Green Weddings 1: Saving The Date

Finally, here is the first of my green wedding blogs and I thought it would make sense to start with the first thing your guest will see from your wedding, the save the date or invite. So that's what this blog is all about; how to tell people about your special day without completely destroying the planet.

Now if you're anything like me as soon as you got engaged you will have started telling people. And when you picked a definite date you'll probably have told the most important people (parents, best man, bridesmaids etc) at once, but telling people the date, time and venue formally is important too. Partly because telling someone when your wedding is and actually inviting them are very different but also because sending out save the dates or invites gives people the details written down, so they have them to check nearer the time.

If you wanted to have the greenest of green wedding, the best way to invite people is probably by phone or email. A nice way to do this is by sending out your own save the date and invite ecards. There are many sites that help you to do this and can set up an RSVP system to help you collect all the responses back again.

But there are a few problems with this. Some people still don't have email, and many people don't feel an ecard is as formal as a posted card or letter. Personally, I just don't find it as fun as sending out cards. Realistically, as long as you're not inviting thousands of people, the amount of paper that goes into save the dates and invites is going to be minimal compared to everything else you're buying or using on the day. Some people prefer to cut down on paper use by just sending invites. This can work well, especially if you've told most people the date in person, by phone or email in advance anyway. If you choose to send out both save the dates and invites then looking at the size of your paper can be a good idea.

For a save the date you're probably going to need your names, the date and maybe the location, that's all. So it doesn't need to be a huge piece of paper. I've received some really gorgeous save the dates that were smaller than a book of stamps. They're cute, small enough to pop into a diary or pin to a calendar so you don't lose it and don't use lots of unnecessary paper or card.  The policy of only using the materials that you really need to is a good one for all stationary materials. Less is going to be greener, cheaper and probably look better most of the time. Don't cover your invites with metres and metres of ribbon, use a bit and keep it simple. You'll look at them for hours while making them, the people you send them too will at most look at them for minutes.

As well as how much paper you use, it's worth considering what type of paper you use. I wouldn't buy non-FSC standard paper for toilet roll, kitchen paper, printer paper or a notebook so why should paper for my invites be any different? The tricky thing here is that it's likely to cost more and cutting down on the price of paper might mean a couple more bottles of wine at your meal. There are some very pretty recycled papers available now. Just check out The Natural Wedding Company for some ideas. It's easily become one of my favourite sites since getting engaged.

One final way to reduce your invites carbon footprint is to think about the postage. If you're sending card to close friends and family who already know the date, can delivery wait until you seem them next? Hand delivering a card gives a personal touch and saves the cost and carbon of posting the cards. Also, for RSVPs why not ask for email or phone replies rather than postal ones. It saves you (or your guests) the cost of another letter and if done by email lets you put replies straight into any wedding spreadsheets you may have.

So, those are my thoughts of greening your save the dates and invites. But none of that is very inspirational. It can get very depressing thinking of all the little choices between FSC paper or recycled paper, ecards or posted invites; all on top of the regular wedding stresses. So before I finish, here are a few of my favourite green save the date and invites that I've found online. Let them inspire you to a greener wedding!

Save the date with flowers! Send out save the dates and invites printed on paper that contains flower seeds. Guests can plant the paper after use and be reminded of your wedding as the flowers grow.

From botanicalpaperworks.com

Give the personal touch with a DIY card! Who needs posh paper and complicated designs. This gorgeous invite gives a real feel for what they rest of the wedding will be like. It's simple, green and beautifully homemade. IT shouldn't cost the earth or take up tons of time to make either.

From blog on thenaturalweddingcompany.co.uk

Go local to your venue!  Why not buy British. There are lots of eco-friendly wedding invite companies right here in the UK. Look up the one nearest your venue, the happy couple or the majority of your guests and pick that one. You'll be safe in the knowledge that the invites haven't had to travel hundreds of miles just to get to you. The picture below comes from the website of Rachel Thompson who is based in Cambridge.

Festival themed invites from rachelthompsondesign.co.uk/

Change The Record

 I want us to be the greenest government ever

Is what Prime Minister David Cameron said on the 14th May 2010; over three years ago now. I've blogged about it before and I'll probably blog about it in the future too. This one sentence was probably the most hopeful thing I heard in that whole week, which for me was full of third year university mathematics exams. It was reiterated  in January this year with the government's mid-term review where they said

We are committed to being the greenest government ever

Now, if you want something badly enough, and try hard enough then you can almost always achieve it. Exceptions include my ambition, aged four, to be a ballet dancing, fire fighting paleontologist (when you look at the European Working Time Directive there just simple aren't enough hours in the day). Being the greenest government ever seems possible though. Not necessarily likely or easy but possible. If a government wanted it badly enough, and tried hard enough, they could be just that. It may wreck the economy, be unpopular and  prevent reelection but it would be possible. If you completely and utterly believe it to be the right thing to do and you're ready to work hard for it you could become the greenest government ever.

So, three years after that sentence it is probably time to decide whether Mr Cameron doesn't want it badly enough, or whether he just didn't try hard enough; or is it a mix of both?

A couple of weeks ago the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released it's most recent report into the Earth's changing climate, its probable causes and potential consequences. The key results quoted by the media were the 95% certainty that human action was the major reason for climate change and that things will be getting rougher in the future; and much rougher if we don't do something about it.

The UK likes to lead on many things. We lead on military power, healthcare, pop music, sports (sometimes) but apparently not climate change anymore. The Chancellor seems to have forgotten that he's aiming to be the greenest government ever because recently George Osborne said that he was committed to a steady and reliable energy supply for Britain at the lowest price, in line with international climate action and yet he added that 

I don’t want us to be the only people out there in front of the rest of the world. I certainly think we shouldn’t be further ahead of our partners in Europe.

Now, to be fair to Mr Osborne, I don't want the UK to be the only people out there in front acting on climate change either. I want everyone to be out there, acting together to prevent the worst and develop strategies to cope with the changing climate we are already seeing around us. I want everyone to be reaching forward as far as they possible can, I want competition and I want the UK to lead.

Surely we can't have the greenest government ever if they're not leading the international community into action? Except maybe we can. In my opinion we don't have it yet but being the greenest government wouldn't mean being the perfect green government, it just means being a little better than anyone else has been before. As far as I remember the last Labour government (with quite a lot of pushing from NGOs) did manage some good stuff for climate change, such as the climate change bill, which some Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs helped to bring about. But I don't remember them as shining knights coming to the rescue of all environmental and biodiversity problems. So all this government had to do, was be a tiny bit better than the last lot. They have so far utterly failed in my opinion. The repeated and unconcealed dislike from senior Tory MPs for almost all environment and nature issues is depressing. It seems to be cheaper, quicker, easier at any cost as long as it isn't economic.

I am 24 years old. At the start of 2100 I might still be alive (if I eat my greens) aged 110. Impressive, but not impossible by modern living standards. 2100 is the year the IPCC make their longest term predictions for. I can understand that for policy makers in their 50s this might seem a long way off, especially if you're looking to an election in a couple of years time. But for my generation, and anyone younger, climate change is going to affect us, as well as our children. It is our future and our present. If things go badly, it could be one of the largest impacts on my whole life. I want to have politicians who think longer term than the next election, not only when it comes to defense or healthcare but for the environment too because when we change our climate we can't just do a u-turn on policy to make it better. I want politicians who make promises that they care enough about and work hard enough for that we actually get results and not just reconfirmed promises three years down the line. I want to be able to show my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren butterflies and eels and puffins and not tell them distant memories of a world full of natural wonder, I want those memories to be theirs too. 

If you want it badly enough, and work hard enough, you can achieve almost anything. I'm not really interested in whether it's because they don't care or wont work hard enough to be the greenest government ever. Whichever it is the problem is still there. I once helped to hand in a climate change petition to Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street and sit with other young people and talk to him about climate change.  When an 8 year old asked why he wasn't stopping climate change he said something about tricky economics, and international trade and China being a bigger emitter than the UK anyway. The 8 year old looked a bit confused (understandably) and just replied saying "but if we don't stop climate change there wont be an economy to worry about". It's not quite that simple, but it nearly is. I wonder what our politicians will say to their children and grandchildren if asked whether if was because they didn't care enough or didn't try hard enough to be the greenest government ever when we really needed one.

Seeds and Fields

There's no denying that it's autumn now. Darker mornings when I wake up, leaves changing colour on the trees and lots of fields beginning to be ploughed all point towards the coming cold winter months.

But ploughed fields weren't always a sign of autumn. Before the amazing creation of winter wheat and the intensification of farming fields were left at stubble for the winter, and ploughed and sown with seeds in the new year, as temperatures got warm enough for crops to grow again. This slower pace of farming meant that during the winter fields were full of spilt grain and had lots of places for insects to hide over winter in the stubble. In fact, what was left sounds almost like a giant field of bird food and the birds loved it.

Now, with more efficient farming methods the stubbled is ploughed as soon as possible in most places; I saw quite a lot of ploughing in August. For many species, including the amazing Devon cirl buntings, this has been part (not often all) of the reason for massive declines.  For some species straight after ploughing is a time of pleanty with gulls and other insectivores enjoying the many little animals that are pushed to the surface of the newly turned soil.

Early autumn is a good time for most birds. The hedges are filled with berries, seeds are still on flower heads and branches, nuts are appearing and the last of summers insects are still humming around. But as the season moves on food will become scarce and that's why this is the perfect time of year to put up some bird feeders.

It doesn't matter how big or small your space, or whether you live in a city or the country, once you've provided the food, birds with come! I live in a first floor flat in Exeter, with no outside space, if I can find room for a bird feeder, surely everyone can. And just think what an incredible sight it would be if everyone did. It doesn't even have to be a bird feeder, it could be something for all that other wildlife out there. A bug hotel, a frog hibernation tunnel  or a hedgehog house,  you choose.

For me, with no outside space, it's really a bird feeder or nothing. I did put up a bird feeder last spring but an unfortunate incident with the window cleaner meant that it is no more. So after a very busy summer I've been treated to two new feeders. The first is a small tray that sticks to the window and can hold a handful of seeds. I'm using this for meal worms to attract insect eating birds like robins, wrens and maybe even wagtails since we're close to the river. The other feeder is an RSPB Starter bird seed feeder, hung on a hook that sticks to my window filled with sunflower hearts. I had one of these whilst at university and saw loads of different birds using it including nut hatch, blue tits, great tits and coat tits. Hopefully there  will be just as much interest in it this time. Sunflower hearts should appeal to most birds and so I'm going for the food that will attract the widest range of species.

After two days there's been no sign of visitors, but it has only been two days. Hopefully over the next few weeks birds will discover the feeders and enjoy this replacement stubble field in the middle of the city. The food is good for them in harsh seasons and it's great for me as I get to watch some lovely wildlife up close. If anyone has any garden wildlife stories or tips I'd love to hear them. For now, I'm off to sit and stare at the feeders in the hope I'll be around for the first visitor!

A Scilly Week

What a great place the Scillies are! After seven days working on the islands I'm back in Devon and blogging again. Whether rain or shine (and we definitely had both) the Isles of Scilly are an incredible landscape and seascape; full of wildlife. Getting the boat across the islands each morning was a brilliant way to commute. 

View from Bryher looking out towards Hell Bay

Along with all the great views when the sun was shining there were loads of butterflies, and even a couple of red underwing moths which sat still enough to be photographed!

 Other wildlife highlights were harbour porpoise, common and bottle nose dolphin, basking shark, Lapland bunting, dottrel and buff breasted sand piper.

A Scilly Journey

As you read this I will have traveled to the most southerly point of UK soil on which I have ever stood.  I am on the Isles of of Scilly. From where I write this, it will be a train journey, a walk, a boat journey, another walk and another boat journey before I get to my final destination on the islands. For somewhere so far away, it's actually very easy to get to without a car or aeroplane!

I've never been before, but I've heard lots about it. A warm, tropical climate, palm trees and white sandy beaches are what appears on the official visitor guide website. While it might be a tad cold for swimming in the blue waters that surround the islands (they are basically part of the Atlantic Ocean after all) I'm looking forward to discovering the scenery and wildlife both on and off shore.

I've been told more than once and by more than one person, that September and October on the Scillies are close to a birdwatchers paradise. Rare birds aplenty are blown onto the islands from as far away as America and the Southern oceans if the winds are right. Birds that would normally create a stir are counted as normal autumn species is this special corner of the UK. I expect there will be at least a few new species for me.

It's not rare birds that I'm getting excited about though. Growing up in Northamptonshire gives you a certain livelong excitement about the seaside. So living on a small island and getting the boat to work everyone morning for a week is going to be an adventure in itself. On the journey over, or back, from Penzance there will be the chance of dolphins, porpoises, whales, sharks, and countless "common" seabirds. Maybe even a jelly fish, sunfish or turtle!

I hope, as you read this, it will be sunshine and a heatwave on the islands (although this normally means less rare birds) and not a hurricane and Atlantic storms (which would be quite good for rare birds). By next week I'll be back in Devon on dry (safe) land and will be filling you in with all my scilly adventures.

Photo by Tom Corser www.tomcorser.com. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales (UK) Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/deed.en_GB

Green Water

Whilst enjoying a meal out recently I noticed that the water we had ordered was a little different to the normal fizzy stuff you get in most restaurants. 

On the back of the bottle there's a description of how Belu are contributing all their profits for three years to WaterAir (minimum £300,000), helping over 20,000 people by providing access clean water. As well as the charitable positives the water is also carbon neutral by reducing environmental impacts as far as possible and offsetting everything else. 

I still think it's better to have tap water (it's already being cleaned for drinking so why spend extra energy and resources bottling mineral water) but if you do have to buy water when out, Belu seems to be a really good choice for people and the environment.

Green Weddings

Over the last two years I've blogged about my attempts to lead a green life. I've looked at whether you can be green on a budget, if you can be fashionable and green, if you can be a regular twenty something and still stick to your green convictions. I've had mixed results.

But in less than a year now I am getting married. So the new challenge is: can I balance my girly desire for a day of excessive fairytale celebrations with my dreams of a magical, green, ethical, day? And can I do it without breaking the bank?! What I have discovered over the last nine months since getting engaged is that weddings are complicated, but only if you let them be. Like any new project, there are so many choices and options and decisions that need to be made. Often, the easiest option isn't the greenest. Sometimes the greenest option isn't cheap, other times it is amazingly cheap. My own wedding plans are coming along nicely now and so far there seems to be a reasonable balance between greenness and what we actually want from our day. But while researching and planning and day dreaming I have discovered so many amazing green wedding ideas that I realised there are far too many for me to use them all, even if I could afford or fit them all in. So I have decided  to celebrate and share some of the ideas and thoughts of green weddings over the next twelve months through my blog. It won't be all I'm blogging about but since this blog is meant to describe my attempts to navigate the world and my life in a green way it seems only right to talk about weddings when that is what takes up a lot of my time these days!

Whether it's finding a local supplier for the catering or weighing up the pros and cons of making recycled  paper for wedding invites I'll be looking at weddings from every green angle I can find. If you have any suggestions for blog topics, are or know a green wedding supplier or have a particular green wedding questions why not get in touch with me by commenting here or sending me a tweet (@jennifercavery). I'd love to hear from you.


For now here is a taster (in pictures) of some of the topics I'm going to be covering:

www.ecostreet.com

www.pebblebed.co.uk

www.tree2mydoor.com

www.blisstree.com