an unforgettable journey of discovery!
About the author
John Dempsey has been watching wildlife on Merseyside for nearly 40 years. At the age of four, being show nestling Whinchats (now sadly long gone) in Hightown’s dune system led to a fascination from an early age.
That, combined with a father who came from rural Ireland, and never lost his love for the outdoors – or respect for it – meant John was truly hooked. And he still is.
He compiled the Daily Post’s popular “Country Matters” column and continues to record and photograph the region’s wildlife online at birdblog.merseyblogs.co.uk.
John explains:
“Witnessing the years turn and the seasons come and go through the
ever-changing tapestry of the natural world is one of the real pleasures of the wildlife-watcher, amateur or professional.
I've been fortunate enough to be able to enjoy this astonishing show on Merseyside for more than 30 years, and it still surprises and enthralls me. I hope "Wild Merseyside" will encourage others to do the same, especially in Liverpool's "Year of the Environment".
The wildlife that lives beside us in this bustling region is no less
remarkable than our cultural or sporting achievements, and this would
seem a particularly good year to get out there and enjoy it!”
Order your copy of Wild Merseyside for only £4.99 from www.merseyshop.com or call 0845 143 0001. Also available from a selection of newsagents and bookshops.
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