Freshers Week 2012

Hey there Greenies!

So.. Freshers is now over... We want to say thank you first of all to our members who took the time to man the stand excellently and also of course to you all who came and talked to us, showed great interest, and shared your views... it is really good to meet so many people that are genuinely interested in what we do!
For those who missed it, our stand had several different topics crammed into the space available: mainly human rights, animal rights and the environment

our jam-packed stand :)

For The Humans

For our brothers and sisters, we set up an Amnesty letter-writing section for the case UA 270/12. This was quite a controversial case, and it was interesting to see your different views about it. At the end of the week we have over 35 signed letters, one of which holds the signature of a member of the EU parliament. These will be sent off next Monday in time for the 18th October deadline. If anyone is interested in letter writing, please refer to the letter-writing facebook group where we will be posting related events, and feel free to contact us for a ready-to-sign letter for this case.

We also had a section dedicated to fair trade merchandise. This was provided to us by L-Arka Fair Trade Shop, which is located in St Paul Street, Valletta.

some fair-trade items we were selling and the famous Amnesty Letterbox :)

For The Animals

For our furry, feathered and scaly friends, we were promoting the 8hour Petition, which is against inhumane lengthy animal transportation, and also distributing some contact details of sanctuaries around Malta, with particular emphasis on Noah’s Ark.
We were also distributing some informative material about shark conservation (European Shark Week) and educating fish consumers with our very own campaign for sustainable fishing and consuming, fish4tomorrow.

fish4tomorrow leaflets

For The Environment

This is where we really got cracking! First off we launched our seed-growing venture with the distribution of free seed bags... check out our previous blogs for info on how to grow your own seedlings! We also had a small re-using display, showing useful stuff we made out of everyday waste, and some hand-made items for sale. Last but not least we had our usual notebooks made out of re-used scrap paper.

 

seed bags

notebooks

bracelets can be found on sale here

All in all a great outcome :] Don’t forget, we will soon start promoting our next event, a nature walk with Ramblers Malta – the date is yet to be confirmed but we are hoping you’ll keep the 20th free just in case ;) Later on this month we will also announce the date for our talk on Petitioning and Letter-Writing – combined with letter-writing for what promises to be a very interesting case! 

Yes we are being mysterious on purpose to keep you intrigued ;)

Follow us on our facebook group and page, and through this blog. If you have any queries do not hesitate to drop us a line via email.

:)

Stay Green!

Elena
o.b.o. Greenhouse

How To ... Grow Your Own Courgettes

As part of our freshers stand set up we had our lovely Simone design and create seriously cute seed bags for you all to take home and grow..Each day we will put up info about the different seedlings which also include radish, carrot and lettuce.  Come and pick up your free seedbag at our stand! 

Aren't they the cutest?! :)

Meanwhile here's the know-how you need to grow tasty courgettes!

Courgettes are one of the easiest and most productive crops you can grow yourself. They are extremely fast - from sowing you can be eating your own within six weeks!!

What you'll need...

•          Courgette seeds (from the Seed Bags ^.^)
•          Multi-purpose compost
•          Hand trowel
•          Plastic pots
•          Seed trays

Step 1. For early crops, sow in seeds trays on a windowsill. Sow one seed per cell into moist multi-purpose compost.

Step 2. Transplant you strongest seedlings into individual plastic pots

If you do not have soil area, change the pot to a bigger one and add compost.

Step 3. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot and if you have soil area dig a hole, adding a trowel of compost to the soil. Plant out your courgette plants 90cm apart. Place a layer of 5cm of compost to help the soil hold moisture.

Step 4. Keep your plants healthy by adding compost or liquid feed (organic ;)) when required. Harvest regularly when they reach 10cm long.

       Tips

• Courgettes need plenty of water, but take care always to water at the base of the plant only or they'll rot.
• Keeping the soil permanently moist is ideal.
• The large fleshy flowers can be eaten, but fewer courgettes will develop if you harvest too many.
• Remember that courgettes are young marrows, so you can get two different crops on one plant if you let some develop into marrows.