Bournemouth & Poole Get on the Same Bus

Report by John Barclay From DORSET HUMANISTS

The Big Green Bus tour of Bournemouth and Poole got off to a lively start on Friday 15th May when Brigit Strawbridge of TV's 'It's Not Easy Being Green' gave an inspiring talk at Poole Lighthouse entitled 'It's Easy Being Green'. While the Big Green Bus waited on the forecourt, an enthusiastic crowd including representatives of the two councils packed the function room to enjoy an up-beat evening, instigated and hosted by Dorset Humanists. It was part of the Bournemouth & Poole's Big Green Fortnight, which itself had grown from a chance meeting last year in an organic food shop in Malvern when Humanist Jane Bannister asked Ms Strawbridge to bring the bus to Bournemouth.

Bubbling with a vitality that testified to her healthy green lifestyle, the environmental campaigner congratulated Bournemouth and Poole on working together to set up such a full programme of environmental awareness events. 50% of carbon emissions, she said, were caused by individuals. But global warming was only one of a stack of pressing issues - the depletion of natural resources, the peaking of oil production, the West's obsession with acquiring 'stuff', man-made threats to biodiversity, the volume of waste and the wasting of water. These, she emphasised, are the responsibility of us all.

She explained how high-handed interference from Monsanto had led to the destruction of Indian cotton plantations, driving more than 150,000 growers to suicide. She offered simple tips to reduce the negative effects of our own actions. Save water, she suggested, by washing your car in the rain; in the bathroom, 'If it's yellow, let it mellow - if it's brown, flush it down!' Passing round fabric samples made from banana fibre, a stone deodorant and a do-it-yourself 'bee hotel', she encouraged us to question the sourcing of the products we buy and think about the environmental implications of our actions.

Taking her mission seriously, but not herself, Brigit Strawbridge made a persuasive and entertaining case that it was vital we change our habits, while showing that this can be economical, satisfying and fun. To find out more about her charity visit www.thebiggreenidea.org.

Hilary Evans, for Poole Council, thanked Brigit Strawbridge, urging the audience to look out for the Big Green Bus and come to other events. The evening ended with informal chat over refreshments. Great to see Bournemouth and Poole working together to help make our world a better place!

John Barclay

Queries to John Barclay 01929 554959 or Jane Bannister 01202 428506

Judy from thebiggreenidea.org Reports

The first weekend of Poole and Bournemouth's Big Green Fortnight has provided an opportunity for The Big Green Bus to spread the message of The Big Green Idea, that it can be fun and easy to live more sustainable lives, with an appearance in Falklands Square in Poole on Saturday and Bournemouth Square on Sunday. What struck me was that visitors to the bus seemed to fall into two main groups: those who were already aware of environmental issues and had already made changes to their lifestyles, and those for whom many of the ideas presented on the bus were completely new. More...