26-Jun-2006
- The Environment Agency is calling on keen gardeners
to add drought tolerant plants to their gardens
and ‘promise the earth’ for World Environment
Day when visiting Blooms of Bressingham at Stonehouse
near Gloucester this weekend.
We will be hosting an exhibition
stand at Blooms of Bressingham between 9.00am
-6.00pm on Saturday 1st July and 10.30am - 4.30pm
on Sunday 2nd July.
We will show how people can
still have a beautiful garden while using less
water. Water saving advisors will be on hand with
information and easy tips on water saving in the
garden. The stand will also have companies offering
water preserving products and climate change resistant
seeds.
On the same stand we will also
be asking visitors to ‘Promise the Earth’ for
World Environment Day. In return for making promises
visitors will receive a choice of merchandise
to help them keep their promises.
Making little lifestyle changes
can have a big effect if everyone does it. Whether
you take a shower instead of a bath, reduce your
energy use or use the car less, the benefits are
big.
How we use water is also part
of World Environment Day. The south east of England
could be suffering the most serious drought in
the past 100 years. Gardeners across the Midlands
can also do their bit to avoid a similar situation
in our region. At Blooms of Bressingham we are
encouraging gardeners to think about what plants,
trees and shrubs can survive in drier conditions.
Malcolm Lythgo, Area Manager
for Lower Severn commented; "Our stand at
Blooms of Bressingham will combine two really
important areas of our work for this summer. Firstly
we are looking to give people practical tips on
how to enjoy their gardens but save water at the
same time. Secondly we will be asking visitors
to think about wider aspects of climate change,
specifically how they personally can promise to
make a small change to their lifestyles to achieve
a huge difference to our environment."
Notes to editors
Blooms of Bressingham
Th garden centre can be found
just off junction 12 of the M5, Bath Road, Haresfield,
Nr. Stoneshouse, Gloucester, GL10 3DP
We will be at Blooms from 9.00am until 6.00pm
on Saturday 1st July and 10.30am until 4.30pm
on Sunday 2nd July
Water saving tips for Gardeners
Some plant flowers and shrubs
that thrive in hot and dry conditions and are
best suited for poor, free-draining soils include
lavender, buddleia (butterfly bush), Californian
poppy, red-hot poker, evening primrose and many
herbs.
Mulches such as wood chips,
bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation
and also suppress weed growth, saving both water
and time spent weeding.
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
If you don't have a garden,
there's no need to feel left out. Water saving
tips for the home can be found at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Drought
Licences to abstract water have
conditions that restrict water abstraction during
periods of dry weather when flows of rivers and
streams are low. The restrictions could occur
in a drought or a non-drought situation.
As a drought develops we will
update our web pages with information on the current
water situation in the Midlands. Current information
on the water situation for England and Wales (including
the Midlands), can be found at:http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/regions/midlands/567079/567098/635230/?version=1&lang=_e
This years promises
To make a small change go to
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed and promise
to do one of 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.
We will be able to measure exactly
how many litres of water, tonnes of CO2, kilograms
of waste and kilowatt hours we can all save.
What difference does it make?
If everyone in the UK shared
their daily car trip to work – in a year we would
save 3 billion litres of petrol, worth £2.8
billion, we’d save ourselves 24 billion miles
of driving and stop the release of 6 million tonnes
of CO2. In fact if we all shared a car trip to
work, it would be like planting 5.4 million trees
– that’s a big breath of fresh air!
If everyone in the UK simply
turned the tap off while they brushed their teeth
they would save 76 billion litres of water, every
year. That’s 31,500 Olympic sized swimming pools
– enough drinking water for one third of the population
of Ethiopia every year.
If everyone in the UK stopped using plastic bags
and switched to a reusable bag, we’d save 7.8
billion plastic bags - that’s enough plastic to
tie around the earth 103 times.
If everyone in the UK volunteered
to do an environmental project for one day – we’d
spend 420 million hours improving our environment.
That’s the same amount of energy it took to build
the Great Pyramid of Giza!
If every family in the UK hung
out just one load of washing once a week we would
save 300 million loads of tumble drying, prevent
515,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, and save ourselves
a whopping £88 million in electricity bills
every year.
If everyone in the UK swapped
a daily bath for a shower we could save a 203
billion litres of water - enough to fill up Lake
Windermere. In fact for every bath we take – up
to three people could have a shower!
If everyone in the UK stopped
filling the kettle to the top every time they
made a cuppa – we would save enough electricity
in one year to run more than three quarters of
the street lighting in the country.
If everyone in the UK put a
hippo or similar water saving device in their
toilet cistern, we would save 91 billion litres
of water every year – that’s enough water for
the Okavango Delta’s real life hippos to happily
splash around in!
If everyone in the UK started
using rechargeable batteries we would stop 20,000-
30,000 tonnes of batteries being thrown away ever
year – enough to build more than 3 Eiffel Towers.
If everyone in the UK gave a
few pound or pence to a climate payback scheme
each time they took a flight it would be like
planting millions of trees. If all 16.9 million
UK people who take short haul flights every year
around the UK and Europe gave a small contribution
to offset the 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions
created – we could plant a new Sherwood Forest
every two years.
Holly Smith
