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We had a fantastic ride last Sunday, which took us on the always amazing Rea Valley path. Instead of going up north like last month, we went south, our destination being Waseley Hills country park. Our pace was gentle and mostly effortless and the weather was just perfect to brighten the nature around us. And what nature! The rhododendrons all in colourful bloom, different shades of greens as we passed Frankley Reservoir and through the lovely ancient woods of Balaam's Woods.

If you've missed this ride, we'll be back again next month on Sunday 14th July at 10.30am from the multi-sport area in Victoria Commons.

If you wish to gain more confidence riding your bike or for those wishing to tackle busier roads to commute to work, Bike Right West Midlands offers FREE bike ability training as well as FREE maintenance courses to be able to repair brakes/gears and fix flat tyres. Check their website for more information, dates and booking form.

And finally, we have a date for our forthcoming Bike Leader Training announced in an earlier blog entry:Wednesday 17th July, 9am - 5pm at Northfield Ecocentre. This FREE training (both in and outdoors) is open to anyone who would like to be able to organise and lead group bike rides and will cover following topics:

Following the success of our first ever forest school session at the Big Lunch event on Saturday 1st June,

we are confident that families have just been waiting for the Ecocentre to offer more of those fun,close to nature sessions!

So here they are, on popular demand and just on time for the summer holidays,family forest school sessions at Masefield Community Garden starting Saturday 20th July at 2pm (more dates available here).

But if you missed our taster session on Saturday you might wonder:

"What are forest schools exactly?"

This summer, Northfield Ecocentre are organising a fundraising walk around some of South Birmingham’s beautiful parks, ending with a celebratory picnic and barbeque. You can walk or cycle the route. This is our first ever fundraising event and we’d love you to come along and be part of it!

There are two main route options, taking in some historic sites, beautiful parkland and some of our community orchards: 14 miles around the Rea Valley, Millennium Green and Kings Norton Nature Reserve, for those who want a challenge; and an 8-mile Rea Valley route for those with younger children or less able bodies! Both routes start and end at our Masefield Community Garden in Northfield, where we have an earth oven, barbeque and plenty of space for picnicing. Shorter routes can also be taken.

After today's weather disaster you will be happy to know that the week-end will look sunny and feel warm, so there won't be any better place to spend the Saturday than Masefield Community Garden where our 4th Big Lunch event will take place from 11am.

For those of you not familiar with the Big Lunch, the idea comes from the Eden Project and encourages neighbours to come together and share lunch "in a simple act of community, friendship and fun". The national event takes place on the first Sunday of June and the Northfield Ecocentre's Big Lunch event on the day before to allow you to take part in more big lunches on the Sunday.

Real, good food will be at the heart of our event this Saturday and if you are still unsure about what to bring to share with everybody, here are a few, very simple recipe ideas, ideal to cook with children, to inspire you...

You can now support the Ecocentre at the same time as saving carbon emissions when you switch your energy supplier to a renewable energy company such as Ecotricity, Good Energy or the Co-operative Energy - we receive a donation of up to £60 when you switch.

Here’s how it works:

8 days to go to our 2013 outdoor Big Lunch at Masefield Community Garden on Saturday 1st June.

Why not make the day a car free one and enjoy a walk or ride to the event? There are only very

limited parking spaces on Lindsey Avenue but wherever you are coming from,

there is a car-free alternative available for you...

So here are our top tips to plan your journey to Northfield Ecocentre's Big GREEN Lunch:

10 days to go to our Big Lunch event and we've got the official programme, revealing all the exciting activities we have with timings. Hope this will keep you waiting patiently for the big day! Keep on checking our blog for more Big Lunch countdown entries...

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that Householders across Great Britain will be able to get even more cash for renewable heating kit.

The money off vouchers available under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme have been increased to £2,300 for ground source heat pumps, £2,000 for biomass boilers, £1,300 for air source heat pumps and £600 for solar thermal systems.

Our resourceful Nappuccino volunteer, Hilary, Baby Arthur and I had a successful Real Nappies session this Wednesday at Northfield Baptist Church play & stay group organised by Bellfield Children Centre.

Parents of new born and toddlers were keen to have some information about the benefits of using real nappies as well as being able to see and feel the different kinds of nappies on offer. They were even given the opportunity to see a real nappy change live as baby Arthur needed his changed, and he did not mind at all!

So why should you consider using real nappies? Here are a few facts to help you make up your mind:

In preparation to the launch of our Forest Schools program (more about this will follow soon, so watch this space!), we need some enthusiastic volunteers to help us create a lovely explorer path to make the area safer for the children.

If anybody would like to join us, we'll be at the Masefield Community Garden this coming Tuesday, 21st May from 10am to get started.

So get your wellies and waterproofs out and get ready for a fun time between hawthorns and brambles, gloves and tools will be provided!

For more information, get in touch with Anne on 0121 4480119 or email admin@northfieldecocentre.org