Imagine being a health care professional, working at a hospital, or administering first aid in a remote or isolated region and having the lights go out. Michael’s idea – solar-powered medical lights – is ready to ”go bush” for field testing in Australia’s outback. Using his Big Green Idea grant, he’ll focus on taking this useful tool to where it’s most needed as well and further adapt the technology to power entire mini-field hospitals.
Big Green Idea is a British Council funding initiative designed to attract, encourage and assist Australia’s brightest entrepreneurs to develop inventive new sustainability projects. In 2011 up to six grants will be awarded to environmentally conscious innovators with plans to make a real contribution to Australia’s environmental future.
Big Green Idea is designed to provide seed funding to new projects that equip people to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change in cities, and/or promote sustainable living and commercial practices.
Through a unique partnership with one of the leading global experts in environmental management, Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), applicants can apply for either a $10,000 or $20,000 cash grant.
We’re looking for people with savvy, creative ideas that will help address some of the biggest sustainability challenges for urban communities while making a positive impact on the way we live or work. Successful Big Green Idea applicants will also benefit from project mentoring by business and sustainability leaders from LRQA and/or its partners and the British Council to help projects engage the widest audience and have the greatest possible positive effect on their communities.
As the ‘urban sprawl’ encroaches on good farming land, the financial cost and embodied carbon emissions in fresh produce continue to rise. As a result, more and more people are looking for ways to grow food locally in urban areas as a sustainable alternative. ’Origami Farms’ are like pop-up market gardens. As a collaborative with CERES Environment Park, the project aims to help kick-start urban food production by empowering local communities to build small urban farms as inspiring ecological and social enterprises. This project aims to develop an affordable micro scale vegetable production system which can be supplied to communities experiencing food security issues resulting from climate change and other environmental and social impacts on exisiting production systems. Support is provided through a Food Hub network including finance, training and help in system management and the establishment of veggie box programs.