Here’s some Home Energy Assessment videos that I put together for a group 4 community members. These 4 wonderful people took part in a Home Energy Assessment Training program as a part of the Castlemaine 500 project. You can read all about the ‘who/what/when/where/why/how’ of Castlemaine 500 here. Our aim was to train local people in a process that assists householders to develop a ‘plan of action’. This plan contains energy saving actions such as shorter showers, topping up insulation and switching off electrical appliances at the wall when not in use. To give the video some context, here are some words …

Thanks to my sister (Janette Derrick), I discovered the remarkable artistic work of Chris Jordon. I regularly use Chris’ provacative images when facilitating behaviour change workshops. I use these visual images to tap into participant’s emotions and to shine a light on the ludicrous excesses of our modern lifestyle.  Note: It is also important to shift the conversation away from the problem once the images have been presented. I use an approach called Solutions Focus and switch from problems to the benefits (as if the problems were solved) … then future perfect (the ideal future scenario) … then small steps/actions …

Here’s a sustainability solution! (hat tip to Guy Kawasaki) With 3 young boys in our house, our clothes get grubby, dirty and covered in food all day, everyday! Here’s a revolutionary new system to wash clothes … a virtually waterless washing machine! With our place about to switch to water tanks … I want to rent one! Rent a washing machine? Yep! I think we need to move away from buying products that we can afford (features = inefficient and short lived) and lease or rent products that would be way too expensive to purchase (features = super efficient and …

There are many examples of “right brain” approaches to inspiring change in others. Whilst the use of visual art in the world of “change & sustainability” has started … I think we need plenty more of it. If you read A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink you’ll see why it should be core business for everyone. Castlemaine (in Victoria) is a leading community in finding solutions to climate change. The Mount Alexander Sustainability Group is a big part of this change … AND … Castlemaine is blessed with a healthy mix of artists, musicians and authors … all adept …

I am on a roll with posts that focus on solutions (all-be-them small ones) to sustainability issues like climate change and getting change to “grip” out there is the broader community. Communicating visually through right-brained techniques such as cartoons is one way to get messages across to an increasingly distracted audience. We used cartoons to help cut through the ‘climate change noise’ in the media throughout the Castlemaine 500 Project (owned by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance) From my favorite cartoonist … Simon Kneebone lives near Adelaide in South Australia. Simon created these cartoons for Castlemaine 500. They focus on the linking …