Community non-profit, Wao, has launched a climate friendly travel campaign that seeks to encourage more environmentally conscious ways of transport.  

The campaign, titled, Get SMART (Sustainable Modes of Active and Resourceful Travel), aims to implement positive change. 

The registered charity, which takes its name from the Maori word for ‘forest’, was set up to educate, inspire and enable New Zealand communities to move towards a regenerative future. 

Monique Kelly, co-founder of Revology and Wao trustee says the ethos behind the Get SMART education campaign is simple. 

“Our planet is on the brink of no-return and I believe all of us have an obligation to implement positive change,” Kelly says. 

“We know that in Aotearoa 50% of our total emissions come from transport; and we also know that in the next decade this number needs to be reduced by half to stay below the +1.5 degree global warming threshold.

“Get SMART aims to be a catalyst for this reduction and seeks to compel Wānaka locals to consider how they can make a real difference by choosing a more sustainable mode of travel such as carpooling or biking. 

“We are looking towards a future Wānaka that is truly clean, where within the next ten years people move entirely SMART,” she adds. 

Kelly says a key measure of success is being able to benchmark.  

“It is vital to find out how we as a community move now - but we need your support to do that. 

“We are asking as many people as possible to fill in a quick five minute survey, the results of which will allow us to track our impact over time. 

“Each person who fills in the survey will go in the draw to win a ‘Your Future’ pass to our Wao sustainability summit,” she says. 

Sustainability consultant Annabel Burgess, a key figure behind the initiative says the time to act has come. 

“With the recent resurgence of COVID-19 here in New Zealand, what better time to roll out such an important and pertinent message? 

“So many of us have been walking, biking and scootering during this time - so why don’t we continue on, for the good of our own health and the health of the planet?” Burgess says. 

One study shows that carpooling, walking or biking to work just once per week can significantly reduce your carbon footprint. 

“True, tangible change begins at a grassroots level so this initiative will roll out in Wānaka in the first instance, but we will be looking to snowball our regenerative practice nationwide,” Burgess adds.  

More information on Get SMART can be found here.