The healthy homes of Te Awarua Runaka

Te Rau Aroha Marae: The Be The Change bus outside the Te Rau Aroha marae in BluffToday was the first stop on the 'Be The Change' Bluff to Northland bus tour.

We visited the truly amazing 'Healthy Homes Project' run by the Te Awarua Runaka of Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff - and what an inspiration it was! We met Hana Morgan, Stacey Russell, Aimee Kaio, Daniel Aerepo and Jason Harrison who together coordinate and drive the Healthy Homes Project.

A Healthy Home insulated roof: One of the roofs insulated by the Healthy Homes run by the Te Awerua Runanga of Te Rau Aroha Marae in BluffTheir main focus at the moment is to retrofit home insulation in the Bluff community. Many of the homes have little or no insulation and if you've ever been to Bluff you'll know how problematic that can be. If there's anything they get a lot of apart from oysters down here it's weather! Just a few weeks ago Bluff experienced winds gusts of over 200km/hour - the strongest winds recorded since the 60s - and they were still picking up the pieces when we arrived. Just another example of the extreme weather we'll all be seeing a bit more of as climate change increasingly kicks in.

So anyway, the Healthy Homes Project teams are systematically visiting houses in Bluff, starting with the low income and elderly - putting polyester insulation in the ceilings and composite foil under floor, wrapping the hot water cylinders and installing low-flow shower heads. They've completed over 400m homes already and as a result the houses are warmer and the people are healthier and happier. And, because their houses are warmer and drier their heating costs are dropping, and consequently their carbon footprints are too.

Estimates so far are that the people whose homes have been retrofitted are spending about $20/month less on electricity and have halved their solid fuel requirements.

This is the kind of thing that anyone can do … and it's the kind of thing that we all need to be doing.

Climate change is an all encompassing issue and the changes we need to make need to be wide and varied. Essentially we need to live in a more sustainable way and that's exactly what the Healthy Homes Project is all about.

Hana Morgan and Stacey Russell: Hana Morgan and Stacey Russell from the the Te Awarua Runanga of Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff.So good work Stacey and the Healthy Homes crew! We applaud you.

Check out their website here:
http://www.healthyhomesproject.co.nz

Tomorrow we're taking the bus into Invercargill for an open day in the main street.

The Healthy Homes project: The healthy Homes project mural at the Te Rau Aroha marae in Bluff