At SoOrganic we're lucky to be exposed to whole heap of likeminded eco minded, organic loving people.

Last week I came across Master Composter Sarah Blenkinsop. Sarah writes a blog devoted to garden care and is currently writing a book on a subject she is so passionate to talk about.

Sarah promotes composting in Herefordshire, on behalf of the Council and Garden Organic and has recently been helping the local school kids build a most excellent (as the pics on her website suggest) organic vegetable garden created using her very own fresh compost.

Composting is the process organic materials are recycled back into soil by way of accelerated decomposing. It is an essential part of soil fertility. As far as I can gather (and I'm no expert - my compost bin is in need of a make over) composting requires a few good tips and dash of know-how.

Below are a couple of Sarah's suggestions on how to create the perfect pile of organic earth muck:
• Use a 50:50 mix of green and brown materials. Green materials include such things as fruit and veggie scraps, dead flowers, coffee grains and grass cuttings. Brown materials include tissues, toilet rolls, wood chippings, egg boxes and shells.
• Leave the material in your compost heap until it has turned dark brown and smells quite earthy and wait a month or so before it matures. Sarah says it is ‘a bit biologically active to apply to plants straight away.'
• If you're after the eggshellless look in your garden use a sieve to remove any large particles before using on your veggie patch or flower bed.

If you have any questions about how to make compost or what to do with it visit Sarah's blog compostbins.blogspot.com. She's ‘always happy to talk compost'.

The queen of organic compost has got me and my backyard interested in the wormier ways of garden life. How bout you?

Finally we have an organic line of products specifically created for teenagers. Affordable, effective and all-natural; Organic Young (or Oy! for short) is the new skin care range from Green People.

This new range has been created to combat problems often associated with teenage skin such as blackheads, pimples and other blemishes. It contains 90% active ingredients without any harsh synthetic chemicals found in high street brands.

Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People formulated the first product over ten years ago to help ease her daughter Sandra's eczema and severe allergies. Now a fully-fledged teenager Sandra's skin requires something more aligned to her changing skin.

Sticking to the eco friendly, all-natural ethos of other Green People ranges, Oy! is certified organic by the Organic Food Federation.

The range of six bright packaged products includes:

Oy! Cover and Clear - Spot it
Oy! Peel Off Face Mask
Oy! Foaming Anti-Bac Face Wash
Oy! Cleanse and Moisturise
Oy! Face the Sun SPF15
Oy! Soft Glow Gradual Tan

We have had the products tested by some of our younger relatives and they love them. Much better for the skin than the usual junk food for skin marketed to teens.

Other Green People specialist ranges include the spa collection, products for men, products for babies & children and a no scent range for designed for sensitive skin.

In the organic industry we come across a lot of people who either don't yet know the benefits (health, ecological and social) of going organic or don't believe it (despite the scientific facts).

This is why certification bodies like the Soil Association in the UK, BDIH in Germany, ECOCert in France and Demeter in the US are so important. They are a disciplinary authority as well as organic advocate. They offer consumers security and peace of mind, proof with hard scientific evidence as well as promoting general investigative debate on issues closest to the cause.

So when a fraudulent organic certification organisation pops up it's time to get to know our stamps of approval from our stamps of drivel. The ‘Organic Standards' is one such drivelling company. The web-based organic certification agency claims it can certify organic textiles and has done so for a number of major brands like Timberlands, H&M, Nike and Escada - all of which have denied any association with the company. Ecotextile News also reported that the company are using an amended and possibly illegal version of the Organic Exchange logo (Organic Exchange are a well-respected organisation offering resources to the organic cotton and sustainable textile industry).

So the lesson here for us organic-ites is to get to know our stamps of certification.
For a brief description on the certification bodies we trust and know to be legitimate have a look at our ‘stamps of approval' blog and get clued up on your organic bodies!

Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD) is concept created by Richard Louv to describe how children are experiencing a number of negative health and social problems because they are not spending enough time in the natural world.

Root causes include kid spending more time playing playing computer games and watching tv (the average American child spend 44 hours a week playing on electronic equipment) indoors, loss of neighbourhood parks and nature areas, and parental fears of keeping kids indoors because of the largely media fuelled ‘stranger danger' world out there.

The effect of NDD seems to correlate strongly with the mental and physical health of kids. Obesity has doubled in the last 10 years amongst 2-10 year olds - 28% of girls and 22% of boys in this age group are now classified as overweight or obese. Depression is also affecting more than 10% of 11-17 year olds.

What's more kids apparently know less than their parents about the natural world at their age. In a 2008 BBC Wildlife survey 38% of 9-11 year olds could not identify a frog. It's also believed that those kids not getting enough time exploring in the great outdoors is they lose respect for nature. If we're pouring in to our kids minds facts about climate change and the world's depleting raw materials we must correlate that will some hard evidence - educate through experience - natural, unbounded, exploration of the gardens, parks and forests if we are expect them to grow well-grounded not rounded.

And here are the good stats. There's a 300% reduction in ADHD symptoms in those kids who play in nature rather than indoors. Research has also shown there's a 50% reduction in vandalism and domestic violence in families that live in tower blocks which have views of greenery compared to those who don't.

If you fancy taking the kids to visit an organic farm visit the Soil Association website to see if there's one close to you.

Walk in the wilderness kids?

When we say local, we don't mean dining at the local Thai restaurant. We're talking local farmers markets, using local fruit and veg box schemes, shopping at coops, swapping veggie garden produce with the neighbour - that kind of thing.

In doing so - that's eating locally grown food - we encourage the maintenance of wildlife friendly hedgerows, pastures and gardens, says The Wildlife Trusts magazine Natural World. It's all about the old supply and demand way of things. Economics tells us that the more we buy (or try) shows suppliers we want to buy more. So they go out and find/grow/make us more. If we continue to show local growers that we want local they will find a way to do that. A desolate concrete courtyard could be turned into a flourishing pumpkin patch or strawberry field with a little help from a local allotment gardener.

Well that sounds nice and dandy but renovations of any sort take money to bring them to life. The Wildlife Trusts have been given £50 million of Lottery money to support projects which make local food more accessible. The Trusts aim is to award 1,000 projects grants from anywhere between £5 and £500,000 by 2014. Now that's something of a motivator isn't it?

Other than encouraging wildlife, eating local also reduces your food miles and therefore your carbon footprint. Also by supporting local farmers and allotment owners you help to keep local green space from going undeveloped.

So it really is worth getting your natters on some home-grown veggies!

For more information the grants visit localfoodgrants.org.