News from over the border

I have had an e-mail from Al at Greener Leith with news of the potato planting in their community garden project known as Persevere Garden in Leith, Edinburgh.

Greener Leith took delivery of some free Wiggly Wigglers spuds and you can read all about their potato planting exploits on the Greener Leith site.

Fantastic Flowers

This post is especially for our friend Mark Eccleston over at The Green Fingered Photographer who asked if I knew of any good elderflower recipes.

Elderflower Cordial

2kg (4½lb) Sugar

1.14lt (2 pints) Boiling Water

20 Elderflower Heads

80z (2¾ oz) Citric Acid

2 Lemons, grated rinds, sliced

Shake elderflower heads to ensure they are free of creepy crawlies. Place the water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the grated rind and sliced lemon, plus the citric acid. Place the elderflower heads in a bowl, pour over the boiling water. Leave for at least 12 hours covered with cling film. Sieve the liquid, to remove the solids. Strain the liquid through muslin or even a coffee filter to clarify. Dilute and add to sparkling or still water.

Elderflower Fritters

100g (4 oz) Plain
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
190 ml (Third of a pint) Milk

Beat the eggs. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the milk, a little at a time and stir in the honey and vanilla essence. When thoroughly mixed, blend in the beaten eggs. Whisk until a medium-stiff batter is obtained. Snip off the stalks from the elderflower heads, but do not separate the individual flowers from the heads. Dip the heads into the batter and fry in hot fat until golden brown. Drain on absorbent kitchen paper, dust with sugar with a dash of cinnamon (optional) and serve with whipped cream.

Super shreddings

I recently read an article in The Guardian about how supermarkets are failing to reduce packaging. The figures make pretty grim reading. Up to 38% of food packaging cannot be recycled.

Amongst the top supermarkets Marks & Spencer are one of the worst offenders with the largest amount of packaging and the least being recyclable at 62%.

With concerns growing about ever increasing pressures on precious resources it seems incredible that more companies aren’t reducing packaging or, at the very least, making it recyclable.

Here at Wiggly Wigglers we try to keep our packaging to a minimum with the vast majority of it being recycled packaging that can in turn either be re-used or recycled.

The latest tool on site is a cardboard shredder so that all the boxes we receive are shredded and used as packing material. We also recycle newspapers, the office paper shreddings and waste from other companies as packing material.

I am not saying that we are perfect and we are always looking for ways to improve, but we do try and we will keep trying to be greener.

Adventures in Waste With Almost Mrs Average and her Rubbish Diet

We have a real treat in store today with an article from Karen Cannard of The Rubbish Diet fame on her incredible waste journey and how it has changed both her shopping habits and her life.


“I know I’ll never do it” I said to Daniel, the head honcho of our council’s Zero Waste campaign, as he was sat on my sofa.

“I suppose you could always stop using clingfilm”, quipped the photographer who accompanied Daniel for the photo-shoot of me and my bin for the council’s newsletter.

“Hmm, but I’ll still end up with about a bag full of household rubbish” I thought, but I’d be happy with that, it would be much better than the three huge bin bags that we put out every fortnight.

And that was how the Zero Waste challenge began, with me not quite convinced that ditching the clingfilm or indeed anything else would really get me that far. However, I had the gumption to give it a go. Little did I know that I was starting a domestic adventure that would prove me wrong and would lead to the whole range of newspaper, radio and TV interviews that followed.

The Zero Waste Week challenge was set by the council to encourage residents to think differently about household waste and to reduce the amount of rubbish that was being sent to landfill. The rules were that for one week in March, participants would not buy or use anything that produced waste that couldn’t be recycled or composted.

I signed up for the challenge because I was frustrated by the amount of stuff my family threw out and I knew I could do better. The council were offering some free advice and a helping hand. So how could I refuse?

But ZERO Waste. Now that seemed impossible!

I started by ditching the clingfilm and using re-usable containers for food storage instead. But as you can guess, that didn’t make much of a dent!

So I had a look at my shopping and decided to abandon all that packaging that couldn’t be recycled on my doorstep. The fruit juice cartons were dropped in favour of buying bottled juice from the milkman and that’s when we started noticing the progress.

Adventures were had in reducing food waste, which meant buying less, cooking more meals from scratch, reducing portions and making use of leftovers.

But sadly, thanks to my junior saboteur, we were still left with a whole load of food waste that couldn’t be composted or reused. We had done our best, but we could do no more.

Our council didn’t collect food waste so if we were to succeed at the Zero Waste Week lark, we needed some help.

Enter stage left, the wormery. What fun! The chance to get some pet worms that could munch on the leftover pasta, devour the rice and finish off the Weetabix. They seemed much less hassle than a dog or a pig and would go about their business in peace.

I was so excited when it arrived, but I hadn’t quite anticipated my fear of worms. I know, I could never be a Charlie Dimmock! I looked at the bag of worms and wondered how the heck I could open it and put the worms safely in their new little home. Maybe my own knight in shining armour could come to my rescue, when he arrived home from work that evening, but it was still winter, with dark nights and it didn’t look promising.

So I grabbed the scissors, cut open the bag and “poured” them into the wormery with a big huge shiver of fright! Eurghh, a worm waterfall was not a pleasant sight to someone so unaccustomed as me. The relief was overwhelming as I put on the lid and watched them burrow down into the compost bedding.

We got on well with our new little friends and they happily dealt with most of our food waste. Our bin was getting slimmer.

But then, we had the leftover chicken stew that was past its best.

Oh dear, worms don’t eat chicken!

Many people would have accepted their fate, but by now we were on a roll. My challenge had been featured in the community newsletter, people knew what I was up to and I’d developed the tenacity of a dog with a bone.

I needed to extend our arsenal in what had become my war against waste!

All I can say on the matter is …Ah Bokashi!

I’d avoided the Bokashi Bin initially. It seemed far too “green” and alternative for average “not so green” folks like us. I’d read reviews about the pickly smell and the stodgy innards. It all seemed just that little bit extreme.

But I soon realised that I needed to be extreme and the beauty of the Bokashi Bin was that it could deal with the leftover scraps of meat or fish and lots of other things that the worms didn’t like. All we had to do was sprinkle on the special bran and drain off the juice and we could just bung it in the compost bin after a couple of weeks.

As it turned out, the Bokashi Bin was the unexpected hero of our Zero Waste Challenge. The smell wasn’t too bad and it’s much better than coping with a smelly dustbin of gone off food.

With the extra input from my three year old junk modelling addict, we were able to rescue all sorts from the bin when Zero Waste finally came around.

The only thing we were left with was a plaster!

Result!

As far as I’m concerned, that’s pretty much Zero Waste to me.

The full story of Karen’s adventures with the wormery, Bokashi and the Zero Waste Challenge can be found at http://www.therubbishdiet.co.uk/, together with how other people over the UK have followed in her footsteps and have risen to their own Rubbish Diet challenge. The Rubbish Diet also featured on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s hour in March, to listen to the daily column visit the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/home_index.shtml.

Shed Door

As you probably know we are great fans of the very talented Mark Eccleston (The Green Fingered Photographer) and we are obviously not the only ones. Mark has recently won the 2008 Telford and Wrekin Open Exhibition for his picture called Shed Door. The exhibition provides an opportunity for local artists to display their work and the pieces have been selected for their innovation, creativity and artistic merit.

You can view the exhibition at The Gallery Bar @ The Place, Oakengates,Telford from 7 June until 4 July.

If you want to hear all about Mark you can find him in Episode 0109 of the Wiggly Wigglers podcast entitled, "A Trip to the Signal Box" which has to be one of my favourites.

Carnival of Environmental Issues

Welcome to the June 24, 2008 edition of the Wiggly Wigglers carnival of environmental issues.

Michel Fortin presents Are All Business People Dishonest? posted at The Michel Fortin Blog.

Yannai Kranzler presents Changing the World, One Multinational at a Time posted at Climate of Change, saying, "Thanks! (Please let me know if/when our entry enters the Carnival)"

Phil B. presents Global Warming is Ruining the Earth posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "A list of how the world has changed so dramatically."

Peter Jones presents Indigenous Peoples, Climate Change, and the United Nations: Draft Report of Seventh Session posted at Indigenous Issues Today.

Leon Gettler presents Big Oil wins again posted at Sox First, saying, "Hardly surprising but Exxon Mobil's leaders have defeated the descendents of Standard Oil's founder John D Rockefeller. Those descendents wanted Exxon Mobil to improve its corporate governance by splitting the chairman and CEO roles, now held by Rex Tillerson. They also wanted the company to commit to reducing greenhouse gases, and to start embracing alternative energy."

Fuel Efficient Driver presents Better Gas Mileage With A Moped posted at I Want Better Gas Mileage, saying, "If high gas prices are really busting your budget �C and youdon't mind standing out from the crowd �C consider buying a moped foryour day-to-day trips."

Martinique presents Be green, healthy and rich by giving up on your car posted at Queercents, saying, "I’ve noticed in the past few years that saving money, staying fit, and being green seem to walk hand-in-hand like a three-way relationship that actually works. One of the simplest ways this plays out in my own life is on my bike."

Tate Dwinnell presents Algae an Emerging Biofuel - GreenFuel, Solix, Live Fuel, Algenol posted at Green Energy Trends, saying, "Hi, this is a new site of mine focused on green energy trends - thanks for considering the article for inclusion!"

Jon Rochetti presents "Scotty…I Need More Power!" The Ultimate Green Graduation Gift. posted at The DC Traveler – Washington DC travel & tourism information, saying, "Here's a review of a couple solar powered back packs, perfect for saving energy."

Niharika presents 53 Easy Tips to Use Less Water posted at EcoTrekker.

Matt DiChiara presents Green Apartment Construction Hinges on Living Density posted at MyNewPlace Blog, saying, "thanks and have a good weekend!"

Louise Manning presents Wind farms posted at The Human Imprint.

Tiffany Washko presents Is It Green, Religious, Or Just Smart? posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

John presents Red Knots Not Eating Enough posted at A DC Birding Blog.

Tiffany Washko presents Freedom Gardens - Grow Your Own Food posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

Cindy King presents Can You Learn From International Social Predictions On Rising Gas Prices? posted at Cindy King, saying, "A German Guys Social Prediction On Rising Gas Prices and How They Will Impact America"

Mark Babineaux presents Conservation-stop-thinking-of-yourself posted at Where-is-my-success-i-don't-know-what-to-look-for.

Heather Johnson presents Guest Post - Passive Smoke Equals Active Pollution posted at Environmental Crimes Blog.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a carnival of environmental issues using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a carnival of environmental issues, blog carnival.

The Wiggly Wigglers Podcast

The good news from the Wiggly sofa is that Richard and Phil have kissed and made up so peace reigns once more in rural Herefordshire. This week the team manage to talk about all things woolly without any eruptions and Richard has exciting news about some fantastic new products.

On their recent trip Heather and Phil call in to see The Dalai Lama, but he’s not at home so Heather has to settle for interviewing some VIPs (including the former Prime Minister of Sweden) instead with some authentic sound effects.

To listen to the whole of the Wiggly podcast click here.

Below is a taster of what’s on this week’s show:

Time: 00:00:01 Richard & Phil are "sort of" friends again and Rich says thank you for his pussy cat hat.
Time: 00:02:49 Moving on from last week's show, Farmer Phil apologises (which is a first apparently) to ginger.
Time: 00:04:32 On the ovine front, Richard has had his ewes shorn & has news of some new woolly products.
Time: 00:09:25 News Flash! Richard is now a clematis expert.
Time: 00:10:05 The team get some feedback from listener Martin Grant re growing things in tyres.
Time: 00:14:27 Farmer Phil chats to Richard about the recent trip to India.
Time: 00:18:42 Heather & Phil visit The Dalai Lama's residence and Heather chats to some VIPs.
Time: 00:31:10 With peace reigning on the Wiggly sofa it's time to say goodbye for
another week.

The Wiggly Wigglers podcast team is Heather Gorringe, Phil Gorringe (aka Farmer Phil) and Richard Fishbourne (aka Ricardo).

and some more paintings

Following on from my post about the results of Farmer Phil’s Painting Competition, Wiggly Wigglers Groupie, Megan Lynch wanted to see the other prize winning entries so here we go.

Under 12’s:

2nd Martha Davis

3rd Jude Fowler

12 to 102’s:

2nd Roger Mayles

3rd Matthew Slater

Now you can understand how hard it was for Farmer Phil to pick the winners.

Gone Fishing?

Oooops. Not quite sure what happened to Richard's guest appearance at River Cottage, but he was very definitely missing from last night's episode. We have come to the conclusion that he must either be languishing on the cutting room floor or that he actually went fishing on the day and has digitally altered the photo and placed himself standing in front of the camera.

Suggestions on a postcard please to Wiggly Wigglers...

Richard at River Cottage

If you are at a loose end this evening how about watching our very own Richard Fishbourne aka Ricardo in action at River Cottage HQ? He is helping Gill (Head chef at River Cottage HQ) and Emma (River Cottage Gardener) to build a large wormery to deal with their kitchen waste.

The programme, River Cottage Spring, is being shown on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight.

ps If you miss the show it is repeated tomorrow (19 June 2008) on More 4 at 9pm and Saturday 21st June on Channel 4 at 7pm.

You can also hear all about Richard's visit to River Cottage in Episode 0134 of the Wiggly Wigglers Podcast.

And the results are...

We had a fabulous response to the Farmer Phil Painting Competition and can now announce the results:

Under 12's:

Winners:


1st Anne Chambers (Tanya and I in the Wiggly Wigglers office loved this picture - well done Anne)
2nd Martha Davis
3rd Jude Fowler

Commended:

Ben Thompson, Katie Ambler, Matty Morris, Rosie Jackson, Trinity Harper, Michelle Gartside, Freddie Davies, Cameron Bunn, Miranda Fotheringham, Georgina Bufton


12 to 102's:

Winners:

1st Mary Hancox

2nd Roger Mayles

3rd Matthew Slater

Commended:

Amelia Hacking, Hollie Hacking, Claire Cianchi, Sue Moules, Gemma Francis, James Rose, Di Jones, Roy Lampard, Edna Fowler, Matt Hancox

A big thank you to everyone who entered the competition - there were some absolutely great pictures and I know that Farmer Phil found it very difficult to pick the winners.

Carnival of Green Gardening

Welcome to the June 17, 2008 edition of the Wiggly Wigglers carnival of green gardening.

Hannah presents In the Sun posted at The Purloined Letter.

TopVeg presents Top Veg » Blog Archive » Who pollinates courgette flowers? posted at Top Veg, saying, "How to encourage the bees and other insects to pollinate the courgette flowers!"

Melanie Rimmer presents Jungle Clearance - Before and After posted at Bean-Sprouts, saying, "How to clear a large weedy area without weedkiller and without backbreaking digging."

Jamie McIntosh presents Cutworm Control posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, "Keep cutworms from severing your seedlings by placing a wire beside each seed."

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Cheap Gardening posted at Tip Diva, saying, "Gardening is a fun, relaxing hobby for many, and the end result yields plenty of food, flowers and foliage. But it does not have to be expensive. Here are ways to save while gardening"

GP presents GreenHouse Guidance posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, "greenhouse guidance from the inn"

Stephanie presents Wow they grew fast! posted at Stop the Ride!.

Busy Bee Kim presents Sweet Potato Vines posted at Busy Bee Lifestyle.

Raimondo Solari presents Inexpensive, Eco-Friendly Green Lawn Care posted at Garden Gab, saying, "With the availability of water becoming a scarce resource and lawns being one of the top culprits of sucking up valuable water, it's time to try and keep an "eco-friendly" lawn that will still look good and yet not thirst so much."

Teri presents Composting Jackpot!!! posted at Teri's Organic Garden, saying, "I hit the composting jackpot with a pile of leaf mold donated to me from a dear friend."

Amy Cheek presents Grow your own food to save money posted at Backyard Gardening Blog.

Becca presents Thursday 13: Companion Planting posted at BrightHaven Times, saying, "Hope this little chart is useful to your readers."

Adam Berry presents How To Encourage Wildlife into Your Garden posted at The Compost Heap, saying, "Some tips to enhance your garden by encouraging wildlife"

Amy L. presents Creating a Butterfly Garden posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, "A great way to bring butterflies closer to your home is with
the construction of a garden that includes plants known to attract
butterflies."

Vera Lang presents Gifts for Backyard Bird Watchers Fine Pet Care .com posted at Fine Pet Care .com, saying, "As it is Fathers Day soon, and, … sigh… we begin the sometimes maddening task of finding gifts for our dads, as well as friends, uncles, neighbors, etc..
This article has absolutely wonderful gift ideas!"

Condo Blues presents Five Natural Methods to Repair Brown Grass from Dog Urine posted at Condo Blues, saying, "My post is covers 5 natural ways to combat dog urine burn spots on your lawn. These methods do not use chemicals or food additives that could be harmful to you or your pets."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of green gardening using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our
blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a carnival of green gardening, blog carnival.

The Wiggly Wigglers Podcast

The brown and not so brown return from their trip to India to find that Richard has turned into a button! The trip is deemed a success and following Heather’s visit to the offices of One World South Asia we hear how technology is helping Indian farmers.

The farmer –v- hobby farming debate (NFU -v- Country Smallholding) continues (it’s getting like the Facebook cat topic) and then Heather, rather naughtily, throws Heptavac P into the ring. Things get so bad that Michael has to get his bleeper out!

To listen to the whole of the Wiggly podcast click here.

Below is a taster of what’s on this week’s show:

Time: 00:00:01 Welcome from Farmer Phil, wifely one & "brown as a button" Rich who have some feedback.
Time: 00:04:30 The team get a 5* iTunes review from Goldfish.
Time: 00:05:51 Heather visits the studio of One World South Asia who use technology to help farmers.
Time: 00:15:18 There's an orange eared snake in the garden.
Time: 00:16:14 Time for some feedback about Podcast 133 from Wiggly listeners.
Time: 00:17:57 Podchef comes out of the woodwork with a "bit" of feedback about Podcast 133.
Time: 00:26:28 Heather lights the Heptavac P touch paper and sits back!

The Wiggly Wigglers podcast team is Heather Gorringe, Phil Gorringe (aka Farmer Phil) and Richard Fishbourne (aka Ricardo).

Goosegrass Soup

Last night I decided to do a bit of Hugh foraging for our tea and made goosegrass soup from the very good little book Cooking Weeds. I headed off around the garden and paddock with my colander and collected goosegrass, ground elder, nettle tops, clover, dandelion and, from my herb garden, mint and marjoram.

The recipe in the book goes as follows:

3 handfuls of goosegrass
2 handfuls mixed weeds eg ground elder, ribwort plantain, dead nettle, dandelion, comfrey, yarrow, clover, daisies
Weeds for seasoning eg ground ivy, wild garlic, lady’s smock
Herbs for seasoning eg lovage, thyme, marjoram, lemon balm, peppermint, dill, parsley, chives
1 onion
1-2 cloves of garlic
oil for frying
1-2 tablespoons wholewheat flour; finely ground
approx 750ml vegetable stock
pepper
crème fraiche

Wash the weeds and herbs and chop them coarsely. Chop the onion and the garlic and fry it in oil until golden. Add the herbs and weeds. Sprinkle in some flour, the amount depending on the required thickness of the finished soup. Add the vegetable stock and cook for about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly then liquidize until the soup is smooth. Add pepper to taste. Serve with a spoonful of crème fraiche.

I thought this soup was a real winner (and very healthy as I omitted the crème fraiche), but my nearest and dearest wasn’t quite so sure! Where’s his sense of adventure?

Chamber of Commerce Awards update

By the way, I forgot to mention that, unfortunately, we didn't win the award for the Business of the Year in the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Awards 2008, but San and Rach had a great evening at Eastnor Castle topped off with a fantastic fireworks display.

Congratulations to Kingspan who were the worthy winners of the award.

Amazing Ants

This is the time of year when ants all over the country are appearing in a garden or wormery near you. To prevent them getting into a wormery take preventative action and stand the legs in containers of water and smear a strip of Vaseline around each leg.

Here are some amazing ant facts:

On cue usually in August and probably triggered by some environmental factor, such as temperature or humidity, ants burst into action en mass to mate to ensure the maximum genetic mix.

Ants generally mate on the wing and once mating has taken place the males die.

Having mated, the queen ant returns to the ground and removes her own wings by rubbing and pulling at them with her jaws.

The new queen has enough sperm inside her body to last her the rest of her life.

The new queen then finds a spot to nest and starts to lay eggs. These will become the first workers of the colony and until they are ready to serve the queen she will not leave the nest.

Once she has bred her first work force the queen is waited on by her daughters and gets on with the serious business of laying eggs for the rest of her time.

It is only when the nest reaches a certain size that the queen allows for the production of more virgin queens and males.

Queen ants have a lifespan of up to 10 years.

Knowing how amazing these creatures are it seems a shame to kill them, but if you find yourself inundated how about using Steinernema feltiae nematodes which infect the ant’s larval stage and help to reduce numbers.

Carnival of Country Living

Welcome to the June 10, 2008 edition of the Wiggly Wigglers carnival of country living.

Rose presents Learning at Home posted at Learning at Home.

GP presents Summer Time Simplicity posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, "A ighter side of summertime simplicity"

Jennifer Bogart presents The Hummingbirds are Back! posted at Quiverfullfamily.com, saying, "Our hummingbirds have arrived this year. Isn't it amazing how they seem to remember us, almost like *remember that great restaurant we ate at last time we were up this way?* Includes basic recipe for hummingbird syrup."

Praveen presents Alternative to Throwing Your Cell Phone in A Landfill posted at My Simple Trading System.

Sam presents The Secret Lives of Bees. Honey, Health and Harvests ! Surfer Sam posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "The Secret Lives of Bees.
About one-third of the human food supply depends on bee pollination. We also use honey and bee pollen as natural food products to promote wellness. Bees are beneficial for everyone.
Bees, we can't do without them."

Jennifer in OR presents The Farmer's Wife posted at Diary of 1.

Patric Herber presents The Perfect Gift for Golfers - Golf Ball Carvings posted at Carved Golf Balls, saying, "Hi, my craft is carving scenes on the inside of real golf balls. I would love to be included in your carnival if you feel it fits well. Thanks."

Michael Snyder presents posted at Shattered Paradigm.

:: Suzanne :: presents news posted at :: adventures in daily living ::.

Louise Manning presents Rising fuel costs - a rural view posted at The Human Imprint.

travelcat4 presents Latest Cooking Ingredient: Lavender Essence posted at Latest Inventions.

Melanie Rimmer presents Full Moon posted at Bean-Sprouts, saying, "Full moon musings"

The Organic Viking presents Elderflower Fritters posted at The Organic Viking, saying, "Surprise your friends with deep-fried flowers"

Ozone presents 2008 WSOP: Preview and Predictions posted at Online Poker Strategy, saying, "Predictions about the upcoming 2008 World Series of Poker."

Tiffany Washko presents Eco Friendly Crafts for Kids posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

valereee presents Strawberry Preserves (no-pectin recipe) posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, "There are two secrets to making strawberry preserves without added pectin!"

Sahara Reins presents Build A Chicken Feeder Series posted at Fowl Visions.

Jocelyn @ A Pondering Heart presents Honey Lemonade Anyone? posted at A Pondering Heart.

James presents Being Frugal and Bargain Hunting posted at Ways To Simplify.

GP presents To Market to Farmer?s Market We Go posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, "Good food, good friends.. the friendly farmer's market we go"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a carnival of country living using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: a carnival of country living, blog carnival.

Posh birds

There is great excitement in the Wiggly camp today and San and Rach are slipping into their posh frocks for the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Awards 2008 ceremony.

There are 10 titles up for grabs in total and Wiggly Wigglers was nominated for the Business of the Year award and has made it into the final, along with two other companies, Kingspan and Central Roofing. The Business of the Year award is given to the company that has demonstrated all-round excellence in business.

The results will be announced tonight at Eastnor Castle in Ledbury at a ceremony presented by Lars Tharp, Antiques Roadshow expert and broadcaster.

An update tomorrow!

Hen Treats

My hens like nothing more than a treat or two and today they are in luck. Some mealworms that went astray in the post, and were subsequently returned to us, are on the menu.

Hens are very partial to the odd treat, but you shouldn’t feed them anything that is salty or sugary.

Here are some of my hens’ favourites: Mixed corn (a handful or two scattered widely over the ground keeps them occupied for a good while), green vegetables (cabbage and lettuce), mealworms and waxworms.

Bird brain

Birds sometimes store food when times are good, for consumption later in the season when pickings are not so rich.

These hoarders include several species of tit and jays.

Luckily, these birds can remember exactly where they hid their food for up to several weeks!

The bird in the picture is helping himself to mealworms from a Wiggly Wigglers round hanging live feeder.

Carnival of Environmental Issues

Welcome to the June 3, 2008 edition of the Wiggly Wigglers carnival of environmental issues.

Gina Buss presents 6 Ways To Save Water in Your Yard posted at Ways To Protect Our Environment.

Fuel Efficient Driver presents Tips On Saving Gas And Money posted at Getting Better Gas Mileage, saying, "Here is a general list on how to save money on gas."

Melanie Rimmer presents Save the Planet - Stop Shopping posted at Bean-Sprouts, saying, "Buying green products is not the answer. Not buying stuff at all, if you can help it, is the answer."

Mark Schauss presents What do the Numbers on Your Fruits and Vegetables Mean? posted at Toxic World Blog - Detoxify and Heal Your Body.

Elizabeth presents 11 Tips and Tricks for Greening your Hotel Stay: 25 Days to Green Travel, Day 16 posted at Go Green Travel Green.

presents Save Money, Save the Planet posted at Healthy Savings.

NAOMI presents BRITONS THROWING AWAY SMALL FORTUNE IN WASTED FOOD posted at Diary From England

Theodore Pappas presents Notes on Noise Pollution -Britannica Blog posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "A fine piece on the problem of noise pollution."

Theodore Pappas presents The Silence of the Songbirds posted at Britannica Blog, saying, "A great post on the disappearance of songbirds."

Seth presents Get Smart #5: Earth Day 2008 Edition; Seth and Ray's blog posted at Seth and Ray's blog, saying, "Earth Day 2008 Edition of Seth and Ray's blog on a great effort in sustainable living/learning in Ladakh."

Leon Gettler presents Green investment - not for the faint-hearted posted at Sox First, saying, "Green investment is all the rage. But does it deliver? Does it pay off and produce strong profits for the investor?"

David presents Forget Global Warming…How About A Global Cleaning? posted at The Good Human.

Zork Brauk presents Zork Green Tip 10 - Top 10 Green Date Tips posted at It's the Planet, Didiot!, saying, "Earthlings, have fun and be green at the same time. Make all of your dates green dates."

Kate Shuster presents Don?t drink Fiji Water posted at Toxic Culture.

Suzanne presents Kid Friendly Eco Project Mommyfootprint.com posted at Mommyfootprint.com, saying, "A kid friendly eco project that the entire family and community will enjoy from years to come. And the fish will love it too!"

Lars presents Plant a Tree Today - How and why to plant a tree so that it grows fast and healthy! posted at InsightsandAdvice.com.

Phil B. presents Can We Stop Global Warming? posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, "No, we can not stop global warming."

Katrina Cain presents What is the Smallest Ocean in the World? posted at What is the Smallest, saying, "This is a brief summary about the Arctic Ocean and what is happening with global warming."

John presents More Tampering? posted at A DC Birding Blog.

Praveen presents Top 10 Surprising Results of Global Warming posted at Tao of Simplicity.

Fuel Efficient Driver presents The 100 M.P.G. Car! posted at Getting Better Gas Mileage, saying, "A fuel efficient car that goes 100 miles per gallon."

Rt @ Real Muscle Online presents Eco-Friendly Office: 10 Small Things You Can Do at Work to Help the Environment The Daily Mind - Making the Daily Grind Meaningful posted at The Daily Mind - Making the Daily Grind Meaningful, saying, "This article is about helping the environment at your work in very simple ways."

Zoe Williams presents 30 ways to save the planet in under 30 seconds posted at Rekindled, saying, "Very quick and easy green tips."

Praveen presents Alternative to Throwing Your Cell Phone in A Landfill posted at Tao of Simplicity.

Leon Gettler presents Tightening the rules for ethical investment posted at Sox First, saying, "A mix of legislation, changing directors' fiduciary duties which forces them to invest in the best interests of their shareholders, accounting rules and performance indicators. That’s what’s needed to make environmental laws more ethical."

Lisa Spinelli presents Does Your Lawn Really Need to Look Like Astroturf? posted at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance

Tip Diva presents Tip Diva Top Ten Tips - Reduce Your Water Usage posted at Tip Diva, saying, "Whether you live in an area with a water shortage or drought, or just want to be a little more green, here are ways you can reduce your water usage"

Gary Hillery presents Electronic Recycling The Green Path Company posted at Gary Hillery.

Leon Gettler presents Going for green with accounting posted at Sox First, saying, "With more pressure on companies to show their green credentials, environmental accounting might well become one of the hot jobs of the future."

Busy Bee Kim presents 10 Easy Ways to Go Green posted at Busy Bee Lifestyle.

Peter presents Good News: Gas Prices Will Continue to Rise posted at The Change Blog.

Yannai Kranzler presents Don't Fall into the Doomsday Trap posted at Climate of Change

Samir Bharadwaj presents The Yellow Rubber Ducks Now Live Down On the Farm posted at Samir Bharadwaj dot Com, saying, "Every environmental lesson is better learnt through a story, and every story needs a hero, so why not a hypothetical yellow rubber duck?"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of a carnival of environmental issues using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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The Wiggly Wigglers Podcast

This week it’s a packed show and tall, blonde, handsome (modest) Richard has been at River Cottage HQ in Dorset making the team a homemade wormery from recycled materials. His efforts are in aid of a new River Cottage TV series, which started last Thursday (28th). The next episodes can be seen on Channel 4 at 9pm on the 4th, 11th and 18th June. For more details about the show take a look at the River Cottage web site.

There is also a big plug for Farmer Phil's Painting Competition, which is open to one and all. Farmer Phil would like you to do a drawing or painting of "something outside" to brighten up the walls of his new office. Entries close on Friday 13 June and there are some really fab prizes on offer for the winners. To get an entry form please click here.

To listen to the whole of the Wiggly podcast click here.

Below is a taster of what’s on this week’s show:

Time: 00:00:01 Heather's good at maths & the podcast now has 15 million squillion listeners - more than the BBC
Time: 00:01:56 Time for an iTunes review from Gardening Gremlin
Time: 00:02:42 What's on this week's show?
Time: 00:03:25 Montycast: a weekly fact on farming
Time: 00:03:42 Wrinkly Bottom in Wigmore, Herefordshire is open on 8 June 2008.
Time: 00:04:22 We have sheep for the Hay Festival & blonde (NOT ginger) Rich has
to chase his chickens.
Time: 00:06:37 Heather has some facts on Ryeland sheep and Farmer Phil has a new tank.
Time: 00:14:22 The team chat about Ricardo's adventures to see HFW at River Cottage.
Time: 00:19:42 Richard's in Dorset making Hugh a wormery for a new series coming up shortly on Channel 4.
Time: 00:30:28 We have a bokashi question from Julian Wilson on Facebook.
Time: 00:31:21 It's a Farmer Phil competition alert for kids up to age 101 and there are some real prizes!

The Wiggly Wigglers podcast team is Heather Gorringe, Phil Gorringe (aka Farmer Phil) and Richard Fishbourne (aka Ricardo).