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Strawbridge Family Inspiration

December 5, 2013 @ 22:20 By Gavin Webber 15 Comments

Back at the start of our family’s sustainable living journey, Kim and I stumbled across a similar family in the UK called the Strawbridge Family.

Our Inspiration

Dick, Bridget, James, and Charlotte moved from an English suburban home to Cornwall and bought an 3 acre farm.

They transformed this small farm into a sustainable paradise after lots of work and a fair bit of capital (only because the roof leaked and the insulation was non-existent).

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Here’s the first episode of the first season of It’s Not Easy Being Green.  Dick and James went on to write a book titled “Practical Self Sufficiency“, which I have a copy.  This book really goes into depth about DIY projects with which you can transform your home into a more sustainable one, saving swags of money in the process.

Anyway, the point of this post is that if Kim and I didn’t watch their fantastic TV series called It Ain’t Easy Being Green, we would never have gone half as far down the sustainable living path as we did.  We thought that if they could do it, then we certainly could.

This family’s antics and great projects inspired us to go the extra yard and grow vegetables and rip up our lawns.  It was also by watching this show that Kim finally gave in to getting chickens.

Thanks a Million!

So from the bottom of my heart, and long overdue, I thank the Strawbridge family for helping to inspire us, week after week, and giving us the courage to give it a go in the first few months after my green epiphany (early 2007).  It really kick started our own progress before I started writing this blog.

Good on ya Dick Strawbridge and family.  Thanks a million!

Separate Ways

Update:  Back in 2013, one of my readers, James, provided the following update;

I was trying to find out what happened to them the other day and to see what they are doing now, if they’re still running courses etc. It’s quite confusing.

I think Dick and Brigit split up (divorced and Dick remarried) not long after season 3 and she moved back to Malvern (where they started out from) which is when the house was put up for sale.

Brigit now appears to have moved back and is running the place as a B&B having changed its name to Bumblebee Farm.

The new website suggests that they run courses relating to beekeeping and bee management, but hard details are scant. Dick has done a fair bit of television work (Scrapheap Challenge, Beat the Ancestors and a load of “foodie” type programmes), remarried and has a young child.

I’ve no idea if he’s given up working on the “eco-house” idea around his television work or not.

James and his wife still seem to live in the area and run the Posh Pasty Co. He also does some television with Dick. Charlotte appears to be starting out as a professional photographer.

It was sad news when I first read it, but as with everything life goes on.

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Related

Filed Under: Dick Strawbridge, Family, green, Sustainable Living

← TGoG Podcast 044 – Suburban Food Farm in December It’s Not Easy Being Green TV series →

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Sol says

    December 6, 2013 at 00:28

    I really wished they continued with this programme, we need more programmes like this and some scientists. not more home design programmes.

    I loved the one with the water wheel

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      December 7, 2013 at 18:47

      I loved the party at the end! x

      Reply
  2. cmm says

    December 6, 2013 at 00:25

    Gavin,
    Thank you so much for sharing the video and about the book. I will have to see about using my local library again, I’ve been thinking of it, just haven’t gotten there yet. Perhaps they will have this book or be able to get it.
    Have a good day.
    Catherine

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      December 7, 2013 at 18:47

      Hi Catherine. No problem. Your library should have no problems getting this book into its collection.

      Gav x

      Reply
  3. rabidlittlehippy says

    December 6, 2013 at 09:16

    I have just finished watching the 3 series after Kim mentioned them to me the other week. They are AWESOME! I have the book which a friend had showed me ages back and I’d loved it and bought it for myself for Mother’s Day. I’m working through it slowly. It’s not light reading so it’s hard to fit in the read and understand around 3 kids but I’m getting there. I reckon it’s a great book with ust enough information to help you work out if something is for you or not and in many cases they cover adequate information to build or buy your own. In other cases it’s like a great start up resource, mentioning a little about everything and it gives you the spring board of ideas to jump and start researching further. It would be a great gift for Xmas (as much as I resent Xmas and shopping) for people at the start of their green journey. Best of all most of their ideas, whether cheap or expensive are aimed with both an environmental purpose and a financial saving purpose.
    I want his waterwheel too!

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      December 7, 2013 at 18:46

      Hi Jessie. Glad that Kim mentioned it to you.

      Gav x

      Reply
  4. tpals says

    December 6, 2013 at 14:31

    The first season of INEBG has been my favorite comfort video for years. I just wish we could have seen more! Knowing how crazy hard it must have been to have cameramen underfoot all the time, I’m grateful they did it.

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      December 7, 2013 at 18:45

      Hey Tpals. They made 3 seasons, but the first was definately the best because it started the whole family. The second season was just Dick and James (who Kim thinks is hot), and the third was just Dick.

      I also heard that New House farm was on the market for sale, but the farm is active again with family workshops for the public.

      Gav x

      Reply
    • James says

      December 28, 2013 at 21:48

      I was trying to find out what happened to them the other day and to see what they are doing now, if they’re still running courses etc. It’s quite confusing. I think Dick and Brigit split up not long after season 3 and she moved back to Malvern (where they started out from) which is when the house was put up for sale. Brigit now appears to have moved back and is running the place as a B&B having changed its name to Bumblebee Farm. The new website suggests that they run courses relating to beekeeping and bee management, but hard details are scant. Dick has done a fair bit of television work (Scrapheap Challenge, Beat the Ancestors and a load of “foodie” type programmes), remarried and has a young child. I’ve no idea if he’s given up working on the “eco-house” idea around his television work or not. James and his wife still seem to live in the area and run the Posh Pasty Co. He also does some television with Dick. Charlotte appears to be starting out as a professional photographer.

      There’s a piece in the Sunday Times from a couple of years ago about leaving New House Farm, but I can’t read it as I don’t subscribe:

      http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/homes_and_gardens/Improve/ecohomes/article786796.ece

      I hope that in all the upheaval since the last series they’ve not given up on the ideals that drove the original programmes. I found Dick’s attitude inspiring and my children still watch the programmes even now.

      James

      Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      December 28, 2013 at 21:53

      Hi James. Thanks so much for the update. It is difficult to find information about what happened to them all after the show.

      I will share with Kim as she was interested as to whether their lifestyle was sustainable.

      Cheers, Gav

      Reply
    • James says

      December 28, 2013 at 22:55

      It’s a tough call I think. The lifestyle may have been sustainable, but perhaps trying to earn enough from running training courses and books that relate to what they did may have been tough after the economic situation meant that people had less money to spend on what many probably see as a lifestyle choice. There’s not a huge amount of work in that area of the country that doesn’t relate to tourism, so if the need to earn money to pay the mortgage meant travelling and living away from home for extended periods of time perhaps it wasn’t sustainable practically or emotionally.

      We’re in a very similar situation to how the Strawbridges were, but fortunately I’ve been able to work from home for the last ten years. The need to make sure there’s money to pay the bills and mortgage can still be quite stressful even so, and it’s hard to break out of the cycle of needing to earn money so having less time for sustainability projects which would reduce the bills so needing to spend more time earning money.

      I’d not want to go back to our previous lifestyle, but as the show title says, it really isn’t easy being green 🙂

      James

      Reply
  5. johnshadows says

    December 9, 2013 at 23:04

    This family is truly inspiring by their humurous approuch.
    Sadly I can’t find it anywhere.

    John

    Reply
  6. Elizabeth says

    April 22, 2015 at 01:34

    Does anyone have the first series of the programme? Or know where I can find it? I never got to see it!! I’ve looked absolutely everywhere! My partner and I are moving to Devon to do the same thing and I find the Strawbridge family so inspirational. I have some of their books and I’ve seen series 2 and 3 but the main one I want to see I can’t find. I would really appreciate any help.

    Reply
  7. Brian says

    January 24, 2016 at 06:08

    Hello all, you can download all the series’ of “It’s Not Easy Being Green” from mvgroup.org – you’ll have to register though but it is free.

    Reply
  8. Sol says

    July 17, 2016 at 21:43

    Hi Gavin. I was looking for a cooking experience in France for next year and look what I came across!

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/abroad/we-bought-a-crumbling-french-chteau—but-restoring-it-was-no-fa/

    Reply

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