Pure nature only a stone’s throw from downtown Stockholm

Stockholm’s surroundings offer stunning nature close to Sweden’s capital – reachable within only a few minutes with the commuter train in each direction. The photographer Serkan Gûnes discovered first his passion for photography and then for nature.

 

”I did not rework the colours, they became like this because of the blue evening light and the moist ait", says Serkan Gûnes.

Sleeping in the trees: Close-to-nature adventure in Harads

In the north of Sweden a new hotel opened – unique in design and closeness to nature. In Harads, located 60 kilometres south of the Polar circle, it is now possible to spend the night up in the trees. Six different tree houses can be chosen by the visitors and, additionally, a tree sauna invites for relaxing.

The Bird’s Nest, the Blue Cone, the Cabin, the Mirrorcube, the UFO and a Room with a View were designed by five different architects – every extraordinary in its own way. Especially spectacular is the Mirrorcube with the ideal dimensions of 4m x 4m x 4m. Its outside is mirrored to fit in harmoniously with the surrounding landscape.

Alongside this close connection with nature, the guest doesn’t have to sacrifice comfort: All tree houses are equipped with floor heating, terrace, kitchen and a terrace. But the influence of the Tree Hotel on nature is kept as little as possible. For example, the reflexion of the Mirrorcube is made visible for birds by a special foil to avoid collisions and not typical tourist-trips are offered but hiking tours to observe moose, reindeers or bears. Other features of the special location in Lapland, close to the Polar circle, are the Midnight sun in the summer and the high possibility of northern lights in the winter. / Axel

Plant a tree

MANDEL is working with outdoor companies, where sustainability is an important issue. But did you ever thought that also blogs and websites pollute the environment?

How much?

From energy consumed by a bloggers computer, to the server where the files are hosted, to the readers’ computer, a typical blog generates about 3.5 kilograms of carbon per year. A study by physicist Dr. Alexander Wissner-Gross (Harvard University), who determined the CO2 emissions of website-usage, demonstrated this. 3.5 kilograms don´t sound much, but just imagine how many blogs exist out there.

Reduce!

The UNFCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) calculated that one single tree removes around 10kg of carbon from the atmosphere every year. So we thought to do something to reduce the Carbon Footprint of a our blog and joined the project “A blog, a tree” by I plant a tree and ITSTH. You simply blog about the project and they will plant a tree for you in an optional German region for free. Other comparable projects are: Ett klick för skogen (Sweden) and Plant a tree (U.S.). Let´s do this!

Stockholm – European Green Capital 2010

Last year the city of Stockholm was announced the European Green Capital 2010.

The award is an initiative of the European Commission to reward and promote local authorities for their efforts in environmental improvement. The idea is, that cities become role models and inspire each other in friendly competition. From 2010 on a new Green Capital will be selected each year.

Now on 4th of May the introductory seminar “Stockholm, European Green Capital 2010: Role model for Europe” is going to be held in Brussels, Belgium. For more information see

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/events.html

Throughout the whole year different seminars, conferences and events will take place in Stockholm as well, for example the fair “Eco Now” in September http://www.econow.se/

Change with the help of a button

Ulrich van Gemmeren is the office manager MADE-BY Germany.

MADE BY is an independent label for brands and retailers who want to improve the social, economic and ecologic conditions of their collection´s supply chain. The mission: Get clothing, that was produced in a sustainable way, out of it´s niche and make it more common. In ten years  Ulrich van Gemmeren would like to see the market share of sustainable garments at 10%. Right now it´s 3%.

MADE-BY Track&Trace – transparancy for consumer

A code on the clothing´s label makes it possible for the consumer to track via the internet where and by who the garment has been produced.

Pop the questions and learn

Next seminar “The Case for Sustainable Fashion” will be held at Stockholm, May 26th-27th 2010.

You can register at http://www.made-by.nl/OE-MB-seminars/upcoming.php