If you're looking for an alternative to watching your parents fall asleep in front of the Queen's Speech on Christmas day, you might want to invest in some gifts from Green Board Games to keep everyone occupied after the last bite of Xmas pud's gone down. As the company name suggests, Green Board Games products are made from recycled or recyclable materials, or using wood from managed forests. They sell a large selection of different games - both reproductions of existing games and games original to Green Board Games. Their range of educational games is particularly impressive - whether you want to teach your children about gravity, or test your knowledge of fractions in French, Green Board Games has it all!
Related: The Great Ethical Toy Guide
Finding it hard to kickstart your brain on a Monday? Can't focus on work? Here's a fun language game to distract you that won't make you feel too guilty...
Free Rice, an offshoot of the excellent World Poverty Site, is a variation on all those other sites that allow you to donate just by clicking on a link. What makes this one so effective, though, is its addictive element; it's a word game that flashes up increasingly 'obscure' English words, then asks you to identify the correct meaning.
Each time you get the answer right, ten grains of rice are donated to hungry people in developing countries. This is distributed by the World Food Programme, wherever famine strikes.
So if you're in a bit of a lull and about to put on the kettle, why not give Free Rice a go. It'll sharpen your own vocabulary, and make you feel a whole lot better about skiving!
Related: Feed the hungry for free with The hunger site
Nothing is real until it's been immortalised in Sim City (or the Simpsons) and climate change has now had a namecheck in both. I think we can call that progress!
More specifically, Sim City Societies, the latest edition of the world-domination game that's been a hit since 1989, has made energy saving and carbon reduction an important goal for players, allowing them to build their own windfarms and make other renewable energy choices to reduce Sim City's carbon footprint.
The game does not force players to power their cities any specific way, but allows them to make choices, each of which come with advantages and disadvantages.
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Tamagotchi should watch their backs. Virtual trees are the next big thing.
Children can learn more about the environment and climate change by at Raise A Tree
This nifty variation on a virtual pet allows children to raise their own virtual tree anywhere in the world. If their tree is unlucky enough to suffer from a natural disaster that affects its growth the child will learn about what happened and why.
I stumbled upon these amazing swings purely by chance, and I’m glad I did. With summer almost here, and the weather men/women promising us a scorcher this year, what better gift for the children? Imagine your children spending summer afternoons in the garden being active and close to nature rather than in front of the tv or pc or computer games console. These recycled tyre animal swings are designed by artist Patrick Palumbo from New Jersey, USA. These are the original recycled tyre animal swings and are tested to BS EN Standards and are the only tyre animal swings to be CE approved. So they’re safe, ethical and great fun. All you need is a suitable tree to hang them from, and at least one child of course!
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I probably don't need to remind you that it's Friday, but I don't think the point can ever be overstated. So in the appropriate spirit, here's a little a little diversion to keep you entertained til hometime. Turn it all off is a fun little game with a message that should become obvious pretty quickly...
I'm going to dedicate this one to our very own Shiny Katie, who does a stirling job keeping Shiny Towers as eco friendly as possible (and woe betide anyone who leaves their PC on standby at the end of the day!) She's out of the office today, so with any luck, this should remind us all to switch off before we scarper...
You're forgiven if you're thinking this black flying object looks spookily like a UFO - apparently press reports have suggested the same. It's actually a Solar Powered Airship - a toy for all the family that's 8 metres in length and flies solely by the power of the sun. The price of many fun Sunday afternoons in the park with the airship will set you back £15 plus postage. It can be flown all year round in reasonable sunshine but works best when there is no wind. Beam yours down now from British Eco, purveyor of eco-friendly products for gardeners and those who love the outdoors. Plus, if you register with Why Organic, you can currently get 10% off certain British Eco products. [written by Ella]
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