Live Lightly & Make a Difference Today

Live Lightly and make a difference today

Our daily lives are busy and hectic. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the choices we make each day have an effect on our quality of life. Live Lightly is an initiative launched this month by Auckland Council and community groups.

Live Lightly shows everyday lifestyle choices we can all make to save money, have a healthier life and care for the planet. The programme aims to engage with Aucklanders and offer ways people can make a real difference.

Are you already realising the wider sustainable benefits of recycling, backyard composting, riding the bus or train, avoiding food waste?

If you’re doing at least one of these now, you’re on your way to Living Lightly.

“We all make a daily environmental impact. While we’re surrounded by reminders of how to live sustainably, many of us can feel overwhelmed and often need a nudge to take the first step.

“So rather than worrying about what we can’t do, let’s focus collectively on how we can each do at least one thing differently every day,” says Councillor Penny Hulse, Chair of the Environment & Community Committee.

“Live Lightly is also about making it easy to encourage connections within communities, spark conversations and share stories about living sustainably for ourselves and our families.”

The actions promoted by the Live Lightly programme cover six lifestyle themes: move, eat, grow, energy, shop and talk. There are over 30 local events and activities already listed on the website that you can visit, just in October alone.

Take the time to find the most suitable action for you which could be as simple as taking the bus or train to work one day a week, looking up fun recipes for leftovers or doing the washing in cold water and hanging outside to dry are suggestions; these can to save you money and lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Rose is a public policy student at the University of Auckland and is taking on the Sustainable Whanau Challenge, a programme run by the Kaipatiki Project and supported by council. For Rose, it means changing her daily habits to be more sustainable, saving money, and “beating my flatmates”. She has opted to have one day meat free a week, reduce her showers to four-minutes and offset her carbon emissions when buying her plane tickets.

To find out more about how you can Live Lightly head to the website or Facebook page

To help you make the choices that are right for you and your family or join in the sustainablewhanauchallenge.com – Oct 14- Nov 11.

Registrations now open.

Our top actions:

MOVE

Reduce your car trips

Reduce the impact of flights

EAT

Prevent food waste

Eat more plant based meals

Eat local and seasonal food

GROW

Grow biodiversity at home and beyond

ENERGY

Use hot water efficiently

Insulate your home

SHOP

Think before you buy

SHARE

Talk about climate change issues and solutions

ENDS

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