Meet the teams
A group of 20 people will soon find out how much impact they have on the environment. Footprints – tread lightly into the future is a sustainable lifestyle initiative run jointly by Lane Cove, North Sydney and Willoughby Councils. The program is assisted by a $60,000 grant from the New South Wales Government’s It’s A Living Thing program.
Footprints will follow and support over 20 community volunteers as they measure and attempt to reduce their ecological footprint on the natural environment.
Each Local Government area has recruited a team of volunteers aged between 20 and 40 years to participate in a four month lifestyle eco-challenge.
Footprints commenced in December and will conclude in March 2005. The competition is on to see whose team of Generation X volunteers can go greenest in the next four months.
At the first Footprints Challenge meeting, team leaders were recruited and each team was given a questionnaire to measure their current ecological footprint, that is how much land and sea area is needed to support their lives.
In the next four months they will examine different aspects of their lifestyle and try more sustainable lifestyle options. They will also look for simple and smart solutions to overcome any barriers to a sustainable lifestyle.
It is not expected that every member of every team can or will adopt all the suggested lifestyle changes, however, the team that makes the greatest overall reduction in their ecological footprint will be the winner.
Challenge Coordinator, Finn Taylor, said the program targeting Generation X is the first of its kind in NSW and it will act as a pilot for future educational projects.
“There have been other programs targeting sustainability best practice in houses, streets, and infrastructure, but this is the first lifestyle program that is easy and accessible for individuals,” she said.
While the program will be adjusted to reflect the interests and lifestyles of the participants, the areas that are likely to be examined include food, partying without a waste trail, travel, fashion and beauty.
A web site will chart the Footprinters’ progress, encouraging community members to track the project, follow their favourite team member and learn more about how to live sustainably in Sydney. Finn Taylor said Footprints is all about team effort.
“We’re holding monthly get togethers to provide encouragement, as well as information, and we’ll be giving each participant equipment such as compost bins and water saving showerheads, and opportunities for prizes,” she said. “I hope our Footprinters will not only have fun and learn a lot, but will also be role models for others in the community. We will be using their experiences to shape appropriate environmental programs in the future.”
For further information contact Finn Taylor on (02) 9911 3638 or visit www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/footprints
