The Greening of Gavin

TGoG Podcast 048 – NZ EcoChick aka Madeleine Booth-Smits

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This week my guest is none other than the NZ Eco Chick aka Madeleine Booth-Smits.

We talk about her greening journey and why she is passionate about living a greener lifestyle.

During the discussion we cover food gardening, chickens, blogging, green kids, waste reduction methods, and her love of Star Trek (yes really!).  There are also tips for others who are thinking of starting their own green living journey.

Listen to the Episode Below (00:53:14)
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You can visit Mads’ blog at www.nzecochick.com

 

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

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 A great interview, lots of fun, and very informative.  Thanks Mads!

It’s Not Easy Being Green TV series

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As a result of yesterday’s post about the Strawbridge family, I had quite a few of you ask where they can get the TV series, It’s Not Easy Being Green.  I couldn’t find it for sale on DVD, which is a shame.

Strawbridge family circa 2006

However, after a bit of searching I managed to find one episode of season one on YouTube, which will whet your appetite for more.

Here is the episode [http://youtu.be/LEsVbzLNft8]


The rest of the episodes can be found on the interwebs, however I can’t provide you with the link due to copyright laws.  You will just have to find them yourself, sorry.

I reckon that there should be more of this type of programming, and less of those crappy renovation shows on telly (not that I watch them).  It would really get people thinking about how easy it is to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

So what did you think of the show?

Strawbridge Family Inspiration

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Back at the start of our family’s sustainable living journey, Kim and I stumbled across a similar family in the UK called the Strawbridge Family.

Our Inspiration

Dick, Bridget, James, and Charlotte moved from an English suburban home to Cornwall and bought an 3 acre farm.

They transformed this small farm into a sustainable paradise after lots of work and a fair bit of capital (only because the roof leaked and the insulation was non-existent).

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Here’s the first episode of the first season of It’s Not Easy Being Green.  Dick and James went on to write a book titled “Practical Self Sufficiency“, which I have a copy.  This book really goes into depth about DIY projects with which you can transform your home into a more sustainable one, saving swags of money in the process.

Anyway, the point of this post is that if Kim and I didn’t watch their fantastic TV series called It Ain’t Easy Being Green, we would never have gone half as far down the sustainable living path as we did.  We thought that if they could do it, then we certainly could.

This family’s antics and great projects inspired us to go the extra yard and grow vegetables and rip up our lawns.  It was also by watching this show that Kim finally gave in to getting chickens.

Thanks a Million!

So from the bottom of my heart, and long overdue, I thank the Strawbridge family for helping to inspire us, week after week, and giving us the courage to give it a go in the first few months after my green epiphany (early 2007).  It really kick started our own progress before I started writing this blog.

Good on ya Dick Strawbridge and family.  Thanks a million!

Separate Ways

Update:  Back in 2013, one of my readers, James, provided the following update;

I was trying to find out what happened to them the other day and to see what they are doing now, if they’re still running courses etc. It’s quite confusing.

I think Dick and Brigit split up (divorced and Dick remarried) not long after season 3 and she moved back to Malvern (where they started out from) which is when the house was put up for sale.

Brigit now appears to have moved back and is running the place as a B&B having changed its name to Bumblebee Farm.

The new website suggests that they run courses relating to beekeeping and bee management, but hard details are scant. Dick has done a fair bit of television work (Scrapheap Challenge, Beat the Ancestors and a load of “foodie” type programmes), remarried and has a young child.

I’ve no idea if he’s given up working on the “eco-house” idea around his television work or not.

James and his wife still seem to live in the area and run the Posh Pasty Co. He also does some television with Dick. Charlotte appears to be starting out as a professional photographer.

It was sad news when I first read it, but as with everything life goes on.