The BGI Team Hopes and Wishes for 2009

The new year is upon us and it is time to look forward to things that we can do to improve the world around us both in our day-to-day lives and for the planet too. So I asked the BGI team what their hopes and dreams were for the coming year.

Brigit: On a global level, I wish individuals and governments all over the world would wake up and take responsibility for all the damage we're causing before it's too late.

For the BGI, I hope we will attract some generous philanthropists to help us fund our Big Green Bus Tour so we can reach communities and schools who can't afford our booking costs.

On a personal level I am going to plant loads of bee attracting plants as well as more fruit and nut trees, and use my car less!

Anne-Christine: I hope that more people will decide they've waited long enough for the Jones' to take the first green step and to take it themselves.

I hope more people will separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to green issues.

I wish the world would suddenly find its common sense again; and that humans would make the effort of listening to their hearts before dismissing another's thoughts.

Bernie: Move into the house that I'm currently renovating. Grow at least 25% of our yearly requirement of fruit and vegetables from our own garden.

On a global level, I hope that the occupants of planet earth realise that they can be content without all the latest gadgets and 'seasonal fashions' that exist.

Jim'll: I've never really done New Year resolutions - I tend to try to sort things I feel need sorting out when I realise they do rather than waiting until an arbitrary time of the year. However mid-winter is a good time for me as a gardener to step back and look at what worked last year, what didn't and what I want to do this year.

So I think my personal resolution is going to be to investigate ways of growing outdoor tomatoes that don't get blighted just as I'm about to harvest them!

As for a global wish list, I'd like to see more of the general populus stop waiting for governments and big businesses to ‘do something' about climate change and realise that they have to start doing stuff for themselves. After all, that's what the BGI is all about, and there's still so many more folk we need to engage and empower, and not just in this country.

Jo: On a personal level, getting the kids through their exams in the summer, moving as smoothly as possible to Cornwall and starting our big green adventure (especially getting some chickens!), staying healthy, letting all those I love know how much I love them.

On a global level, there are so many things I would like to be able to change to make the world a better place - but what I can do is try and get the green message out there to as many people as possible. So we can try and save our beautiful planet...that's a good place to start.

Judy: As much as I love Christmas and New Year, once the decorations are down, like a lot of people I look forward to getting back to 'normality'. The idea of simple pleasures, simple food, enjoying being with the immediate family in a cosy house seems lovely. I look forward to all the joys to come - the possibility of snow, the promise of spring and hopes for the summer, and all the good times along the way.

Salena: I want everyone to work together and realise that the community is where it all starts. Basically I want everyone to wake up and smell the organic, fairtrade, no airmiles coffee!!

On a personal level I want to progress in my knitting skills, start making my own clothes, grow a lot more vegetables and fruit at the allotment by looking at biodynamic gardening and companion planting and obviously encouraging more wildlife. I intend to start riding my bike more and basically reduce my impact on the planet even more!!

Tanya: Clear out the ‘nooks and crannies' and what I can't reuse or start wearing again I'll send to a charity shop so someone else can. To use the seeds I have before buying any more. Keep a ‘freezer book' so I don't forget what's in there and actually use the things I store. Get back into the habit of batch cooking so I have homemade meals in the freezer for those need food now moments! Check the library and second hand bookshops for my fiction fix before being tempted to buy new.

Allotment photo (c) Salena Walker 2008

Chicken photo (c) Lotty 2008

Woodland photo (c) Gary Barlow 2008