THERE are loads of fruit and veg just waiting to be eaten so there’s no excuse for unexciting meals!

This is the time of year when it’s not even necessary to cook a meal before you eat it. Peas can be eaten straight out of the pod and a fresh tomato just needs a quick wash before enjoying. Add a few to some clean lettuce leaves and some chopped onion and you’ve got a refreshing salad. Then you can treat yourself to a bowl of strawberries and cream, yum!

AS reported on the front page of this weeks issue, a new Government report has found that now is the time to act on climate change. People in Britain are already changing the way they behave to fight climate change and you, the young people of Britain, are leading the way.

First News has lots of ideas of simple ways you can make a difference.

Reduce your carbon footprint

The greenhouse gases your family and school are responsible for come from things like the electricity you use for lighting and powering gadgets like the TV and computer, and from your electric, gas or oil heating. The amount of energy you use, and so the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) you emit, can be reduced really easily:
 Change your lightbulbs to energy-saving ones (they save money too).
 Switch off, rather than leave on standby or sleep, electrical equipment like TV, stereo, DVD player, computer, games console, when they’re not in use, and lights when a room is empty.
 In summer open windows rather than switching on a fan, in winter turn down the thermostat and put on a jumper.
Ask an adult in your house to research electricity suppliers who use renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro power, or who support their development.
Walk, cycle or take public transport rather than travel in a car where possible.

The rubbish you throw out gets buried in the ground, but this can release another greenhouse gas, methane, as it rots. To reduce the amount of this gas being emitted, think carefully about what you throw out:
Can you, or someone else, reuse the item?
Can it be recycled into something else?
Can it be given to charity?
Can it be composted? Veg peelings, shredded paper, torn up egg cartons, tea bags and coffee grounds can all go into a bin to turn into compost for your plants.
Plus, if an unwanted item is reused in some way, it saves another version of it having to be made, using energy which releases greenhouse gas emissions!

To read more pick up the latest copy of First News now!

ONE third of the waste we make at home is already being recycled.
This is really making a difference as in the last five years 30 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide has been saved.
That’s the same as one third of cars been taken off UK roads for a year!

Recycling…  at home

Find out from your local council’s website what can be recycled in your area. They may collect from outside your home or you may need to take things to a recycling depot.
 Common items that can be recycled by your local council are: paper, card, glass, plastic bottles, tins and cans. There are other items that can be recycled but you may need to find a depot to take them. These include: batteries, foil, other plastic containers, garden waste, food waste, mobile phones, electrical and electronic goods.

… in the garden

Give composting a go. If you have a garden buy or make a compost bin and recycle vegetable peelings, grass cuttings, dead flowers, shredded paper, torn up card, even bits of wool into compost for your plants! Just be sure not to add dairy products, meat, cooked food or animal litter.

… at school

Talk to other pupils and the teachers about what your school recycles already and what else you could add to that list.
 Does your school have a vegetable garden? If it does perhaps your school kitchen could start using a compost bin to recycle their leftover peelings.
 Use paper printed on one side for drawing on the other, or fasten together several pages to make a notepad.

… when you’re out and about

Before you look for a bin to drop your finished drinks bottle or sandwich packet in, look for a recycling bin to put them in. If you can’t see one, and you know it can be recycled, take it home and put it with your own recycling. Better still, reuse the bottle and make your own sandwiches next time!

… and help charities

Clothes that you have grown out of but still have lots of wear in them can be given to charity shops.
Cut stamps off used envelopes  and when you have a batch, send them to charities who can make money from them. Help the Aged and PDSA are just two of the charities who collect stamps.
 
… and be creative!

Can an unwanted item be given a new use? A cut-down pair of jeans could be made into a skirt, a bag or a purse. Toilet roll cardboard tubes can be used as seedling pots. Old clothes and towels can be used as dusters and shoe shiners!

GROWING your own food is easy, fun, cheap and healthy! In the last of First News’ grow your own series, we’re planting lettuce. The great thing about salad leaves is that picking them actually helps more to grow!

What you will need:

- A container like a pot or an old food can
- Soil or peat-free compost
- Packet of salad leaves seeds
- Watering can

What to do:

1. If you’re using an old food can, wash it out and ask an adult to punch a few holes in the bottom. Fill the pot or can with soil.

2. Use your finger to draw a trench, 1.5cm deep in the soil.

3. Pour a small amount of the seeds into your palm and then sprinkle a small amount along the trench. 

4. Using your fingers brush the soil back over the seeds. Give the soil a good watering.

5. Once the shoots start to appear,  pull out a few to give the others room to grow. This is called thinning out.

6. Watch the plants carefully to check they’re not being eaten by snails and slugs. You can surround the plants with pine cones or gravel to stop the creatures getting to the tasty leaves.

7. Keep the soil moist, this may mean watering the plants twice a day in hot weather.

8. As soon as the leaves are a decent size, cut them at the base, eat them up, and watch more grow!

FRIDAY 5 June is World Environment Day

MEXICO is the host country for this year’s World Environment Day but people across the whole world are joining in. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) organises the Day  and the theme this year is ‘Your Planet Needs You – UNite to Combat Climate Change.
Plus, UNEP are launching a new project called the Seven Billion Trees Campaign. The aim is to get one new tree planted for every person alive by the time of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 7-18 December.
There are lots of things you, your family, your friends and your school can do to help our planet. Read on…

21 ways to make a difference

1 Ask an adult in your home to change the ordinary lightbulbs to energy-saving ones. It will save them money as they last for around eight years!

2 Turn off lights when a room is empty and electrical goods like TV, radio, DVD player or computer when they’re not being used. Leaving them on standby or sleep mode still uses electricity.

3 Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. You could save 14 litres of water!

4 If you’re hot, open a window before turning on a fan. If you’re cold, put on a jumper before turning up the heating.

5 Find out what your local council recycles. At the very least it’s likely to be paper, card, tins, bottles, plastic, foil and batteries.

To read more pick up your latest copy of First News now!

SUMMER'S here and the ground is bursting with delicious food to eat.

There is such an abundance of fresh veg and fruit available that you need never have boring meals! Try a green salad with grated carrot or potato salad with some chopped egg.
Did you know you can eat courgette flowers? Pick those attached to the courgette, stuff with herbs mixed into soft cheese, fry for a few minutes and enjoy!

GROWING your own food is easy, fun, cheap and healthy!
If you’re the impatient type, beans are brilliant as they grow really quickly!

What you will need:
- A large pot or trough
- Soil or peat-free compost
- Bean seeds, choose from French, long, runner or dwarf
- Bamboo canes
- Watering can

What to do:
1. Fill the pot or trough with soil.

2. If you’re using a pot, push four canes into the soil and tie them together at the top to look like a wigwam. If you’re using a trough, push a pair of canes into the soil opposite each other and tie them together at the top. Repeat this along the length of the trough.

3. Make a small hole about 5cm deep either side of a cane. Drop a bean seed into it and cover up with soil. Give the soil a good watering.

4. When the plants start to grow, wind them around the nearest cane.   This will encourage them to grow up the cane.

5. Pick beans as soon as they are a size you’re happy with. Picking them will encourage more beans to grow so you could be harvesting your crop for several weeks!

GROWING your own food is easy, fun, cheap and healthy!
Strawberries are one of the easiest foods to grow, plus they look pretty!

What you will need:

- A container like a hanging basket is ideal
- Soil or peat-free compost
- Three or four strawberry plugs (little plants)
- Watering can

Hanging baskets are perfect for growing strawberries as it keeps slugs away and the fruit, leaves and flowers look very pretty as they flow over the sides.

1. Fill the basket with soil.

2. At the edge of the basket make a hole in the soil, place a strawberry plug in it and cover up with soil so that the top of the roots are level with the top of the soil.

3. Continue adding plugs around the edge of the basket, making sure there is enough space between the plants for them to grow.

4. Give the plants a good watering and hang the basket in a sunny, sheltered spot.

5. Check the basket each day to make sure the soil is moist and to see if any strawberries are growing. As soon as one turns red, pick it. Be sure to cut the stem with the strawberry.

6. Enjoy all the delicious ways to eat strawberries – on their own, with ice cream, as jam, in a fruit salad, as a cake topping…

AS First News reported on the front page last week, bees are very important to humans and it’s a big worry that their numbers are dropping.

There were 27 different species of bee in Britain but three have already become extinct. Bees buzz around from flower to flower, helping pollinate plants. Without this crops can’t grow and without crops we won’t have food like bread and pasta as well as vegetables.
The Government is giving £10 million to help scientists find out what’s causing bees to disappear. Is another insect attacking them or, perhaps, there are not enough wildflowers for the bees to take nectar from?
But we can all do our bit to help, too. Bees need flowers that are native to the UK that have nectar that the bees can reach. Whether you have a garden or a windowbox, you can plant flowers that bees like. Different bees have long and short tongues so they like a whole range of plants. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has a list of plants that are good for bees:
 Pussy willow
 Bluebell
 Rosemary
 Foxglove
 Comfrey
 Honeysuckle
 Sage
 Geranium
 Thyme
 Buddleia
 Cornflower
 Sunflower
 Lavender
 Marjoram

Research by British Gas’ Generation Green found that three in four young people don’t think that adults are doing enough to protect the environment.
A think tank called Our Planet, Our Say will be made up of 20 young people aged seven to 14. You can nominate yourself or be nominated by a friend, relative or teacher and 100 words need to be written about why you deserve to be part of the think tank.
The 20 young people will be chosen by a panel and, over a year, will meet up in three different places to discuss what needs to be done to tackle eco problems. Green experts will give advice at the meetings and, when the final plan of action is worked out, the group will present it to the Government.
If you don’t make the final 20 you can still set up your own Our Planet, Our Say think tank in your own school.
For more info and to enter log on to www.generationgreen.co.uk. Entry closes on 24 May.

SPRING is well under way but how much notice have you taken of it?

Now is the time to go for walks, look around you and see how many trees, shrubs and flowers you can see budding or blooming. And what about your local wildlife? What new creatures have you seen out and about?

Flowers Spring flowers are some of the prettiest around. As well as daffodils and crocuses, look out for bluebells. These delicate flowers are a protected species so it’s not a good idea to pick wild bluebells.
Have you noticed the grass is getting long underfoot too?

Trees Are there blossom trees on the streets around your home? The petals are white or pink and turn the ground and pavements underneath them that colour when they fall! Look out for other trees sprouting buds. Keep an eye on these to watch the flowers and foliage develop until the tree is fully in bloom.

Shrubs What looked like dull twigs growing up walls should now have green leaves shooting out. Look out for roses or the purple flowers of wisteria decorating nearby homes.

Creatures Having gone months with only a few birds flying above us, there are now butterflies, moths and bees to be spotted too. Bee and butterfly numbers are in decline so help these little creatures by growing plants native to the UK in your garden or windowbox. Spring is also the time of year we expect to see new baby animals – have you seen any lambs, ducklings or chicks wobbling around?!