Quiet climate heroes unmasked as part of campaign for Wollongong residents to play their part

It’s Global Climate Change Week – and Wollongong City Council is celebrating residents taking steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, save money and live more sustainably.

Dubbed ‘Net Zero Heroes’, the campaign features locals such as Mary Van Reyk who does her school drop via e-bike.

Mary was a kid the last time she rode a bike. But when she and her husband moved to Austinmer with their two children, she was inspired to give a more eco-friendly form of transport a try.

“It’s quite hilly here, but I tried a couple of friends’ e-bikes and it was so easy compared to a normal bike,” Mary said.

“I knew I could make it work so we started to look at it as an option instead of a second car.

“I’m just a mum with some kids, I can’t change policy or big businesses. But I can change things in my own life to reduce our impact.

“Getting an e-bike instead of a second car was one way to do that, and I never looked back.”

Mary said the biggest challenges were deciding which bike to buy and adjusting to new travel times and routes.

Wet weather wasn’t as much of a hassle as she anticipated. Plus, there were some unexpected benefits.

“As long as it’s not pouring, the kids love putting on their rain jackets and getting on the bike,” she said. “They have fun riding down Moore Street, seeing people, calling out and waving.

“If we see flowers or animals in the bush, we can pull over for a better look. It makes you slow down and connect more with your community and environment.

“You don’t have the stress of finding a car park or `do we have enough petrol?’ We don’t have any of those hassles that go with owning a car.

“If it’s really pouring, we can get a ride. And if it’s going to be too hard, it’s kind of nice to just say no and enjoy that slower pace.”

Mary said another unexpected benefit was a fitness boost.

Lord Mayor of Wollongong Councillor Tania Brown said the big takeaway from council’s Climate Change Mitigation Plan was that everyone had a role to play in creating a sustainable future for the city.

“Global Climate Change Week provides an opportunity to celebrate wins and bring focus to what must happen next,’’ Cr Brown said.

“We need to get to net zero emissions for Wollongong and we need to get there soon. It’s going to take a concerted effort from the whole community: businesses, government and individuals.

“These net zero heroes are doing their bit, their way, and every bit counts. Making the switch to renewable energy, reducing household waste, buying energy-efficient appliances where possible, and utilising low or no carbon transport are steps we can all take to reduce our carbon footprints.

“Many of these actions result in added benefits like cheaper household bills and improved wellbeing.”

The council has launched a dedicated hub with information and support about a range of actions residents can take to reduce their emissions.

Wollongong City Libraries is helping residents find energy savings with a free-to-borrow toolkit .

Cr Brown said in addition to empowering the community, council would continue to lead by example as it aimed for net zero emissions in its operations by 2030.

“Council has taken some big steps already,” she said, “including introducing Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) collection, entering into a long-term renewable energy contract – which has avoided 12,000 tonnes of carbon emissions since 2023, the equivalent of planting more than 400,000 trees – and transitioning our fleet to low-carbon vehicles and machinery which can be charged with that renewable energy.”