E-Day 2009 will take place on the Isles of Scilly between Satuday 3 October and Tuesday 6 October 2009, and is the first co-ordinated attempt by a community to reduce their electricity use and to have the effects of their efforts measured in real-time.
E-Day is made up of three parts:
Isles of Scilly Earth Summit : Saturday 3 - Sunday 4 October, 2009
- The Earth Summit, a two-day conference on 3 - 4 October, 2009 where international, national, and local islanders will talk about the impact of climate change and human activity on their island.
Community + Online Activities
- A series of fun activities, happening alongside the summit, including a walk between the islands at low tide, an activity trail and the chance to watch films including a film of BBC comedy producer Jon Plowman comparing green gadgets especially for E-Day and The Buzz news report by local children.
Energy Saving Day (E-Day) 2009 : Tuesday 6 October, 2009
- E-Day will happen on 6 October 2009, and involve everyone on the Isles of Scilly being asked to switch off electrical items which do not need to be on, so that E-Day can measure a collective energy saving. The energy savings achieved by a family, the school and the community on the Isles of Scilly will be compared with the baseline conditions simultaneously experienced across the UK.
Connecting the Isles of Scilly with the UK…and beyond
Situated 28 miles from the UK mainland, the Isles of Scilly are described by many as an exotic paradise. The Isles of Scilly provide an important microcosm, a barometer for Great Britain in terms of climate change; what happens to the Isles of Scilly, with its location in the Gulf Stream, is likely to be an important indicator of what could happen to the rest of the British Isles. The resident on the Isles of Scilly will help to humanise the problems that could result from climate change and inspire other communities to work together. Many of the most successful online and educational resources developed for the Isles of Scilly will be rolled out nationally in due course.
The measurements recorded for E-Day…taking the pulse
Using the Isles of Scilly as a case study, this experiment aims to see what happens when a family, school and even the islands' entire community take part in a co-ordinated “switch off”. For the first time ever, the entire islands’ energy use will be monitored and shown in real-time across the Internet. E-Day has made this monitoring possible by measuring levels of energy are being transmitted down the electricity cable that connects the Isles of Scilly to the UK mainland and installing special equipment in the local school and a family house. You can visit the E-Day website for a real-time look at what savings are possible when each group switches off unnecessary appliances and carries out other energy-saving changes around the home or business. You can even use the website to look at the UK’s use of energy across a 24 hour period – let’s see if the experiment on the Isles of Scilly can bring the figures down!
Isles of Scilly Earth Summit
At this event, international, UK and local islanders will describe how their islands are already feeling the impact of climate change, as well as speaking about their hopes and fears for the future. World-class speakers have been confirmed from Papua New Guinea, Samoa, The Galapagos, Madagascar, Zanzibar, The Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the Isles of Scilly. Some have direct experience of the impact of climate change on their own islands; having lived through the heartbreaking experience of having to evacuate their island. Others will share fascinating research and insights about climate change and what can really be done about it. The Earth Summit takes place in the Isles of Scilly Town Hall, St Mary’s, on Saturday 3 October and Sunday 4 October.
School involvement…why we love living on the Isles of Scilly
A wide range of educational and creative activities has been specially developed for school children. E-Day’s collaboration with Radio in Schools helps the children of Five Islands School, the only school on the Isles of Scilly, to record why they want to save energy and protect the environment, helping to inspire other children and schools across the globe. Lesson plans are also available for teachers the world over to download from the E-Day website. You could also download and display E-Day's posters.
E-Day’s collaboration with film company Nice and Serious has enabled local school children to make their own TV news report. Their news report is fun, playful and different and will premiere during E-Day's actvities. The school has a successful student-run Green Team, which has mobilised the children to drive change within the school. Adults help the Green Team to turn their ideas into reality. E-Day will provide advice on how other schools can replicate this positive approach. A puppet theatre will also help the primary school children on the Isles of Scilly to stage their own “Animal Earth Summit” during the Isles of Scilly Earth Summit. This show will be viewable on E-Day’s You Tube channel.
Online tools
As well as visiting the E-Day website to see real-time displays of how the Isles of Scilly are cutting their energy use, you can watch a number of short films and E-Day’s very own “eco soap opera” on our dedicated You Tube channel. You can also join our Facebook group and keep right up to date on E-Day goings on by following us on Twitter.
About Dr Matt Prescott
E-Day founder Dr Matt Prescott, 37, had his interest in environmental issues sparked as child growing up in Snowdonia and as a student studying zoology in the early 1990s. Since then, he’s turned his passion for ideas and the environment into several successful initiatives. Matt is the man behind the “Ban the Bulb” campaign, which to date has 30 countries including the UK, all of the nations of the European Union, Australia and Canada announcing their intentions to ban domestic incandescent light bulbs. Matt has worked as a freelance environmental researcher for the BBC’s Today programme and for journalist and campaigner George Monbiot’s book Heat: How To Stop the Planet Burning. Now working with Department of Energy and Climate Change and the community on the Isles of Scilly, including the local school, radio station, council, wildlife trust, and transition town group, Matt hopes that E-Day 2009 will show what is possible if we all work together. Matt holds a DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University and was made an Honorary Fellow at La Trobe University, Australia.