We are happy to report that our tree planting in the 
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You, Me, and Biodiversity
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We humans are not an isolated species. Due to globalization, industrialization, and our number, we have an enormous impact on this planet. All the things we do and those we choose not to, have repercussions on the world we live in. Interconnected If we each started practicing a no-impact lifestyle today, without electricity, shops, or technology; if we just picked and ate berries and only used hand-made tools, one can argue that the planet would not be able support the current population. However, the opposite is certainly true. The planet cannot sustain every individual living an average Western lifestyle. -
Early spring vegetables: to eat or not to eat?
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Early spring vegetables feed our eyes with vivid colours, provide us with vitamins and minerals and revive our pallet with crisp, tasty choices. Popping up in grocery stores and markets, they are calling out to be bitten into. Flavourful and juicy, they’re a long-awaited change to the root vegetables available during endless winter months. Especially because at the beginning of spring, our bodies crave for a vitamin boost and a bit of variety in our everyday diets. But are the early spring vegetables really so healthy? -
It’s springtime! Lighten your load!
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It's springtime! Nature is waking up – blossoming with growth and rejuvenation. We too are part of nature and springtime is detox time for us humans! There are plenty of solutions in nature to help us rejuvenate.” -
Increase Your Energy Efficiency - Juice it Up
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As my days get busier and time seems to get shorter, I decided to start the new year with a plan to simplify my life and do things more efficiently. I finally got myself signed up for delivery of organic veggies (thank you, Reason2.be!) and wonder why I didn’t start earlier. Every week, I receive a box of fresh organic produce delivered straight to my door. I no longer have to make a few trips a week to get my shopping done; hoping that the ingredient I am looking for is in stock, fresh and available in the quantity I’m looking for. I’m saving time, gas and shopping stress (yes, there is such a thing)!
Spend Time in Nature, Take Care of It and It Will Take Care of You!
Spend time in nature and you might just be curing what ails you. Easier said than done, you might say. After all, the weather in Belgium isn't always kind to those who spend time in the outdoors. Those gloomy grey skies with the ever present rain clouds? How can they amount to any good apart from keeping Belgium a very green place to live? And what about all the puddles, mud and cold weather? It doesn't sound like the recipe for a fun time (although you have to admit, it sure looks like fun when you see scouts running around in shorts and muddy boots in the parks on the weekends).
Sunbeams Sprouting Workshop
Sunbeams is holding a free 'sprouting' workshop for anyone interested in learning how to sprout their own seeds
and beans for tasty, fresh and nutritious food that is easy to make at home.
Wednesday, 09 February 2011, 09:15 - 10:30
The workshop wil be held at:
Savoorke,
International Montessori School,
Bergestraat 24,
3080 Tervuren
info and registration: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Sunbeams Nature Workshop - Birds in Winter
Sunbeams Nature Workshop - Birds in Winter
30. January, 13.00h - 16.00h,
For children aged 7 and up.
Fee: 15€
Learn how to identify birds that stay during the winter and how to attract them to your garden, nature walk with winter bird survey.
More information: www.lokilino.com
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2010 International Year of Biodiversity
Sunbeams has written a series of articles to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity.
Join us to make small steps for biodiversity around us.
Sunbeams articles on what you can do for biodiversity:
- main areas to do small steps - Sunbeams Newsletter May 2009 (
pdf 590Kb) - small steps advice by IUCN - Sunbeams Newsletter January 2010 ( pdf 1.1Mb)
Sunbeams articles on biodiversity in Away Magazine:
- Interview with IUCN representative, by Leanne Halewyck [Jan-Feb 2010]
- Permaculture, by Dave Meyer [Mar-Apr 2010]
- You and me and biodiversity, by Ilke [May-June 2010] (available here soon )
Sunbeams article in Small Talk (BCT):
Celebrating biodiversity with children [June 2010] (available here soon)
Sunbeams Events related to biodiversity:
- 4 Workshops for children on nature and wildlife (as from October 2010)
- Annual workshop for adults on wildlife in Belgium (fall)
- Annual tree planting event (spring)
- Annual composting event (May-June)
- Build a herb spiral together with Sunbeams in your commune
- Guided nature walk in Zoniënwoud/Forêt de Soignes (in the fall)
Other events focusing on biodiversity:
- Natuurpunt needs your help to count biodiversity in your garden, weekend of 22-23 May 2010 www.waarnemingen.be
- EU Green Week, 2-5 June 2010
- Environmental Party outdoor in Jubelpark/Cinquantenaire, 6 June 2010 (come and see us at the Sunbeams stand)
Useful links can be found in all teh above articles, and here are a few more:
Check out the activities at the Museum of Natural Sciences and their focus on Biodiversity
http://www.naturalsciences.be/active/biodiv2010/biodiv2010_site
Order a little booklet with 366 ideas on what you can do for biodiversity in Dutch:
http://www.post-online.be/biodiv/nl/index.php
or in French:
http://www.post-online.be/biodiv/fr/index.php
More Sunbeams articles relating to specific areas of biodiversity:
- Biodiversity (!)
- Composting - April 2009
- Organic food baskets in and around Brussels - Sunbeams Newsletter September 2009 ( pdf 517Kb)
- How and when to plant trees in Belgium - Sunbeams Newsletter October 2009 (pdf 760Kb)
- Gardening for wildlife [Sunbeams Newsletter November 2009 ( pdf 560Kb)
- Saving energy - Sunbeams Newsletter December 2009 ( pdf 500 Kb)
- Precycling - Sunbeams Newsletter February ( pdf 600 Kb) and March ( pdf 1.0Mb) 2010
- Bees and biodiversity - Sunbeams Newsletter March 2010 ( pdf 1.0Mb)
- How to build a Herb Spiral - Sunbeams Newsletter March 2010 ( pdf 1.0Mb)
- Nature Nook, a new series on nature - starting in Sunbeams Newsletter May 2010
This article was originally published in the January 2010 issue of the Away Magazine.
Flowers and Plants in Four Languages
This is an overview of beneficial plants and flowers for bees, bumblebees, hoverflies and butterflies. To find a specific term, just use the search function of your browser.
Bees for Biodiversity
In our series on biodiversity, we will focus on bees this time. There are two major groups of bees: the honeybees, whom we all know, living in big communities and the solitary bees, less known and with a big variety of species (more on them later).
As you might know, all bees are crucial for humans, because they pollinate: if bees were extinct, it would take human kind another 4 years to disappear as well. The problem is we do not know where the tipping point is in the declining numbers among bees we see today. Even the causes are not always clear. Recent studies show that the general loss of biodiversity is a main factor, the excessive use of chemicals and climate change have all been mentioned in this regard. Hopeful news is reaching us, like the French government announcing a large scale project to plant wild flowers, the thriving of bees in towns, and the raised interest in beehive associations. There are also things you can do!
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