| The World of Pete and The Environment Updated: 10th SEPTEMBER 2009 |
 |
| How Pete became an environmentalist... at a very early age... |
| At the beginning of World War ll. Pete, only 2 years old, was whisked away to the Highlands of Scotland, Fort George, where his father was in the Seaforth Highlanders. He used to go for walks on The Golden Common, where he became familiar with the Mountain Hares. On the edge of the forest, he came face-to-face with Red Deer, Red Squirrels, Pine Martens, and even Wildcats. He was in his element, for he loved everything to do with the natural world... |
 |
 |
| All this, however, was not to last, - for some strange reason, he was whisked back to Walthamstow, London, - in the middle of The Blitz! What a shock for a 4-year-old! The only things that gave him hope was the old Oak Tree which stood over the Anderson shelter like some great guardian, and an owl, which, unlike other birds, remained in that Oak Tree throughout the war! After hiding in the shelter from bombs and doodlebugs (Flying Bombs) throughout the blitz, he was once again whisked back to |
 |
 |
| Here Pete remained until the end of the war, tending to Highland cattle, watching chicks hatch out in an incubator, weeding the fields, and helping spread manure on the soil. In THOSE days, ALL farming was organic! But at the end of it all, he was returned to Walthamstow, where he played on bomb sites with his cousin Alan Kay. Because of his love of nature, he was amazed at how the bomb sites soon became clothed in wild flowers, and he realised then, at 8 years of age, that, whatever Mankind may do to destroy her work, - mother nature would always fight back! From then on, Pete resolved to dedicate his life to looking after the planet, and to do all he could to deter Mankind from destroying himself, and everything around him: If only they had listened to him then... |
| Above: Old Mills Cottage, Elgin. Below: Pete plays on bomb site |
| Don't scrap The Trolleybus! |
| Back in the Early Fifties, when Walthamstow Borough Council decided, through pressure from The Government of the day, to phase out Trolleybuses in favour of the diesel-fuelled Routemaster buses. Pete had to speak out... Pete, although only 14 years old, told everyone what a big mistake this was. 'Trolleybuses don't pollute the atmosphere,' He told his peers. 'Diesel buses do, with invisible poison gases. In years from now, we will realise this...' In 1991, Scientists at Warren Spring Laboratory in Stevenage discovered Ozone Smog - an invisible pollutant formed by Petrol/Diesel fumes acting on sunlight... Now, fifty years later, they are re-introducing trolleybuses and trams to many cities in the UK |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Above: Trolly bus and Routemaster |
| ON THIS PAGE: WE MUST STOP THIS RAPE! PETE & NIKKI'S GREEN ROOF CAMPAIGN... the petition at last!!! |
| Above: Pete on The Golden Common with his two sisters. Below: The Highlands |
| Pete Perry's GREEN ROOF CAMPAIGN! |
 |
 |
| This is a serious campaign to get every roof of every house, office block, multi-story car park, Shopping precinct, garage, and even garden sheds grassed over for the benefit of wildlife and the future of the Planet... Everyone is familiar with the roof gardens, such as the ones in |
| Kensington London, where complete gardens have been created, with shrubs and trees, as well as grass and flowering plants, so why not extend this to ALL buildings? 'SO WHAT IS A GREEN ROOF?' Green roofs simply consist of plants being grown on roofs, thus replacing the vegatitive footprint that was destroyed when the building was constructed. |
| The highest density of Green Roofs occur in Germany (see top picture), widely considered a leader in Green Roof research, technology and usage, where it is estimated that 10% of all flat roofs are green: Let us make the UK the new leader in this...It is not difficult to turn your roof into a meadow, as you can actually purchase purpose-built 'Green Tiles' that fit together on your roof, in a similar way to the way ordinary garden lawn turf is laid. So, apart from the obvious help to wildlife and the environment in general, What other benefits do Green Roofs offer? Well, besides the obvious aesthetic and psychological benefits of being surrounded by garden or countryside settings, other benefits include the recovery of green space, moderation of the urban heat island effect, improved stormwater management, water and air purification, and a reduction in Energy Consumption! Stormwater run-off is considered by many to be the primary benefit, because of the prevalence of impervious surfaces in urban areas. The rapid run-off from traditional roof surfaces can result in flooding, increased erosion, and may result in raw sewage that is discharged directly into our rivers. A MAJOR BENEFIT OF GREEN ROOFS IS THEIR ABILTY TO ABSORB STORMWATER AND RELEASE IT SLOWLY OVER A PERIOD OF SEVERAL HOURS. Green Roof systems have been proved to retain 60-100% of the stormwater they receive. IN ADDITION, GREEN ROOFS HAVE A LONGER LIFE-SPAN THAN STANDARD ROOFS, BECAUSE THEY ARE PROTECTED FROM UNTRAVIOLET RADIATION & EXTREME TEMPERATURES... JOIN US IN OUR 'GREEN REVOLUTION' . We are asking for all new housing to include green roofs - is that too much to ask? PETE PERRY |
 |
 |
| Picture left: Roof Meadow in Kassel, Germany |
| He had become the very first environmentalist! |
| Scotland, - this time in Elgin, where he lived in Old Mills Cottage, (pictured above), next to a farm. |
|
| NOW YOU CAN PETITION THE GOVERNMENT TO TURN THE UK INTO A GREEN ROOF COUNTRY! CLICK HERE |
| WE MUST PUT A STOP TO THIS RAPE OF OUR GREEN BELT By Pete Perry |
 |
 |
 |
| THE TRACT OF BEAUTIFUL UNSPOILT COUNTRYSIDE ABOVE, AT THE BOTTOM OF DUNSTABLE DOWNS, HAS BEEN EARMARKED BY DEVELOPERS TO BUILD 650 HOUSES, WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! I have been alerted about this by Bob Kench, who had been listening to a programme about my environmental campaigns of Ernie Almond's BBC Three Counties Radio Show. He has told us: 'Dunstable is a run-down place, with no jobs, a lot of closed-down shops, very poor roads, with the main A5 not able to cope at the moment. Schools would not be able to cope with the extra flood of pupils. When I moved here, I was assured no houses could be built here, because it is green belt land, and a Roman Burial site. I [aid many thousands of pounds for the privilege, and yet right next to my house would be a 3-storey association block of flats, blocking all my views of open land. ALTHOUGH PLANNING PERMISSION HAS NOT YET BEEN GRANTED, I FEEL THAT THIS COUNCIL WILL NOT REJECT THE PLANS, DUE TO ALL THE EXTRA REVENUE IT WOULD MAKE FROM COUNCIL TAX ETC. SO IT WOULD MAKE WAY FOR THEIR WAGE INCREASES NEXT YEAR. So there you have it: We have a situation, as always, of the economy being puit before the ecology, just as I have said in my two books 'This Garden Earth' and 'Vandals in The Garden'. WHEN IS THE HUMAN RACE GOING TO GROW UP, AND REALISE THAT, BY CONCRETING OVER OUR NATURAL HERITAGE FOR THE SAKE OF OUR MAN-MADE OBSESSION WITH MATERIAL WEALTH, WE ARE, LITERALLY, COSTING OURSELVES THE EARTH? Please email us with your views on this, and send your support in an email to the main campaigner, Susan Hoube at this email address: hoube84@tiscali.co.uk |
| IN RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE FEATURE, WE RECIEVED THIS FROM A PERSON, WHO, DUE TO THEIR HIGH PUBLIC PROFILE, CANNOT BE NAMED... Good Pete. but what about the so-called 'Preferred Route' of the new ring road around Luton? I have not heard of anyone yet, who actually voted for this monstrosity! The other choice (in my opinion the only option) was to take it round the back of Stopsley to join the dual carraigeway there on to the airport. But the 'PREFERRED' route is right down at the Hertfordshire borderalong the edge of the beautiful Lilley Woods. You can bet your life that they will then let Luton creep right up to that new road and join the village of Lilley up to Luton. The same seems to be for lots of the countryside between Luton and Stevenage, - we are about to lose villages like Great Offley, St. Ippolits etc., all because Prescott said we have to build 400,000 houses in this area! This week I travelled through Kent on the Eurostar and the country looked less crowded than ours, - about the same distance from London, too. So why have we been told we have to build these houses? Also, on another topic, a good friend of mine has just spent time in Sherd Lodge, a nursing home that specialises in Physiotherapy for the elderly, who have had a fall. The staff and the facilities are wonderful! Only a year ago, the Council gave the place a complete refurb. My friend was so well looked after that he wouldn't mind moving in there permanently (he needs full-time care now he's 87) but he can't. Why? Because, after all that, the Luton Council decided it should be pulled down - so they have had to stop taking long-term patients, not yet knowing when they will all be out of work. By the way, at enormous cost to us taxpayers, they are building several new ones! I'm spitting feathers about both things! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK PETE & NIKKI PETE'S REPLY: Having worked as Garden Steward at Offley Place during the Sixties, I have grown to love Great Offley and Lilley, and indeed, all the surrounding countryside, and am appalled at the thought of this plan. As for Sherd Lodge, - do these people really know what they are doing? I WONDER! Tell us your thoughts |
 |
 |
| ROMAN ARTIFACTS FOUND ON GREEN BELT LAND Further to our feature (below) about the proposed building on green belt land in Dunstable, Mr. |
| Robert Kench, who lives adjecent to the site, sent us the above photos of artifacts dug up in his garden. He tells us: Some years ago, I dug up what I thought was a fossilised skull in my garden. I took it to St Albans museum and they looked at it. They recorded it as Roman, but didn't think it was a skull, but a shaped tool with rope attached. LOW & BEHOLD! I have just dug up another, smaller one. See what you think. Well now, we know that many people, with many talents view this website, so if you have any idea what these could be, please contact us at this email address: widgeripoo@yahoo.co.uk Thanks. PETE & NIKKI |
| THE BATTLE FOR DUNSTABLE DOWNS: UPDATE Our agents in the field inform us that, despite Dunstable Council telling us that planning permission has not yet been granted to build on the green belt site, near Dunstable Downs, - building work has already been started! SOMETHING VERY UNDERHANDED IS GOING ON, AND WE INTEND TO EXPOSE IT! |
 |
 |
| These pictures show the diggers arriving on the green belt site a few days ago, despite not having had the go-ahead from Dunstable Council. PHOTOS BY ROBERT KENCH More pictures very soon. |