…………was very satisfying and enjoyable. There were upwards of 30 people from various Friends Groups from across Nottinghamshire and it was great to host the event in this year of the Green Flag for Peafield Park.

The company was good, the groups’ news updates were informative, the lunch was tastey and the walk around Peafield Park was health-giving and rewarding. The sun shone for us,   Ludborough Walk Community Centre was the perfect venue and everyone said they had enjoyed it. 

I must give particular thanks to Councillor Jill Usher who manned the tea-pot and the coffee cups with aplomb and even did all the washing up. Thanks also to the Greenwood Team for their meticulous planning, making the event go smoothly.

…….A team of youngsters undertook Restorative Justice yesterday on the park, picking litter in lieu of fines for various offences. In the company of two Neighbourhood Wardens they repaid their fines by way of litter-picking.

A good scheme, which has the added beneficial effect of teaching kids the error of their ways, whether it is under-age drinking, littering or other misdemeanour.

Friends of Peafield Park are hosting the Greenwood Friends Forum tomorrow so this litter pick in the park is well-timed; when we take our walk in the park, it will be good to show off how clean and tidy it is, so ‘thanks’ to the team of workers.

….wind farms would be capable of providing up to 15% of the world’s future energy needs.

Once windmills are installed, wind can be converted to electricity inexpensively. But not everyone likes wind farms.  Some feel that the giant blades mar scenic views; they can kill birds and bats, particularly if they are located on a ‘flight path’. To minimise these risks, one solution would be to place wind farms in the ocean rather than merely off-shore. Winds tend to blow more strongly over the ocean than over land.

This could be the perfect answer to the planet’s dwindling resources. There is, after all, a finite amount of natural energy available to mankind and I really don’t like the idea of nuclear power plants springing up all over the world. Apart from the problem of disposing of nuclear waste, we have to beware the threat posed by some powers that have nuclear capabilities.

Wind farms are so pure, don’t you agree? There is something so graceful about the windmills and they cause so little spoiling of nature. Some people argue against them, but if we don’t move forward we shall end up without power.

What if we had refused to acknowledge and embrace the internal combustion engine? ……. OK, I have to agree that horse-drawn loads are so much more pleasing to the eye then the endless trains of heavy haulage vehicles on our roads. (The waste product was also rather more useful than nuclear waste!)

There must be a solution to the world’s eternal need for power supplies and until a better answer is found, I will go with the wind farm.

….Peafield Park has been successful in its bid for the prestigious Green Flag. All the hard work and dedication by Friends of Peafield Park and local Councillors has paid off and we intend to celebrate!!!!! We missed out last year, but with the guidance of Kathryn, MDC’s Parks Development Officer, we managed it at our second attempt.

The Green Flag for parks is the equivalent of the Blue Flag awarded to beaches which  reach a level of excellence in their category. We are all so thrilled to have done it, but we have to keep up the good work - 2009 is just around the corner!

……some very happy faces.

There is a young sapling on Litton Road on the approach to Peafield School which has been stripped of all its bark, right up to its  lowest branches. (Double-click on the pic to enlarge it) If you saw who did this to this piece of Mother Nature’s art, contact me or the Police. This beautiful tree will now die and I think it is such a shame; I love trees with a passion (in fact on the quiet I am a bit of a tree-hugger!) and find it   difficult to sit on MDC’s Planning Committee and pass judgment on planning applications which involve the felling of trees. However, as a responsible member of the Committee I have to apply the planning considerations by which we are bound by law and bear in mind the rules set out by Central Government.

It’s not an easy task, I might add but it’s one that has to be done, like it or not.

Commenting on reports that biofuels have pushed up world food prices by up to 75%, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker said:

“This is extremely worrying and a clear sign that we must move away from unsustainable biofuels.

“It’s time the Government and the EU closed the loopholes that support corn-based US bioethanol over more sustainable biofuels.

“However, not all biofuels are the same and we should not overreact and abandon the entire project.

“Some biofuels have potential to reduce carbon emissions from transport without having this effect on food production, but stringent sustainability standards are essential.

“We must also be aware that estimates of the effects of biofuels on food prices vary wildly and we should not rush to judgement until a consensus emerges.”

……..of this beautiful planet? Is it a sign of global warming that in my garden there are no longer sparrows with five or six fledglings, no large family groups of blackbirds or starlings? This lack of fledgling birds is quite a worrying trend and not one confined to my garden. The only bird that appears to be  ’holding its own’ in numbers is the goldfinch, of which I have a family of seven visiting on a regular basis. This may be due to the fact that there is an abundant supply of sunflower hearts in the garden!

To encourage ground feeders I have taken to putting out mealworms and the blackbirds are slowly coming back, but they are so territorial that they generally come one at a time, or a fight ensues! It is, though, a positive age since I saw a thrush in my garden. I have seen and heard them in Whinney Hill Woodland along with other varieties of bird. It’s well worth a walk in the woods; there is so much birdlife down there.

If you are concerned about the effects of global warming, you can sign up to the petition, by clicking on the link button at right of screen.

…Wednesday I had a letter printed in Chad, our local newspaper, bemoaning the thuggery which was partly to blame for the demolition of Bath Mill, because vandals had turned an already ‘at risk’ building into one which had become so unsafe the only option was to demolish it.

Then, on Thursday at the Greenwood Awards Ceremony, I met the inspirational youngsters who were at one with nature, helping with various projects as members of Friends Groups, to protect and improve the open spaces in our area. They were no less boisterous than your average teenager, but thanks to the encouragement from older volunteers their enthusiasm for life was channelled into making a difference to our parks, riverbanks and local nature reserves.

Being able to present awards to the winners, who were aged from 9 years old to 80 years old was a genuine honour. Winners came from the length and breadth of Nottinghamshire to meet at Rufford Park and I hope to have some photos of the occasion, which I shall post later.

…microchips on waste bins…whatever next?

Some UK local authorities are piloting a scheme whereby microchips are placed in waste bins to weigh the amount of rubbish thrown away. This is so that householders can be charged for the amount of rubbish they throw away. Now we learn that there are glitches in the workings of the ‘chips’ resulting in householders paying over the odds for the removal of their rubbish. This is in addition to the Council Tax, which I thought was supposed to include the cost of waste disposal.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I only throw away in my green household waste bin anything that I can’t recycle, such as cat litter, fire ashes, non-recyclable plastics, food waste which I can’t compost and newspapers that I have used to wrap cat litter. I have a box in my outhouse with glass bottles in it, another with old clothes.

Where will it end? Don’t you just occasionally wish for a return to the days when our bin men carried a metal dustbin on his shoulder, right from the backyard to the wagon on the street? We now have larger bins which we still manage to fill; green, blue and brown ones. Upon whose shoulders do we place the blame for all this waste?  Is it the consumer? The manufacturer? The shop? What do you say when asked ‘do you need a bag for that?’

Try saying ‘No thanks, I have brought a bag with me’. See the look of shock on their faces!! It’s worth it!