Posts Tagged ‘behaviour change’
Your Money or Your Life
Posted in Events by samgreen on October 10th, 2011
| 16 October , 2011 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 12:00 pm |
Photo by Rubbermaid Products via flickr CC
Based on the bestselling book ‘Your Money or Your Life’ , this session explores ways in which you can simplify your life and financial goals; align spending habits with personal values in order to save money, promote a sense of fulfilment and reduce consumer impact on the environment; and reduce over-consumption and clutter.
Date: Sunday 16 October 2011, 10.00am – 12.00pm
Location: Blackwood Street Neighbourhood House, 114 Blackwood Street, Yarraville
Presenter: Grace Girardi, Maribyrnong City Council
To register for this session, please visit ww.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/greening or for further information contact council’s Sustainability Officer on 9688 0357
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Carlton Eco-Neighbourhood Launched
Posted in Models, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on September 27th, 2011
Photo: Jackson Architecture
Article by Kate Archdeacon:
Stage One of the redevelopment of part of the Carlton Housing Estate into the Carlton Eco-Neighbourhood was officially launched last Friday. The result of collaboration between residents, local action groups, architects, developers, the City of Melbourne, the Department of Human Services and Environment Victoria, the buildings incorporate environmentally efficient design. Natural lighting and ventilation, solar access and solar hot water, as well as water-saving systems that recycle water and capture rainwater all combine to reduce the carbon footprint of residents.
A potential demonstration project for many of the Eco-City principles mentioned by Cr Cathy Oke at the launch, the Eco-Neighbourhood is seen as an opportunity to combine technology with community-building to get to grips with a real-world test case for sustainable living in a Melbourne neighbourhood. The 174 apartments are a combination of public and private housing, and Environment Victoria is recruiting residents to train as Eco Champions, spreading information and practical examples of sustainable behaviour in a variety of languages and cultures. Charlie Davie from Environment Victoria explained that in the average Victorian household, the biggest energy uses tend to be heating, cooling and hotwater, but the careful design of these apartments means that the true gains in efficiency will be in the way residents choose and use their appliances. Eco Champions will be given test packs including Future Switches and microfibre cleaning cloths to try out for themselves as part of the training.
Residents have only started moving into the apartments in the last two months, so the community side of the project is still in early stages. It will be fascinating to see how the Eco Champion program progresses over time, since it’s clear that building design is only part of the equation for reducing occupants’ carbon footprints. The complex issues of choice, habit and long-term commitment to behaviour change are the reality that decides whether projects like these become reference points in the shift towards sustainable living that is so urgent.
www.environmentvictoria.org.au/carlton-eco-neighbourhood
http://carlton.vic.au/news/eco-carlton-neighbourhood-project/
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Buy Nothing New Month: October
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on September 22nd, 2011
Source: Ethical Consumer Group
Why Buy Nothing New? Buy Nothing New is not about going without, nor is it Buy Nothing New Never. It’s about taking October to reassess what we really need, think about where the stuff we buy comes from (finite resources), where it goes (landfill), and what our alternatives are. It is about conscientious consumption and by not spending on stuff we don’t need, increasing our savings for the things we do need.
Pledge to Buy Nothing New during October and challenge over-consumption. You’ll have more time on your hands and money in your pockets.
http://www.buynothingnew.com.au/
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Cloth Nappy Expo: Casey
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on September 16th, 2011
| 24 September , 2011 | ||
| 9:00 am | to | 3:00 pm |
http://www.facebook.com/CaseyLovesClothNappies
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RiderLog App: Vote with your wheels
Posted in Movements, Research by Kate Archdeacon on August 31st, 2011
RiderLog Australian Capital City Screenshots (1 Jan – 10 May, 2011)
RiderLog is a free app that turns every bike ride into a vote for better bicycle facilities. Download it to your iphone now.
Your RiderLog app records basic details of your trips and anonymously uploads them to the Bicycle Network. All the travel logs are then aggregated to show when, where and why we are riding. This information is used to improve the planning of bike infrastructure and convince authorities to invest more in the locations where people ride. Click here to check out a map of aggregated rides. The Bicycle Network is an outreach activity of Bicycle Victoria in Australia, one of the worlds biggest bike rider organisations, with the purpose of More People Cycling More Often.
To Use: Start the app, choose transport or recreation, press the silver Sleep/Wake button and put the phone in your pocket, bag or bike mount to use as a bike computer. At the end of your trip, wake up your phone and save your ride details. The app will log your ride in your phone, including elapsed time and average speed. Press Map to see your route. The phone tracks your cumulative distance and time over the week and month, providing a record of your activity. More details.
Privacy Policy: You decide how much information about you and your riding gets uploaded. The data is anonymous. Unless you change the Settings no personal details are provided. If you are a member or friend of Bicycle Victoria, you can enter your rider number. If you would like to get to know us, you can choose to tag your data with your email.
http://www.bv.com.au/general/ride-to-work/91481/
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Climate Change Knowledge, Values and Action: Public Forum
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on August 18th, 2011
| 25 August , 2011 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
Source: The Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute
Image: Sergey Yeliseev via flickr CC
Towards a more informed and constructive debate on climate change trends and responses
The Garnaut Climate Change Review Update 2011 provides further confirmation of two seemingly paradoxical trends. While scientific evidence that global warming is accelerating continues to strengthen, community support for the decisions and actions needed to prevent runaway climate change remains problematic. This paradox can be explained in a number of ways. If doubt and confusion about climate science are seen as the major barriers to understanding and action then responses are likely to focus on improving communications about climate trends and impacts.
However, there is increasing evidence that public support for climate change action is significantly affected by the mental models and value frameworks which citizens and policy makers bring to the issue as well as by the potentially paralysing impact of the belief that change at the scale and speed required is too hard. This public forum provides an opportunity to discuss recent research findings and insights on the psychological, social, cultural and institutional factors affecting public attitudes to climate change trends and policy responses in Australia.
MC: Peter Mares, Presenter of The National Interest, ABC Radio National and Adjunct Fellow, Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University
Speakers:
- Professor Iain Walker, Research Group Leader, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences and co-author of Australians’ views of climate change for the Garnaut Climate Change Review Update 2011
- Professor David Karoly, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne
- Dr Susannah Eliott, Executive Director Australian Science Media Centre and member of the Climate Commission
- Professor Carmen Lawrence, Winthrop Professor, Director, Centre for the Study of Social Change, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia
Please note this is a FREE PUBLIC FORUM but please REGISTER: http://climatechangeknowledgevaluesandaction.eventbrite.com/
6.30pm-8.00pm, Thursday 25 August 2011
Basement Theatre, ‘The Spot’, 198 Berkeley Street, Carlton
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Businesses Thinking Globally and Acting Locally on Waste
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on August 17th, 2011
| 25 August , 2011 | ||
| 8:30 am | to | 10:30 am |
Source: Metropolitan Waste Management Group
Photo courtesy 5 Gyres
Melbourne Waste Wise Network Event
Peter Hardy from GHD will present on his recent expedition on the 5 Gyres team aboard the Sea Dragon, sailing through remote oceanic areas to study plastic pollution; Elizabeth Kasell, Director of Development from Red Group Holdings will discuss plastic recycling; Tania Crosbie, Director of Sustainability at Work, will give an overview of a recent report on ‘Sustainability in the Workplace’ and; Emily Ballantyne-Brodie, Director of Urban Reforestation, will talk about the Target 3008 project.
To be held on Thursday 25 August, 8:30-10:30am
The Sustainable Living Centre, located on Merchant St, Docklands. Book Now!
Cost $100 for non-members and additional representatives from member organisations. RSVP ellen.regos@mwmg.vic.gov.au by 18/8/11
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Toaster Rescue: Repair Workshops in Review
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on August 15th, 2011
Source: InDesign Live
From “State of Good Repair” by Alice Blackwood :
There was a sense of excitement, and perhaps just a hint of exhaustion, at the launch and auctioning off of the many re-found and re-purposed treasures created during The Repair Workshops last week [end of July]. Held as part of the State of Design Festival, The Repair Workshops saw 3 tonnes of salvaged rubbish – bike frames, broken televisions, bed frames, soft toys, instruments and more – brought down into the long yellow-lit corridors of the basement at Donkey Wheel House. For 3 days (and probably nights!) a team of ingenious designers, artists, scientists and amazingly inventive creatives worked away, hobbling together everything from vegetable colanders to record player parts, fashioning real, live working objects: lights, talking television sets, motorbike helmet speaker systems, rejuvenated dining room chairs, cutlery sets… the list goes on. The auction event went off without a hitch, with enthusiastic participants vying for their own unique piece of trash-turned-treasure.
“We raised over $2,000 for Environment Victoria and saved hundreds of dollars in landfill fees for the Brotherhood and Vinnies,” reports Co-Organiser Leyla Acaroglu. Of the pieces hard won: “I bid fiercely for 2 restored chairs and I won! They are now sitting proudly at my dining table – a testament to repair and creativity!”
It was overall, a huge project, with the workshops opening to the public over the weekend just passed. “The response from the public was amazing!” says Leyla. “We had over 500 people come through and did over 75 repairs. “People would come in and tell us about their umbrella/hair straighter/ toaster/play station control/iPod/stereo, and how they didn’t want to have to throw it out.” In most cases they would leave with a fully repaired item. “Many people just came along to visit and asked if we would be there every week as they wanted to come back. In short, the project as both a new and educative venture was “a raving success”. “We engaged lots of people with repair and value in products and we saved lots of things from landfill.”
Check out all the photos online at The Repair Workshops blog and Facebook page.
Read the full article by Alice Blackwood on In Design Live
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Mineral Water in Eco-Kegs, Delivered by Bike
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on August 11th, 2011
Source: Broadsheet
Image courtesy dhmsco
From “Kegs, Bikes and Bubbles: dhmsco’s Mineral Water Revolution” by Hilary McNevin:
We got to thinking about the environmental impact of buying imported mineral water in glass bottles and found a company with a bright idea and a three-wheeled bike. A keg of mineral water built into a Danish Christiania three-wheeler bike – it’s pimped, it’s got a brolly, it’s looking good and it’s coming to a market, café or restaurant near you.
The Daylesford and Hepburn Mineral Springs Company (dhmsco) have taken a simple and very logical idea and are literally taking it to the streets. Founders and directors of dhmsco, Mitch Watson and Brylie Rankine have been selling their mineral water, which is sourced from the Daylesford spring naturally carbonated, to their customers in customary bottles, but have now taken the next step of providing restaurants and cafes mineral water in recyclable eco-kegs.
[...]
The beauty of serving water through a reticulation system such as a keg is that, while cutting down packaging to a minimum, it also eases the costs and environmental impacts of travel and shipping. The water can be sold by the glass or bottle in the restaurant and the bottles Watson supplies to the restaurants are made in Spotswood, Melbourne, rather than being manufactured overseas and shipped to Australia.
The next step is to make more Melburnians aware of the quality of dhmsco’s mineral water and the notion of the mineral water keg, which is delivered on via the keg bike.
[...]
Restaurants in Melbourne to have dhmsco mineral water on tap so far include, Little Creatures, Dandelion, The Corner Shop and Ladro. Watson is also in the process of developing syrups to add to the water in classic flavours such as cucumber, hawthorn, elderflower, natural tonic and rosehip (he’s also working on a nettle syrup but acknowledges it’s not quite ready to go).
There is the opportunity to check out the dhmsco keg bike, taste the water and the syrups at the Melbourne farmers markets (mfm.com.au) each Saturday from mid-August at its various locations. “We want people to try the syrups and tell us what they think,” explains Watson. “We’re doing research.”
Read the full article by Hilary McNevin on Broadsheet.
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Sustainable Living Brochures in Different Languages
Posted in Movements, Research by Kate Archdeacon on August 8th, 2011
Source: Environment Victoria via Mt Alexander Sustainability Group Inc (MASG)
As part of our Sustainability for Diverse Communities Resource Hub, we’ve pulled together some sustainability translations created by other orgs and have added lots of new translations of our own – you’ll find them in green. On this page you’ll find them sorted by language, and we also have a page of translations sorted by topic.
A word of warning! Many of the translations were produced by different organisations for different projects. We have tried to only include information which is widely relevant, so we don’t confuse people. If you find that any of these translations are confusing, or badly translated, please let us know. Also contact us if you have other translations you’d like to add, or if you find a link which is no longer working.
If you would like to widely distribute any of these publications, you’ll need to check with the original publisher on their copyright conditions. You are welcome to distribute the Environment Victoria publications, as long as you acknowledge Environment Victoria. Have fun!
www.environmentvictoria.org.au/translations
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