People go green in pilot environmental study (From Your Local Guardian)

Kingston people go green in pilot environmental study

7:20am Tuesday 14th June 2011 in Kingston By Martin George

Hundreds of households could take fewer showers, boil less water and turn down their thermostats as part of a pioneering community project to save energy.

The Smart Communities project, the first of its kind, aims to see what sacrifices people are prepared to make in their everyday lives to help save the planet.

Fern Hill primary school and 500 north Kingston households will take part in the three-year project run by Kingston University academics.

The volunteers will compare their gas and electricity usage with the community average online, and organisers hope they will be spurred to cut their consumption and share tips on cutting bills.

Siriphorn Duncan, 64, who lives in Tudor Drive with her daughter, said: “We will be more conscious about everything – maybe not waste so much water, and don’t boil too much water unnecessarily.

“It’s nice to see Kingston is the first to bring something in. I hope if it’s successful the rest of the country will follow it, and as a country we will not run out of power and have to cut our energy at certain times of the year.”

Zac Goldsmith MP joined children and families at Fern Hill primary to launch the project on Friday, May 27.

Headteacher Diana Brotherston said: “The children are just as important as the adults – they’ll be going home to their parents, and sharing ideas about how to use less energy.”

Tudor Drive library will also host a gadget library, where local people will be able to borrow items such as shower timers, plug monitors and books about green behaviour.

Dr Ruth Rettie, from Kingston University’s Business School, said: “The project taps into the potential for change that becomes possible when local people work together towards a common objective, with support and advice.”

Martin Boyle, 65, who lives in Cardinal Avenue, has joined the project and said: “Schools can be very much in favour of saving the earth, but if the children can bring it back home as well it could start to make a difference.”