News
18/02/2008
A million reasons for Scouts to go green
A million pounds is up for grabs from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) for Scout Groups who can come up with new ways to reduce their CO2 emissions.
NESTA, believe that encouraging people to work together will help find new ways - better ways - to tackle big problems, like reducing CO2 emissions. That’s why they’ve developed their unique and exciting competition, the Big Green Challenge, with a cool £1 million prize fund.
This challenge is looking for ideas that are either brand new or which represent a better way of applying existing solutions, and that come from people working together in their communities. Examples of the kind of steps some communities are already taking range from setting up a wind farm to organising car pooling for local commuters.
The competition will run over two years, at the end of which the group which has come closest to a 60% carbon reduction, and demonstrated their imaginative approach really works, will win the lion’s share of the £1m.
Scout Groups have from now until 29 February to enter their applications for the Challenge. From these applications, NESTA will select the 100 most promising ideas, all of whom will be asked to submit more detailed plans about their approach. A panel of expert judges will then select ten finalists. Once selected, the finalists will have a year to show they can turn their big ideas into action, with the winner announced in late 2009.
TV presenter and Big Green Challenge spokesperson Sarah Beeny said ‘I’m involved in The Big Green Challenge because I believe that we all need to take responsibility for the environment and coming together as groups and communities to find ways to tackle climate change on a larger scale will really make a difference.
‘The best idea I’ve seen to tackle climate change is a new wind turbine that will operate on a different axis to the usual microturbines. It will be able to generate sufficient power with any direction of wind and even when there is almost no wind at all.’
Read Sarah’s top ten tips for entering the Big Green Challenge
Those interested in applying need to get their eco-friendly skates on as the deadline for applications is 29 February 2008.
For more information and details of how to apply for the Big Green Challenge visit www.biggreenchallenge.org.uk.
