Want to get down to some sweet planet-lovin' this weekend? You've come to the right place. Here's our weekly roundup of green things to do this weekend.

Leicester
This one sounds like fantastic fun if you enjoy making things and want some unique and environmentally friendly decorations this Christmas. Leicester's Eco House is running an 'Organic Christmas decoration-making' workshop on 9th December from 2pm - 4pm. Why not pop along and make your own ornaments from natural materials found in the EcoHouse's beautiful organic garden? The event is free, and it's suitable for adults and children from age 5. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Central London
For the slightly more hardcore eco-worrier, Saturday's focal point may well be the National Climate March through Central London. Organised by the Campaign against Climate Change, it's part of a global day of action with demonstrations and events taking place in more than 50 countries, designed to coincide with the UN Climate Talks in Bali. Assemble at 12 Noon in Millbank for the main march; details for the rest of the day's activities are here.

I've never been a big fan of soya milk myself, but I know plenty of sufferers of lactose intolerance as well as hordes of happy, healthy vegetarians, vegans and eco-warriors that prefer to drink non-dairy milks. Now there's a way to ensure your soya fix couldn't be more fresh.

The Soyabella doesn't only make soya milk, but will take the "meat" of any suitable nut combined with the right proportion of water and heat to 98 degrees. This means you should have a kettle-full of pure, home made nut milk in about 15 minutes. The simple blade and heating element inside means you should also be able to make soups, porridge, coffee and rice paste - maybe even fresh baby foods. Perhaps I could recreate the Best Pasta Sauce Ever made of cashew cream and mushrooms that I had in a fantastic vegan restaurant... mmmm... $130 (£65).

[via Shiny Shiny]

We all know what men secretly want for Christmas. That's right...power tools!

But do they - really? I've got to say I've never bought a man a power tool at Christmas or indeed at any other time of year, but someone must be doing it, or else we wouldn't be seeing all these drills and chainsaws covered in tinsel and lurking under Christmas trees.

Bosch has made a change from its usual offer this year, however, with a new range of 'green' tools. They include the XEO (pictured left) whose favourite chore is chopping up cardboard packaging to make it ready for recycling, while the kitchen stays free of clutter. It also works well on fabric, if you're into customising your own clothes. It's available now at B&Q for £34.99.

Whether you want to build your own eco-palace from scratch or just make a few minor changes to cut your home's carbon footprint, the Big Green Home show at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre will show you how to do it.

Taking place from 15th - 18th November, the four-day show will examine the reality of living ‘green’, looking at all aspects of green homebuilding and eco-friendly lifestyles, with a crop of 'big green heroes' standing by to give advice. They include It's Not Easy Being Green's Dick Strawbridge; a man who certainly knows a thing or two about insulating a loft.

To register for tickets, which cost £8, or £12 per couple, with under 16s free, visit the site.

With all those prickles, you might be mistaken for thinking the humble hedgehog can easily fend for itself, but it seems the once-common garden creatures are finding it harder and harder to co-exist with humans.

A steep decline in their numbers has recently led the UK's wildlife experts to add hedgehogs to the Biodiversity Action Plan for threatened species. What can you do to be a better host and prevent a further drop? Here are a few (pointy) pointers:

Hedgehogs have traditionally been welcomed in gardens because they provide excellent pest-control. But use of chemical pesticides has driven them out, since some are poisonous to them, despite the fact that 'hogs have developed immunity to a number of toxins that other garden critters can't handle. Avoiding the use of pesticides as much as possible will help create a kinder environment to this far cuter form of pest control.

Rubbish can be a real hazard to hedgehogs. Make sure you keep anything that hedgehogs and other small creatures could get tangled in sealed up in bins, particularly netting of all kinds, plastic containers, empty food cans, yoghurt pots, plastic mugs, etc.

When I stumbled on the very lovely Robot Candy shop, which sells recycled and vintage tiles, mostly sold as coasters, an idea popped into my head: instead of buying new why not look for old tiles next time the bathroom or kitchen needs a re-fit?

These ones are beautiful and only $6 (£3) each, but if you want to do some serious DIY, looking closer to home for job lots may be more practical for decorating purposes. A quick search on Ebay soon brought up a whole array of ceramics, many sold as job lots and with some really interesting an unusual designs. So why not give your home some character and avoid buying mass-produced products from the DIY shop?

After last week's charity post, we are working on creating the definitive list of charity craft projects for 2007, which should be up at the end of October. Thanks to everyone who's sent in suggestions so far; thanks to your help, we've got another great list of suggested activities this week.

If any you've heard about aren't covered here, please email me. Here's what's come in this week:

Warmwoolies: Knitting for orphans

Warmwoolies is a non-profit organization whose volunteers knit warm clothing for poverty-stricken children who would otherwise suffer from the cold.
In 2007, they'll be focusing
on supplying woolen clothes to orphanages in Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia and on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge tribal reservations in South Dakota. Most wanted items are baby blankets, followed by mittens, hats, gloves and scarves. You can find out how to contribute, here.

Follow the jump for more causes.

If you've got plans to redecorate your house, but don't want to alter the world, or your own lungs, in the process, then Ecos Organic Paints might be the answer. Most paints currently on the market are laced with nasty substances like formaldehyde and lead. Ecos produces the only range of guaranteed non-toxic paints in the world, for people who don't want to contribute to global warming or risk their health just for the sake of changing the colour of their walls. Ecos paints don't contain of the any animal products like bone or tallow fatty alcohol which are often found in other paints, either, so you can rest assured you're making a completely ethical choice when you buy them.

You can order a brochure or buy paint through the Ecos Organic Paints website.

Related: Earthboom: Paint the planet green with Oliver Heath

You garden path may seem to you a million miles from rural India, but the odds are that's the origin of any sandstone fixtures you might have, and few are aware of the welfare issues that this growing market is creating.

In some the poorest and most remote parts of India, Indian Sandstone is being mined to feed an ever increasing demand in the UK domestic paving market – often by children as young as six, working long hours in inhumane conditions.

One company, Marshalls, is attempting to change this situation by putting some guidelines in place to ensure that the stone they import for garden pathways and patios was not sourced in this way. They've just completed two years of independent audits and improvements to gain membership of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The ETI Base Code includes provisions that no-one should be forced to work, child labour should not be used and working conditions should be safe and healthy.

Do you ever want to do something creative to help those less fortunate than you? Or do you have a compulsive knitting habit that isn't being put to any purpose other than keeping your fingers busy? Here's a great list of good causes that those of a crafty disposition (or even eager amateurs) can put their talents to between now and Christmas, first published on Crafty Crafty.

1. Innocent's The Big Knit

The Big Knit is a great idea for keeping older people warm in winter, devised and run each year by Innocent. Hundreds of volunteers send in miniature bobble-hats (in all kinds of inventive styles!) to fit on the tops of smoothie bottles. Then each time one of the hat-wearing smoothies is sold during the run-up to the festive season, Innocent donate a very generous 50p to Age Concern.

Innocent are currently seeking more knitters to take part in the project, and reach their ambitious 400,000 hat target (last year, they received £230,000 hats)...

Lemons are our friends, and so are the people at Eco Street, so we thought we'd share their top tips on how the humble lemon can help you live an eco-friendly life. From cooking to cleaning to fighting off a cold, lemons really can do a lot for a small fruit. Read on for 10 eco-friendly things that you can do with lemons, then hot-foot it to your local farmers market to stock up!

1. Grow a lemon tree - the most eco-friendly thing to do with lemons is grow them so that you have your own carbon neutral supply. These can be grown in the UK, believe it or not.

2. Highlight your hair - much better for you and the environment than commercial bleaches. Mix the juice of one lemon with one teaspoon of salt and apply to your hair with a comb. Get out into the sun for a couple of hours. Do some vegetable gardening, tend your lemon tree, go for a walk, you get the picture. Don't do this too often, it will dry your hair out.

More lemony tips after the jump

This hand powered chainsaw from Green Mountain Products really is for the hard core green gardener! Obviously you wouldn't take on a huge project with it, but for small jobs in the garden it really is perfect. It uses no fossil fuel, no electricity, just good old elbow grease. It's basically a couple of bits of sturdy rope with a carbon chainsaw 'blade' in the middle, and a little weight bag on one side which allows you to throw the rope over a branch so you can start cutting it. The main problem with the system seems to be that you have to stand under the branch you're trying to cut down, which is not the most sensible place to be! If you do get the hang of it I'm sure it's a very satisfying feeling, and certainly much quieter than traditional chainsaws!

Related: Low-pollution lawn mowers

Gardeners are being urged to leave parts of their gardens slightly wild to encourage bumblebees to nest there. Dr Juliet Osborne, an ecologist at Rothamsted Research (an agricultural research centre) explained: "These kinds of gardens really provide a refuge for bumblebees, as long as people don't manage them too carefully. If you've got different grass areas, flower beds, compost heaps and hedges, there's a vast variety of habitats for bumblebees."

Nothing to do this weekend? Short of mates? Well you could do a lot worse than getting off your backside and taking part in a map ramble.

Map rambles are self-guided walks in which participants go-a-wandering and exploring the streets of London according to a set theme, documenting the route taken and places of interest in any medium they like, be it a drawing, a photo or even a poem. Their findings are then posted up on the website to be shared with others who can then take the same route and experience the "ramble" first hand.

Related stories: Day out on an organic farm | Trafalgar Square goes green

If you live in the city and dream of growing your own organic veg, but don't have enough dosh to get an allotment, these 'No-dig' potato bags are the answer. The re-usable bags are 35cm x 45cm, so they will fit in the most compact of urban pads, and even the least green fingered city slickers can't fail to grow decent spuds. The bags are made from tough, woven polythene with drainage holes already cut. They hold around 40 litres of compost and cost a mere £14.95 for a pack of three. Available from Natural Collection.

Related: Grow your own veg the easy way | Electrolux VEGE: Grow your own - at home!