The Big Green Bus at the Malvern Spring Show

6th- 9th May 2010

This was the Big Green Bus's first big event of the season and what a fantastic start it was! We were very keen to be a part of this magnificent event and it was thanks to our two amazing and generous sponsors, Natracare and Weleda, that the Big Green Bus was able to be there. The Malvern Spring Show is a massive event, tens of thousands of people pass through its gates over the four days, and travel from far and wide to visit it. Even royalty make the journey!

So there were plenty of potential people to spread the green message to, especially as the bus had a prime location, in the Eco Homes and Garden Section, on the main walkway near one of the entrances. Very good planning on someone's part!

It was quite a haul from Cornwall up to Malvern but we were collecting our beloved Anne-Christine, BGI Project Manager, and The Moneyless Man, Mark Boyle, one of our guest speakers, en route. I haven't seen the Bus since it made its maiden voyage in Bradford on Avon and I was amazed by the transformation! What started out as something beautiful and inspiring has now blossomed further into a smoothly managed, fully functioning, stunning eco-bus, its message clear and inviting. The Bus's sheer size and beautiful paintwork is an immediate draw but the welcoming BGI staff and volunteers, the wealth of information available inside and out, samples to touch and take away and the sheer positive energy surrounding the Bus make it a must-see at any event.

The pedal-powered smoothie maker was, as always, a big draw for young people. New BGI volunteer Mike took to running this display with great gusto and had a steady stream of enthusiastic pedallers all day. James was kept busy providing hands-on information on wormeries as well as giving a talk on composting, whilst Jim was doing a roaring trade on the fascinating Bubblehouse Worms stand. Big Green Bus driver Grenville, who has taken to the BGI ethos like a duck to water, was happy to promote all aspects of green living, although he seemed particularly at home on the Weleda stall, especially when having his hands massaged with their new Pomegranate hand cream! Many thanks must go to Owen though, who had the most important job of the day - keeping us BGI'ers supplied with tea!

Brigit was as always a huge draw. Her enthusiasm, energy and passion for the environment came across with every speech, every visitor to the bus, every interested passer-by she spoke to. Her inspirational talk on the importance of bees was, as always, very well attended and resulted in a surge of interest in the amazing bee hotels that the lovely Holly was promoting.

These fabulous bee hotels sold like hot cakes all weekend - and rightly so, they are very special ones. Made by the residents of Salters Hill, a charity providing homes and an independent lifestyle for people with learning disabilities, these bee hotels are real works of art. We were lucky enough to have a visit from the delightful craftspeople who had made them. They were thrilled at how popular their hotels were! Having been searching for the perfect bee hotel for any solitary bees happening to be passing by my house in Cornwall, I decided these were the ones I had to have! Purely in the interests of market research, you understand. As was the Permaculture book I bought and the Weleda Skin Food... oops...

Actually I showed remarkable restraint. The lovely Holly and Becks were selling a tantalising array of green books - from Easy Eco Auditing by Donnachadh McCarthy to Worms and Wormeries by Mike Woolnough - not to mention beautiful Naked soaps and Onya drink bottles amongst many other useful and environmentally friendly products.

A big mention must go to the fabulous Charlotte Strawbridge who had done an amazing job of organising the day-to-day running of the bus, staff and volunteers. No mean feat, I can tell you! And also to Clare who was responsible for getting the Bus booked at the show in the first place!

Personally, I was ridiculously excited about meeting our two guest speakers, Rachel Corby who wrote the inspiring Medicine Garden and Mark Boyle, The Moneyless Man. Both talks were well attended and both authors were kind enough to stay with the Bus all day, talking to the many interested visitors about their respective books. Read our interviews with Rachel and Mark in this newsletter.

What I, and others I have spoken to, find daunting about becoming greener is the sheer enormity of the task. Where do you start? What if you get it wrong? The main thing about the bus, and the BGI as a whole, is that it encourages you to make little steps along your green journey, investigating options as you go along, inspiring you to make more changes and generally to show you what else is available out there. The volunteers and staff on the Bus encompassed this whole ethos. We weren't all experts, just enthusiastic amateurs on our own green journeys, and that encouraging, all-inclusive, positive atmosphere is all part of the Bus's attraction.

If you can possibly get to visit the Bus next time it is out and about, please do! I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Jo

photos (c) Charlotte Sttrawbridge 2010

Our affiliate merchant AMAZON has lots of books for sale around this subject. The Big Green Idea is paid a commission if you choose to buy via our links. These are not recommendations by the author and are chosen purely to give a representation.