residential weekend course

introduction to a greener lifestyle

venue: Redfield Community, Bucks

Are you up for living a more eco-friendly life, but don't know where to start? This weekend course will guide you through 3 major subject areas (energy, household and food), plus there will be more general discussions on low-impact living and the environment, plus a chance to network with other participants and tutors, and ask specific questions about your personal circumstances.

On Friday evening, Dave, LILI's director will host a discussion about why we need to think about lowering our impact, how best to go about it, creating networks of like-minded people, land ownership, economics, what governments can do, and how we can organise ourselves to bring about change. He wants your feedback!

On Saturday morning, Sandra Hayes of the National Energy Foundation will tutor the session about energy. She will cover:

  • switching to a green electricity supplier
  • saving energy: low-energy appliances, savaplugs, insulation etc.
  • planning an energy system for your home: prioritising
  • renewables: solar hot water, electricity and heat from renewables, wood and pellet stoves
  • doing the sums: how much will it cost, how much will you save - in terms of money and emissions
  • grants, including feed-in tariff

On Saturday afternoon, Emma Winfield of the Bristol Green Store will talk about the stuff we fill our homes with:

  • household cleaners: goodies and baddies, how to make your own
  • bodycare products: ditto
  • furniture and fittings
  • carpets
  • where things come from, what they're made of, things you really don't want in your home
  • how we live today, and the effect it has on our health and the environment

On Sunday morning, our permaculture tutor Jenny Chandler will talk about food, including:

  • how you can grow some of your own, however small your space (and why you should)
  • making the most of it - preserving, crafty recipes and using wild foods
  • important labels and what they mean - fair trade, organics, food miles
  • good places to get it from and how to find them - farmers markets, box schemes, co-ops
  • meat - should we eat it? What do the different labels mean? Where can we get good stuff?
  • a look at our diets and some alternatives to not-so-green favourites

This is a great introductory weekend, and you'll leave with lots of ideas to get started.

dates: see 'book online' below

more on low-impact living


how to book:
  

if you can't open the booking form, you need Acrobat Reader - it's free
arrive:
  
Friday evening at 6.30 for dinner at 7.30
depart:
  
Sunday after lunch (served at 1.00)
directions:
  
click here for directions by bicycle, public transport and car
what to bring:
  
pen and notebook; towel; work clothes and boots / wellies (meals and bedding are provided)
NO DOGS PLEASE
let us know:
  
if you are vegan or have any food allergies, or any special needs
accommodation:
  
3-4 people sharing single-sex rooms
prices:
  
£190 high-waged; £160 waged;
£130 student / unwaged
Refundable up to two weeks prior to course (minus £30 admin fee)
No refunds for cancellations within two weeks of course
car sharing:
  
visit our car sharing forum to offer or request a lift
 

insulate your house properly and reduce your energy use before you consider installing renewables - you don't want to go to the trouble of generating your own heat and electricity, only to waste it

 

 


you can harvest your carrots and keep them buried in damp sand in a cool place to last the whole winter


 

 


mixing vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to make an effective but gentle all-purpose cleaner

 

 


nothing cosier than a wood stove - with a back boiler they can heat your water too, in combination with solar (when it's too warm to light the stove)

 

 



you don't need a huge amount of land to keep chickens (here are 3 Marans in a small back yard) - they will love your food scraps, and provide you with delicious free-range eggs every morning; chickens and cats get on fine too