Mount Cinnamon Resort & Beach Club is a relaxed, high-end resort set in tropical gardens around a central clubhouse on Grand Anse Beach in Grenada.

This year marks the fourth year of Green Globe certification for the property. Pursuing sustainable goals has not only been a fulfilling journey for staff, it has resulted in successful achievements that go beyond the resort’s original action plan.

“Green Globe has definitely helped to guide and tailor our efforts, enabling us to formalize our intentions and increase our marketing through a commitment to the global community,” said Jonnel Edwards, Marine Biologist & Environmental Sustainability Consultant at the resort.

The island of Grenada is populated by just under 100,000 people, fostering a close community spirit. As a British-owned property, Mount Cinnamon appreciates the opportunity to make a difference in the small town of Grand Anse. The resort supports local farmers, tradesmen and businesses and is also actively involved in local community projects. In June this year, the Green Team visited the Queen Elizabeth Home for Children delivering food, toiletries, and other much needed items to twenty-five children. In 2018, the resort aims to make community initiatives a top priority with a focus on charity events, beach clean-ups and a strong supporting presence in local schools.

Resource management including the conservation of water is an ongoing challenge for the property and dive shop staff have devised an innovative method to significantly reduce water consumption. Glass juice bottles are recycled, filled with sand and placed in toilet tanks. Over 1,000 gallons of water is saved per year using this simple technique which displaces and decreases the amount of water used per flush.

Environmental planning at the resort is carefully undertaken to ensure natural surroundings are protected. Native fruit trees dot the property providing fresh fruit for guests. The trees also serve as a food source for animals and birds thereby supporting biodiversity. Valuable ecological and gardening knowledge is also gained from the cultivation of these trees.

Harvesting the sweet nectar from its resident 350,000 Buckfast bees, a brand new Honey Afternoon Tea and Buzzy Bees Kid's Tea will be available from 4th September at the St. Ermin's Hotel. Every tea purchased throughout the month will come with a Certificate of Adoption, allowing guests to name their very own St. Ermin's bee and learn about the very specific role it plays within it's hive on the third floor Bee Terrace. In its continued efforts to support beekeeping, the hotel will be donating £1 from each sale of the Honey Afternoon Tea to the British Beekeeping Association to support their vital work and the St. Ermin's will once again be offering Urban Beekeeping Taster Workshops, lead by top beekeeper Camilla Goddard of Capital Bee.

Served in the pretty Tea Lounge or out on the sunny Caxton Terrace, the new Honey Afternoon Tea is available at £29pp or £35pp with unlimited prosecco and £15 per child for Buzzy Bees Tea. A delectable selection of savoury bites and indulgent sweet treats, the new seasonal menu not only showcases the hotel's own honey, but uses fresh produce grown on it's flourishing Roof Kitchen Garden – including salad leaves, vegetables, fruits and herbs:

• Sweet treats: 'mini beehive' – orange yoghurt mousse and honey sponge; chocolate espresso cup, honey cheesecake with lemon & sesame praline; burnt honey jelly with lavender panna cotta and a matcha sponge with yuzu & honey crème mousseline and blackberry jelly.
• Finger sandwiches: Honey & mustard chicken with coleslaw, goat's cheese roll with apricot chutney, almond flakes & bee pollen, smoked salmon with crème fraîche & cucumber and glazed pork loin with smoked cheddar, caramelised onion and watercress.
• Honey Cocktails: A selection of four special honey cocktails will also be available at the hotel's Caxton Bar priced at £12 each – served in special bee glasses.

They turned out in their droves to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of the Love of Christ Cherubim and Seraphim Church as hundreds of followers brought a kaleidoscope of colour, music and worship to its south London HQ venue.

With a high profile list of distinguished guests and speakers – from home and abroad - on view, which included the church's founder, Reverend Mother Esther Ajayi, it was like a home-from-home for people of the Nigerian Diaspora it attracted.

An endless array of ‘typically Nigerian’ cuisine, including; jollof rice, moi-moi, pounded yam and fried rice, followed with tuwo shinkafa, amala and ikokore provided the ideal back-drop for all.

In her address to her audience, Reverend Ajayi talked of what it means to have faith, saying: "No matter how deep your debt, the Lord can free you from it but you have to give. My family and I used to be so broke that our slogan was ‘give us this day our daily bread’ as we only knew what we will eat and where we would sleep today.”

Renowned for her endless acts of charity, she, with great verve and excitement, highlighted the troughs and eventual peaks of her life story in a sermon filled with passion and unreserved belief; "We became debt-free when I understood the act of giving with expectation from the Lord,” she said.

“I started giving out the little I had and then the more I gave the more I got. The Lord wants you today to have faith in Him and let go of the little in your hands."

After praying for the hordes of worshipers present at the Clapham-based church, a Thanks Giving service took place before a huge celebration of music and dancing marked the end of what was a historic day for all concerned.

With only a few days to go Birmingham Heritage Week organisers are encouraging local people and visitors to start planning what they will see and do, as the countdown to over 100 events begins.

New events have been added to the line-up, including Flatpack Film Festival’s Birmingham On Film taking a new look at Birmingham’s waterways, with fun sessions and film screenings – with one even aboard a canal boat! Other new events include tours of St Margaret’s Church in Ward End, which dates back to 1516 and is home to a fascinating collection of Heritage monuments, and Beatfreeks will be hosting a series of masterclasses, talks and stalls as part of its Social Exchange event at Mac Birmingham.

Birmingham Heritage Week (7-17 September 2017) will offer something for everyone, whether you want to visit places that are not normally open to the public, take part in a city tour exploring everything from architecture to the city’s musical heritage, enjoy live music in a unique setting or view a classic film in a new context.

Highlights include:

· Seige! at Aston Hall (Saturday 16 Sept) – Be part of the action and experience a live Civil War in a recreation of the siege of Aston Hall that took place in 1643. Sponsored by Weslyan, this event will see visitors become part of the story!

· Positively Birmingham Tour (Sunday 17 Sept) – Follow in the footsteps of the great Birmingham artist, Edward Burne-Jones and see some of the city’s most historic buildings and gain an understanding of the city’s origin.

· Blakesley Hall Ale Festival (Saturday 16 Sept) – Fans of real ale there will be a able to sample a wide variety of ales and ciders in the picturesque and historic setting of Blakesley Hall’s gardens.

· A Walk around Medieval Yardley (Saturday 9 Sept) – Join experts from the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society in a stroll around the village of Yardley and discover its hidden medieval history.

· Help Keep Moseley Road Baths Open Day (Saturday 9 Sept) – One of Birmingham’s most important heritage buildings and one of the nation’s most significant swimming pools will be hosting guided tours of this Grade II* listed building.

· My Story, Our Journey: Sikh Migration into Birmingham and the Black Country (7-17 Sept) – This exhibition at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery traces the journey of the Sikhs from rural Punjab, to modern day Britain.

For full listings visit birminghamheritageweek.co.uk

Birmingham is one of the greenest cities in the UK and there will be a number of events exploring Birmingham’s green spaces. 4 Ways to a Greener Birmingham will be leading a number of guided walks around the city’s parks. There will also be open days at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, as well as a number of historic gardens located at properties across the city. There will even be the chance to do an Urban Safari based around the city’s canal system.

Birmingham Heritage Week coincides with this year’s Heritage Open Days celebrations, which run from 7 to 10 September, and is the UK’s biggest festival of history and culture.