Holidaymakers planning to travel abroad are being urged to reduce their effect on the environment.

The Travel Foundation is setting up new carbon emission reduction programmes designed to reduce the "carbon footprint" of holidaymakers in destinations worldwide by means of initiatives such as low energy technology in hotels, better insulation and the use of low carbon tourist vehicles.

Holidaymakers can support the work of the Travel Foundation by making a donation when they book with operators including First Choice Holidays, Thomas Cook, and Sunvil, or by visiting thetravelfoundation.org.uk, or by texting the word "donate" to 61199.

The new initiative, starting initially with Defra , is aimed at reducing the environmental consequences of official travel, including their carbon emissions. Material will be made available to officials which will allow them to make more sustainable travel choices.

First Choice is committed to working to reduce the environmental impacts of all our activities, and our support for the valuable work being done by the Travel Foundation is a key part of our focus on sustainability. We are delighted that most of our customers choose to make a donation to the foundation.

The new Travel Foundation schemes are specifically focused on reducing the carbon emissions of tourism in resort destinations, and complement the Foundation's existing range of sustainability programmes combating poverty and promoting conservation of destination environments and their wildlife enjoyed by British holidaymakers worldwide; further information about the Foundation's work is on its website .

The mild Vancouver Island climate provides year round access to nature hiking, wildlife viewing and bird watching in much of Vancouver Island?s wilderness.  Subtleties mark your passage from the months of the leaping salmon, vibrant moss, herring spawning, singing frogs, brant geese, blazing flowers, alligator lizards, berries and back again.  There?s plenty to do and see every month for the avid eco tourist on Vancouver Island.

The herring return to spawn in March and in hot pursuit come thousands of sea birds and hundreds of sea lions, seals and eagles.  April to June is the best time for wandering down fragrant paths alight with spring wild flowers.  Salmon berry, red currant, fawn lilies, bleeding heart, trilliums and violets are just a few of April?s flowers.  Garry oak and streamside walks are especially lovely at this time of year.  Spring is also when the bear, elk and deer come out into the peripheral hay fields to browse new growth. 

Summer is a parade of berries beginning in June with the orange salmon berries and black raspberries, then trailing blackberries, red huckleberries, Himalayan blackberries, blueberries, black huckleberries and cranberries.  Where there are berries, there are bears and lots of birds.  More than 300 species of birds use the island and surrounding waters at least part of the year.  Summer brings some of the lowest daytime tides revealing tide pools with a colourful array of bizarre marine life.  Visit during a full or new moon to take advantage of the lowest tides and the greatest variety of marine life.  Snorkelling the lush eelgrass forests or wading through the sparkling phosphorescence at night are magical experiences not to be missed. Summer days are never too hot with a sea breeze nearby, comfortable ocean and lake swimming, icy rivers to dip in, cool snowfields to hike in the mountains and refreshing caves to explore.  Alpine flower meadows peak in July and August, popping up as the snow melts.

The pink salmon usher in autumn in early September, followed by Chinook salmon peaking in October, then Coho salmon and Chum salmon continuing through November and December.  You can watch them leaping over obstacles, jockeying for position or stare eyeball to eyeball with a 50 pound Chinook the size of a garbage can in an underwater viewing area.  Black bears and eagles gather to enjoy the feast.  Fall colour typically peaks in early October with brilliant yellow maples along the lakes and streams and plenty of red foliage from blueberries in the alpine.  Massive bird migrations pass through in the fall, especially along the coast, so bird watching is a delight while autumn rains spark technicolour explosions of mushrooms.

The winter moisture makes the Vancouver Island mountains among the snowiest places on earth, receiving up to 10 meters of snow.   When you want snow, you can have it by driving up Mount Washington between December and May and enjoy snow shoeing in the winter wonderland.  The grey whale migration starts off the west coast in February and continues into May.

Unique nature exploration opportunities are available every month of the year on the island.  In addition to each season?s unique features, beaver, mink, otter, seals, eagles, juvenile salmon, many bird species and tide pool life can be seen year round. During the September to May season the trails are less busy and offer some fantastic wildlife viewing opportunities.   Discover nature?s delights in the secret corners of Vancouver Island.

Vancouver Island Ecotours

Let?s face it; everyone would love to avoid paying income tax if they could get away with it!

The UK government 's ?Cycle to Work? lets you do just that! Alright, you will still have to keep paying most of your incomes tax, but this little publicised scheme does provide real tax incentives to get people out of their cars and into their saddles - with a tax free bike.

The scheme is part of the government?s ?green transport plans?. It allows employers to acquire tax free bikes and cycling equipment for their employees, meaning that employees spend less time in traffic jams (no more excuse for being late for work!), no more fighting over limited parking places, and reduced CO2 emissions.

In simple terms, you save money because you don?t pay Income Tax or National Insurance on the money that is taken out of your monthly salary to pay for the bike. This means that typically you could obtain a ?400 bike and pay around ?300 for it -meaning that you have saved paying ?100 income tax! Depending on the initial cost of the bike and your salary, savings could even be as much as 50%.

Further useful information:

Department of Transport Cycle to Work Scheme Implementation Guidance

How much could you save calculator .

Links to facilitators of the scheme providing bikes and additional information:

Cycle Scheme

Club Cycles

Halfords

Cycle Solutions

Bring Me

Powabyke

Evans Cycles

Future Media

Responding to the growing demand from consumers for ethically and environmentally sourced products, leading motor insurer Co-operative Insurance is the first UK insurer to offer consumers an Eco motor insurance product, containing environmentally friendly features right through from the underwriting to the claims process. And, at the same time, providing customers with an opportunity to have their say in CIS?s unique ethical engagement policy.

Key features of their Eco motor insurance product include:

• Offsetting 20% of CO2 emissions for every vehicle insured under the Eco motor insurance product by investing in projects like reforestation, renewable energy sources and third world education schemes
• Premium discounts for ?greener? cars - those in tax band A  that emit less than 100g of CO₂ per kilometre
• Environmental backed claims service

Owners of vehicles that do not qualify for the premium discount can still do their bit for climate change, as CIS will still offset 20% of the average vehicle?s CO2 emissions at no extra cost to the customer.