DREAMING about the Queen turning up unannounced for tea is, apparently, a common anxiety dream. My mum is prone to recurring nightmares about a royal visit sans Bourbons, although I can’t say I’ve ever had it, probably because I’m too busy dodging assassins during REM sleep to worry about a dearth of biscuits for Her Majesty.

That being so, Wednesday’s events took on a decidedly dream-like quality when, out of the blue, I found myself hosting tea and a photo call for Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Okay, not royalty, but a pretty big cheese. At least, he was yesterday; goodness knows what’s happened to him by the time you read this.

Ed, who has sent me chatty emails about climate change ever since I signed his pledge, pre-Copenhagen, swooped into our house with Hugh Bayley and an entourage of staffers to meet families involved with York Green Streets Challenge. Fortunately, I had baked a double quantity of scones the night before, but still dashed out to buy cookies. Like mother, like daughter.

I’m pleased that Green Streets, a pilot project run by Dr Gary Haq, of the Stockholm Environment Institute, is getting this kind of attention from politicians. Having been involved with it (as a “mentor”) from the start, it’s been instructive to see what it takes for people to make changes, and it’s not necessarily Government edicts and high-profile campaigns.

What people need is help on the ground. Practical advice, demonstrations. A bit of guidance; the opportunity to share experiences, access information, learn from others. Of course, the top-down stuff, such as the UK’s Climate Change Act, is vital, but the bottom-up stuff is how it happens. Telling people they need to insulate draughty homes is all very well, but showing them how they can do it is what will bring about change.

At a recent Green Streets get-together, we held a “Green Dragon’s Den” in which representatives from the Energy Saving Trust, Solarwall and the Soil Association made five-minute pitches and were grilled by Green Streets members.

It answered those questions you really need to know. For example, however attractive the sound of energy feed-in tariffs may be, if you live in a Victorian terraced house facing east-west in the middle of a city, microgeneration using solar panels, photovoltaics, wind turbines or hydro is a non-starter. Ground-source heat pumps are a big undertaking to install and suit a modern, well-insulated house, but air-source heat pumps, which I’d never even heard of before, are a possibility.

Everyone in Green Streets has been very keen to talk to the Energy Saving Trust, and also to find out about composting, with the result that I’ve been pedalling off to groups around the city wearing my York Rotters hat (not literally; they give you a T-shirt) to give advice. And this is why Ed ’n’ Hugh had ended up in my back garden with four compost bins, a lot of children, a photographer and a guinea pig (Bubbles is part of my recycling team and makes valiant efforts with our broccoli stalks).

After Ed had peered dutifully into my bins (full marks for not flinching when I lifted a lid full of writhing worms) and Hugh had run his hands through my best crumbly compost, I cajoled them both to be bold with the environmental agenda and sent them on their way with the words “and to think all this was once food waste” ringing in their ears.

Never mind the General Election, fellas, it’s Compost Awareness Week. Quid pro quo.

• I BLAME St Nick’s, aka the York Environment Centre at St Nicholas Fields, for my conversion to evangelical composting woman.

In 2005, I was a regular journalist, looking for angles for my column, and they cunningly persuaded me to take part in a composting trial. Now look what’s happened.

I visit the centre often, and tomorrow I’ll be there again to help the fantastic team celebrate ten years of action for sustainability. It’s a free event and runs from 11am to 4pm. There will be opportunities to take part in demonstrations, workshops, seek advice, meet people and try out stuff. It’s an incredible building that exemplifies energy conservation and energy production from renewable sources. You can even try out the famous composting toilets.

There’s a feature I’ve yet to install at our place. However passionate I am about composting, I think I may have reached my limit.

The centre is off Rawdon Avenue (phone 01904 411821 or visit stnicksfields.org.uk).