The NI Open Government Network is working in partnership with networks in England, Scotland and Wales to build the capacity of citizens and civil society to use open government approaches to progress the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A new website has been launched to support the initiative.
Helping kids to grow their own food - Sow, Grow, Munch
Wednesday 6 July 2016
'Sow, Grow, Munch' is a how-to guide for schools, children, teachers, parents, educators and community groups to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Jilly Dougan, author, describes what inspired her to crete the resource and her journey developing it.
Book Review: The Positive Deviant - Sustainability Leadership in a Perverse World
Friday 27 May 2016
Driving to Lake Tanganyika in Zambia, our ancient Land-Rover first stuttered, then ground to a debilitated stop, somewhere outside Mporokoso. A long way from any town and with over 200 kilometres to our intended destination, this was a predicament. We identified the problem as an irreparably broken fuel pump. Our solution, which took some time to conceive, was to rig up a gravity-fed system by means of hanging a 5 litre plastic container of petrol inside the cabin, linked to the carburettor with a length of plastic piping. It was unpleasant, it stank, it used our precious fuel at an alarming rate and it was probably fairly hazardous, but it got us to the Lake. In other words, it was sufficient, it was a good enough solution.
These words form the key idea that Sara Parkin employs to underpin her call to action throughout this excellent manual for sustainability leadership, The Positive Deviant.
In November 1944, much of the medieval centre of Freiburg was flattened by bombs during an air-raid. Yet its magnificent cathedral survived - miraculously unscathed - and many of the buildings in the 'Old Town' have since been rebuilt in their original designs to delight today's residents and visitors alike.
But Freiburg's historical façade sits alongside some thoroughly 21st century technology in what has come to be known as Germany's capital of sustainable living. When the city was re-built and extended, it was with new ideas and on enlightened, carbon-conscious principles. Solar panels are ubiquitous, highly energy-efficient housing is the norm and it boasts the most efficient and integrated transport system you’re likely to encounter anywhere in Europe.
