As corny as it sounds, I can tell you that the young people from Ballarat that are ready and raring to go to Powershift in a couple of weeks really are the leaders of tomorrow.

The Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) are getting hundrerds of young people together in Brisbane to talk all things climate change and, empower them to start the transformation we need to become a nation powered by renewable energy.

There are 7 young people interested in attending Powershift in the Ballarat region. They have asked for your help in getting to the event. Here is their request:

"The AYCC have given us three scholarships for flights to the event. However, there are still 5 of us that are in need of financial assistance for flights and we all need help for accommodation. We have estimated it cost's $300 for return flights. Tinbillies backpackers have offered $25 per night/per head for a room for 7 people. We have all saved for tickets to the event, food and any additional transport costs.
"If anyone can help us get to Brisbane we would be very grateful. If you would like to donate you can contact Maggie on 0414 713 299 or email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it "

It's not much to ask. Please get in touch and help them out. There are only a couple of weeks until they need to be there!

All the latest from BREAZE in an easy to digest video!

Here are the projects mentioned in the video - Which ones would you like to see happen? Let us know.

The BREAZE G-Generation film project
Let’s Inspire local youth (Ballarat’s future) through short films on climate change and sustainability.

The last series was such a success in engaging a younger audience, that we want to do it again. And host a local short film festival to celebrate the outcomes.

The heART of BREAZE
Let’s provide a series of practical, hands-on workshops that will help BREAZErs to learn new (or old) skills and live more sustainably. Who said sustainable living had to be grey and dull? We’re planning some bright, fun and practical learning opportunities such as sewing classes, paper making and book binding.

BREAZE carbon offsets
Let’s provide a local and trustworthy option for offsetting carbon.

Home grown organic vegetables
Let’s create an exciting, interactive display to promote and share the joy of growing your own organic veggies at home. To be used in conjunction with our competition at the annual Ballarat Show.

Smart Living Festival
Let’s create a weekend of activities and information at the Mining Exchange that celebrate sustainable living. Once the Smart Living Centre opens in July, we’ll have a hub for the community to visit and learn from, but let’s further that with a weekend-long festival to celebrate the greener side of life!

Sustainable transport
Let’s invite those who haven’t previously engaged with sustainable transport and provide a safe, fun and engaging day of bike riding, learning and maintenance.

www.breaze.org.au
Let’s upgrade the BREAZE website! We plan to create an easy to navigate home for all of the content, resources, documents and provide an easier platform for people to make the switch to sustainable living.

Sustainable House Day
Let’s create an even bigger and better event than last year. We plan to not only engage members and the community, but also the business world - architects, designers and builders - to raise awareness of sustainable building.

We have heard the message for some time now about the three R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. How often do we actually do it?

A few BREAZE staff had a very informative tour of the Mars waste water treament facility in Ballarat yesterday. Built in 1998, the facility consists of several very large reed ponds which waste water filters through over a period of thirty days. After which, it is much  cleaner than at the beginning.

So there are some corporates that are doing their bit, but does the public will exist in the community to do our bit on a daily basis? Does the infrastructure exist in public spaces to make it easy to do? Artist Chris Jordan has been working on a visual representation of the waste produced in the US. Some stagering figures including 2 million plastic bottles are thrown away every 5 minutes. 

While you are here, jump over to our fantastically informative Reduce, Reuse, Recycle section and check out all the goodies available locally.

By the way, BREAZE is now an ARP mobile recycling point, raising money for the Ballarat East Community Men's Shed, which will go to their work preventing male suicide and depression. If you have an old mobile lying around, bring it in and recycle it.

What do you reduce, reuse or recycle?