Indigenous leaders taking sustainability to the community
December 2010
Eight months ago Environment Victoria’s GreenTown project started working with the Indigenous community in Darebin, to help them make their homes, businesses and organisations more sustainable. Now, the participants are acting as environmental leaders in their community.
The project began by establishing a valuable partnership with the Aborigines Advancement League, which provides services including counselling and education programs. Partnerships were also established with the neighbourhood house and a community consultant, who acts as the link between Environment Victoria and the community.
Next we trained a group of community members to become household and business sustainability assessors. With the goal to complete seventy assessments, their task is to evaluate households, businesses and organisations within the community and provide solutions on how to reduce their environmental impact. The assessors suggest a range of different actions that suit the individual’s needs and are beneficial to both the environment and the wallet. So far the assessors are part way through, with some assessments done and more still to come.
Although it might seem complicated, living more sustainably is easy. The household assessors could suggest swapping an incandescent light bulb for light bulb with is four to six time more efficient, cutting electricity bills along the way. They can also offer solutions on how to save water, how to reduce waste and how to save on heating bills, helping individuals, communities and the environment all at once.
Working with the Indigenous community, we’ve found that they have a lot to share, offer and teach. Their understanding of the natural environment is particularly valuable for modern Australia, and we’ve learnt a lot along the way.
