“Once you see results from doing just one thing, you can’t wait to find a way to do just one more thing. It really is highly satisfying.”

Just One Thing (JOT) Waitaki founders Ruth Davison and Ann Brown launched their sustainability initiative a year ago, with the goal of helping people to see that even small changes can make a difference.

Reflecting on the past 12 months, Ruth says it “seems incredible” it has only been a year.

“So much seems to have happened and we have met so many amazing people in that time.

“As we launched our idea . . . we envisaged talking with people about how we can all make decisions in our lives that mean we can live more sustainably,” she says. 

“We didn't want to be preachy, but wanted to show we can all make a difference in quite simple ways.”

The pair choose a different theme each meeting - such as food waste, slow fashion, and waste-free gift giving - to appeal to different audiences.

They also organised a Green Gardens Tour, which has been a highlight for the pair.

“We got funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund for a coach and we toured round five quite different and inspiring gardens in Weston, Kakanui and Oamaru,” Ann says.  

The goal was to share a central message of “rethink, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle” effectively within garden spaces.

“We had 33 participants and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” she says. 

The JOT women are now focused on the Plastic Free July Expo being held at the Waitaki Recreation Centre this Sunday (July 21).

The event will be interactive and family friendly, and offers solutions to people about how to be more plastic-free, Ruth says.

“The idea came from chatting to Miriama from Para Kore when we were all involved in the first Repair Cafe in March.

“We thought it would be wonderful to showcase some alternatives to plastic and celebrate the international movement of Plastic Free July,” she says. 

“Lucianne White from Waste Free Waitaki has been amazing at bringing this all together and we are hoping that many people will come and join in the fun.” 

People can learn to make cheese, crackers, or kombucha and explore the stores to find out about all things sustainability, including alternatives to plastic products. 

There is a full programme of events on the Just One Thing Waitaki and Waste Free Waitaki Facebook pages. Workshops need to be booked in advance, Ruth says.

When Ruth and Ann started Jot in July last year, their first goal was to have people turn up to their meetings. And although the numbers haven’t been massive - the feedback has been “incredibly positive”. 

“Ann is absolutely brilliant at PowerPoint presentations so these have worked really well, especially as people can look at the information afterwards if they want to,” Ruth says.

They have also managed to share their messages with a wider audience through being invited to speak to various community groups.

“These were all made possible through Ruth’s amazing ability to make social connections,” Ann says.

Through their teaching journey - the pair have also learnt a lot, and been inspired by other people.  

“If JOT can help share these ideas and stories, then we will be very pleased,” Ruth says.

“For example, we were able to share the wonderful world of Crop Swap with the Garden Club when we spoke to them. Crop Swap is becoming extremely popular as it's such a great idea. 

“It is about working together, sharing our knowledge and skills, connecting the various groups together and encouraging one another.”

Along with the wins, there has also been challenges, and finding funding to cover venues has been the biggest one.

“We have very few outlays, as we are obviously doing this voluntarily, but we do need money occasionally for room hire. 

“No funding streams seem to cater for this and if we want to run an event we need to bid for the funding months in advance,” Ruth says.

Going forward, the two would like to see JOT continue to evolve, and reach a wider audience.

“Encouraging everyone that we can to make a difference by living more sustainably, one step at a time,” Ann says. 

One of the next areas they plan to move into will be advocacy, “where we encourage both local and national governments as well as big businesses to implement laws and strategies to lessen the impact of climate change”. 

“This seems a very big task at the moment but we are optimistic realists who feel that if we all push for these changes, it will come. It needs to, for the good of the planet and our future generations,” Ruth says.

“In the meantime, we will just keep plodding on, doing just one thing at a time, and encouraging everyone that they can do the same.”