Action on Climate Change
EcoTeams return to Waltham Forest!
HEET has restarted its EcoTeams project in Waltham Forest, in partnership with Global Action Plan, to help people reduce their impact on the environment.
Seven teams (encompassing 38 households) ran in Waltham Forest in 2009, saving 13% on electricity and making many other positive changes. And this year we hope to repeat the success.
HEET is hosting a training session for anyone interested in setting up an EcoTeam, on the morning of Saturday 20th November 2010. The session is free and doesn't commit you to setting up an EcoTeam, although we hope you will want to!
To book a place or find out more, contact HEET either by phone or email.
What is an EcoTeam?
An EcoTeam is a group of 6-8 people who meet to make simple, effective changes for a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Previous teams have reduced energy usage by 21%, reduced waste by 20% and cut household bills by around £170 per year. Being a part of an EcoTeam is a great way to learn how to lead a healthier lifestyle and make new friends. One EcoTeam member said, ‘I was already aware of the issues but EcoTeams helped me to take action.’
EcoTeams meet once a month for 4-5 months when they share ideas on shopping ethically, saving resources, saving energy and travelling wisely. Throughout the project, team members carry out simple monitoring so they can see their own ‘before’ and ‘after’ results, and they receive plenty of useful tips, web-links and information.
EcoTeams could include people from your church group, youth group, sports club, parents’ and toddlers’ group, club for retired people, residents’ group, neighbourhood watch group or from your street; the list is endless! Meetings are held locally (usually within walking distance of participants’ homes) and on dates convenient to the team.
HEET’s Tom Ruxton says, ‘It's difficult to know how to respond to all the gloomy predictions about climate change, and tempting to think that anything we do as individuals is insignificant. EcoTeams offer an enjoyable way in which people can come together to take positive actions, jointly, that will safeguard the environment but also save them money. The plan is to get 15 EcoTeams up and running in Waltham Forest this year, so that could be 120 households all taking action on climate change. We are very excited to be working with Global Action Plan again on this project and to be providing the local perspective to link people into the very positive things happening in Waltham Forest already.’
