It's Not Easy Being Green (2006)
It's Not Easy Being Green is a television series on BBC Two starring Dick Strawbridge and focusing on how to live an environmentally friendly, low impact life. To date there have been three series. Series one followed former Lieutenant-Colonel Dick Strawbridge, his wife Brigit, son James, and daughter Charlotte as they moved into Newhouse Farm, a 400-year-old listed building in Cornwall, England from Malvern, Worcestershire. The series documented the family's attempts to convert the building and garden into a comfortable yet entirely ecologically friendly place to live. The show was perhaps unique in that the family did not want great sacrifices in achieving their goal, and Dick Strawbridge said "I don't want to wear a hemp shirt and hairy knickers, I want a 21st-century lifestyle with a coffee machine". In the first series they received advice from permaculture expert Patrick Whitefield and green auditor Donnachadh McCarthy. They were also helped by friends Jim Milner and Anda Phillips as well as at points a small army of friends and relatives. A book entitled ‘It's Not Easy Being Green: One Family's Journey Towards Eco-Friendly Living’ ISBN 0-563-49346-1 by Dick Strawbridge was released to accompany the series and is still available to buy.
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Episode 1 - Episode 1
Release Date: 2007-04-24In the first programme, Dick helped the Keenan family in Wirral build an eco-house, setting up a ground-source heat pump, wind-turbine, and rainwater harvesting system. Then Dick, helped by James and assistant Jim, went to the aid of the Hunts family, who needed to grow fresh fruit and vegetables for their son who has multiple allergies.
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Episode 2 - Episode 2
Release Date: 2007-05-01In programme two, Dick helped Duncan and Steve in Bath to give their scruffy city garden the green treatment. Using only free, recycled materials, they start building a greenhouse. Then in Cornwall, Dick helped the Moriaty family to build an eco-campsite.
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Episode 3 - Episode 3
Release Date: 2007-05-08In programme three, Dick and James revisited would-be green gardeners Duncan and Steve to see how their urban garden was progressing. Then in Cornwall, Dick learned the mysterious art of water-divining when he returned to the Moriaty family project to build an eco-campsite. Dick, James and Jim also visited Chris and Carla Fletcher, who moved to rural Scotland to become more self-sufficient.
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Episode 4 - Episode 4
Release Date: 2007-05-15James meets Maggie, who is determined to decorate her 1930s house using eco-paints, whilst restoring and reusing the original features. In Northampton, we meet Julie and her Dad, who with Dick's help, install a solar panel on the roof. We return to the Keenans on the Wirral. The guest wing of their big eco-build is nearing completion. They get stuck in and learn how to use environmentally friendly lime plaster.
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Episode 5 - Episode 5
Release Date: 2007-05-22In this episode, we meet Andrew Martin from East London, who wants a solar panel but has no budget. Dick comes up with an ingenious do-it-yourself solution. In Bournemouth, we meet Danette Whittle who wants to green up her life, so she gets a wood burner, and starts using menstrual cups. In Cornwall, sisters Jake and Candy acquire some very unlikely livestock to graze their eco-campsite. On New House Farm, Dick and James build a pond for their new ducks.
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Episode 6 - Episode 6
Release Date: 2007-05-29Dick Strawbridge and his son James venture out from New House Farm in Cornwall to meet aspiring individuals and families who want to try and make their lives greener. Eco-campsite sisters Jake and Candy get their wind-turbine in Cornwall, but not before being tested by Dick on their knowledge of electricity. How do you insulate a centuries old cottage if you still want to enjoy the timber beams? In Lincolnshire, we meet Zannah and Arthur who discover that going green in a conservation area isn't easy. They've got their solar panel, but will they be allowed to keep it? In Somerset, we meet the Warrens, who with Dick's help start sustainable livestock farming when they get their first Gloucester Old Spot pigs.
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Episode 7 - Episode 7
Release Date: 2007-06-05In this programme, Dick met Matt, who has a heavenly New Forest house by the beach, but a hellish heating bill. He had a solution, but a visit from Dick led to a change of plan. In Staffordshire, we met Maggie again. Having moved into her eco-decorated house, she wanted a wildlife pond in the garden. Dick, Jim and James assisted. Niel and Zoë live in the Yorkshire Dales. They wanted to be self-sufficient with food, so they took on a large allotment, but it was a neglected wilderness. James turned it into a neat eco-garden.
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Episode 8 - Episode 8
Release Date: 2007-06-12Dick Strawbridge and his son James venture out from New House Farm in Cornwall to meet individuals and families in cities and countryside around Britain who are trying to make their lives greener. This week, a primary school in St Albans calls in Dick to cut their water bills In Camridgeshire, mechanic Gary gets used cooking oil from his local take-away and a visit from Dick and Jim. The result - his own bio-diesel production to run his four-wheel drive. And on the Wirral, Dick sees the Keenan family get their massive wind turbine that'll give them all the electricity they'll ever need