By Matthew Charles-Jones, Yackandandah Sustainability
After many months of piloting and planning, a large group of Border area community sustainability groups have come together and quietly launched a terrific new website, ‘Ecoportal.’ This website is for local community based environmental and sustainability groups to share ideas, activities and events.
Ecoportal, which can be found at www.eco.redsally.com promotes sustainable living in Albury-Wodonga, North East Victoria and Southern New South Wales. The website has been established as a single ‘clearing-house’ for the remarkable array of community focused sustainability activities in our region. One of the key initial intentions of the website is to provide an easy to use calendar-of-events for once-off or repeat environment or sustainability focused activities.
In addition, Ecoportal is a platform for all local community sustainability and environmental groups to offer an overview of their particular purpose and functions, together with relevant links and contact information. Given the community based origins of this website, it will be no surprise to learn that Ecoportal is managed by a small committed group of volunteers using donated funds.
Ecoportal has quickly become a vibrant ‘centre of focus’ for the sharing of sustainability activities in our region and it is hoped this interest will see the website expand the range of offerings to meet the needs of our community.
At a more reflective level, Ecoportal offers a fantastic approach to bring together so many diverse groups committed to finding equity in relationships between humans and the natural world. Ecoportal provides a wonderful snapshot of people working in lots of different ways to strengthen community cohesion and simultaneously explore ways to live more sustainably. This includes activities ranging from food and seed swapping programs to sustainability events and festivals. The activities on offer describe a great diversity in focus, interest and commitment. As nature so often reminds us, there is tremendous strength and resilience in diversity.
So if you wish to tune in to the large range of community focused environmental activities, why not become a regular visitor or contributor to the website. Apart from anything else, it is profoundly reassuring to discover there are so many local people who both understand the need to work positively toward a healthy environment and are prepared to action this understanding.
Representatives from the Ecoportal will be hosting a display at the upcoming Sustainable Living Fair at La Trobe University on Sunday the 5th of August. For event details visit: www.eco.redsally.com