A new suite of online resources to assist environmental educators to run events aimed at 18-35 year olds has been developed by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).
Funded by the NSW Government's Water for Life Program, the GreenHome water project has engaged younger people in water saving behaviours, such as reducing time spent in the shower, washing a full load of clothes with cold water and eating less meat.
eco-Sounds pub trivia event
The new online resources include:
- eco-Sounds pub trivia night information
- examples of GreenHome lunchtime workshops
- short films showing what participants learnt
- water saving tips poster
- comprehensive GreenHome guidebook
- final project report packed full of up to date research.
Feedback on the resources includes:
- "[the EcoSounds event] got a lot of our group thinking – particularly about the differences between a front and top loading washing machine."
- "How much water goes into making food was the new thing for the night."
- "I'll use the shower timer – 4 minute showers – yeah that's reasonable I think."
- "A lot of our team members are thinking – how can I do things differently at home to save water."
The project originally targeted young people as the
Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW (DECC) Who Cares About the Environment in 2006? survey indicated that younger people (especially those aged 15–24) are less likely to think that water conservation is the most important issue in NSW (35% compared to 59-64% in other age groups).
The recently released follow up Who Cares about Water and Climate Change 2007 survey revealed that while there had been a significant increase in young people mentioning water conservation as the most important issue in NSW, they were still less likely to mention it than other age groups (50% compared to 61-78%). Importantly, however in 2007 young people were much more likely to mention climate change (49% compared to 18-30% of other age gourps), which is heavily related to the water issue.
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