Sustainable Living available to more Kiwis

MEDIA RELEASE 21 February 2008

Sustainable Living available to more New Zealanders

More New Zealanders will be moving towards sustainable lifestyles this year through taking part in The Sustainable Living Programme.

"Saving on petrol, cutting power bills, basic organic gardening and reducing the amount of plastics and water used in the home are skills people can learn on the programme", says national coordinator Rhys Taylor, from Christchurch.

“The Sustainable Living programme is a practical way of making small changes to limit your environmental impact at home. It’s your opportunity to do your bit for the environment and have fun learning and doing with a group of similarly interested people,” he says.

Evening courses began this month and more are planned in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Kapiti Coast, Marlborough, Nelson, Otago, Palmerston North, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Wairarapa and Wellington (Listed at www.sustainablehouseholds.org.nz/courses1.htm ).

The programme is a partnership between 22 local and regional councils to provide community education courses, that cover energy efficiency, waste reduction, shopping tips, travel, vegetable gardening and eco-building as well as water use and impacts. Alongside evening courses, the programme offers one-off seminars and workshops, and a website www.sustainableliving.org.nz

The newest recruits are Gisborne and Palmerston North, and Kapiti Coast Councils and Wellington Region have re-joined. "We will be able to bring in more councils within a few months" say Rhys, who acknowledges support from the Ministry for the Environment in 2008 to develop programme content, evaluation, and reach out to new areas.

Last year 36 courses and many workshop sessions were held in 30 locations across New Zealand, with hosts including community education at secondary schools, migrant communities, council offices (for staff) and environment centres. The programme is an independent information source and its content is regularly updated - the next new edition will be available through subscribing councils in March.

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