Be the Start

Have you heard about Be the Start?

It is AMAZING!!!

It is the brainchild of Start-a charitable initiative set up by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010, with a mission to inspire people to start living more sustainably.
Here is what they say they do:

Start is all about, well, exactly that. Starting, not stopping. Inspiring not
instructing. Discovering, not demanding. Supporting not scaring. We’re all aware
that change is needed, but our aim is to encourage and promote the positive
actions we can all take, from the small things we do in everyday life to the bigger
things our society is responsible for.

We believe there’s so much for every one of us to benefit from. In the words of
HRH Prince of Wales at the launch of Start in 2010;

“Far too few talk about the potential for a sustainable future to be better and more
rewarding – both for us and nature – than the lives we lead now. This potential
needs to be communicated across the country and, indeed, the world”.

BRILLIANT!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

And now, their latest initiative for the month of May is called “Be the Start”. Encouraging each and every one of us to join in and find out about the all different, simple ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and to Be the Start of a more sustainable future. This is quite simply, a fabulous project. They have joined forces with some of the ‘Big Boys’ of the corporate world-M&S, Waitrose, B&Q and more, as well as some  smaller organisations like Action for Happiness, Healthy Planet and The Big Lunch. Each day throughout May, one of the partner organisations will be “bringing an aspect of sustainable living to life”, via social media, competitions and events. The Big Finale is on the 2nd June-Global Sharing Day, and The Big Lunch (from the Eden Project)

I know I’ve already said it, but I’m going to say it again. I LOVE IT!

This is exactly the sort of thing that is needed to try and get more people engaged in thinking about a more sustainable future. A lot of the time the information about climate change is very confusing, and very scary. I’ve talked about this before, and about how it can make us all feel pretty powerless. This initiative is the complete opposite. Instead of focussing on the scary stuff, it focusses on the things we can actually do. It is incredibly positive and makes making simple changes very very achievable. They have partnered up with big names that people know and recognise and trust, and this will help to get the message out there to a much wider audience.

If you love it too, and you want to get involved, visit Start and the Be The Start websites. Each day throughout May, the partner organisations have Pinterest boards (and we all know how much I love Pinterest….) with lots of inspiring ideas and quotes to get you started. You can also sign up to the Stravel (sustainable travel) challenge

-log your journeys by bike, foot or public transport to win prizes and get rewards!

Or sign up to the DoNation

and register a positive action that you’ll be doing during May. There are great rewards and a holiday to be won!

Or do both 🙂

This is a brilliant initiative. Hopefully it will help bring sustainable living into the mainstream and get more people thinking and talking about what simple things they can do to Be the Start, and make a difference.

Come on, what are waiting for? Check it out, sign up, spread the work and Be the Start 🙂

PS. You can check out my little blog post I wrote about how you can Be the Start by Buying Nothing New right here