Bamboo is a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. New shoots of some of the larger species can grow over 1 meter per day. They are of economic and high cultural significance in East Asia and South East Asia where they are used extensively in gardens, as a building material as well as a food source. In Filipino, they are known as kawayan, Chinese, they are known as zhu (Chinese: 竹; pinyin: zhú), in Japanese as take (Kanji: 竹; Hiragana: たけ, take?), in Korean as dae (대) or daenamu (대나무), and in Vietnamese as Tre /tʃe/.There are 91 genera and about 1,000 species of bamboo. They are found in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. They occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin through to northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalaya. They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and in the Americas from the southeast of the United States south to Argentina and Chile, there reaching their furthest south anywhere, at 47°S latitude. Major areas with no native bamboos include Europe, north Africa, western Asia, Canada, most of Australia, and Antarctica.

Not many of us link our soy chai latte or our occasional fast food splurge with Amazon deforestation. However, travel up the Amazon river and you’ll be greeted not by endless lush forest, but by soy farms and cattle ranches.We’re all familiar with the statistic: every minute, an area of forest the size of five football fields is clear-cut...

"Hydrocarbons bad. Biofuels good." Never mind the inevitable impact on the cost of food. Never mind that irreplaceable forests will be destroyed to plant more palm oil trees. Never mind that more people will starve and the net effect on the environment will be negative. Never mind thinking a little ahead of the nose on your face. (I guess I'm angry

January 7 2008 ~ The Ministry of Natural Resources reminds people that it is not necessary to feed local deer this winter. There is good natural food available this winter, such as twigs and foliage. Deer change their behaviour in winters as the snow deepens, moving into thicker forests and relying upon established trails to move to and from.

Bill Mollison, founding father of the permaculture movement, demonstrates a complete solution to our economic, social, and environmental problems.

Huge selection of eating establishments, serving local organic produce, in the New Forest including Michelin star restaurants to pubs serving excellent Sunday roasts. Excellent Indian, Chinese restaurants, tea rooms, take aways offering superb fish and chips. The New Forest is well served for restaurants that welcome both dogs and children.