Be Nice To Bees – A Plea From Friends of the Earth

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Friends of the Earth, recycle works, save bees, the recycleworks

British bees do a huge amount for wildlife, our food supply and the economy.

And last week thousands of you did a huge amount for bees. 10,000 packets of bee-friendly seeds were snapped up in just 24 hours, creating many new habitats for bees across Britain.

Even if you missed out on the free seeds you can still take action to help bees by calling for a National Bee Action Plan to reverse their decline.

Changes to town planning, farming and our use of pesticides could prevent even more bee species from becoming extinct. The Prime Minister needs a plan to make these changes now.

Together we can save British bees,

Amy & The Bee Cause team

Click Here to sign the Bee Cause Petition 

PS. We already caught the attention of the Deputy PM, Nick Clegg with our stunt in London.

He said “anyone who’s been on the South Bank this morning will have seen Friends of the Earth have turned it into a wildflower meadow to publicise the importance of bees to UK GDP”.

Beach Watch 2011 – How You Can Get Involved

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There’s nothing better than a stroll along the beach – the sand between your toes, the pebbles moving on the tide. But sadly, a walk along many British beaches could see your feet coming into contact with the man-made not the natural.

Beach litter is on the increase – bits of plastic, cotton bud sticks, fishing nets and ropes, cigarette butts, bottle tops, drinks bottles and fast food wrappers – are all there, under your feet. Stemming the rising tide of beach rubbish is what the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch Big Weekend is all about.

Thousands of volunteers take to beaches all around the UK coast on this weekend to clean up and record the rubbish they find. Beachwatch Big Weekend is part of the International Coastal Cleanup which takes place in 80 countries worldwide and the data helps MCS shape it’s beach litter campaigns and keep it on the Government’s agenda.

Beach litter is unsightly and dangerous, wildlife gets caught up in it or can swallow it and die. As beach visitors, we don’t want to sit amongst it.

Take part in the UK’s biggest annual litter survey and beach clean-up organised by the Marine Conservation Society. The Beachwatch Big Weekend takes place on 17-18 September 2011 and relies on thousands of volunteers to help out.

To find out how to get involved, simply click here.

Friends of the Earth Big Green Bike Ride

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Do you fancy a cycling challenge? Friends of the Earth’s Big Green Bike Ride takes place in May 2012, between London and Edinburgh. Join them for just 1 day, or the whole 6 days. Register now, and you could win an Early Bird prize. Click here for more information. Friends of the Earth

We are pretty sure that Kim will do some of this ride. This summer she is planning her 100 mile ride in The Lancashire Loop that she missed out on last year after her knee operation. Lancashire has many hills as well as the occasional flats near the sea. Kim protests that the flat bits are boring!

Love Your Environment!

Big Can Be Better – Buy Larger Containers

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Friends of the Earth, plastic containers, recycle works, recycling

In the UK, we will use an estimated 750 million extra bottles and glass containers, and 500 million extra drink cans, over Christmas. To reduce waste, and possibly save cash too, buy drinks in large containers, rather than lots of small ones, and buy soft drinks in concentrate form to dilute.

And finally, don’t forget to recycle your containers!

Treat Your Greens

Try to wash vegetables in a basin, rather than under a running tap. You’ll be able to pour the dirty water on your garden afterwards rather than see it gurgle down the plughole.

(Friends of the Earth)

Save Money – Check Your Radiators!

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Friends of the Earth suggest we check our radiators – With the arrival of autumn, it’s a good idea to make sure your central heating is working efficiently. Air pockets can build up in radiators, which means they won’t be as warm on the top as they are at the bottom.

You can easily sort this out by ‘bleeding’ the radiator to allow the air to escape. If it’s your first time, search online for guidance on how to do this.

Later on in the week we’ll share with you a really good suggestion that was well followed during the last war!

Love Your Environment!

Slime and Punishment

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Friends of the Earth, recycle works, slug deterrent

Stop hungry slugs from gobbling up home-grown vegetables: sprinkle used coffee grounds on plant beds as a non-toxic deterrent. And remove disused pots and containers from the area – slugs often shelter in these during daylight hours.

Thank you FoE, who sent out this great tip.