Learners from Howick High have come up with a host of great ideas and easy-to-do suggestions of how to live differently to better protect and sustain our environment.

The learners came up with a total of 57 ideas which covered seven themes: saving paper, using less water, sustainable travel, reducing waste, sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency and renewable energy.  Their ideas ranged from things which we all can do in our day-to-day lives, to things that the Government could do to create more sustainable living. Here are some of their best ideas:

 Save paper:

  • Don’t waste paper – say ‘no’ to paper statements – opt for electronic ones
  • Pay bills ‘on line’ – which will also reduce transport

Use less water:

  • Save water – put washing machines on short cycles; use rinse water on garden; put bricks in toilet cisterns, install rain water tanks
  • Don’t let tap run while brushing teeth and attend to any dripping taps
  • Ditch “bottled water” – use a re-usable water bottle and “in-home” filtration systems that make tap water a good choice.

Sustainable travel:

  • Use public transport/share lifts/use bicycles/walk
  • Cars – Lift clubs, “drive smart” – use biodiesel/biogas/smaller cars
  • Have incentives for using bicycles

Reduce waste:

  • Use simple/no packaging/reuse grocery bags/shopping baskets
  • Recycle/reuse – glass, plastic, paper – take to depots
  • Government encourages recycling

Sustainable Agriculture:

  • Deforestation – cleared for cattle farming – consume less meat
  • Don’t over harvest (fishing, farming and mining)
  • Visit restaurants that serve locally produced foods (promote local economics)

Energy efficiency:

  • Use energy saving light bulbs and solar geyser and insulate geyser
  • Switch off non-essential appliances – even  on ‘standby’ mode they draw energy and switch off lights when not in the room (SOS = switch off something)
  • Have more family gatherings – good quality time with loved ones and cooking for bigger group is more efficient and less expensive
  • Use re-chargeable batteries (non-rechargeable batteries use 50x more energy than they provide)

Renewable energy:

  • Use solar power, wind power, hydro-electric power
  • Education of people and word of mouth example.  Join organisations that campaign for a cause. 

If you have any other ideas to add to this list, please leave a comment below.