''It's Not Easy Being Green'' is a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

starring

Dick Strawbridge Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), Lieutenant Colonel Richard Francis Strawbridge, Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 3 September 1959) is a British television personality, engineer and former army officer. He is often referred to as "C ...

and focusing on how to live an environmentally friendly, low impact life. Three

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

were produced. Series one followed Strawbridge, his wife Brigit, son James, and daughter Charlotte as they moved into Newhouse Farm, a 400-year-old

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Tywardreath Tywardreath (; kw, Ti War Dreth, meaning "House on the Beach" (or Strand)) is a small hilltop village on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, about north west of Fowey. It is located in a sheltered spot overlooking a silted up ...

, Cornwall, from

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dra ...

. The series documented the family's attempts to convert the building and garden into a comfortable yet entirely ecologically friendly place to live. 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, the family received advice from

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...

expert

Patrick Whitefield Patrick Whitefield (born Patrick R. Vickers, 11 February 1949 – 27 February 2015) was a British permaculture teacher, designer, author, and consulting editor for '' Permaculture Magazine''. He was regarded as one of the leading and pioneering ...

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'' by Dick Strawbridge was released to accompany the series. Series two mostly focused on the Strawbridges helping others to achieve their eco-friendly goals, rather than on their own residence. Series three, broadcast in 2009, took on more of a "magazine" format, incorporating various regular features including the series-long renovation of a townhouse using "green" materials and techniques and interviews with celebrities about how ecologically friendly (or otherwise) their own lifestyles are.

Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...

appeared as a regular reporter in the third season, and James Strawbridge also had a larger role as co-presenter.

Newhouse Farm

Newhouse Farm was the home of Dick Strawbridge and his son James, and was where much of the filming for all three

of ''It's Not Easy Being Green'' occurred. The Strawbridges ran eco courses at the farm that included information about making

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

, harnessing wind power, using water power, and eco-engineering.

Series 1 (2006)

Series 2 (2007)

Series 3 (2009)

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 787968, It's Not Easy Being Green 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings BBC Two original programming Environmental television