Abu Dhabi has among the highest per capita energy consumption on the planet but Masdar City has been planned and developed to utilise the abundant solar power potential and uses enhanced traditional design practices to create natural cooling. The city is surrounded by walls that exclude hot desert winds, Streets are short and narrow and angled to provide maximum shade and a 45m high wind tower captures cooler breezes and directs them into the streets. This results in an impressive 15 to 20 … Read more
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Guerrilla Gardening Make your own Seed-Balls/Seed-Bombs
Guerrilla gardening is an act of activism and focuses on gardening on land that we do not have legal rights to garden in, for example: abandoned, neglected or unused private or public spaces. By doing so, we are taking direct action for reclaiming land that is underutilized or neglected and promoting food security and sustainability education. One effective strategy for Guerrilla Gardening is the use of the Seed-Balls (aka Seed-Bombs). These are made by mixing earth with a high percentage of … Read more
Food Forests Sustainable agriculture in the form of forestry
There are successful experiences around the world in designing agricultural systems as an imitation of natural eco-systems. The idea is simple yet elegant: by implementing ecological principles in agriculture, we can design a system that functions sustainably like a natural eco-system, and at the same time yields products that are useful for humans, like an agricultural system. Some main characteristics of a food forests are: * High level and a variety of production of food, fiber, animal … Read more
Passive Solar Greenhouse Produce More Food Locally With Less Energy
Groundswell Community Network in British Columbia, Canada have constructed a passive solar greenhouse that greatly extends the growing season for a wide range of crops and reduces energy consumption to a minimum. The north side of the building is insulated and built with a high thermal mass to store heat and the glazed structure is placed on the south side. Surplus heat collected during the day is feed into a heat store beneath the floor. There are also photo-voltaic and solar thermal panels … Read more
Foraging Wild Edible Plants There is great food under our noses...
Traditionally, in every place around the globe, people knew the local wild edible plants and their various uses. This knowledge was derived from traditions, which were formed in a constant process of trial and error, and were passed on meticulously from generation to generation. We can choose to re-learn this tradition, get to know and forage our local wild edible plants! Foraging ads diversity to our diet, is highly nutritional and accessible and is a source for food which is 100% local. … Read more
Learn About Aquaponics Training Courses in Bristol UK
The Bristol Fish Project is a community-supported aquaponics farm in Bristol established to explore and promote the commercial viability of community-supported aquaponics. They have set up training courses with the expressed aims: 1) To make aquaponics accessible 2) To enable participants to overcome specific production issues through access to specific information and expert guidance 3) To enable participants to realise true product value, by taking a systems approach focusing on the … Read more
The Man Who Planted Trees A Story to Inspire
The Man Who Planted Trees, is a short story first published in 1953 and tells the story of one shepherd's long and successful single handed effort to re-forest a desolate valley in the foothills of the Alps in Provence throughout the first half of the 20th century. As the forest grows so the ecosystem is restored and people return. This classic and popular ecological tale has been interpreted in the theatre and made into an animated film. Clearly and simply it encourages a love of place and of … Read more
Eco Retrofitting Older Houses Refurbishing Houses for Low Carbon Emissions
Buildings are the largest consumers of energy and worldwide there is a vast stock of old and highly inefficient homes and commercial properties. Bringing them up to modern ecological standards is a skilled matter involving insulating the structure, correctly ventilating the spaces and recovering heat from exhaust air, installing the most efficient heating systems with the lowest carbon emissions and fitting appropriate renewable energy systems such as photo-voltaic panels. The links below … Read more
Preserving & Sharpening Your Razor Blade Save so much money and waste!
Simple steps to preserving your razor blade so it lasts much longer, saving you lots of money and waste! 1. Clean the razor well with hot water, make sure there are no hairs left stuck between the blades. 2. Always dry the razor well when you've finished using it! 3. Smear a bit of oil on the razor, preferably an oil which is skin-friendly, such as olive oil. 4. Store in a place where the blades won't come in contact with other objects. Little bumps can ruin the blades by slightly … Read more
Build Your Own Bee-House Attracting pollinators to your garden, made easy
It is generally well-known that pollination is important for food production. Without pollinating insects (pollinators), some plants cannot produce fruits or seeds. How can we encourage pollinators to come to our garden (be it a rural farm or an urban balcony)? 1. Grow plants that attract pollinators. Bees love the colors yellow, blue and white. The lists of plants will differ according to your location around the globe, so it's good to do some searching in your local language. 2. Build a … Read more
