Green Zones up for UK-wide Future Friendly award

Encouraging the neighbours to go green has earned Brent resident Lorraine Skinner a finalist's place in a prestigious nationwide search for Britain's sustainability champions. Now, we urge you to vote at the Future Friendly website and vote to make Lorraine and her Green Zone colleagues the national winners!

Lorraine's idea, which grew into the Brent Green Zones initiative, is one of only five in the running for a prestigious Future Friendly Award, beating hundreds of UK entries to have a film made about their work and the chance to win a £20,000 bursary.

Watch Lorraine's film.

The award is a nationwide search for people who are making a real difference to their local community by championing sustainability and inspiring others to do the same.

Now Brent council, which backs the scheme, is urging everyone in the borough to get online at the Future Friendly website and vote to make Lorraine and her Green Zone colleagues the national winners.

Chantelle Tuitt the Brent borough officer supporting the Green Zones initiative, said: "We are all really proud of the difference Lorraine and our other volunteer leaders are making.

"Winning the award would help Lorraine, her colleagues and us spread the Green Zones to many more streets in Brent. Saving the planet really can start at home with easy-to-take actions like recycling and energy and water efficiency." 

The panel of judges from the Energy Saving Trust, Waste Watch and Waterwise whittled the entries down to a shortlist of five projects, with a short film being made about each to record and showcase the impact of their efforts. Now the final decision to select the winner is up to the public.

Lorraine came up with the Green Zone idea to make her road greener after privately-owned trees in her street, Haycroft Gardens, were felled. She wanted to encourage her neighbours to reuse, recycle and compost more than they sent to landfill.

She also started talking to them about improving the energy efficiency of their homes and about growing flowers, fruit or vegetables in their gardens or window boxes, using rainwater and home compost where possible.

With council backing, her idea got other volunteer residents talking to their neighbours about recycling, water and energy efficiency, and transport issues, using a short questionnaire.

Thanks to Lorraine's enthusiasm, the scheme has grown to five Green Zones totalling 179 households, regularly recycling and composting, and using at least three low-energy light bulbs and one water saving device.

Streets that demonstrate ''simple environmental behaviours'', become a Green Zone, and households are rewarded with a free water butt, composting bin and 10 per cent local garden centre discount.