It is that time of year again where Blackberries (or Brambles) are all over the hedges at the side of the road, in forests and in fields. The blackberry season usually runs from the end of July to the beginning of October in the UK, depending on the weather.

After all the wet weather we have had in the UK this week, we decided to go searching for some Blackberries in our favourite spot a mere 100 metres from where we live, and were surprised by the amount we have come back with.

A 45 minute picking has provided us with just over 3lbs worth of plump berries ready for a number of our favourite desserts and preserves including crumbles, pies and jams.

A few words of advice when picking these delicious berries, always wash berries that you have picked before eating them, and make sure you pick from hedges where dogs can’t reach, and away from busy traffic. Blackberry bushes are very thorny, so try to wear long sleeves and appropriate footwear. Finally, try to leave some berries for other foragers.

Although a blackberry crumble is usually associated with cold autumn nights, it is also the perfect pudding to accompany a warm summer evening with a dollop of clotted, single or ice-cream over the top.

Here is our rough and ready recipe to make a simple but ever-so-tasty Blackberry Crumble. You may notice there are no measurements in our recipe, so you can judge the size of your crumble by the size of your pickings.

Ingredients

Blackberries (mixed with any other summers berries you can find)
Plain flour
Butter
Caster sugar
Golden caster sugar (optional)
Porridge Oats (optional)

Choose a reasonable sized oven proof dish (the bigger the better in our opinion) and pour in approx 2 layers of Blackberries. To make the topping, pour into a bowl one part butter, one part sugar and two parts plain flour (a 70g/70g/140g portion is usually enough for a medium sized crumble). If you have any porridge oats at hand, throw a small handful of these in for added texture. Rub the mixture together with your fingers until the mix reaches a breadcrumb-like texture.

Pour the mixture on top of the berries, making sure the berries are roughly covered by the mix. Sprinkle some golden caster sugar on top of the crumble mix, and place in a pre-heated oven at 180c (350F) for 30-40 mins, or until golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges.

Serve hot or cold with your favourite cream.

Enjoy!

We have also added more ESP and SPC fabrics to our collection, which will help you to save more money and energy.

ESP blinds have been tested by Louvolite and can save up to 15% of energy lost through windows. SPC fabrics can save up to 11%.

Easy Green Store have just registered for a tree to be planted in order to offset our company’s carbon emissions.

Our tree is located in the Alladale Reserve in the Highlands of Scotland.

A big thank you to www.carbonmanagers.com for planting the tree on our behalf.

Thom Yorke organised a giant live sculpture with the help of 2000 volunteers this weekend, all in aid of 350 Earth. The giant installation depicted King Canute commanding the ocean, which was used as the front cover of Thom Yorkes solo debut album, “The Eraser”.

The event was captured by aerial photographers, and can be seen in the image above.

To see more photographs and to find out more information about 350 Earth, visit the 350 Earth website.

All over the world, from the November 20th – 28th, 350 Earth is launching it’s first ever global climate art project. Each art installation will be viewable from space, and Brighton has been chosen as one of the locations for one of these impressive art installations.

Leading the Brighton installation will be no other than Radiohead frontman, Thom Yorke, who has been chosen especially by the UK 350, which will involve 2000 volunteers making up the image of King Canute commanding the ocean (as seen in Thom Yorke’s debut solo album).

The live sculpture will begin formation on Brighton Beach at 11am Saturday, November 27th 2010. The lucky 2000 volunteers must be able to stay until 1pm at Brighton Beach in order to participate.

To have a chance at taking part in this event, please visit the 350 Earth website to sign up, and for more information.

What can you do to help tackle this problem?

Have you ever tried Pre-cycling? Have you ever heard of Pre-cycling?

A majority of people haven’t heard the term, but could easily lower the amount of waste thrown away at home, and ultimately lower the amount of recycled waste ending up in landfill sites around the country.

So what is “Pre-cycling?”

Pre-cycling is the term used when making rational decisions when purchasing products. For example, you can save waste when at the supermarket by purchasing loose fruit and vegetables, instead of buying them packaged in unnecessary plastic containers or bags.

This will give you the chance to pick the best quality, and most ripe fruit, instead of the pre-packaged and probably unripe fruit. An even better way to help your local community would be to go down to the local “Pick Your Own” farm, and cut out all unnecessary packaging altogether, and you’ll be doing your bit by supporting local producers.

Sometimes packaging for products is essential, so try to choose the product that has been packaged in the most sustainable and recyclable packaging. Cardboard boxes and paper bags for example are a lot easier to decompose than plastic, so keep this in mind when buying packaged products. So next time you’re out doing your shopping, give Pre-cycling a try by choosing products with the least amount of packaging.

Mark Post from Maastricht University said: “If we took stem cells from one pig and multiplied it by a million, we’d need a million fewer pigs to get the same amount of meat.”

Do make sure that pesky animals do not decide to share the wonders you have placed in the garden. Use containers, bowls, and cake covers as effective defences from garden animals.

These factors are not considered by a majority of people, and is one of the main reasons why we take water for granted. Supplying water has a great impact on natural water bodies, such as rivers, lakes, and fresh water sources, which most people do not realise when involved in everyday tasks.

The energy used to filter, purify and pump water to the public is ever increasing, and in some cases, unnecessary. For example, the total rainfall in the U.K. in 2008 was 1299.3mm, but it is surprising that only a handful of Britons collect this rainfall to use in their garden or the home. The amount of water saved from partaking in such a small task would benefit the environment greatly.

Benefits

The main benefit of saving water is to preserve these natural water bodies for wildlife and for future generations. With the increasing population in towns and cities, these natural water bodies are taking the strain for our ever-increasing demand for fresh water in our homes. If we all did our bit to preserve our water supply, we could lower the demand for this water, which would improve wildlife in natural water bodies, and lower demand on water pipes throughout the towns and cities.

As the population increases, the demand on water mains and sewerage pipes is also increased. With this growing demand comes burst water and sewerage pipes leading the wasted water, contaminated water which is of no use to the population, and increasing costs to fix these problems.

By implementing the following steps into your daily routine, we can benefit the environment, lower water meter bills and lower the amount of wasted water through burst water mains.

How can I save water?

There are many simple ways to save water throughout the home including the following:

By turning your taps off whilst brushing your teeth or shaving can cave up to 1 litre of water every 10 seconds.

Storing water in the fridge saves you from running the tap for prolonged periods just to get cold water.

By using products such as a “Hippo water saver”, you can save up to 3 litres of water every time you flush the toilet. Alternatively, place a brick or a bottle of water in your cistern to lower the amount of water needed to flush the toilet.

Use a watering can in the garden to water your plants. By directly watering your plants at their base, the amount of wasted water that usually ends up on the plants’ leaves is lowered.

In addition to using a watering can, collect rainwater in anything that holds water. Buckets or empty dustbins are a good way of collecting rainwater, and your plants will benefit from the lower amount of chemicals in the water.

Take 5-minute showers instead of baths. Baths use around 230 litres of water, whereas a standard shower uses around 9 litres per minute. By taking quick showers instead of baths, you could make 1000 cups of tea with the saved water each week.

Finally, always use your dishwater or washing machine when it is fully loaded, and use the “Economy” setting if you have one.

If everybody was to apply these techniques into their everyday lives, just think how much water could be saved, and how many burst water mains would be prevented.