Going Green Podcast, Video blog and Daily News

  Sustainable Gardening: How to Turn Even a Tiny Plot into an Eco Oasis No matter how small your garden is, it can still pack a powerful green punch. 🏡 Small Garden, Big Impact You don’t need a country estate to garden sustainably. In fact, with a bit of planning, even the tiniest garden (or patio or balcony) can become a climate-friendly haven for wildlife, food, and your sanity . Let’s break it down. 🌿 Step 1: Ditch the “Perfect” Lawn Swap out: Water-guzzling, mow-every-week grass For: Clover lawns Mini wildflower patches Or even… no lawn at all Let nature in — and the bees will follow. 🍅 Step 2: Grow Something You Can Eat Yes, even in containers! Try: Cherry tomatoes in a pot Herbs on a sunny windowsill Salad leaves in a shallow trough Strawberries in hanging baskets Growing food = fewer food miles, less packaging, and something tasty for dinner. 💧 Step 3: Water the Smart Way Use a water butt to collect rainwater Mulch...

  Where Have All the Sparrows Gone? How to Help the UK’s Struggling Garden Birds Pigeons are winning the air war. But it’s not too late to support the underbirds. 🕊️ The Changing Chorus Not long ago, the cheerful chirping of sparrows was part of every morning. Now? You’re more likely to hear the cooing of a pigeon, or the high-speed squabble of starlings fighting over chips. The House Sparrow , once one of Britain’s most common birds, has seen a sharp population decline — dropping by nearly 70% since the 1970s. Meanwhile, urban-tough species like pigeons, magpies, and gulls are thriving. But it’s not just sparrows — species like greenfinches , song thrushes , and linnets are also struggling. 🌍 Why Is This Happening? Some key reasons: 🏗️ Loss of nesting sites due to modern building designs 🌾 Agricultural intensification reducing insect numbers 🚫 Pesticides wiping out food sources 🧼 Overly tidy gardens with little shelter or seed 🪟 Predation and win...

  Why Weeds Might Be the Best Gardeners Dandelions, clover, and the rebellious charm of a lawn that refuses to be tamed. 🌿 Let’s Talk About Weeds... You know the ones. Dandelions popping up like tiny golden suns. Clover carpeting your lawn like nature’s velvet. And you — muttering “not again” as you reach for the strimmer. But here’s the truth: not all weeds are villains . Some are the unsung heroes of the garden. 🦸‍♀️ Meet the Good Guys 🍀 Clover Fixes nitrogen in the soil — fertiliser for free! Stays green even in droughts Feeds pollinators with sweet little flowers Feels amazing under bare feet 🌼 Dandelions Deep taproots break up compacted soil Bring nutrients up from the depths One of the first early food sources for bees Entirely edible: leaves, flowers, and roots 🚫 But Aren’t They Weeds? It all depends on your definition. A weed is just a plant in the wrong place. If you want a perfectly manicured monoculture of grass, yes —...

  Shopping Locally vs Ordering Online: What’s Greener (and What’s Just Easier)? Because sometimes the carbon footprint is hiding in the cardboard. 🥦 The Dilemma Do you: Walk to the high street and support your lovely local shop? Or click a button and wait for the van to arrive while still in your dressing gown? Both have their appeal. But which one is actually better for the planet? 📦 The Case for Online Shopping Let’s be fair — online ordering can be more efficient, especially when: Delivery routes are optimised (one van, many homes = fewer emissions per parcel) You avoid multiple car trips for single items Products are shipped from local warehouses rather than flown halfway across the planet But… One-click convenience often comes with not-so-convenient packaging and air miles. 🛒 The Case for Shopping Locally Walking or cycling to your local shop is: ✅ Zero-emissions (aside from huffing and puffing uphill) ✅ Supports your community economy ...

  To Tree or Not to Tree: Carbon Offsets at Home We decided to grow a few trees… but made sure they paid rent — in fruit. 🌍 The Big Idea: Carbon Offsetting at Home Let’s face it — we all have a carbon footprint. And while we can reduce, reuse, and rant at the telly, some emissions are harder to dodge (looking at you, streaming in 4K, and the occasional cheese binge). So we thought, “Why not plant some trees?” But not just any trees... 🍏 Our Offset Plan: Go Fruity or Go Home Instead of ornamental trees that just stand there looking smug, we went with: Apple Trees 🍎 Pear Trees 🍐 A couple of Plums (because why not?) Fruit Cherry Trees (because as well as the flowers we get the fruit) Because: ✅ They absorb CO₂ ✅ They provide food ✅ They encourage biodiversity (hello bees!) ✅ And they taste a lot better than a carbon calculator It’s carbon offsetting with snacks . 🤔 How Many Trees Do You Need to Offset Your Life? Let’s not pretend planting one...

  🪢 Introducing the Ultimate Eco Innovation: The Clothesline™ 🌞 Now with 100% Solar & Wind Power 🧺 Zero Running Costs. Zero Regrets. ❝The Future of Laundry Drying… was in your garden all along.❞ Fed up with power-hungry tumble dryers, rising bills, and shrinking socks? Try The Clothesline™ — the original, fully passive, whisper-quiet, ultra-low-emissions drying solution. ✅ Features Include: Advanced WindTech™ – Powered by actual breezes SolarDry+™ Panels – Also known as the sun Multi-Garment Support Grid™ – Up to 40 socks per cycle! 100% Natural Fragrance Infusion – That “smells like outside” smell Real-Time Moisture Monitoring – Just touch it with your hand 💚 Eco Stats: Energy use: 0.000 kWh per load Carbon emissions: None Maintenance: A bit of string and two pegs 🛒 Order now for: 💸 £0 per hour to operate 📦 Free delivery (because it’s just string) 🪁 Bonus: Also doubles as a kite line in a pinch 🧙‍♂️ Real Custo...