Kerryn Boogaard Kerryn Boogaard
Beverly Goldsmith Beverly Goldsmith
Zoe Bingley-Pullin Zoe Bingley-Pullin

1 Million Women aim to cut a million tonnes:

In this day and age of huge weddings and guests being left to wait for hours while the photos are being taken, it's unusual to find a bride-to-be who is foregoing gifts.
By Motherpedia
Date: November 13 2012
Editor Rating:
one-million-woman
Image Source:

1 Million Women founder Natalie Isaacs with cook Julie Goodwin

Instead Caroline Pidcock has asked her 200 guests at her forthcoming wedding to produce ideas on how to make the world a better place.

A Sydney architect who specialises in sustainable practice, Pidcock is an ambassador for 1 Million Women, an Australian non-political women's organisations which aims to collectively cut one million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution.

Members are committed to each cutting one tonne from their daily lives within a year of joining the campaign.

Over the weekend of November 16 to 18 it is holding Recipe for Change, which involves women all over the country hosting get togethers to talk about practical ways to save energy, cut waste and pollution, and live more sustainably.

The organisation will then take all the ideas, questions and solutions, photos and video clips generated from the weekend and publish them as an e-book, Recipe for Change, which will be released on International Women's Day in March next year.

As founder Natalie Isaacs says it will be a "recipe book for change written by the women of Australia to share with women around the world".

The organisation is an environmental charity and receives government grants as well as private sponsorship, as well as doing its own fundraising. Started in 2009 Isaacs says it has nearly 77,000 members and is supported by former Irish president Mary Robinson.

"I started 1 Million Women three years ago because I felt there must have been millions of women like me not doing anything on climate change," Isaacs, who has four children, says.

"And I had an epiphany and started taking action in my life ... I got my electricity bill down by 20 per cent, I got our food waste down massively by starting some worm farms and thinking how to shop more strategically."

She has since set up a website that gives practical tips for how to be greener and less polluting.

Meanwhile Pidcock, who is marrying former City of Sydney councillor John McInerney on Saturday afternoon on Observatory Hill in the Rocks, says it's a "paperless wedding", with invitations on a website.

"We've suggested that instead of gifts people bring ideas for how to make the world a better place," she says with a laugh. "We're going to have a place in the community hall where those ideas can be stuck up or pinned up."

And her nieces and nephews will also be interviewing guests.

She admits she is not a "blushing bride" as she'll be turning 50 the following day and it's a second wedding for her partner so the wedding will be a celebration for a number of reasons.

"Even if we get 10 ideas, it's 10 ideas that otherwise would not have been raised.

"One of the terrible things that has happened in the past 10 to 20 years is moving to wasting things with no regard."

One of the problems, she says is perhaps that we work too hard and we have little time to do something about these issues.

We also have miles more possessions than our forebears, and that includes clothes, and home theatres that are anti-social and anti-community.

"When you see old wardrobes you realise people only had a few clothes. They didn't have the need for five lineal metres of hanging space; they could put it into one. They were happy.

"I'm not saying it was all brilliant (but) I think there's something exciting about stopping for a minute and thinking, not how can you change your life ... but how can you change your life and make it better for a whole lot of people."

FACTBOX

TOP 10 TIPS TO SAVE ENERGY, CUT WASTE AND POLLUTION AND SAVE MONEY:

1. Eliminate food waste. Eat half the food you normally waste and save $500 plus a year.

2.Grow your own food. Use kitchen scraps to feed worms (or get some chooks) and make compost. Save $100+ a year.

3.Drive one day less a week and you could save $300 a year. Plan your trips, inflate your tyres properly, keep the boot empty and moderate your speed (90kph on highway) and save $200 plus a year.

4.If you can't be a no car household, at least have no more than one car for every two drivers, using walking, cycling and public transport to balance out car use. Save $4000 plus a year.

5. Set a target to reduce your energy use (look for the amount of consumption in kilowatt hours or kWh on your bill) by at least 10 per cent. Turn off unnecessary lights, gadgets and appliances on standby. Save $175 plus a year.

6. Hang your clothes on the line instead of chucking them in the dryer. You can save pollution and around $400 a year.

7. For heating or cooling, set the thermostat (or control manually) to delay having heating or cooling cut in until they are really needed. Save $500 plus a year.

8. Become a consumer expert on energy saving, water saving and fuel efficiency star systems, and use them when making major purchases like white goods and cars. Save $500 plus a year.

9. Swap clothes, go shopping in your own wardrobe, shop vintage or second hand, avoid fast fashion and buy higher quality clothing that you look after well - washing in cold water and pegging on the line. Save $500 plus a year.

10. Have a strategy especially for major purchases - give yourself a seven-day cooling off period to avoid being swayed by heavy sales pitches, and to ask 'Do I really need this at all?'. Save $500 a year.

11. Swap buying more stuff for creating 'experiences' . OK, you may not save money, but you'll save energy, cut pollution, keep stuff out of land fill and feel better.

More information: recipeforchange.com.au

Share This Tweet This Email To Friend
Recent Comments
0 Total Comments
Post a Comment
* your email address will not appear

Please enter the word you see in the image below:


Post a Comment
* your email address will not appear

Please enter the word you see in the image below:33343


Your Comment has been posted
Related Articles
greenparenting
Daily Lime founder Anna Minns shares five ways to help…
Read more
greencleaning
Try these cost effective and eco-friendly ways to clean your…
Read more
ltrotta--matthew
Green parenting, eco parenting, natural parenting. Call it what you…
Read more
Cry babies

Dry your eyes!
The newest additions are on their way from the Babies who cry real tears!

Shipping-containers-freight-wallpaper-preview

Latest Tech Used In Shipping Containers
Read how the shipping industry has revolutionised

Motherpedia cover-2

Win 1 set of a 4-book hardcover illustrated boxed set
Barbara Murray’s new 4-book Sound Stories is perfect for parents and educators and could assist with NAPLAN results

Motherpedia cover (4)

Where to celebrate Oktoberfest Australia
Get ready for this celebration!

Motherpedia cover-4

A Fortnight of Foodie Experiences at East Village
A taste of East Village. What's in it for me?

Globber my too fix up cover

We Try: Globber My TOO Fix Up
A scooter that grows with your child

Throw a winning cricket pitch

3 Steps to a Winning Backyard Cricket Pitch
Ex-Adelaide Oval legend curator Les Burdett shares his tips for getting your backyard cricket pitch test match ready this summer

A bike that follows your kids life cycle - motherpedia - cover

A Bike That Follows Your Kids Life Cycle
Check out the Bunzi 2-in-1 gradual balance bike!

Moonlight lifestyle

Moonlight Cinema to bring…
Moonlight Cinema announces brand new Western Sydney venue

Screen shot 2019-11-26 at 8.29.12 am

Your Magical Christmas Wonderland…
Adventure park is about to light up the night sky with its "Christmas Festival of Lights"

Screen shot 2019-11-21 at 11.11.36 am

The Preston Market Gets…
It's time to feel pumped up for the holiday season!

Bruno-kelzer-zqzuigxcvrq-unsplash

Bunnings team members get…
Help raise funds by buying a snag or donating at your local store.