Sustainability workshops ready to roll in Gippsland
Over the next nine months, Environment Victoria will be bringing a whole host of free sustainability workshops and projects to the Latrobe Valley. Sustainable Living in the Valley is part of our Regional Sustainable Living Program and was successfully launched on September 30. Now our staff are off and away, locking in dates and venues, finding project partners and getting all of the projects ready to roll. Here’s where they’ve got to:
Free workshops for families
The first cab off the rank will be the Families Go Green workshops in Morwell, which are specially designed for families and single parents, giving them practical tips on how to save money on bills and help the environment at the same time. [Stop press! Families Go Green has been given the much spunkier name of Sustainability on a Shoestring since this Green Action News article was written.] The workshops also include activities for kids, sustainability gadgets participants can take home, and even a free lunch. Participants attend two workshops, either on Saturday 7 and 21 November, or on Saturday 14 and 28 November, from 10 - 12:30, plus lunch. Can’t come on these days? There are also plans in the works for more workshops, so it’s still worth registering interest. We’re also looking for keen beans to help out as volunteers at the workshops – it’s a great way to build skills and confidence, and looks great on a resume too.
Berry Street students to be sustainability leaders
From February to June, students at the BEST Centre in Morwell will also be learning their fair share of how to live more sustainably, thanks to the Youth Eco-Challenge. The BEST Centre is a school run by Berry Street, a community organisation which works with young people at risk, and at the end of the challenge students will be presenting their results to the community – showing that they can be sustainability leaders.
Senior citizens in the valley to go green
Plans are also underway to run Eco-Wise Action in the Latrobe Valley, which works with older members of the community , teaching them how to save energy and water (and so save money too). We’ll also be running our sustainability and home auditing training program for Home and Community Care (HACC) workers, so that they can help the senior citizens they care for to live more sustainably and comfortably. Times, dates and partner organisations for these projects are still being finalised, so stay tuned.
But that’s not the end…we are still looking for partner organisations to run more family, youth and seniors programs in the region.
Want to be part of it?
If this is sounding good, and you’d like to be part of Sustainable Living in the Valley, whether that’s as a participant, volunteer, or even as a project partner for one of these programs, contact Kate Senko. Kate’s based at the Lifeline office in Morwell, and can be found on (03) 5136 3504 or via email.
