Penney Poyzer of BBC's No Waste Like Home and author of the book of the same name saved our skin last year, by stepping forward and hosting our busy fashion show, she was such a hit with the crowd and really made a difference to the night. She has wonderfully agreed to be part of our campaign this year and will yet again grace the stage to present some cutting edge eco fashion designs. We asked her a few questions to get to the bottom of her green love affair...!
What triggered your desire to campaign for a more eco society? Was it a single incident or have you always felt it?My interest started in childhood but it was about 12 years ago when I really started to understand that resources were going to be a major issue for all societies.
What do you hope will come of your current work with the Leicestherday Trust and can you tell us a bit about the work you are doing?The work with the Trust is fantastic. We are running workshops over the summer aimed at low income groups, we have been treating the environment as a sort of middle class preserve, but higher prices for food, fuel and water hit poorer pockets first. I'm also working with Muslim women and trying to bring Asian green activists more in the light of mainstream. We have to work together and that means talking first and understanding each others cultures, what is important to us. We have one planet and one set of resources and we are in a race against time. (
Leicestherday Trust)
What would you say is the easiest/simplest thing which people could change today to help our environment?I would say grow your own food. Food and fuel are inextricably linked - the more we pay for food the more we pay for fuel. You can even grow lettuce and tomatoes in a window box. When you grow your own food you get rid of the problem of packaging, and it makes you feel good! It is a truly addictive habit and is better for the bank balance than retail therapy!
You really gave our fashion show and opening last year a massive boost with your enthusiasm and fantastic comedy - what did you think of the show and do you reckon we can top it this year? I thought the show was fabulous! The designs were gorgeous, original and the materials amazing and I can still see some of them in my mind's eye. The models did a great job. I think even more of the same! I had a ball and I'm glad the comedy was OK - well I am more glad I didn't turn it into a farce! I met a guy just the other day who had been in the audience with his wife last year - their daughter was one of the designers. It is a small world.
I've got a dark secret, I would love to do green stand up - and doing the MC ing was good practice. I am really looking forward to this year....
You can see Penney MC ing at this year's Green & Organic Opening night 4th September 6-9pm! It will be one not to miss so put it in your diaries now! She will also be presenting to our monthly Women's Network on 10th September - if you would like to book a place on this then visit our
women's Network blog / if you would like to join the network and become a member(you only need run or work for a business that could benefit from networking with other Nottingham based companies, oh, and be a woman of course! :)
Decorating is something most of us have undertaken at some time in our lives, often on a regular basis. In our own domestic situations, we generally have a casual approach to the health and safety implications of the materials we are using. Peter Padun, Nottingham based decorator has been working with these eco, natural paints for a while. He was impressed with the quality of natural paints, the health benefits - no smells, no feeling groggy and no headaches! People are surprised and have a keen interest when he mentions that there are natural paints & products available. Their initial skepticism is the cost of natural paints & products, these paints are not as expensive as they think and in certain cases are a lot cheaper than solvent based paints. 
