Kenneth Clarke MP for
Rushcliffe will announce the winners of a Nottingham
Schools competition to ‘Design a Garden for WED’
on 5 June 2006.
The MP will be joining the Environment
Agency at Wheatcroft Garden Centre, Edwalton,
Nottingham to give out prizes to the top three
entries from local school children who have designed
gardens on the theme of World Environment Day.
The prizes will total £500 in Garden Centre
vouchers.
The judging panel included Toby
Willison, Environment Agency Area Manager, Cllr
John Cottee and Judith Harris, manager of Wheatcroft
Garden Centre. We have worked in partnership with
Wheatcroft Garden Centre to launch the schools
competition and the winning entries will be displayed
at the Garden Centre throughout June 2006.
At the same event Kenneth Clarke
MP will also ‘promise the earth’ for World Environment
Day. In 2006 we are asking everyone to Promise
the Earth for World Environment Day. We must change
our behaviour to protect our environment for future
generations. Making little lifestyle changes can
have a big effect if everyone does it. Whether
you take a shower instead of a bath, reusing carrier
bags or walking instead of using the car.
Climate change is now one of
the biggest challenges we face. With scientists
predicting more winter flooding and summer drought,
water shortages and hosepipe bans, such as those
now being faced in the South of England, will
become ever more likely in the Midlands too.
Wise use of water in the garden
is essential if we are to have enough to cater
for our needs in coming years. Gardeners need
to know which plants will thrive in these new
climate conditions.
To help gardeners in Nottingham
choose the most climate friendly plants Wheatcroft
Garden Centre has created two new gardens. The
first features a range of Alpine and Mediterranean
plants and flowers and the second display features
a home grown vegetable garden complete with shed
and a water butt creating a drought friendly irrigation
system.
Plantograms of the gardens will
be available free to visitors at Wheatcroft Garden
Centre.
Toby Willison, Environment Agency
Area Manager, said; "Through our partnership
with Wheatcroft Garden centre and Kenneth Clarke,
MP we are able to give people practical gardening
tips that save water and to encourage people to
think about the small lifestyle changes they can
make that will have huge environmental benefits.
By getting local schools involved we’re getting
kids thinking about these important issues and
I hope having some fun too."
More information:
Water saving tips
For other ideas on how to save
water and still have a beautiful garden see Alan
Titchmarsh’s tips on www.environment-agency.gov.uk/drought
World Environment Day
We are planning to build on
the success of World Environment Day ’05 to make
this year’s campaign even bigger; with a higher
profile and an even greater environmental impact.
For 2006 the campaign will again
focus on people making a commitment to change
their behaviour. This year we will be asking people
to make promises. We will again be supporting
the Action Earth campaign as part of World Environment
Day and will encourage people to take part in
volunteer projects as one of their promises.
In 2006 we hope to get:
More people to make promises
Increased number of organisations
taking part
Increase in awareness of World
Environment Day
Increased awareness of the need
for, and ways people can, change their behaviour
to make an environmental difference
More information can be found
on http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed/
This year’s World Environment
Day promises
Just go to www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed
and promise to do the following:
I promise to take a shower instead
of a bath.
I promise to put a water saving
device in my toilet cistern.
I promise to turn the tap off
when I brush my teeth.
I promise to use rechargeable
batteries instead of disposable ones.
I promise to use a reusable
bag when I shop, rather than plastic carriers.
I promise to air my washing
in public – not in the tumble dryer.
I promise to boil only the water
I need, rather than filling the kettle every time
I promise to share my car journeys
to work with a colleague, cycle, or replace those
car journeys with public transport at least once
a week.
I promise to use a climate payback
scheme to reduce the impact of any air travel
I take.
I promise to organise or volunteer
for an environmental project in my local community.
Then the Environment Agency
will be able to measure exactly how many litres
of water, tonnes of CO2, kilograms of waste and
kilowatt hours we can all save.
Climate change in the Midlands
The UK climate has varied greatly
over time due to natural causes, but human activities
are now believed to be causing major changes to
the climate by raising the levels of certain gases
in the atmosphere. These gases are called greenhouse
gases as they increase the amount of energy trapped
in the atmosphere so raise the temperature of
the Earth. How much our climate changes in the
future depends on how much greenhouse gas we release.
There is evidence that the climate
in the Midlands is already changing:
Five of the ten warmest years
of the 20th century occurred in the 11000s, these
were 11000, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999
Annual mean temperatures over
Central England increased by 0.6ºC between
1901 and 1998
Annual rainfall totals have
increased by 3% since the 1930s, but seasonal
changes have been much more dramatic. December
rainfall has increased by 38% and July rainfall
decreased by 31%
Sea levels have risen by up
to 2mm per year on the East CoastThe UK Climate
Impacts Change Programme (UKCIP) has predicted
that the Midlands’ climate will continue to get
warmer and wetter, with more storms and flooding
in the winter and more droughts in the summer.
It is likely that this will lead to changes in
the way we live and work and to the bio-diversity
of the region. We are advising regional bodies
on the likely impact of climate change, and on
strategies to mitigate the effects and to adapt
to the changes.
Wheatcroft Garden Centre
The drought resistant gardens
are located in the Wheatcroft Garden Centre
More information about the Wheatcroft
Garden Centre can be found at: http://www.wheatcroftgardencentre.co.uk/
