Having had a face-lift since the 2005 election due to the boundary changes, Labour are currently in residence there but their main competition comes from the Liberal Democrats and the RESPECT Party.

Jo’s academic background is in environmental issues having done her undergraduate degree in Geography followed by her PhD in Sedimentology. She has also previously worked with the Conservative Party on the 2000 Countryside and Right of Way Act.

When asked about the environmental issues involving the local area including the current ones that St Mary’s Church have had with solar panels, she responded with:

“It’s a case of conservation versus conservation; I can understand why the Victorian Society has said no to the plans. Solar panels can be really effective and they’re not as expensive as you might think if you start from scratch. The roof of the church is a big enough space that solar panels could easily produce extra energy that could then be used to help power other buildings in the Moseley area.”

Green energy seems to be a focus for the Conservative Party, particularly in the home.

“We want to implement something that we call the Green Deal,” said Barker. “It’s a £6500 grant to make sustainable energy production affordable. It will help home owners be able to afford good quality wall insulation for their houses which will lower the costs of energy bills in the future.”

The workplace isn’t left out either as Jo said she would support more car sharing schemes in Birmingham along with the creation of faster broadband internet lines so more people can work from home, cancelling out the need for the daily commute.

She also wants more cycle routes to be created to enable the growing number of people cycling to work and for pleasure to travel more safely. It would also help to build a culture of cycling in the city, something she feels it is lacking.

With other plans in the pipeline including tree planting schemes, cutting back on waste production and building and maintaining flood defensives it sounds as though the Conservatives really have put green issues ahead of their main rivals.

Recently the Government proposed a scheme where it would allow places such as derelict building sites to be used for allotments.

The main reason for the increase in the number of allotments is so that people can grow their own produce, gaining satisfaction out of doing so from the hard work that they have spent digging, growing and maintaining their plot. Renting a plot is also fairly cheap with annual prices ranging from £25 to £60.

Birmingham Recycled spoke with Adrian Stagg, the Allotments Finance and Records Officer at Birmingham City Council about their plans for future allotments to meet the rising demand.

Rise in popularity

Adrian told us:

‘There has been a significant rise in demand for allotments over the last 3 years particularly in the west of the City and Sutton Coldfield.

Most sites in the City have waiting lists, though there is still availability in the South East and Handsworth areas.

We plan to provide more plots in Quinton, Moseley, Stirchley and East Sutton initially. There will also be a new 80 plot site opening in Handsworth this Spring.’

Adrian said that Birmingham City Council is also running a project to identify and develop derelict sites for community gardens or possible allotments.

This is being focused on the less affluent inner City areas around Ladywood, Lozells, Aston, Small Heath where there is little allotment provision and where there are wider health issues within communities.

Popularity of allotments

Adrian said that it is difficult to identify one reason for the popularity of alloments.

‘It is a combination of TV promotion through programmes such as Gardeners World (which featured an Allotments Special filmed around Birmingham), River Cottage, The Allotment, various cuisine programmes that advocate ‘grow your own’ together with a new generation that is more acutely aware of food sources and want to get back to growing crops, reactions to fast food and a desire for healthy food, TV promotion of diet and health issues, changes to school curriculums and possibly (though not measurable) the credit crunch.’

If you are interested in renting an allotment in Birmingham then go to Birmingham City Council’s Allotments section and the BBC’s Dig In site, where you can apply for free seeds to try and grow and get handy tips on growing them.

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.