Urban Ecology Australia (UEA) is well known for its educational tours of Christie Walk, an international award-winning eco-development in the heart of the Adelaide CBD, attracting more than 1,500 students each year, as well as many visitors from interstate and overseas.

A recent UEA initiative is this high-quality DVD/CDROM resource pack that supports learning about sustainability. It includes a virtual tour of Christie Walk.

Christie Walk is remarkable in that it manages to combine:
- Low impact, high efficiency housing.
- High density living - 27 households on 2,000 square metres of land.
- Facilities that encourage social connections and a strong sense of community.
- Biodiversity - despite the high density, the overall impact is of a green, welcoming space, including a community kitchen garden and relaxing rooftop garden.

Beautifully produced and highly relevant to anyone interested in the environment and sustainability, the DVD/CDROM resource pack provides inspiration and practical examples of a more sustainable way of living for a wide range of people - primary, secondary and tertiary students, architects, builders, environmentalists and others with an interest in community and the interaction of natural and built environments.

Comprising a powerful, engaging DVD and a companion CDROM (e-book), this duo-pack is an ideal springboard for meaningful learning about environment, impacts of climate change and future sustainability.

The DVD provides a practical and heart-warming look at what living more sustainably really 'looks like' and 'feels like', in two parts:

1. An introductory 10 minute overview outlining the multiple community and environmental benefits of ecocities.

2. A 35-minute virtual tour of Christie Walk, integrating the environmental themes of energy, water, recycling, biodiversity, food, transport, energy-efficient building design and the role of community.

The CDROM: Moving Towards Urban Sustainability provides a comprehensive range of ideas and activities, photoboards, movie transcripts, a radio interview and relevant weblinks. Many of the activity sheets are in reproducible format and are suitable for schools or family or community group use.

For schools which find it difficult (financially or time-wise) to get to the city of Adelaide, the resource pack offers a virtual tour experience with supporting materials.

The Christie Walk Resource Pack is a joint initiative of UEA and Change Media, a leading SA-based movie production company, who were generously supported in this production by: Arts SA, DENR/NRM, Adelaide Mt. Lofty Ranges NRM Board (Key Partners); Adelaide City Council, SA Water, Zero Waste SA, Global Education Centre SA, CSR Hebel (Supporting Partners) and a community contribution of more than 730 volunteer hours from Christie Walkers and their friends.

This is a beautifully crafted resource that brings sustainability education to life!

You can read more about sustainable city living on the Urban Ecology website