Its Our World Supplement 26th January 2011

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WINTER so often clashes with spring these days, but Holme Valley Parish Council is adding a big splash of colour to its area.

That colour will be yellow as the council has provided 5,000 daffodil bulbs to be shared between several community groups.

These daffodils pictured on the moors above Huddersfield in the snow show just how striking they can be as they herald the end of winter and the start of some warmer days.

Groups to benefit include scouts and guides based in the valley, the Friends Of Wooldale Park Pond Preservation Group, Scholes Methodist Church, people living in Broad Lane and Woodchurch View, Thongsbridge; Hade Edge Action For Residents; Holmfirth Parish Church, St George’s Church, Brockholes; Thurstonland Village Association; Holmbridge Pre-school; Lane Pre-school Playgroup in Holmfirth and New Mill Church.

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Now you can cut those heating costs, make your home look even better and help the environment

■ CUTTING EDGE: Craig Hanson at Pennine Home Improvements became one of the first local window installers to adopt new environmental standards (JH071010Bcraig-02)

NEW double glazed windows are now even more energy efficient and cost effective.

And a Huddersfield window installer became one of the first in the local area to adhere to new environmental standards.

Pennine Home Improvements is playing its part in helping Huddersfield homeowners to cut their bills as well as their carbon footprint.

New government regulations introduced last October dictated that double glazing installers must fit, as standard, windows which achieve a category C rating.

The new amendments apply to all replacement windows in domestic properties.

This is all part of Britain’s commitment to the international Kyoto Protocol and is a major step in reducing carbon emissions and ensuring the UK becomes more energy efficient.

Craig Hanson, who runs Pennine Home Improvements based at Lincoln Street, Aspley, says: “Our window profiles can also be upgraded to a category A by including the most energy efficient glass. I understand we were one of the first in Huddersfield to sign up to the new regulations and now

fit category C as standard.

“For the homeowner this means that they save on energy bills, therefore cutting down carbon emissions. It means their home is warmer with no draughts and they are doing their bit for the environment.”

Pennine uses the Advance 70 window profile which is at the forefront of window manufacture.

Before last October, window energy ratings ranged from A to G. New innovative window design incorporating five chambers in the window frame mean that C, B and A ratings are now easily achievable.

Craig said: “People in Huddersfield can now reduce their heating costs, help the environment and make their home look more attractive.”

Window energy ratings are calculated by looking at the solar gain and thermal loss. The resulting value is placed on an energy scale from A to G which gives consumers a simple way to compare one product with another.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement which sets targets for nearly 40 industrialised countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Feed the birds ...

F

OLLOWING the prolonged icy blast bringing Arctic weather to Huddersfield, the RSPB is calling on birdwatchers, walkers, anglers and water sports enthusiasts to minimise disturbance to groups of ducks, geese, swans and wading birds until conditions improve.

On lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal areas the birds will be struggling to survive after enduring several consecutive days of freezing temperatures.

The RSPB is also urging people to continue feeding birds visiting their gardens to ensure they survive the harsh weather conditions.

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director, said: “During freezing conditions disturbance forces the birds to squander their precious energy reserves by taking flight when they need to spend as much time as possible feeding.

“We hope everyone who uses the countryside will heed our advice, allowing the millions of birds which visit the UK’s coasts and wetlands during the winter to stand a better chance of survival.”

The birds affected include ducks – including wigeon and pintail – and wading birds, such as godwits, dunlin and knot. These birds either nest in the Arctic, or in northern or eastern Europe.

During the winter the birds visit the UK to escape harsher conditions further north.

Dr Avery added: “We are continuing to receive calls from the public reporting seeing woodcock coming into their gardens. It is obvious that these birds, which are normally shy woodland birds, are freezing and

starving and they’re desperately seeking food and shelter. We believe that birds are facing desperate times, strengthening our call for voluntary restraint on disturbance.”

Garden birds are also at risk. As the weather worsens garden birds are fighting an ever-increasing battle to find food and water in order to stay alive. Birds have become very vulnerable and are more likely to come into our gardens to seek refuge as they struggle to find the natural food they need to stay alive which has become buried by snow or frozen solid.

To encourage the survival of our birds, people should provide food like meal worms, fat-balls, crushed peanuts, dried fruit, seeds and grain to compensate for birds’ natural food which is covered in snow and ice and impossible to get to.

Leftovers like grated cheese, porridge oats, soft fruit, unsalted bacon, cooked rice, pasta and the insides of cooked potatoes are also a good source of energy for garden birds, and water for both drinking and bathing is vital.

The cold weather is also likely to bring a host of unusual visitors to UK gardens. Val Osborne, senior wildlife adviser for the RSPB said: “Providing food and fresh water will not only ensure the survival of our garden birds, but may also attract some very hungry, unusual suspects.

“Freezing conditions make it hard for wildlife to get enough of the right kind of food supplies, and some will go to great lengths to ensure their bellies are full – including venturing into unknown territories like back gardens.”

and help our little feathered friends to survive the harsh winter

Watch the birdie

Look out for these rarely-seen species in your back garden this winter: ● Woodcock ● Little Egret ● Brambling ● Snipe ● Yellow hammer ● Meadow pipit ● Water rail ● Grey wagtail ● Kingfisher ● Waxwing ● Reed bunting ● Redwing To find out what these and other birds look like, visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk

■ TUCK IN: A robin and a goldfinch make the most of this garden feeder

Bid to boost our declining farmland birds THE UK’s farmland birds have seen numbers fall to record lows according to official figures.

In England, monitoring of 19 key species which rely on farmland for food or breeding revealed populations in 2009 had fallen by more than half since 1970.

The figures for the UK as a whole are almost as bad, with farmland bird numbers tumbling to just over half the levels they were four decades ago when the wild birds index – seen as a good indicator of the health of the countryside – began.

According to the statistics published by the Environment Department (Defra), most of the declines for farmland birds occurred between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, but between

2003 and 2008 there was a fall specialist farmland species of around 8% in England and including grey partridges, 7% across the UK as a whole. turtle doves, starlings, tree sparrows and corn buntings There was also bad news for woodland birds which saw have all seen numbers fall by more than 70% since the wild numbers fall by almost a bird index quarter since began in 1970.

1970, though But a few there has been farmland little change in specialists like their fortunes in goldfinches the past few years. have seen numbers In woodlands increase by and on farmland, more than half the declines are in the last four largely driven by decades. those species Among which are ■ DECLINE: The grey partridge ‘generalist’ ‘specialists’ species which which means are found on they are farmland and other restricted to or highly widespread habitats, yellow dependent on a specific wagtails have declined by habitat. more than 70% but The populations of

woodpigeons and jackdaws saw populations double since 1970.

In woodlands, specialists including willow tits, tree pipits, spotted flycatchers and the lesser spotted woodpecker have seen numbers decline by more than 70%, while others such as blackcaps, green woodpeckers and sparrowhawks have doubled ■ THREAT: dove their populations.

Well-known generalist woodland species including blackbirds, bullfinches and song thrushes have declined, but

other garden favourites such as robins, wrens and long-tailed tits have seen numbers increase by more than half.

The RSPB said the decline of some farmland birds has been linked to decades of habitat change which resulted in a lack of suitable nesting sites and a shortage of food in spring or winter.

But the A turtle environmental charity believes the future of farmland bird species can be secured through the use of agri-environmental schemes which pay farmers to manage

their land in a wildlife-friendly way.

The widest-reaching of these schemes is the Entry Level Scheme (ELS).

Dr Mark Avery, RSPB conservation director, said: “It is staggering that farmland birds, such as the turtle dove and lapwing, have reached such a low ebb.

“But the good news is that we know how to turn around these declines. Everyone now needs to play their part and get on with the job.

“Defra only has to tweak ELS a little to ensure a recovery in farmland birds such as skylarks and corn buntings.

“Our children could then hear as much birdsong as did their parents. A countryside richer in birds is within our grasp.”

Page 4

Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

You can go green, stay warm and save cash

A BRIGHOUSE-BASED company is helping householders across the UK to keep warm, save money and help the environment.

Many homeowners have already reaped the benefits by installing a modern energy efficient heating boiler and cutting down on their carbon footprint.

Dyson Insulations Ltd, of Armytage Road, supplies all kinds of ‘green’ products including cavity wall and loft insulation, solar panels etc, but in more recent years has become a specialist in the supply and installation of A-rated heating systems.

Heating manager Brian Blythe said: “The advantage to the homeowner is that they get a much more efficient boiler which will cut down their heating bills. Many older boilers run at around 70% efficiency, or even as low as 60%.

New A-rated condensing boilers offer around 90% efficiency which means lower bills and a better carbon footprint which is good for all of us.

“For every £100 spend on your gas bill, you are getting £90’s worth of heat and doing your bit to help the environment.’’

The difference between a traditional central heating boiler and a new modern condensing boiler is that the operation is much more refined.

Help fight ■ NEW HOPE: Karo is hoping for a brighter future with her son, Happiness. Below: Eight-year-old rag-picker Anna is being helped through education

■ EFFICIENT: Brian Blythe, heating manager for Dyson Insulations (PW111010Dblythe-02)

A condensing boiler recycles and takes heat from the exhaust gases, while in a traditional boiler, these gases are lost into the atmosphere. New boilers are always more efficient due to their larger and better heat exchange.

Dyson Insulations was established nearly 30 years ago in Hipperholme and now has branches all over the UK helping homeowners across the country to cut their home heating costs and cut down global warming.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Page 5

poverty with a party

By JADE WRIGHT Features Correspondent editorial@examiner.co.uk

H

How Huddersfield girls can support work of Oxfam

UDDERSFIELD girls are the first from the North of England to join thousands across the UK who are partying to help poor women around the world.

They are ditching the scales and the diets and are making instead a special New Year’s resolution: Make some time this year to celebrate themselves and women who every day fight against poverty.

Women are organising a ‘Do’ to raise money for Oxfam during the week on International Women’s Day. In March over 2,000 women around Britain will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day by holding an Oxfam Do. Huddersfield and the rest of the country will see an unprecedented number of dinner parties, barn dances, film nights, clothes swaps and more as women come out in force to celebrate in whatever way they feel fit.

A total of 700 million women around the world live on less than $2 per day.

Far too often, all over the world, women are told, ‘don’t’. Oxfam is about supporting and celebrating women who ‘do’, all over the world, every day; women who fight to survive in refugee camps, to feed their children, to earn a living.

Oxfam is asking Huddersfield women to join them and to celebrate the strength, resilience and the achievements of mothers like Karo, who is fighting against the odds to raise her child in a refugee camp and girls like Anna, who works a 12 hours shift picking rugs in a rubbish dump in India, and still wants to go to school.

Karo’s story Karo escaped from her village, Rutshuru, to find refuge in a camp in Goma during the devastating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is now raising her beautiful son, Happiness, in an Oxfam supported camp.

‘I came here in the camp in August 2007 from Rutshuru. I live with my aunt, my mother’s sister, my sister in law, and her five children.

‘I had to flee my village because of the attacks by the military. I am the youngest. I have one brother and one sister. My father is dead. My mother left first with my brother. I stayed behind with Lucy, my sister, to look after their belongings. They told us that if the situation gets worse we should run.

‘The Mai Mai rebel soldiers came to attack my village to defeat the national army. There was shooting then it went quiet so we thought that the situation would calm down, but it didn’t. The attack happened at night.

We had no choice but to run.

‘As a mother it is really important to have clean water in the camp. We don’t just use water for cooking we use it for washing ourselves and cleaning our pots. We also have showers and toilets here that we can

■ A BIT OF A DO: These Oxfam staff show how to get in the party mood by staging an event of their own – and now you can follow their example use. If I hadn’t managed to reach this camp we would have died.’

Ten years since the start of the brutal war here, the DRC has become the world’s deadliest conflict since World War Two. Yet, until today, you probably won’t have heard about the horrors that people in this region have had to live through. Because this conflict rarely reaches our TV screens. In the east of the country, more than five million civilians have been killed. Every day, civilians fear eviction, rape, severe injury, or even death. More than one million people have had to flee from their homes.

Many thousands more have died trying.

Oxfam is helping survivors to stay alive. Many are now taking refuge in overcrowded camps, where we’re supplying, installing and maintaining water tanks and tap stands. In cramped conditions, it’s vital to ensure that everyone has enough clean water. Without it, diseases will

spread quickly and more people will die. People here hope that, one day, peace will return. Only then will they be able to return their villages and homes without fear. And Oxfam will still be there, working with communities as they replant their crops and rebuild their destroyed homes, schools, wells, and livelihoods.

Anna’s story The rag-picking community of Shanti Busti (literally “Peace Slum”) comprises 210 households. Originally from Assam, their language and culture differs from the wider population of Lucknow who speak Hindi. They are discriminated against because of the low status of the rag-pickers’ work together with their minority status.

The rag-pickers families pay quite a high rent over the land upon which Shanti Busti is built to a “landlord”, who, in return, provides them some protection from eviction by the

government.

With funding from Oxfam, the Vigyan Foundation is supporting rag-picking communities like this one – through schools, and water and sanitation activities including toilets, water pumps, and health volunteers.

The schools act as a bridge from the community to the government schools. Books, slates, school bags, a blackboard, games, mats and teacher training are provided, and the teacher’s wage is also paid for by Oxfam.

The school promotes hygiene awareness among the 30 pupils who regularly attend, and teachers take the children out on regular social and cultural trips. As well as opening outside the hours during which rag-picking children work, the timetable stresses the need for play and recreation that is often absent from the lives of working children.

The school allows children to bring along the younger siblings for whom

many must care. It is basically built around them and around their families’ needs. This means that little girls like Anna who is only 8 years old, can still go to school. And despite having to pick rags for up to 12 hours in a row, she has still bags of energy to learn and hopefully, build a better future for herself.

Esther Fisher, from Oxfam Do organiser in the North of England, says: “The Oxfam Do is a really easy, fun and sociable way of raising money for those living in poverty.

Every penny that you raise will go directly to support women in poor countries. The ‘Do’ brings us one step closer to millions of women across the globe that needs our help and support. Join in and party with us!”

To sign up for an Oxfam Do call Esther on 0161 234 2923/ 07738587107/ email efisher@oxfam.org.uk or click on to www.oxfam.org.uk/Celebration/Help

Go solar to save money and preserve the planet AFFORDABLE solar energy for the home was once the stuff of science fiction.

More and more homes and businesses however are opting for sustainable and renewable energy which not only reduces your carbon footprint, but is surprisingly affordable.

The energy from the sun can be used to generate two types of power, electricity and ■ ADVICE: Staff of Winterwarm ready to get to work heat. householders and social housing could Solar collectors make the most of renewable technology. gathering the sun’s energy to transform There is even a cashback scheme for into electricity are called “photovoltaic” the energy you do not use, which is sold (PV), and the solar collectors can be to the National Grid. used to heat domestic hot water.

Established in 1992, Winterwarm is a Even taking into account the family-owned business with an temperamental weather in the UK, solar established track record of advice and waterheating can typically provide almost all hot water requirements during installation throughout Huddersfield.

It offers advice on domestic and the summer months and averages commercial clients on key renewable around 70% year-round performance.

Last April, the Government introduced technologies and systems including air source heat pumps, which absorb heat an incentive scheme, which means PV from the outside air which can then be systems are even more cost effective. used to warm water for radiators or It is a key aspect of reaching the underfloor heating systems, or to warm national targets in carbon reduction the air in your home. which governments have signed up to.

Ground source heat pumps are The scheme includes paid “Feed-in another option. For further information Tariffs” (FITs) for producing electricity. or to arrange a consultation with the In addition, you can use the electricity winterwarm team, email produced free of charge. info@winter-warm.com or ring for free The Government introduced FITs in order that businesses, domestic 0800 0192001

Show how ■ FUNDS AND FIZZ: For every bottle of this Italian lightly-sparkling Frizzante rose from Millione, £1 will go towards building community-run primary schools in Sierra Leone in West Africa

DO YOU WANT FREE ELECTRICITY FROM THE SUN? Install Solar Panels today

Systems from only

£6500

✔ Savings of up to 40% on your electricity bill a year 5 YEAR FULL ✔ Protect yourself from rising WARRANTY energy costs in the future ✔ Reduces your carbon footprint ✔ Government guarantees FiT payments get paid 41.3p per kw of energy you produce from solar panels

WINTERWARM Freephone: 0800 019 2001 Email: info@winter-warm.com working in partnership with

■ TREEMENDOUS: This bee log will help protect the species

much you really care

By JADE WRIGHT Features Correspondent editorial@examiner.co.uk

T

HINK hearts, flowers and romantic thoughts as Valentine’s Day rears its head next month.

Yes, it’s the time of year to show your loved one just how much you care.

But present buying doesn’t mean you need ignore the planet. Gifts don’t have to be brand-new, or expensive, to make someone happy.

Browse through second-hand shops or search online to find classic accessories, retro furniture, original books, traditional games and toys to help take the pressure off our planet’s dwindling resources.

B u t i f yo u re a l ly wan t something new here’s what’s on our lists this Valentine’s Day. BRIGHTEN lives across the globe with pure warmth. This Aveda Grounding Ritual soy wax candle (£20) is packed with organic cassia, vanilla and ginger oils.

The candle holder is made from reclaimed beer bottles.

And inside the beautiful box comes a tagua nut hair band which has been harvested by a women’s Corporation Group in Colombia called Hope For Women.

So sit back and relax knowing that you are helping to support families and promote economic independence to women in Colombian communities. These unique accessories help change the live of Colombian woman and families and help sustain the Colombian rainforest.

COOL doesn’t have to mean cold with these fabulously cosy beanie hats. Made by uber cool British surf-clothing company Finisterre, which specialises in creating surf wear that looks just as good in town out of recycled or natural fibres such as merino wool, they’re a great gift for the ecologically-minded fashionista.

Merino Beanies, £24 each from Finisterre, www.finisterreuk.com, 01872 554 481 ADD some fizz to your February fun and put Millione on the top of your Valentine’s tipple list.

Millione is a lightly-sparkling Frizzante rose from Italy. But what makes it stand out from the rest is that not only does it look good and good, but it does good too.

Fo r e v e r y bottle sold £1 will go towards building community-run primary schools in Sierra Leone in West Africa, in conjunction with anti-poverty charity ActionAid. The aim is to sell one million bottles to raise £1m. With that 20 new schools will be built to educate 10,000 children a year for years to come.

So this year, if you celebrate with a bottle of Millione you will be bringing some light into the lives of the children of Sierra Leone. Millione costs £7.99 and is available on the high street in all Asda, many Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons stores. Find out more about Millione at www.oneinamillione.com INSPIRED by Lake District legend Millican

Treat your loved one ... and the environment ■ SUPER COOL: You and the one you love will be ready to hit the great outdoors with Merino Beanies from Finisterre and the Millican Dalton bag. This cool bag is made from 100% organic weatherproof cotton, lined with polyester that’s made from recycled pop bottles and insulated with local Herdwick wool

Dalton, who took up residency in a cave, this cool bag is made from 100% organic weatherproof cotton, lined with polyester that’s made from recycled pop bottles and insulated with local Herdwick wool from Borrowdale which is as good for keeping food chilled as it is for keeping sheep warm.

The outdoor company which has adopted his name is dedicated to an eco-friendly future and has put every grain of its knowledge and care into its gear. Hand-finished in Cumbria with chemical-free, vegetable-tanned leather it’s big enough to car for a whole family picnic and the straps are reinforced to last a lifetime. An investment gift for someone very special indeed, it will be an essential picnic companion for many, many years of picnics to come. Millican Cool Bag, Lakeland, ref 42636, £84.99 E C O - B E AU T Y s h o p N a t u r e ’s Boutique stocks the very best in natural o rg a n i c s k i n c a re products and organic cosmetics. Check out their award-winning range of natural and organic bodycare, haircare and fragrance. They also offer a great range of natural jewellery, gifts and accessories, all at the most competitive prices. Call for details on 0845 045 1505 or see the website www.naturesboutique.com FORGET cut flowers that are either hot-housed or flown across the world, and instead think about real, growing plants and flowers. Gardeners will know just how important bees are when it comes to pollinating fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants. And Lakeland’s B&B for bees will go a long way in encouraging them into the garden.

Particularly attractive to non-aggressive, solitary

mason bees who’d like to snuggle up at the back of the nesting tubes, it helps with their conservation. And the bees will speed up garden production. It is made from FSC certified timber. Plus, a genuine friend to any gardener, ladybirds are ravenous chompers of greenfly and aphids – each scoffing up to 5,000 in a lifetime – so it’s well worth encouraging them into your garden.

Placed in lawns, shrubs or sheltered plant beds, this attractive tower, made from FSC timber, has an insulated central chamber and so provides a safe, warm retreat for ladybirds in winter and a natural solution to the problem of plant-eating insects. Comes with a sachet of ladybird attractant/food. Wildlife World Pollinating Bee Log, Lakeland, ref 50999, £17.99, and Wildlife World Ladybird Tower, ref 50998, £14.99 from www.lakeland.co.uk or call 015394 88100.

FOR the allotment-lover in your life a vegetable garden for the developing world makes a really thoughtful gift. Seeds, tools and horticultural training can provide a family with a healthy, nutritious diet by giving them the chance to grow their own vegetables. As well as enjoying nutritious food they can sell any surplus vegetables and use this extra money to improve their lives.

Vegetable garden is priced £10 and available from http://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk PUCKER up for the purest, certified organic lip balms and body balms that you could wish for. Scented using only Fair Trade organic essential oils and containing no synthetic ingredients or preservatives Dr Bronner’s Organic Lip Balms (£2.95) make a perfect natural winter skin treat and perfect Valentines present.

They come in a variety of sumptuous flavours including peppermint, lemon lime, orange ginger and naked. All contain jojoba and hemp oil moisturisers which are then locked in with beeswax to rejuvenate tired, chapped lips leaving them silky soft and smooth.

To find your nearest stockist call 0845 072 5825 or go to www.kinetic4health.co.uk

■ HOME, SWEET, HOME: Placed in lawns, shrubs or sheltered plant beds, the Ladybird Tower, made from FSC timber, has an insulated central chamber and so provides a safe, warm retreat for ladybirds in winter. The presence of the ladybirds will give your garden a boost

Cash for green groups £20k awarded to local projects

G

REEN groups across West Yorkshire are celebrating after being given a cash boost.

■ HARD AT WORK: Colne Valley Tree Society volunteers planting shrubs at Meltham

Five charity and community groups in the region – including two operating in the Huddersfield area – are sharing a slice of over £20,000 worth of grants.

The green grants have been awarded by the region’s gas pipeline company, Northern Gas Networks.

The Denby Dale Centre, based at Springfield Mill in Denby Dale, works with older and disabled people living in surrounding rural areas.

It was awarded £5,000 to create a garden with raised beds, walkways and a large greenhouse.

Colne Valley Tree Society was handed a £2,000 grant.

The group was established in 1964 and since then has planted more than 300,000 trees at sites across the Colne Valley.

Heavy rainfall and exposed land makes farming in the area difficult, and the money will help the group continue its work helping farmers create shelter by planting trees.

Other groups to benefit in West Yorkshire were Bradford’s Prism Youth Project, which was

By EMMA DAVISON News Reporter emma.davison@examiner.co.uk

given £5,000 for a nature trail, treasure trail and signage at the city farm.

Working in Saltaire, the Hirst Wood Generation Group has been awarded £1,600 to help it reclaim derelict areas and transform them into well-maintained public spaces.

The Wildlife Habitat Protection Fund’s grant of £4,990 will help create a nature trail on the outskirts of Church Fenton, Doncaster.

The scheme saw a total of £60,000 gifted to grass-roots environmental projects across Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria.

Now in its fourth year, the initiative attracted 90 entries with the award fund being shared by 17 stand-out entrants.

John O’Grady, Northern Gas Networks’ communications director, said: “We set up the Northern Green Networks’ grant scheme as a way of supporting these groups that are dedicated to improving their local communities. They are the ones that make things happen.

“It’s our way of recognising the effort and dedication that they make and we hope it will enable them to go that extra mile.”

Claim your FREE energy saving gadgets

WHAT is it they say – if something sounds too good to be true, it normally is? Well, it seems we’ve found the exception.

Saving energy not only helps the environment by conserving precious fossil fuels and reducing emissions, it also cuts your bills, saving money every month.

But all too often it seems that you have to spend money to save anything, paying for expensive gadgets to help cut your outgoings.

That is, until now. We have some great gadgets to give away for free. All we’re asking is that you use them, and contribute to helping make a cleaner, greener future.

The first gadget is an intelligent energy saving plug, which turns your appliances off standby in one easy click, via your remote control.

The plug can be used with an individual piece of equipment such as a TV or with a number of pieces connected via a multisocket unit plugged into the unit.

The unit is controlled by your existing TV remote control (or any infra red remote control). You can select the desired button you wish to use on your remote control and the unit will learn and remember it. This would usually be the on/off button, so that the unit operates when you turn off the TV. Leaving items on standby wastes energy and money, so start thinking 'savings' not ‘standby’ with a free energy saving plug and you could save up to £20 on your energy bills.

Our second gadget is a water widget, which fits into a normal shower.

One fifth of a household's carbon footprint already comes just from heating water, so this device turns your shower into an eco-shower and saves money on your energy and water bill.

It takes less than five minutes to fit and reduces the amount of water used by up to 70%. For an average sized three- bedroom house this could result in a saving of up to

£80 off your annual bill.

FREE energy saving products worth £30 Save up to £100* per year on your energy bills for the price of a stamp. We have two, easy to install energy saving products worth £30 to give away.

The UK is leading the way in reducing its carbon emissions. The government would like everyone to do their bit as part of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and in support of this scheme we have teamed up with Lime to offer two free energy saving products to get you started.

FREE Energy Saving Plug This intelligent plug turns your appliances off standby in one easy click via your remote control. Using the energy saving plug to shutdown multiple appliances can result in savings of up to £20.

FREE Water Widget Turn your shower into an eco-shower. The Water Widget takes less than five minutes to fit, but uses up to 70% less water and could save you up to £80 a year on utility bills. The Water Widget is not recommended for electric showers or suitable for low-flow showers. *Using the energy saving plug to shutdown multiple appliances could result in savings of up to £20. The water widget can reduce the amount of water used by a shower by up to 70% which could result in a saving of £80 off the annual bill of an average sized three-bedroomed house.

■ UP FOR GRABS: The money-saving water widget, left, and the intelligent plug HOW TO CLAIM Visit www.examiner.co.uk/myexaminer to download and complete a form. myExaminer is a special website that features all of the Examiner's latest competitions and reader offers. If you are not registered with myExaminer already, you will need to complete our registration form to claim your free gadgets. Simply follow these steps.

1. Sign up to myExaminer by completing the online registration form at www.myexaminer.co.uk/register 2. Activate your account by clicking on the email you will receive from myExaminer.

(Sometime our emails are quarantined by your email service provider so please check

your Trash Folder if you don't receive our email in a few minutes).

3. You can now login to myExaminer. Visit our Offers section to download and complete the form. Then put it the post and your gadgets will be with you within 28 days.

Terms & Conditions: Normal Examiner terms and conditions apply. For more information please visit: www.myexaminer.co.uk/rules. Offer expires 20/02/2011. Only one free product per GB household (excluding Northern Ireland) across all free standby and water saver offers from energy suppliers. Unfortunately we will not be able to process your application if you have previously received either product from an energy supplier and we are unable to notify you. Offer available to GB residents only.

Please allow 28 days for delivery. Water Widget offer excludes households who already own a water saving shower device.

Offer is subject to availability.