Coastal lifestyle more eco-friendly
Wed 17 June 2009
Ellie Cummins, Journalism
Enthusiastic responses to a number of programs promoting sustainability on the Coast have shown that “living smart” is now a core focus for many local residents.
“Sustainability” was first popularised in 1987 when the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released the Brundtland Report that claimed “sustainable developments” were those that met the need of the present generation without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
As Australians grew more aware of environmental issues such as global warming, words and phrases such as “sustainability” and “sustainable development” became the driving forces behind various initiatives promoting the benefits of an ecological lifestyle.
Living Smart, a free online program, was launched in September 2008 under the Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s (SCRC) vision to transform the local area into Australia’s most sustainable region.
Living Smart was developed by the former Noosa and Caboolture Shire Councils before it was regionalised due to demand from a growing number of consumers seeking information on local environmental produces and services.
SCRC sustainability projects officer Joanna Ferris explained that 
the Living Smart program comprised three units, including Living Smart Homes.
“Living Smart Homes has four learning modules which help tackle climate change at the household level,” Ms Ferris said.
“The online modules calculate your environmental impacts and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in four key areas: energy, water, waste and transport.”
The calculations helped householders to make small changes to their lifestyle to save money and benefit the environment.
Ms Ferris said there was a common misconception that living a sustainable lifestyle was expensive.
“There are a host of sustainability actions that are free, or cost very little,” Ms Ferris said.
“In fact, living a sustainable lifestyle not only reduces your ecological footprint but can also save you money.”
Ms Ferris said that feedback indicated a family of two parents and two children could save about $550 and 3000kg of greenhouse gases per year.
Registered participants of Living Smart Homes received a free four-leaf sign to demonstrate their commitment and promote sustainable behaviour changes through their neighbours and friends.
Ms Ferris said 388 households had registered for the self-guided program at May 2009.
Local not-for-profit organisation Green Sunshine had joined with the Living Smart program in leading the way to a more environmentally friendly coastal lifestyle by showing just how easily the concept of sustainability could be put into practice.
Green Sunshine was one of the success stories to come out of the Noosa Creative Alliance’s Creative Communities Leadership Program held in 2008.
The organisation had focused on the concept of sustainability and applied it at the grassroots level for residential communities across the region.
Green Sunshine’s environmental and sustainability consultant Samantha Smith said an early focus for the organisation was to work in conjunction with the Living Smart Homes program for sustainable, domestic living.
“The group formed in April last year with eight members and before we even started we had already thought of the concept of a ‘sustainable streets’ program,” Ms Smith said.
“It was not necessarily a new idea ... but we wanted to tie it in with what already existed here.”
Delivering their first milestone in the first few months of operation, the team designated Spoonbill Street at Peregian Beach as a pilot program and were able to successfully launch the first Sustainable Streets program.
Ms Smith said residents of Spoonbill Street were invited to learn how to be sustainable as a community in ways such as utilising their power as a collective buying group.
“Solar electricity and solar hot water can be purchased cheaper in bulk orders,” Ms Smith said.
“Other ways to engage the street community include collective garage sales, vegetable gardens, composting, solar panels and even sharing household items such as lawn mowers.”
Following the successful pilot program, the community catalyst group had a village vision to target every household across the Sunshine Coast in reducing the use of energy, water, waste and transport mileage.
As the Sustainable Streets program extended to cover the entire Sunshine Coast, the group identified the need to create a challenge to take to the public in order to encourage more households to embrace the Living Smart Homes program.
“From there, we came up with the Cool Streets Challenge, whereby we hoped to have at least 100 streets sign up for the challenge and become champions of the program,” Ms Smith said.
“This program has achieved more than what we would have expected … we just need to push it to the next level.”
Ms Smith explained that there were currently many similar groups and programs that were operating separately across the Sunshine Coast.
“Our goal is to encourage these different groups and programs to work closely together rather than duplicating time, energy and materials,” Ms Smith said.
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