The Walking Man

I have been an advocate of sustainability since the 70’s with the core area of interest in energy efficient building and systems.
Starting in April 2010 I am walking from Melbourne to Brisbane. The objectives of this walk are to:

•Facilitate workshops in every city and town along the journey to gather and share information for the creation of sustainable communities. These workshops will:
•Create a network of local resources that can be shared across the whole society.
•Create dynamic links between major population centers and rural country areas.
•Create trust that develops positive constructive dialogue which is solution focused.
•Develop strategies that work with local industries to develop sustainable businesses and industries.
•To be inclusive of all people who want to be involved in the process.
I will also film the walk and make a documentary , gathering stories about people I meet along the way.

My focus is to facilitate changes that stick and help people to create their own sustainable futures that are aligned with the values of the whole community and create the best solutions to the problems that are facing all of us and move toward sustainable futures.

in reference to: Google Sidewiki (view on Google Sidewiki)

After consulting with John Eussen (www.eussen.com.au), who is assisting me in the promotion of About People and The Walking Man. The start of the walk from Melbourne to Brisbane has been postponed to 24th April, which is the during the Easter long weekend. This weekend is  one the important events in our calendar where one person made the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus. My journey is about how we all can as individuals make a difference and work toward sustainable futures.

Our future is at stake and we all need to find a ways of overcoming the fears we have of the future and work toward a positive future filled with many possibilities.

In the lead up to the start of the walk I will be looking for people who wish to become involved either through sponsorship or become a participant in the walk.

You can be part of the  journey by signing up for FREE membership by providing your name and email (in the form to the top right of the screen). Next week About People will be publishing the December issue of Newsletter. The About People Newsletter is about being positive uplifting and solution focused.

Over the next week I will be posting videos of my story and the reasons for making this journey.

I am about waking the talk .

Ian Cleland
The Walking Man

Future Thinking

Question: do you think we can be sustainable in business?

I asked a group of business owners at a workshop I was facilitating what does sustainability mean to you and your business. All these businesses are associated with products and services associated with energy, energy efficientency and/or the built environment. The majority gave profitable as their main reason for being sustainable over and above the environment.

Having just said that I am in the process of developing a business plan that is based around sustainability which brings in the core values I have , that is, business needs to be more than just profitable it has be sustainable.

What is the meaning of sustainability to me. Humans can not be sustainable within a natural system, we manipulate and change a system to meet our needs, the only caveat I have is we maintain our natural systems for our survival.

One of the other beliefs I have is that I think humans will leave this planet and colonise other planets/systems, this gives us more choice for survival of the species, but first we need to maintain the system we life on at the moment and survive long enough to do it.

I like to think of futures that are beyond my life and that of my children, that to me is sustainability.

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Geoengineering and the New Climate Denialism

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Geoengineering and the New Climate Denialism

http://www.thewalkingman.com.au/index.htm

The Journey

I have been an advocate of sustainability since the 70’s with the core area of interest in energy efficient building and systems.  
Starting in March 2010 I am walking from Melbourne to Brisbane via the Bi-centennial National Trail. The objectives of this walk are to:

• Facilitate workshops in every city and town along the journey to gather and share information for the creation of sustainable communities. These workshops will:
• Create a network of local resources that can be shared across the whole society.
• Create dynamic links between major population centers and rural country areas.
• Create trust that develops positive constructive dialogue which is solution focused.
• Develop strategies that work with local industries to develop sustainable businesses and industries.
• To be inclusive of all people who want to be involved in the process.

• Film a documentary and gather stories about people I meet along the way to tell their story.

My focus is to facilitate changes that stick because people develop trust and are able to create their own sustainable future that is aligned with the values of the whole community.
This is not about me promoting my own dogma but to find ways that bring all interests to the table to create the best solutions to the problems that are facing all of us and move 

Toward Sustainable Futures

The walking man - the training has started

When is graffiti art or when is it vandalism - a global problem or just being creative.

This is just not just a local problem, this a national and global issue.

As you can see from the video this is what has happened in the local area on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

As much as we want to stop the vandalism and catch the perpetrators. prosecute to the full extent of the law along with providing more security lighting and camera in and around a community. This is all at considerable cost, being footed by local council, community and business.

You have to ask the question, what is at the root cause of the problem in the first place, because as a lot of us say it was not happening in my day. It was but not so blatantly obvious. We are all willing to complain but few willing to help to find and implement a solution.

I believe in part that there has been a loss of respect for community values and this is just one manifestation of the changes happening in our society.

Do we want to create a community where all take responsibility and ownership for the community that we desire. This is about people and how we life with each other, about finding a solution that creates opportunities for positive change.

It is time for us to look for a better solution and not one which is about point scoring, but to work towards lasting change. This will take time and we have to start somewhere and now seems to be a god as time as any.

Stories About People

Click link below
Stories about people

New story posted on http://www.aboutpeople.com.au/thestories.html . Each week read a new story on people and their life. See how people strive to achieve their goals. Find out what they had to do to overcome their challenges. What makes them who they are today and find out what their passions are in life.

See through other peoples experiences how they can help you achieve what you want out of your life. You can find out what makes you tick and have a better understanding for what you should be doing to have the life you want.

About People is about sharing the exhilaration of being alive and bring like minded people together to help each and have fun living your dreams.

This site can be a great site for promoting who you are what you do, through your story.

aboutpeople.com.au will be finally up an running on Saturday this week the site content will be stories about people. How people's life evolves on their way to their goals. The trails and tribulations, success and failures, highs and lows of people's jouneys through life.


You can use the site to find out how have people achieved the results they have today. There will be stories that will fit where you are at in your life or you might have a story you would like to share, you might be able to help others with your life's experiences.


The stories will be true account of the individuals experiences and their willingness to share those experiences with others.


There will in time be others content:- poetry, photos and events that relate to peoples lifes. It will be a site of creativity, exploration, fun and uplifting experiences.

Last Monday I was discussing with a production documentary company the making of the film documentary for the walk. They are interested in the concept and think it has great potential.

Membership to The walking man
From the 31st July 2009 you will be able to join "The walking man".

What will you receive:

1. A free e-newsletter called About People. this will have stories about people, tips and tools for every day life and the inside on what is happening with regard to the walk along the bicentennial trail.
   

The Walking Workshop

There will be a progressive workshop at all the towns and villages along the length of the walk from Melbourne to Brisbane. The walk will follow the Bicentennial National Trail.

The event will go from the 6th March 2010 to 20th December 2010. A full program of events at each town will be posted closer to start of the event.

The number of openings available for participants at any one time will vary according to where on the trail I am and what the workshop will be about.

All welcome to apply.