DEE DAY DAWNS

On Saturday 10th June 2000 Wirral Green Alliance invites you to Thurstaston Visitors Centre to take part in Dee Day, a special event organised by us with the aim of bringing together environmentalists, local historians and anyone with an interest in the area. We also aim to promote awareness about the history, nature and future of the River Dee.

The visitors centre will open its doors to the public at 9:45 when visitors will be invited to partake in tea & coffee. At 10am, Dr Sheila Ross will begin the day with a short introduction followed by Jim O'Neil on the history of the River Dee.

At 12.15pm we will break for lunch.Videos by Don Wood will be available to watch and buy. Bring your own picnic or visit GJ's café, next to the visitors centre. At 1.15pm Adam King will be talking about Hilbre Island, then at 2.15pm Alan Jemmet will be hosting a strategy group talk.

At 3.30pm the group will have the choice of either going for a walk along the beach or going into the conference room for a scientific demonstration on testing the water.

The proposed finishing time is at 4:30pm. All aspects of the event will be accessible to disabled people, apart from the walk. Tickets are available from the visitors centre or at the WGA office, these are priced at £3 each.

Dee Estuary website: www.deeestuary.freeserve.co.uk

MERSEYSIDE ENVIRONMENT WEEK

This year's event is timed to coincide with Learning Through Landscapes School Grounds Week. This was on the advice of previous participants and is on a trial basis for one year. For those of you who haven't taken part before, Merseyside Environment Week is an annual event to bring together schools, community and voluntary groups and individuals to improve and enhance their local environment. This could be at their school, where they live or where they feel there is a need to improve the area. Funding is available through the MET Environment Week Grants Fund. The maximum grant available has been increased to £500.

The Trust also produces a newsletter/calender to publicise the hard work being done across this region. If you think your school / group should get involved, contyact Karen Evans 0151 794 3137.

GREEN AND AWAY

Green & Away celebrates its tenth anniversary this summer as the only organisation in Europe running an outdoor environmentally-friendly conference centre.

This summer's programme includes conferences with established organisations such as Friends of the Earth, the Soil Association and Wastewatch, as well as smaller groups such as World Voices and Tools for Self Reliance. Green & Away has traditionally catered for organisations working for social and environmental change, but this year sees a new development when we run our first conference for a business. The Organic Marketing Company, one of the UK's leading wholesale co-operatives of fresh organic produce will bring their staff for a training day. "Green & Away's unique conference has become widely accepted by Britain's voluntary organisations," said co-ordinator Peter Lang. "More and more organisations realise that taking their staff to a stuffy conference centre in a plush hotel dampens the spirit and does not teach anything about sustainability or social justice. At Green & Away participants see at first hand the environmental impact of what they do, they have terrific fun and learn about sustainability first hand. The result is that participants think more creatively, are more enthusiastic, and go away understanding better the changes we need to make - and most importantly can make - in our world."

Green and Away's outdoor conference centre north of Gloucester is designed as a showcase of sustainable living and working and features solar and wood burning showers, windmills and photovoltaic panels, organic food with much grown on site, meeting spaces made of recycled canvas and coppiced hazel, and composting toilets. Participants can milk the goats, enjoy mudbaths, imbibe organic wines and local beers and ciders, and enjoy the sauna, as well as keep their mind working during intensive conference sessions.

The Millennium Festival of Cycling

The Millennium Festival of Cycling takes place from Saturday 17 June to Sunday 25 June. Wirral has a series of events lined up in order to take part in the celebrations. Don't worry; you don't have to be a budding Lance Armstrong in order to participate. There are organised rides available for all levels of ability.

Keen cyclists wishing to make an early start may care to raise sponsorship and take part in the annual Leukaemia Bikeathon. This event starts at 9.30pm from Arrowe Park and participants may choose either a 13 mile or a 26 mile route. Telephone 632 5520 / 1149 for details.

The Festival itself begins with the Willaston Millennium fun Ride. This is an easy ride which is suitable for families. Telephone Wirral Cycling Campaign on 327 4667 for further details.

Tuesday 20 June is National Bike to Work Day. Participants are encouraged to reduce reliance on motorised transport and to use the Green and healthy alternative.

Wednesday 21 June sees the major event of the festival. The Wirral Cycling Campaign will link with 500,000 other cyclists across Britain in the "Ride The Net" ride. This event will help to publicise the opening of the first 5000 miles of the National Cycle Network; a series of traffic free cycle routes covering the British Isles. Telephone Frank Lewis on 648 6679.

The festival closes with two more family events:

On Sunday 25 June, Wirral Ranger Service has organised a mountain bike orienteering event around the North Wirral coast. Telephone 648 4371 / 3884 for further details. On the same day, the "Family Cycle tours de Fun" involves a gentle ride through mid Wirral. Telephone 678 4200.