The Big Green Bus in Poole and Bournemouth

First thoughts from our reporter on the scene

The first weekend of Poole and Bournemouth's Big Green Fortnight has provided an opportunity for The Big Green Bus to spread the message of The Big Green Idea, that it can be fun and easy to live more sustainable lives, with an appearance in Falklands Square in Poole on Saturday and Bournemouth Square on Sunday.

What struck me was that visitors to the bus seemed to fall into two main groups: those who were already aware of environmental issues and had already made changes to their lifestyles, and those for whom many of the ideas presented on the bus were completely new. I'm not sure if it was more gratifying to find out how many people in my local community are already ‘doing their bit', or to see a teenager's face light up when they discovered that they could wash their clothes with a natural waste product, soapnuts, rather than using detergents laden with harmful chemicals.

One of my lasting impressions, I think, is the natural ability of all the volunteers (and you never know who that volunteer might be!) on the bus to enthuse and inform anyone and everyone. Young and old alike cannot help but become interested in finding out more about green skincare or how the sun can power a buzzing loop-and-wire game, or want to make their own banana smoothie on the pedal-powered smoothie maker! No one feels that they are being preached to, or being told how they should be living. The Big Green Idea is maybe unique among environmental charities in that we focus very much on solutions, rather than the problems we face, and concentrate on how positive and empowering making simple changes in our lives can be.

As a complement to all the displays on and around the bus, a number of talks were given on the upper deck, ranging from Being Green around the Home, given by Theresa McManus of Poole Agenda 21, to The Wonder of Creation through the Study of Climate Change and Biodiversity, by Colin Dewsnap of Transition Christchurch. All talks were followed by question-and-answer sessions, where the audience (some of whom I suspect were simply sheltering from the changeable weather) could explore some of the topics in more depth.

If each person who visited the bus took just one new idea away with them, then The Big Green Idea really will have made a difference!

Words (c) BGI/Judy 2009