Sussex Family Fun Day in Recycling Week

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We are holding a second Sussex Green Living (SGL) family fun day at the end of Recycling Week on Saturday 23rd June 10.30am – 2pm.  It is taking place in green gardens, fields and the SGL Green Den near Billingshurst.

Activities will include:

Outdoor play day Outside play Outside play Outdoor play

Read more

Sussex Green Living launch

Green Sussex Website launched

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Green Sussex Website launched – Article

Earth Day family fun – our pledges

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Earth Day Pledges 2012 Earth Day Pledges 2012

 

Earth Day Poem

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I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.
Each blade of grass,
Each honey tree,
Each bit of mud,
And stick and stone
Is blood and muscle,
Skin and bone.
And just as I
Need every bit
Of me to make
My body fit,
So Earth needs
Grass and stone and tree
And things that grow here
Naturally.
That’s why we
Celebrate this day.
That’s why across
The world we say:
As long as life,
Is dear, is free,
I am the Earth
And the Earth is me.

By Jane Yolen

 

Earth Day – What is it all about?

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Protecting the planetEarth Day is on Sunday 22nd April.   Earth Day is a Birthday!  Just like a birthday is a special day to celebrate a person, Earth Day is a special day that celebrates the Earth.  On this day people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities in 175 countries around the World campaign through events.  Their aim being to raise consciousness about the way our modern lives are affecting the planet and celebrate the wonder of our Earth.  It is a great way for children to think about the environment and conservation.

Pedro, the folks from Sussex Green Living, friends and family are meeting in Coneyhurst (it was going to be the Human Nature Garden in Horsham Park however due to the weather, a change of location) to have a picnic and play lots of outdoor games.  Join us if you fancy!

Activities will include:

  • Decorating nature masks made out of recycled materials.
  • Bring along a yoghurt pot or two which you have already decorated, then plant it up with flowers which will attract wildlife into your garden or herbs to eat.  Soil and seeds provided.
  • Recycling race – where the children learn about recycling in a fun and competitive way.
  • Football and  games.

And any other ideas you want to throw in!

To get the address and directions email us on .

To learn more about Sussex Green Living and watch a video about 10 ways you can easily green up your lives why not take a look at our videos on this page https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/videos/.

You might also like to download our Sussex Green Living guide to 25 Sustainable Living tips.  All you need to do is register in the Members’ Zone here, you will be emailed a password, then you can access lots of free members downloads additional site pages, content and free resources only available to members.  Go for it join this Green network now!

 

Make your own unique envelopes….

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…….. from recycled paper or card.

Here is how you do it:

  • Find an A4 page from a magazine which you have read or perhaps an old A4 flyer.
  • Print our Sussex Green Living envelope template* and then cut around the solid red lines.
  • Lay the template on your A4 magazine/recycled sheet and draw around the template.
  • Cut it out and then fold where you see the dotted lines on the template.
  • Stick the two edges with some glue.
  • Attach a small white address label and write on the name and address you want to send it to.
  • Now you have a recycled envelope which is unique to you!

It is as simple as that.

* To download your Sussex Green Living envelope template all you need to do is register in the Members’ Zone here, you will be emailed a password, then you can access lots of free members downloads additional site pages, content and free resources only available to members.  Go for it join this Green network now!

Easter Fun

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Hot-cross buns, hot-cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, hot-cross buns!

 

Happy Easter everyone….. Get out into the garden and have a race around, here are a few fun and traditional free Easter games to play:

Egg rolling competition

Boil a few eggs, one per competitor, then have an egg decorating competition.  Once dry the fun really begins… find yourself a stick (no golf clubs that’s cheating); mark out a start line and a finish line, then have an egg rolling competition in the garden or back yard.  It makes a bit of a mess of the egg but it is very good fun!

Blowing Easter Eggs

Soak the eggs in a solution of water and vinegar overnight. This makes the eggs easier to paint the next day.  They can be painted with water colours or felt tip pens.  Make a little hole in both ends of the eggs, blow slowly until the yolk comes out (save it for cooking).  Rinse the egg and then decorate with paint, glue and glitter, dried flowers or in fact whatever you want.

The decorated eggs can have a ribbon glued to them, then can be hung from a twig (miniature tree) secured in a vase or perhaps a clay stand.  Happy blowing!

Oh and don’t forget the good old Easter Egg hunt!

 

Upcycling – Knitting Plastic Bags!

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With the best will in the world we still all manage to accumulate plastic bags! Here is a simple and brilliant idea for recycling them into a stylish home-knitted, eco bag!

You will need:

  • All the plastic bags under your sink (For a medium size knitted shopping bag you will need about 20 supermarket sized carrier bags)
  • Scissors
  • Knitting needles

What to do:

Make sure the bags have no holes or tears. Cut off the handles to leave the body of the bag

  • Start cutting the bag from the top in a 3cm wide strip, going in a spiral as if you were peeling an apple. You will end up with one big long strip of plastic 3cm wide
  • This strip is now your strand of wool. Tie it on one end of an 8mm knitting needle.
  • Cast on, knit and cast off as you would with wool. When you reach the end of a piece of plastic, tie a new piece on to it and continue knitting
  • Knit a rectangle of ‘fabric’ to the size you want. Fold it over into a bag shape and sew the sides using thin strips of carrier bag instead of thread. Make the stitches tight to make the bag strong!
  • Knit shoulder straps or handles by knitting two long, thin strips (about 4 stitches across is a good width)
  • Attach the straps using plastic thread again

Voila! You have your very own stylish, home-knitted eco bag for free! Why not try other projects? Mobile phone covers, shoulder handbags or even vegetable bags in different colours.

Interesting Facts

  • PLARN = plastic yarn
  • Supermarket plastic bags are strong and can hold between 15 and 20kg

For more information about recycling in Sussex check this site out!

New Uses for Old Maps

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Don’t throw out old maps, give them new lease of life.

Colourful book covers

Placemats: Glue on to poster board or coloured cardboard a little larger than the map. This will leave a coloured border on the map side, and a plain reverse side. Cover the map side with clear contact paper.

Decoupage on trays, cans, wooden boxes, etc

Collage: Paste map on thin cardboard along with other objects from the map region. Personalise by circling meaningful areas with broad markers.

These activities and many more are taught and demonstrated by Jules Simmons is an environmental artist based in West Sussex.  She designs and creates lots of environmental art and recycling displays using non-traditional art materials creatively. Find out more about her work.

 

Egg Cup Creatures

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These are really easy to make!

Age: 5 and up

 

 

 

 

 

Let your imagination run wild when making these cute little egg cup creatures. Children can use whatever colours they like to create their own fun designs!

This green art is free and upcycles egg boxes.

What you’ll need:

  • Cardboard egg box
  • Scissors
  • Paints
  • Pipe cleaners, any colours will do
  • Craft knife, small scissor, or sharp pencil
  • White craft glue
  • Medium and large pom-poms
  • Wiggle eyes

How to make it:

  1. Have an adult cut egg cups out of egg carton. Paint in various colours of your choice and let dry, see photo.
  2. While egg cups are drying, create insect wings by cutting and bending pipe cleaners into various different shapes, see photo.
  3. Have an adult use a small scissor, sharp pencil, or craft knife to poke a hole in each side of the egg cup, insert wings into the holes. If you want the wings farther back on the body, poke the holes closer together, see photo.
  4. Turn egg cup upside down and bend ends of pip cleaners against the side of the cup to help hold them in place, see photo.
  5. Using two large pom-poms for heads or one medium pom-pom for bulging eyes, glue them to the fronts of the egg cups, see photo.
  6. Use pipe cleaners for legs and antennae. Antennae can be glued right to the pom-pom head. Legs can be inserted in the sides of the egg cup in the same fashion as the wings.
  7. Glue on wiggle eyes on the pom-poms to complete the face.

Tips:

  1. You can decorate your insects even more by adding polka dots. Just dip the handle end of a paintbrush into a contrasting colour of paint and dot on.
  2. Foam egg cups can be used as well, but the cardboard soaks up the paint better though.
  3. Coloured wiggle eyes are available at your local craft supply store.

Have fun, enjoy!

 

Preparing for Earth Hour!

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Preparing for Earth Hour!

Tonight hundreds of millions of people, businesses and governments around the world unite each year to support the largest environmental event in history – Earth Hour.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.  You can learn more about Earth Hour here. There are loads of fun games for children here too.

Here at Sussex Green Living HQ we are having a candlelit fondue with friends to mark the occasion.

We are currently recycling old candles and making some Earth candles to mark the occasion. All you need to do is:

Find a container which some food came in from the supermarket or an old flower pot.

Fill it with soil and push a tennis ball into the soil to make a round indentation.  Using a stick make 3 little channels in the bottom which will act as feet to your Earth candle.

Met down old candles and try to recover the old wicks or make or buy some new wick.

Then pour your liquid wax into the Earth indentation putting the wick in the middle.  You might need to top up the wax as it seeps into the surrounding Earth.

Leave it to dry and firm up, then remove the new Earth candle from the soil, give it a little dust off but making sure some Earth is still left on.  And hey presto you have yourself some lovely recycled Earth candles.

Turn off all your lights to mark Earth Hour and commit to lasting action for the planet to turn around climate change.   Enjoy.  Photos to follow tomorrow!

Hello it is Spring

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Out of his shell into the light,

Bright yellow chicken chirps with delight.

‘Hello, it’s Spring, Life’s just begun,

Let’s all wake up, time to have fun!’

Get outdoors everyone

The natural world wakes up from a long sleep with buds bursting into leaf, flowers blooming and animals waking from hibernation.

Sign up to receive our great seasonal free ideas and downloads.