After posting the question on twitter, I recieved a massive response.

Only ten of the responses made it onto the map, on local nurse and cycling enthusiast, whose location made it onto the map, Joanne Street said:

“It’s hard to believe the magnificent spaces we have right on our very doorstep, I try to take advantage of that whenever I can. Having the Lickey Hill’s less that 5 minutes away on my bike with work just 15 minutes away, its a whole world that more and more people should explore.”

With local beauty spots such as Woodgate Valley Country Park (pictured) and Sutton Park right at the heart of built up areas people should be encouraged more to go out and experience these green open spaces that are so near.

The map is viewable here.

Users of the Birmingham Cyclist website have deemed parts of the route poor, which is part of a £1.3 billion redevelopment of Selly Oak.

One user has expressed dismay at the ‘slalom’ of signage posts which extend down one of the 1.5 metre wide cycle lanes, eluding to poor planning by Birmingham City Council.

Another posted about the roundabout near Harborne Lane offering ‘poor visibility’ and inconveniently placed crossings for cyclists.

However there are some better thoughts on the new road, some uninterupted cycle paths, routes through the University and the avoidance of the roundabout on the opposite route on Harborne Lane – Chord Lane – are deemed good.

The scheme is being piloted in in these areas with the hopes to roll it out to over 400,000 households across the city.

In the first scheme of its kind in Britain, up to 4,500 homes are to benefit from the reward which according to a council spokesman will earn households 25 point per collection. Residents will be given a barcode sticker to attach to their recycling bins which will be scanned by recycling collectors upon each visit.

The innovative scheme is being demonsrated today on the streets of Cotteridge by Councillor Tim Huxtable and Nectar Client Development Director Will Shuckburgh, with points also being earned at leisure centre visits across the city.

Councillor Timothy Huxtable, Cabinet Member for Transport, Environment and Regeneration at Birmingham City Council, said:

“Increasing public participation in recycling is a key objective for both the City Council and future of the city as a whole, so we are delighted to have teamed up with such a prominent partner as Nectar to promote this initiative.

This is a real win-win project for all, as the more that people recycle, not only will they be helping to save the environment, but the more opportunity they will get to reward themselves.”

Will Shuckburgh from Nectar said:

“Using Nectar points to reward residents for environmentally-friendly behaviour is a great initiative and we’re excited to be working with Birmingham City Council to implement this scheme, ultimately hoping to make the city a greener place. Many people may already be recycling so by signing-up to the new initiative they will be rewarded with points to spend on a range of treats for relatively little extra effort.”

The scheme will be funded through the West Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership and not directly from council tax funds. Nectar points can be redeemed at stores such as Sainsbury’s, Argos and Homebase

Read a statement by Birmingham Friends of the Earth on the scheme.

The bicycle trains, designed to create a safety in numbers approach to commuting within the city are to start on September 22. The groups are recruiting experienced cyclists to lead the rides which will pass through 5 of the city’s major arterial routes on In Town Without My Car Day.

John Bennett of Push Bikes hopes it will get more commuters on their bikes, he said: “we need to show that cycling on main roads can be safe and enjoyable.”

Arriving at a cyclists breakfast in Victoria Square, Friends of the Earth says that the trains will work in much the same was as “walking buses”, which have been successful for school children.

Joe Peacock of BFoE said: “We have seen this working along busy routes in other towns, so it seems like a perfect way of creating a buzz around cycling into Birmingham.”

Congestion and traffic related pollution are also a targets of the rides if they are a success, as reduced traffic will lower CO2 emissions.

Rachel Vann of Sustrans added “This is a great opportunity for those considering cycling to work to have a go whilst being safely led by experienced and qualified ride leaders. There are some fantastic Sustrans NCN routes into the city which many people don’t know about, so this is a great way to discover them. Cycling to work is a great way to fit some exercise in to your day, helping people to keep healthy.”

Birmingham Friends of the Earth will shortly be setting up a website for people or groups to register their interest in taking part and to help them find a suitable route.

The gathering, organised by resident and academic Miles Weaver had found the mob behaviour “disgusting”. Using the hashtags #riotcleanup and #wearebrum the message to meet at Birmingham’s icon, ‘the Bull’at 10am were retweeted hundreds of times, with London cleanup operations allowing the tag to trend on Twitter.

Local resident George Hetherington who witnessed destruction and muggings from the safety of his apartment told us of his shock and awe at the troubles he saw.

A primary school teacher and resident of Birmingham’s Gay Village which has been recently seen environmental improvements, Mr Hetherington said:

“It has taken us many years to improve the quality of this city, particularly the areas around Hurst Street, that was a battle in itself, and to see it being attacked overnight is sickening.”

He added:

“I’m so proud that local residents, neighbours, and even people from as far outside the city as Bromsgrove have come to show their solidarity, we can’t let these youths ruin the wonderful city which has taken so long to start regenerating.”

In this podcast we talk about:

• Electric cars: Are these cars, ‘cars for the future?’
• HS2 Rail Line: Why has there been so much opposition and what are the potential benefits that the line will bring to the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands?
• Carbon emissions: What can be done to reduce carbon emissions?

Birmingham Friends of the Earth have announced a walk-run marathon along six regional canals called the Birmingham Canal Canter.

The fund-raiser, co-ran by Heart of England Long Distance Walkers Association, hopes to raise £10,000 on September 18th with up to 250 walkers on the day, passing the Worcester Canal amongst others.

“This is not just another “race for climate change”", the official press release reads. “It’s the official non-nuclear one!!!”

The money raised from the event will be put towards the salaries of campaign support workers who volunteer with BFoE.

The entry fee is £8 but sponsorships over £100 will have their fee refunded.

She said: ‘We’ve had an abundance of both men and women in, who all love the finished result. I was amazed by the difference the products make having trialed them myself first.’

She said: ‘Our products are tested on vegetable skins, but many leading brands still test them on animals. It’s a shame that hairdressing has been around so long and yet the products haven’t changed.’

Yvette said: ‘We couldn’t have an eco-friendly salon and not be conscious of it in our practises. In the first week we were here, I only chucked out one small carrier of rubbish. Everything else was composted and recycled.’

‘The best part of my job is when a customer looks in the mirror and says she couldnít believe she could look that good. When you’ve got good hair, you don’t need make-up or posh clothes.’

She said: ‘All my family are really brainy. My brother lives in Japan working for Honda, and so I wanted to do well with what I’m doing.’

She said: ‘I had some great support from The Princes Trust, who gave me all the information I needed and referred me to my local council, who provides money for green ventures.’

She said: ‘I can not even bring myself to buy anything that isn’t organic now. The other day my boyfriend brought some Tesco value chicken home for tea and I could not even look at it.’

She said: ‘I’m really happy with how it’s going at the moment. I didn’t expect for it to get as much interest as it has done. A lot of people just aren’t aware of the effect we’re having on our environment, and if I can have just a small impact on people’s lives than at least I can say I’ve done my bit.’

The experts at Envirowise realised that the best way to reach businesses was throught the Internet. They decided to create a Virtual Tour, which they named as ‘Green-street’. State-of-the art technology was used to build the website. The technology allows individuals to experience the virtual exteriors of some organisations who have used environmental methods to cut-down on their carbon foot-print and energy consumption rates. . The initiative is aimed at educating other businesses about what they can do to cut down on resources.

The state of art 3 dimensional animations will show the exterior of five buildings, these include: Cost Cutters Arms, the Verte Restaurant, the Green Leaves Hotel, the Water Tower office block and the Efficient Engineering Company People will be able to access publications and reports detailing the different ways that they can reduce water consumption and energy.

Tim Robins, Envirowise Regional Manager for the West Midlands, said:

‘Research by Envirowise1 has shown that businesses in our area believe that using fewer raw materials, generating less waste and placing a greater emphasis on energy efficiency are all likely legacies of the recent recession. By exploring Green Street firms can easily find out how to make positive changes and save money, with help on everything from minimising lighting and heating, to more detailed advice on developing a formal environmental management system.’

He added:

‘We know the internet is an integral part of the business working day so we have created this new animated tool in order to make this free advice as accessible to local firms as possible.’

Businesses can visit the ‘Green Street’ at: www.envirowise.gov.uk/greenstreet

The green restaurant awards will celebrate and highlight the commitment that restaurants have made to cutting energy consumption, reducing waste and protecting the environment.

The awards will comprise of four categories: Waste Management, Energy Reduction, Staff and Community and Purchasing. Restaurants who have adopted green credentials are encouraged to apply.

There will be five awards within each category and a final award that will crown one restaurant the Green Restaurant of the Year.

The judges on the panel will include; Birmingham Mail’s restaurant critic, Paul Fulford, and representatives of Birmingham City Council, Marketing Birmingham and Be Birmingham.

A Council spokesperson, said: ‘Applications are being welcomed from restaurants who feel they have made their business greener and more environmentally friendly.’

The closing date for applications is on Monday 5 July.  If you require firther information, please visit: http://www.bebirmingham.org.uk/environmental