Ecological Intelligence

Last night myself, Julie White, and Lisa Northover went to a lecture at Bournemouth University about Ecological Intelligence by Dr Paul Stevens. It was one in a series of the Psychology Research Seminars which they host there.

"Contemporary ideas of intelligence have evolved beyond the early simple notions of IQ tests to include novel components such as Emotional Intelligence and Gardner's concept of Multiple Intelligences. However, all tend to focus on the abilities of the individual to interpret and adapt to or control an external, separate environment – an approach that has strongly influenced the way we view and attempt to deal with global climate change. This seminar will present some ideas as to why we should consider the concept of an ecological intelligence, one that firmly embeds the human mind within its (evolutionary) environment."

It was very interesting...and unless I got the complete wrong end of the stick (which has been known) could be a very powerful tool in promoting ecological good behaviour.... (I wonder what my Ecological IQ would be?)

Le Parkour - Free Running Bournemouth

The other day I was searching YouTube for a good video of some Free Running. There were some really good ones and when I searched Free Running, Bournemouth I found this one...
Imagine my suprise when last night I was introduced to Mike Warner, the guy in the video, at the Sound Circus...and even more suprising (or not?!) he was on crutches after breaking his leg, doing a bit of Free Running no doubt. The pictures of his freshly broken leg were almost as impressive as his Free Running Video...but not quite!!

Fair play........

http://www.frenchlettercondoms.co.uk/

made from fairly traded rubber
Um........need I say more??

Father Christmas in Bournemouth Square

It's Christmas soon!! And it makes me so glad when I look around the place that I don't 'do' Christmas! It's not that I'm a scrooge type that doesn't enjoy anything nice and fun.....but really, find me something nice and fun about the commercialism of Christmas.
I don't mean that I shut the door and turn all the lights off waiting with a loaded shotgun for Father Christmas to tumble out of my fireplace, what I do mean is that you won't catch me queueing in any of the high street shops, plastic card in hand, spending ridiculous amounts of money on mass produced rubbish that the unsuspecting recipient doesn't even want.......
So, look who we found in Bournemouth Square.....it looks like someone already got there with the shot gun idea...and maybe that horrid 'wax dipped teddy' idea wasn't so novel after all - Lisa?
So how did I get on with 'Buy Nothing Day' on Saturday?? well, of course I bought nothing! and did I encourage anyone else to follow suit and scrap commercialism just for one day?? no, of course I didn't!

Breast Enhancing Muesli!!

I was wandering aimlessly around our local Boots store when my eye casually fell upon a box called 'Voluptuo'!! A natural breast enhancing supplement for fuller, firmer and larger breasts in just 10 weeks. (I would like to point out that I was not purposefully looking for this product and am fully secure with the size of most of my body parts.) But on having seen the box I was intrigued as to what was in it!
What about this for an ingredients list......
Hops, Buckwheat, Oats, Malt, Barley, Rye, Wheat, Maize, Soya!!!
Hang on a minute.....I've seen these ingredients before... in the my local wholefood and eco store 'Urban Evolution' of all places!!
In a BAG OF MUESLI!!! well, most of them anyway!
So ladies, stuff the supplements!! Try a nice bowl of muesli (Buckwheat, Oats, Malt, Barley, Rye, Wheat, Maize) with soya milk washed down with a pint of beer (hops) and you men..... um, you'd better watch out if you're the muesli eating, beer swilling type... It's man boobs for you!!

The positive side effects of these supplements as written on the side of the box were: better nail and hair growth and skin condition, better bowel movements, a positive frame of mind and a feeling of improved fitness - says it all doesn't it?? All from a pint of beer and a good breakfast........

How to stay cold and cough free this Winter!!

I hate having a cold! or a cough for that matter and as winter kicks in so too do the runny noses!! I know when winter starts and finishes because my little boy Isaac has a nasty, runny, mostly crusty nose from start to finish. But not this year, hopefully. I am optimistic about beating this cold thing with Postlethwaite's Echinacea spray from Urban Evolution!! Echinacea is a herb that apparently helps boost the immune system although all the studies I've read claim it does nothing of the sort! Bah humbug, I'm trying it anyway!
So I have to spray this very 'interesting' tasting remedy onto my tongue, 5 sprays 5 times a day. So now not only do I spend half the day running after Isaac to wipe his nose I spend the other half chasing him round administering Echinacea!! He's never had so much attention in his life......... I'll let you know how I get on but if anyone else wants to have a go,
try www.ecovenient.co.uk for your own bottle of Postlethwaite's Echinacea Spray.

Buy Nothing Day - Bournemouth

On November 24th 2007 it's Buy Nothing Day, and I was thinking, just how hard is it not to buy anything just for one day? I've just discovered a taste for buying clothes at the moment...but surely i could curb my craving just for one day of the year......
but i've realised its not just about NOT buying anything its about making a statement too... have a look at this link for an few campaign ideas...... http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/
and remember buy your essentials from the Boscombe Wholefood Co-op on Friday 23rd November in Boscombe instead, so you don't get caught out!

Mooncup Madness!!

Ok, if you're a bloke and you don't like thinking, reading, talking periods then stop reading now!! If on the otherhand you are neither a bloke, nor a bloke bothered by all that blood and stuff (pat yourself on the back for getting this far) then carry on..... Have you heard about the mooncup??
What a fabulous invention (obviously by a woman)...let me tell you all about it!
The Mooncup is a reusable menstrual cup around two inches long and made from soft silicone rubber. It is worn internally like a tampon but collects menstrual fluid rather than absorbing. Unlike tampons the Mooncup is not a disposable product, so you only need to buy one.......
I bought one about 8 months ago and I love it, I would recommend every woman have a look at the website and see how good they are. www.mooncup.co.uk
you can also buy them from www.ecovenient.co.uk

Remarkable!!

well, what d'u know? Someone's very cleverly found a use for plastic!! Other than compost bins and polyester fleeces!! Stationary..... I love Stationary, and I've met so many people that do too. Remarkable are a great company that takes plastic things like cups and cd cases that would usually end up in the landfill and instead, turn it into new products that are fun, functional and have a long second life.
Notebooks made out of juice cartons, fancy that!
Whatever next...... pencil cases made out of car tyres?
You can have a gander at the urban evolution website, they sell Remarkable Stationary, as well as loads of other environmentally friendly and fairtrade products. Check it out www.urban-evolution.co.uk

Beans for Health in Boscombe

Can you believe there actually is a 'Beans for Health Alliance'? Their mission is to unite bean enthusiasts and supporters of food-based health interventions around the world to promote the health benefits of beans and other pulses. - Serious stuff eh?
But then i read on...... Why are they wild about beans?
"Dry beans and other pulses are one of the most nutritionally-complete staple foods, inexpensive and widely available."
and well, what'd you know? they are!! and i agree with them!! Coz down at the Boscombe Wholefood Co-op you can get all sorts of beans and pulses and they are so cheap!!
Most beans you have to soak for a while, at least 8 hours or overnight!! And then boil them for ages....the best thing i ever got was a pressure cooker!!! Reduces cooking time to about 15 mins!!!
And a way to make them really tasty?.......try Chiman spices.
They do a really nice Lentil Dahl, Spicy Chickpeas and Bean Curry spice blends. Yummy!

Chicken out Bournemouth!!

I've just been reading about the River Cottage Campaign against intensively reared chickens being sold in our supermarkets and campaigning for stricter regulations on producers of chicken for meat!!

BRITAIN LOVES CHICKEN!
Really loves it... The average Brit eats almost 25 kilos of chicken a year.
More than 850 million broiler chickens are slaughtered every year in the UK.

And of these hundreds of millions of chickens, most of them - more than 95% - are reared inside, produced in industrial conditions in vast, enclosed sheds.
Their lives are pitiful – but at least they’re short...

Standard chickens are now grown from newly hatched chick to oven-ready bird in an astonishing 39 days (40 years ago it used to take 84 days).

In fact, this intensive poultry production is so slick and efficient that chicken is actually cheaper now than it was 20 years ago! In most supermarkets, you can now buy a whole chicken for less than £3...

How can it be so cheap?

A typical chicken shed holds 40,000 birds...
They never set foot outside or see natural light...
They feed round the clock – with as little as one hour of darkness for every 24 hour period...
About 5% die prematurely from heart and lung failure or suffocation in panic-induced mass smothers, or because they are culled on account of their leg injuries....

That’s 45 million factory farmed birds thrown away every year before they even reach slaughter-weight.

They grow fast. And as they grow, their living space – smaller than an A4 sheet of paper for each bird – gets more and more cramped: as they near the end of their short lives, around 17 birds are packed into each square metre.

It’s not nice – but it’s certainly cheap.

And THAT is how Tesco can afford to offer you two whole birds for a fiver...
Or how Asda can sell a whole fresh British chicken for £2. You can go to the link here and read about it
http://www.chickenout.tv/
I wonder if there were many requests our local butcher in Boscombe would get some free range chickens in?? Prob say they're too expensive....

Organic Veg Boxes in Bournemouth

I decided to increase my ( and of course my families) intake of vegetables so rather than pop to the 'oh so convenient' supermarket I decided to order an organic vegetable box from my local wholefood and eco-store "Urban Evolution'. 3 Ashley Road, Boscombe. I chose a £7 Veg bag and got a lovely selection that, to be fair, prob is not enough for a family of 4 but plenty for a single or couple?? They get their veg from a farm in Southampton so most of it is pretty local. They can also deliver for an extra £2 - bargain. If you can't get to the shop but still in Bournemouth you can order yours online from www.urban-evolution.co.uk See what you think.....

How to become Eco Friendly in Bournemouth

Well, other than being told to turn my computer off....which i will not do, and change my bulbs to energy savers....which i will do, how can we become greener, cleaner and not as meaner!!?? Where do you start? Well, I've decided to start by losing the car!!! Hard to do I think especially as the colder weather is kicking in but I'm going to give it a go. Walking to school for a start and trying to use the bike for short journeys that don't include the kids. (As soon as I get a Christiania bike the kids will be included again). I have of course changed some of my bulbs to energy savers, you can get them for free in some places. Boscombe Wholefood Co-op in Roumelia Lane has some to give out. So you see I'm trying, one bit at a time!!!

500 Fruit Trees in Boscombe

There's an amazing new project in Boscombe. It's called 500 Fruit Trees and, yes suprisingly enough, it aims to plant 500 fruit trees in Boscombe. Even Alex James, the bass player from Blur who now owns a farm and makes cheese, thinks it's a great idea...he was born in Boscombe. Watch the video!!
Anyone who wants a tree can email them on get-a-tree@500-fruit-trees.org.uk or if you don't have anywhere to put one but know of a great public place where you think one can go you can email them too! If you're on facebook there's a group set up for people to communicate with each other about the project and also suggest places where they can go. Have a look.
I've suggested the funny little border outside the Sovereign Centre next to the fountain.

Sunday Brunch in Boscombe

Sunday, a day made for spending time with people and of course eating, and for some getting over the night before!! ....the only place to be in Boscombe is Boogaloo!!
They have a great Sunday menu including 'the hangover cure' = greasy fry up with Bloody Mary!! I've forgotten the name of what I had but it was basically a chicken and vegetable thing with melted cheese on top of a massive corn tortilla thing, served with lovely spicy potatoes and guacamole. All washed down with a Chai Steamer......

On Wednesday the 10th October in the evening there's a Green Networking Event there too, Lisa Northover will be speaking, probably about the 500 Fruit Tree Project that's being launched in Boscombe and it will be an opportunity to meet other people of Boscombe who care about Green issues and find out what's going on in the area.

Christiania Bikes

Picture this.....Boscombe filled with people all riding around on these bikes!! Slowing up the traffic, making car drivers angry and pedestrians happy!!
It's actually not a bike at all, but a load carrying tricycle that can be, and is, used for anything from transporting kids to getting the shopping home. Copenhagen’s postal service runs a 100-strong fleet of these pollution-free trikes.

Originally built in 1978 as a transport alternative for the car-free autonomous zone of Christiania, the bike soon became common on Copenhagen’s streets. The popularity of the trike is not limited to Denmark...there's a shop in London called 'Zero is Best' that sells them and Urban Evolution, a company based in Boscombe with social aims, plans to buy 5 of them and rent them out to locals and tourists alike.
Get ready for a revolution on the streets of Boscombe........

Funky Handbag!

Hey look at my Funky Handbag!! It's made out of 'factory second' crisp packets fairly traded from Mexico. Everywhere I go people ask where I got it from.... I bought mine from www.urban-evolution.co.uk which sells all sorts of cool and funky fairly traded products. You can get eco-friendly cleaning products, beautiful fairly traded household gifts, these funky handbags and purses made out of ringpulls and even wholefoods!!

Something to Sprout about!!!

Sprouts..not the type traditionally forced upon you for Christmas dinner but sprouted seeds, considered a 'wonderfood' they rank as the freshest and most nutritious of all vegetables available to the human diet!!
All edible grains, seeds and legumes can be sprouted. Generally the following are used for sprouting :

*Grains : Wheat, maize, and barley.
*Seeds : Alfalfa, radish, broccoli, hemp, sunflower.
*Legumes : Mung, chickpeas, aduki, lentils.
If you want you can buy a sprouter (designed especially for sprouting), biosnacky do a great 3 tier sprouter which you can get online for about £13.99. Try www.urban-evolution.co.uk They also offer a huge range of seeds and pulses for sprouting in all sorts of sized packets!! Or if you live in the Bournemouth vicinity you can order pre-sprouted sprouts from their organic vegetable box delivery service.

Brian gets a new mate!!

Brian grows wheatgrass in Roumelia Lane, Boscombe his company is called Dorset Wheatgrass Company.
He went to the Boscombe Wholefood Co-op and bought some Yerba Mate tea. Yerba Mate Tea is traditionally drunk in South America. This is what the website says about it.....
Mate is more than just good for the body; it's good for the soul. Drinking it can be a form of meditation or reflection - allowing the goodness to infuse into the body while stimulating and resting the mind. But this wholeness does not always happen alone.
In traditional Mate use, the cup is often shared among close friends and family - using the same straw, or bombilla. Reminiscent of the kind of closeness written about in Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land," where the characters become "water brothers" or "water sisters" when they drank from the same cup one after the other, those who share the Mate cup join in a kind of bond where the sharing of the health and meditation of the Yerba Mate is a sign of total acceptance and friendship.
So, Brian asked..'if I drink this will I get friends to drink it with?'
Brian took his Yerba Mate home and made himself a drink....while he was waiting for it to brew he joined Facebook....within 4 days Brian's got 400 friends. You can become one of Brian's friends too if you can find him on Facebook!!!
The Boscombe Wholefood Co-op has moved to 3 Ashley Road, Boscombe where it has evolved into funky wholefood and eco-store 'Urban-Evolution' Residents of Boscombe can still join the old co-op scheme, ask for details in the store!

Moving House

What an exciting time!! Moving house....I've done it so many times now and the one thing that never changes?? The fact that when you leave one house you have to clean and when you move into the new place...you have to clean!!! Well, this time its different...why? because I'm cleaning with environmentally friendly products!! Armed with my Ecover, recently purchased from fab website, www.urban-evolution.co.uk , I've wiped and cleaned everything!! I used Ecover multi-surface cleaner, Ecover Toilet cleaner and Ecover Cream cleaner. They do the job without polluting the planet...lovely!! and if you look on the Ecover website you can get a list of shops that refill your bottles too...even better!

Organic Fortnight

The Soil Association Organic Fortnight 2007 runs from 1-16 September
During the Soil Association Organic Fortnight, businesses, individuals and communities across Britain join together to celebrate all things organic, staging events and promoting organic products up and down the country. This year we are calling on the nation to 'Wake up to an Organic Breakfast'. Retailers, brands and restaurants across the UK are currently preparing to promote their organic breakfast items, encouraging everyone to try an organic breakfast during the Fortnight whether at home, at work or out and about.

For anyone in Bournemouth this fortnight it may be worth checking this out.......
Organic breakfast smoothie demonstration
Bournemouth
Thursday 6 September 2007
About this event:
See an organic breakfast smoothie demonstration, using 100% organic ingredients, at the Boscombe Wholefood Co-op, 10am-12am. For details, contact Lisa Northover, Boscombe Wholefood Co-op, 5 Roumelia Lane, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset BH1 4DX. T: 01202 778516. www.boscombewholefoodco-op.org.uk