Think Global, Act N16
By Jenny Wight
Many people want to support local charities and voluntary groups but don't know how to find them. Local groups need this support but don't have the time or resources to carry out advertising or employ press officers. N16 Magazine is stepping up to bridge this gap to act as a link between local people and small groups active in N16.
ACT N16
EcoACTIVE have come a long way for an organisation that started in a rubbish dump in 1996. Well OK, they started in a venue called The Rubbish Dump in Upper Clapton, but who's splitting hairs? Unsurprisingly given this origin, they originally worked on waste and recycling issues. Now working across the whole of Hackney, they have a wider focus.
EcoACTIVE brings environmental education to schools with their mobile units (see photograph) running sessions on sustainable development such as Litterless Lunch, Be Water Wise and How big is your eco-Footprint?. Their website (www.ecoactive.org.uk) lists the full set of workshops and resources available.
Big Foot is one of their most popular activities. It gets students thinking about their impact on the world: What do I use? What do I throw away? And where does it go? The aim of this, as with all their work, is to encourage students to think about ways of reducing their own environmental footprint and to spark understanding that leads to a change in behaviour.
Prue Poulton, EcoACTIVE's Coordinator pauses when I ask her what impact EcoACTIVE has. 'We could make a lot of claims, but it would be arrogant of us to assume that what we were doing was solely responsible for changing people's behaviour. But we do know we are often asked to return to the schools we work in and the teachers and students say they learn a lot from us.'
There is a lot of information about environmental issues around, with climate change being mentioned almost daily in the news, and EcoACTIVE's work is part of this awareness raising. But they also provide something extra: they support and encourage Hackney's young people to take action. For example, Grazebrook School's Energy Savers Team - a group of active Year 5 pupils - were keen to get all schools in Hackney using energy supplied from renewable sources, eg sun, wind or water. EcoACTIVE supported them to lobby all 74 schools in Hackney, asking them to consider choosing a green energy provider. The hard work of these school kids led to an impressive 40 schools saying yes. With doom and gloom in the press on the future of our survival on this planet, it is encouraging to see that the action of a few can still make a difference. What are you waiting for?
THINK GLOBAL
* Each year food shops give away enough plastic carrier bags to cover the whole of London with a layer of bags.
* We fill about 300 million square metres of land with rubbish every year. That's the same as covering the pitch at Old Trafford, Manchester United Football Club's ground, 28,450 times (not a bad idea. Ed).
* On average, each person in the UK throws away seven times their body weight (about 500kg) in rubbish every year.
source wastewatch.org.uk
TAKE ACTION
EcoACTIVE are planning a big event as part of Climate Change Week in November, so if you want to take part contact them on 020 7923 7899 or ecoactive@tiscali.co.uk
They are keen to encourage and support volunteers, and run a programme which can lead to graduation as a paid session worker. They are also looking for management committee members, especially parents or teachers, connected to secondary education. For more details see http://www.ecoactive.org.uk/getinvolved.htm
Do you run a local group or charity and would like to be featured on Think Global... Act N16? Then send an email to js@jswight.co.uk giving details of your group. |
