One man's trash is another man's treasure.

The ingenuity and creativity of this group of people will delight and amaze you.  From hopelessness and despair to the transformation of rubbish to fit a higher purpose.  This beautiful music will transport you and give those in the orchestra hope for the future.

Promoting sustainable behaviour

Week 7 :-Promoting sustainable behaviour in ourselves and those over whom we have influence

Reflect on how your learning activity enhances sustainability and question whether your ideas fit within Otago Polytechnic’s aims of Inspiring Capability.

My learning activity (critiquing the EfS course) will reflect on features of the current course content and delivery and, from my own experience and the experience of classmates in this course, seek to make recommendations for improvements.  This is normal practice for all courses but is particularly significant in this course as it exemplifies blended delivery.

Since blended delivery is the new model for Otago Polytechnic courses it is wise to reflect on the efficacy of this modality to ensure we adopt ‘best practice’ that will serve students needs well and make this institutions courses stand out from others.  Evaluation of this course through reflective practice will make it more sustainable in terms of those all important factors student retention and success.  It will also guide blended delivery courses that I will develop in the future and thereby heighten their effectiveness.  Reflective practice is an endeavour that we all need to engage in for every part of our lives since the decisions we make as individuals have a flow on effect to everything and everyone around us.

Individuals need to reflect on their behaviour in terms of the many hats that they wear (for myself these could be:- teacher, student, parent, consumer, friend..and so on) to judge whether or not the decisions that are made in each situation are sustainable.  This same reflective practice is an activity that would be rolled out to the students and included in the courses that I facilitate.  Insights gained on the EfS course would be brought into play and passed on to others.

For example:-

1. Students would be asked to diarise a day of their life to critique the choices and decisions they made over the day wearing “various hats” to see if they were acting in a sustainable manner and to consider whether or not they might be able to make more sustainable choices.
2. Students are asked to do a unit of work that requires them to think about some of the resources that they control or have an impact on such as time, money and the environment. They look at a number of scenarios related to use of these resources, extrapolate on what the outcome will be from continuing this behaviour, and consider changes that might be desirable/possible.  For example- We find ourselves buying things we don’t really need, to be fashionable or feel excited/good /happy for a short time (retail therapy).  These things often just clutter up our lives and may be just a cover up for a more deep seated need that can’t be easily satisfied.
3. Students as consumers….

• Students are asked to categorise a number of items in a list and decide if they are needs or wants
• Students are shown examples of rampant spending from the sustainability blog and then asked to write about what they think they need in their life to make them happy.
•  Students are asked to imagine how life would be if they only focussed on what they needed instead of wanting the latest ‘this and that’ and always wanting more of everything (keeping up with the Jonses).

4. Students are asked to consider an issue that affects them personally and take action to do something about it.  E.g. write to the paper to complain about the removal of seats in public bus shelters.  They could start a petition about this issue and present it to the local city council to try and effect change.
5. Students could explore other issues at a national level that they feel strongly about and find out what different political parties say they will do about this issue e.g. the rise in unemployment.
6. Students could join a community group such as Transition Valley 473 and engage in activities that interested them  or that others might benefit from such as working in a community garden or volunteering their skills to repair bicycles etc.

All of these ideas fit well with Otago Polytechnic’s goal to produce graduates (and employees) that are focussed, forward thinking able to solve problems and conduct their lives in sustainable ways.

Otago Polytechnic:Inspiring capability the world over

Otago Polytechnic:Inspiring capability the world over
Otago Polytechnic has a long tradition of producing exceptional graduates,

beginning with the Dunedin Technical School, established in 1889, and the

Art School that opened in 1870.

Today, our campuses in the city of Dunedin and the region of Central

Otago attest to our heritage, while looking ahead by producing exceptional

graduates, who are second-to-none and possess qualities that are highly

desired both in New Zealand and internationally. They are focused,

resourceful and forward thinking. Their ideas solve problems and foster

industries. A qualification from Otago Polytechnic is an exceptional hands -on foundation for an international career.

Sustainability at Otago

Welcome to Sustainability @ Otago, a portal for all information relating to sustainable management of the University’s land, buildings, energy, transport, waste and all matters related to the day-to-day running of one of the largest universities in New Zealand.

Our changing world- This is one video you need to see

With aerial footage from 54 countries, Home is a depiction of how the Earth's problems are all interlinked.

Director: Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Writers: Isabelle Delannoy, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and 5 more credits »
Stars: Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Glenn Close and Jacques Gamblin

A local model of Sustainabile Practice - Transition Valley 473

So how might a sustainable community look? Transition Valley 473 is a local community sub - group of the national group Transition Towns New Zealand Aotearoa.  They run a number of sustainable initiatives such as:- community gardens and orchards, free home energy audits, fruit tree planting and pruning, help with bike repairs and retrofitting of home insulation.

A bike library is another initiative that is being considered.  Two third year Occupational Therapy students, Georgina and Grace, are currently working on a community project assisting North East Valley and the DCC in determining the need and potential success for a bike library in the North East Valley Community.

A Bike library is a nonprofit organization that will allow members of the community to loan or hire recycled bikes, which have been donated and done up within the community. The main idea of the bike library is increase accessibility and usage of bicycles. There are already bike libraries established in New Zealand and overseas, and they are investigating whether a similar project would work for Dunedin.

They have a short survey to ascertain the level of interest. Please fill out the survey if you are interested.

 

 

 

Here is a message from the organisers of Transition Valley 473

Hi. We're a group of residents from North East Valley, Opoho, Dalmore, Liberton, Pine Hill, Normanby and Mt Mera in North Dunedin. We've got together to help the Valley on our transition journey - coping with the climate, energy and economic changes that are coming. We welcome local residents to join us - turn up at an event and introduce yourself, or you can email us at transitionvalley@king.net.nz for more information.

 

 

How much is too much?

Can shopaholics ever be satisfied?  What is it that makes people in this consumer driven economy always want more, even if that means going into debt and sometimes even into bankruptcy.  This video clip takes a look at Paris Hilton's wardrobe.

Is it possible these days to be content with sufficient for our needs rather than our wants.  What is enough?  The magazines television and other media make their livelihoods our of getting us to buy buy buy. 


This next clip takes you on a shopping trip in Las Vegas with Michael Jackson where his stated goal is to spend some serious money and below one of Michaels mansions.  






Rampant consumerism as shown in this video clip is not just an issue for the rich and famous.  People from all walks of life get caught up in the thrill of the hunt for that next bargain. 
This next video clip shows what happens when compulsive shopping is taken to the extreme and counselling and behavioural change is needed for the family to survive.  It is all about how it makes you feel and has litle to do with whether the item is needed or can be afforded.  Debt was once a thing to be avoided  or paid off as soon as possible.  Many people today however want it all now and are happy to live with "affordable debt" as an ongoing and normal part of life.  This, rather than doing without in the short term, and SAVING for  for things that are wanted as was the custom in the past.