Low carbon businesses

Who would have ever predicted adverts by companies proclaiming their carbon neutralness, and business advisors offering carbon footprint analyses. After years of ignoring the issues and labelling those who protested as cranks, perhaps people really have woken up to the effects we're having on our surroundings.

Carbon neutral and eco-friendly holidays are being advertised by the bucketful - strange that, as most of them seem to involve flying half-way around the planet. But with the long security checks and threats of strikes or bad weather delaying flights, adding stress to the departure and return, it won't be much longer before more people start looking at their own country for a relaxing holiday. Cycling and walking holidays must be the most carbon neutral ones around, especially if you hop on a train to get to your starting point.

Making a pond using puddled clay

We've just put a new feature on Gardening Masterclass about making a pond with a traditional puddled clay liner. Not as easy as with a butyl liner, but great fun if you like getting muddy. Good luck!

£50 million for UK walking and cycling routes

There's a huge pot of money from the lottery fund being made available for a worthwhile project, and Sustrans have got their Connect2 project into the running. There'll be a TV vote in December to decide which of four projects will win.

Connect2 is a project to link up existing everyday walking and cycling routes to school, work, parks and so on with bridges over main roads, railway lines and other major obstacles.

Of the four projects, this is the only one nationwide one, with 79 areas set to benefit from the increased opportunities to make daily journeys more pleasant and safer, reduce congestion and pollution and increase people's health.

To increase the chances of this project winning, spread the word to your friends and colleagues. We can all vote in December 2007, but in case we forget, register with Sustrans, or send them a text message, so they can send out a reminder message with details of how to vote.

Either text the message 'Connect2' to 80010 or register on the Sustrans' Connect2 website, where there's more information.