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Little Green Space |
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Little Green Space |
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LITTLE GREEN SPACE Originally published in the Peak Advertiser on 14 December 2009
Father
Christmas goes green on a visit to the Peak Keep it local My
husband hates tramping round big cities and fighting through the crowds.
He suggests supporting local businesses – a good way to help keep our
local communities alive and vibrant. Here
in the Peak, as regular readers of the Peak Advertiser will know, we have
some fantastic shops in the towns of Buxton, Bakewell, Matlock and
Ashbourne, and there are lots of interesting shops in our villages too. A
hamper of locally-produced food makes a wonderful gift – check out your
nearest farmer’s market – and you could include some traditional
favourites from Derbyshire, such as Ashbourne gingerbread, Derbyshire
oatcakes or Bakewell pudding. Shopping
in this way cuts your Christmas carbon by avoiding long car journeys and
reducing congestion in big cities. If you can’t do without your
Christmas city shopping fix, make use of park-and-ride schemes or take the
train. Homemade I’ve
been busy this week, making up jars of mincemeat. It’s a good way to use
up the dried fruit left over from Christmas cake-making – much better
than finding bags of out-of-date raisins at the back of the cupboard next
September! If
you make up extra jars of mincemeat, you can give some as presents. Add
port or brandy to the recipe to make a luxurious gift. Better
still, tailor-make your mincemeat to suit the tastes of the recipient. My
dad is diabetic, but he still loves a mince pie at Christmas (don’t we
all?) so I always make up a batch of sugar-free mincemeat for him as a
gift. Making
your own jams, marmalades, chutneys and chocolates is an economical way to
show someone you care. And if you use local or home-grown ingredients, you
save on the food miles as well as money. Help a hobby My
mum caught the grow-your-own bug this year. She doesn’t have a
full-scale veggie patch but has been successful with salads, beans and
potatoes in pots on her patio. Mum
loves her new hobby, so I’ve bought her a gardening gift: a traditional
trug (available from local garden centres) filled with seed packets,
gardening gloves and sustainably-sourced wooden plant labels. Bird
food and feeders make wildlife-friendly gifts that could help to foster a
life-long hobby. Johnson-Ladygrove Ltd in Two Dales – which has
supported Little Green Space’s projects – sells a range of feeders and
bird food. Wrap it up… A
pile of beautifully wrapped presents piled up underneath the tree is a
heart-warming sight. But with thousands of tonnes of wrapping paper going
to landfill each year, it’s one of the biggest sources of festive waste.
Recycling
Christmas wrapping paper is one solution. Beware, though, of foil-coated
or glittery paper, as these can’t be recycled. Neither can laminated
papers (the thick, glossy, expensive kind). Try
choosing 100% recycled wrapping paper. Or support your local Post Office
by buying brown parcel paper, which can be made more Christmassy with
paints, ink stamps or felt-tip pens (but not glitter!) – a creative
activity to keep excited kids occupied. My
friend Simon suggests going one step further and using the pages from old
road maps as gift-wrap. How about a bottle of …or don’t! Of
course, you could avoid the gift-wrap dilemma altogether by choosing
presents that don’t need to be wrapped. My
in-laws recently had a grove of trees planted on behalf of our family.
Award-winning charity Trees for Life can plant trees on behalf of your
loved-ones, as part of their work to restore the Another
friend, Alison, recommends National Trust or English Heritage membership.
This allows free visits to their properties: ideal for families like
Alison’s, who like to get out and about! Many
charities offer gift membership too. My dad has renewed our children’s
RSPB membership this year. The kids love getting the magazines in the
post, so it’s a present that lasts the whole year. If
you’re keen to cut Christmas costs, Christine has a great suggestion –
don’t buy any gifts at all! Instead offer friends and family a service
they would really appreciate: perhaps an evening’s baby-sitting, cooking
a meal, or offering to do a basket of ironing. And no packaging or waste! Christine
also suggests buying strong, reusable supermarket bags to wrap presents
in. At around 10p each, it’s an economical option and is wrapping that
can be re-used. Which reminds me: wherever you decide to shop this
Christmas, don’t forget those bags! Well,
I hope that’s got you into the festive spirit. There’s more
information on Little Green Space’s Christmas website at www.savethenorthpole.org.uk.
Have a fantastic Christmas. And if you like the idea of giving mincemeat
as a gift, try this recipe. Date and Walnut
Mincemeat (For
a low-sugar version simply omit the sugar and cherries) 150g
stoned dates 150g
raisins 150g
sultanas 150g
currants 100g
walnuts 2
eating apples, cored, peeled and quartered 100g
glace cherries 150g
demerara sugar 1
teaspoon mixed spice grated
rind and juice of 1 orange 100ml
brandy, plus a little extra for spooning Put
the dried fruit, walnuts, apples and cherries into a food processor and
chop finely. Turn into a bowl and add the sugar, brandy, mixed spice and
orange rind and juice. Mix thoroughly. Cover with a plate and leave for at
least 24 hours. Pack into sterilized jars and spoon over 1 teaspoon of
brandy then seal tightly with a lid and store in a cool, dry place. Penny at Little Green
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