Actions for sustainability at home

Here is an independent source of information, with good ideas on what you can do in NZ to save on globally-valuable resources such as vehicle fuel and fresh water, seek a healthier lifestyle and perhaps trim some living expenses.

Cut your travel and heating cost by some re-design of your lifestyle. Grow healthy food at home and buy NZ-grown food with less wasteful packaging in the shops. You can become rather more sustainable without it 'costing the earth'. Sustainable Living Education Trust helps you find how.

Practical guides to taking household and community action are available free from this page of Sustainable Living website. The background reasons on why it's good for you to be taking action now, are explored in publications available free on the issues page and alternatively as part of our quiz.

Use Earth Hour (led by WWF) as an excuse to get you started at home, or with friends. Turn off power-using lights and most other appliances from 8.30pm on Sat 27 March, and then try other ways to reduce your regular power use in the following weeks.

Sustainable Living study groups and classes are organised through councils, schools, polytechnics and non-government organisations in two dozen districts and regions across New Zealand from Otago to Northland. Have fun learning about actions that you can take, then discuss your success with new friends.

Register your interest in classes in your locality by joining our quarterly E-mailing list. We also aim to publish occasional printed newsletters and information flyers (on recycled paper, naturally). Send a stamped addresed envelope for a copy to: Freepost SUSTAINABLE, PO Box 13-121, Armagh Street, Christchurch 8141.

Our action guides suggest what you can do

Information is presented below, so that you can select a few items to download for reading now, and come back again for more.
An alternative, more interactive way to get to this same information is provided by an alternative page: Explore our house.

They are virus-scanned, quite detailed and illustrated. Get them from this page ready to print, as PDF files for which you will need to use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software, if it is not already installed on your computer.

• Action to Save Energy, help cut your carbon dioxide emissions & also help clean up city air. 
• If 10% carbon reduction is your aim, see this new guide for 2010.
• Action on insulation for winter - for a warm and dry house or flat.
• Action towards eco-home design, with environmental features in building or renovation.
• Action on travel - car driving techniques and travel alternatives as fuel prices rise and you try to cut carbon emissions.
• Action to save water demand and reduce river or coastal pollution.
• Action to reduce landfill rubbish, boosting re-use and recycling.
• Action by shoppers - shop with the planet and kids' futures in mind.
• Action in the garden with useful plants and nature as your ally, and also: organic food growing and composting.

Reading this material on-screen is an option, and you can save the PDF to your computer for reference or later printing, but many people prefer learning in a group setting. Would you like to be able to discuss and share your ideas and actions? If so, look for the nearest classes listed on the Sustainable Living regional pages and also register your interest in receiving email news of the evening classes and other programme developments across New Zealand.