Tags: Janine Starling | Peterborough Environment City Trust

The Greeniversity team were very honoured to be invited to speak at NIACE’s Adult and Community Learning conference which took place at Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk on the 21st September 2010.

Greeniversity developed a really good relationship with NIACE, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, during the Transformation funded part of the project and this is something that the team have been really keen to develop.

At the conference we were given a really good opportunity to shout about the Greeniversity’s success to other’s from around the Eastern Region who are also engaged in informal adult learning.

We were able to tell them about all the great courses we have on offer and about our wonderful teachers and how the Greeniversity is really helping to grow a community of informed people with sustainable skills in our city, the home of the UK’s Environment Capital. They were really impressed by the Varity of classes we have on offer and were keen to hear about our foraging courses which have been particularly popular.

It was also a really great time for us to reflect on our successes, to be proud of our Adult learner John Garton who won a regional award earlier this year, to tell a large audience about the Highly commended award we won at the National Charity Awards and the Green Apple award we are going to be collecting in Westminster this November.

Of course none of this would be possible without the great support we have from all out partners and most of all our members so a big thank you to everyone who has helped Greeniversity become such a great success we couldn’t do it without you!

Tags: Janine Starling | Peterborough Greeniversity | Karen Lawrence

The first Love Local cooking demonstrations were a real success for PECT’s Love Local team.  The demonstrations, which took place in Peterborough’s newly refurbished cathedral square, allowed the Trust's Janine Starling to put her fabulous cookery skills to the test when she demonstrated how to cook some great seasonal recipes using locally sourced food. Broad beans on toast, spinach and herb frittata and rhubarb and strawberry compote were the featured recipes which were wolfed down eagerly by an army of school children and passersby.

The benefits of eating local food which is in season extend far beyond the good value these products prove to be, especially if they are bought from one of the city’s markets. When you buy local not only are you saving food miles, supporting local farmers and helping the British economy you are eating the most nutritious and tasty food when it was made to be eaten. Who wants winter strawberries that taste of water? Not me!

The next Love Local demonstrations take place on Monday 16th August at Fulbridge rec as part of a healthy BBQ event. I’m really pleased with this theme as it coincides with the Greeniversity course, BBQ heaven, which I taught a few weeks ago at the city college. A good BBQ has all the usual meats, fish & quorn products but a great BBQ is made by the quality of its salads!

So if you want to know how to make a salsa, a great couscous salad or Janine’s famous beetroot salad join me Monday morning (16/08/10) at Fulbridge rec.
Yum, yum, yum,

Tags: Greeniversity | food | Janine Starling | Love Local | Karen Lawrence

I have been living in my new home for eight months and I have been very busy making changes, hence the lack of blog posts!

To update, I wanted to write about my experiences of moving into a new home, whilst trying to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

 

Loft insulation...

The Energy Saving Trust recommends that we should insulate our lofts to a depth of 270mmand in doing so we can save ourselves £150 per year.

If everyone in the UK installed 270mm loft insulation, we could save around £520 million and nearly three million tonnes of CO2 every year. That's enough to fill Wembley Stadium nearly 380 times.

When we moved in our loft had very little insulation so we decided to do a DIY job and top it up. This will save us £45 a year.

We bought insulation quilt from a DIY store and laid it ourselves. Although it seems a relatively effortless job at first, it takes a little more exertion than you may think. The idea is quite simple, lay the quilt horizontally in-between the joists, but it is a little more time consuming and harder work (being in a tight space for a long time) than you first think.

It is essential to wear gloves and masks when handling the insulation quilt. Another important point of consideration is spot lighting – we have these in our bathroom. Covering them in insulation might result in them overheating. We got around this problem by building small boxes with vents.

I would definitely recommend insulating your loft (or topping up insulation) not just to save money or for environmental reasons but to keep warm - we could actually feel the house was warmer.

Insulation top tips:

• Consult a DIY manual before insulating your loft
• Look out for the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo on the insulation material your buy
• Remember to insulate your pipes, water tank and loft hatch too
• If you don’t want to insulate yourself call the Energy Saving Trust 0800 512 012 for advice about insulation grants

Tags: Do your bit for the environment | Janine Starling

On Tuesday 19th January I had the privilege of accepting PECT's Travel Plan Award.
 

We achieved level 5, which recognises employers who have managed to integrate their travel plan into the culture of their organisation.

To achieve this award PECT delivered a series of measures to encourage staff to travel more sustainably to and from work and during work hours. These measures included:

• Participating in national travel events, for example, walk to work week
• Promotion of the local car share scheme
• Promote the use of staff bicycle and trailer
• Ask staff that already travel sustainably to calculate cost savings made by choosing this mode of transport (compared to driving)

At the end of the year PECT staff completed a survey which aimed to test whether the measures put in place have been successful in lowering car use. The number of staff driving alone had decreased (compared to 2008 figures) to 33%. This is a great figure but I am sure next year we can make it ever lower!

If you are interested in having a Travel Plan for your organisation contact the Travelchoice team.  

 

 

 

Tags: Janine Starling | Travel Plan | Peterborough Environment City Trust

As part of PECT’s Travel Plan five members of staff decided to calculate how much money they save by using sustainable modes of transport when travelling to and from work.

Nyree, Rachel, Patrick, Sarah and I save a total of £3,118 each year by choosing to walk, cycle, car share or take the train rather than driving to work.

For me saving money was a bonus to the other benefits I get from cycling and getting the train to work. I love the fact that I get my daily exercise by cycling everyday, plus it wakes you up so I get to work and get home from work with lots of energy. Getting the train gives me time to read or listen to music and is certainly less stressful than sitting in traffic queues.

For those who have never heard of a Travel Plan before it is a package of measures that aim to reduce reliance on the car by emphasising the alternatives. PECT, with support from Peterborough City Council’s Travelchoice team, has been working on its Travel Plan since 2005. In one year PECT staff have reduced their car usage by 5%, while walking, car sharing and train use have all increased.

Other measures that PECT has implemented since its Travel Plan began include: purchasing a staff bike and bike trailer, undercover bike racks, encouraging working from home and staff getting involved in national travel events. One hugely successful event was In Town Without My Car day. PECT staff were treated to breakfast if they left their car at home, 53% of staff took part. This has now become an annual event.

If your business would like a Travel Plan contact the Travelchoice team.

PECT top tips for sustainable travel:

• Calculate how much you would save by using an alterative mode of transport to and from work.
• Start small – if you choose to walk or cycle as your preferred method of sustainable transport start small, one day a week to begin with and increase it over time.
• If you are interested in car sharing log onto the Peterborough car share website.

Tags: Janine Starling | Peterborough Environment City Trust | Travel Plan | Climate change

Tuesday was a slightly surreal day for me as I ended up cooking dinner for Jonathon Porritt! But I can't take all the credit for the food as my role mainly involved chopping, mixing and dishing up!

The reason for Jonathon Porritt, greatly admired environmentalist and writer, visiting Peterborough was to lead a sustainability masterclass for for City leaders.

It was my mum's catering comany who was hired to serve up a local and seasonal three course meal for the group. I had stepped in last minute to work due to the normal chef falling ill.
 

The whole evening was a success, it seemed as though everyone was enjoying the food and I hear that the masterclass was inspiring.

Hopefully we can get someone who attended the evening to write a blog post.      

  

Tags: Groovy and green | Peterborough Environment Capital | Janine Starling

My Zero Waste is a website all about reduce, reuse, recycle.

It features everything you could ever need to know to drastically cut the amount of waste you produce... 

 

Check out...
 

• 15 ways to use up Pesto Sauce
• Reduce waste from food packaging
• Reuse plastic bottles to keep slugs at bay
  
• One simple step to reduce household waste

 www.myzerowaste.com 

Tags: Janine Starling | Groovy and green