Birmingham residents can follow their suggestions of travelling abroad or staying closer to home in places like Devon and Norfolk.

John Vidal, the Guardian’s environment editor says in his piece “What it means to travel green” that:

“Green travel is not just what happens at the destination, or indeed how you get there.

It does not demand that you eschew air travel altogether or hotels or comfort, or that your holiday is within 10 miles of your home.

Rather, it asks you to pack your brain as well as your swimsuit, and to assess and then act on the impact of your visit.”

The list provides lots of options that would suit all people, from the close to home to the faraway, small places and big hotels, along with plenty of activities for all seasons.

One of the partner websites, Green Traveller has lots of options for green holidays both home and abroad, the closest to Birmingham here being in Shropshire, where you can go on a beginner’s cycling weekend or even just stay in an ecocabin.

Perhaps with this there will be a boom in eco-friendly places to stay in Britain, particularly around the Midlands who sport such beautiful flora and fauna that future generations of ecotourists will surely want to experience the natural beauty that we have.

But what about the grey squirrel? These animals which came to our shores from the United States have been gradually taking over our trees from our native red squirrels to the extent that the red squirrel is only living in Cumbria and parts of Scotland and Ireland.

The Guardian has reported today that by eating these “alien” species we can help protect our native wildlife.

Other animals on the menu include the American crayfish, who prove troublesome to anglers, Muntjac deer from China, and the ruddy duck – appropriate in name some might say.

However, don’t try and source these from the wild, always buy from a butchers, fishmongers or farm shop.

Once you’ve bought your squirrel, have a go at this recipe for Spiced Squirrel Popcorn, courtesy of Thomasina Miers who co-presented the Channel Four series “The Wild Gourmets” in 2007.

As someone who only knows of the Albatross previously as a golf score I had no idea that they were under threat.

Thankfully Kunal Dutta’s article on them has highlighted this to me, and looking at pictures of them, they’re magnificent birds.

Lets hope that the project in South Africa concerning warding these beautiful birds away from fishermen’s hooks work so that we don’t lose them too.

To find out more about this project, check out the Save The Albatross website.