Team Green Britain

Building on work started whilst working for my local council, I am working to raise levels of cycling in our community back to those we used to enjoy.

Cycling has many benefits: It's an economic and easy form of green transport, its huge impact on activity levels can reduce the risks (and costs) from long term serious health issues, and it's a valuable empowering life skill. Do you remember that first ride on a bike on your own?
Cycling can help re-equip people with practical skills.

Thinking back to my last post (see below), if my project is deemed good enough it would be great to be able to fund more "trevors" in schools straight away. A 5-session Year-2 Learn to Ride course costs £100, so you can see how much difference a small amount of money makes to a project like mine….and your vote will make that difference.

I'd also be able to fund the start up of the second hand bike renovation project, publicising the bikes by taking a redundant shop unit in North Cheam; a very rundown area currently being rejuvenated. Initial overheads prevent projects like this getting started, so £10,000 will make a huge difference to something we already know works and that will eventually self fund: I've already trialed this successfully in partnership with Sutton Council.

Vote, and help me choose a brand name - I thought"Before & After" with the bikes on display showing the process of renovation…?

Noooo idea how many bolts £10k will buy for a £2m wind turbine (not that many…?) so please vote for me and together let's make a difference and help my project happen now.

Thanks so much for your support,

Trevor

Hi all Team Greener's, how's your summer going?

Interest in cycling has been HUGE this summer, and now we have the Paralympics: Their kit is just soooo cool, have you seen Alex Zanardi's race chair - wow!

Personally, I've never had such a busy summer, and if I had three of me I could run triple the courses planned for this September - I'm booked every day, splitting my time between six schools - I need more"trevors"right now…. to help run courses and build bikes.

I've got eight after school clubs booked, plus some work in a special needs school, enriching the curriculum. I'm also planning the start up of the second hand/bike recycling element of my project.

Looking forward to a busy autumn.

Life, they say, is all about what you put in, not what you take out, so I think my main theme to take away from our visit to the Olympic Park would be "investment", not just in money terms but in terms of time and people.

What impressed me most about the Olympic Park was its overall design and ease of use, and the way the various different areas flowed and merged with each other. Good design influences the way people treat and use public spaces, so I'll be trying to champion good design when talking with my local council about shared space and cycle route design.

The Olympic Park is simply an amazing place. It's not just an athletics stadium, but a whole complex that will really have an impact on the people living in the surrounding area.

The Park illustrates lots of great initiatives such as low-energy use buildings (the Velodrome), wind turbines, and energy measuring techniques. After the Games, there will be sustainable housing units as well. I was really impressed by the real-time energy monitoring systems. And how easy they were to use. You can see energy usage over various time periods, and coupled with home micro-energy generation, I think this is the way forward.

So, it's busy as ever in "Trev's World of Cycling". I'm currently running 8 after-school cycle clubs, with constant requests for more, so any extra funding will help expand the scheme and fund more instructors and clubs.

At present I'm also out every weekend running "Cycle Road Shows" at schools and community events; these prove very popular, and demonstrate the underlying fondness most people have for cycling.

Heat (and rain...!) help composters work harder, so if you've got one, time to dig it over and  use the compost produced - perhaps make some raised veggie beds, or use it on the allotments. If you're putting one in the garden, remember to place it in a sunny spot, not deep shade like we did!

Our current trial of a heat exchanger based central heating system is fab! Quiet, carbon neutral, uses no gas; only electrical power we've generated. In brief, it's a big fridge outside, using the waste heat that you always find at the back of a fridge to heat both house and hot water. I'll report back with more detail in later blogs.

Summer is here (LOL!)... Sorry I got carried away there. And seasonal change can help reduce carbon and save cash.

Click the link for my top tips for making the most of summer to be more sustainable at home.

My own cycle project, after 2 quiet months around Christmas, has taken off with a bang. I'm currently running 5 cycle after school clubs, with more planned, and (in association with Sutton Council) recently ran a 5 week cycle maintenance group at the Riverside Centre youth club. The boys were totally engrossed, and got to keep the bikes they built. Definitely worth another go!

Well, it's here, 2012, and so soon,! It's really exciting, with one of the biggest sporting events in the World just about to happen on our doorstep. We cycled to Box Hill for the "trial" Olympic cycle road race last year and it's given us a real taste for getting involved. Fantastic event, watching Mark "Cav" Cavendish complete 3 (which will become 9) laps of Box Hill in Surrey to win the test event, and so well organised.

A happy (re)cycling year to all….!

Building on work started whilst working for my local council, I am working to raise levels of cycling in our community back to those we used to enjoy.

Cycling has many benefits: It's an economic and easy form of green transport, its huge impact on activity levels can reduce the risks (and costs) from long term serious health issues, and it's a valuable empowering life skill. Do you remember that first ride on a bike on your own?
Cycling can help re-equip people with practical skills.

My parents came from the wartime generation with a "make do and mend" approach to life that's been passed on to me. We did not have a great deal of spare cash when I was young - remember the sixpence money days? - and neither of my parents drove. Recent work with my local council on transport change has shown me how small changes build up to a big difference.