Working to reduce our environmental impact at work

At Artswork, we incentivise colleagues to use public transport by capping car mileage claims and sponsoring railcards. This blog shares the story of Louise Webb, Artswork’s Placemaking Creative Producer for Dover, and what she has learned from delivering placemaking sessions car free all around Dover and Kent.

Throughout my time at Artswork, I have travelled without the use of a car. As a creative practitioner who sometimes needs to bring a lot of different materials, this can occasionally be a challenge. However there are a lot of benefits too! Here are some of my tips:

• First off – utilizing your local buses not only are they cheaper than most transport in my area, but they are also a scenic way of getting to different locations. They enable me to see what local travel options there are for young people near schools/​community hubs/​locations that I am supporting. It also supports local buses and shows a need of the services.

• Second – Is trains – for long distances I will always take the train, its another scenic way of traveling, you can also multi-task while on it which is handy!

• Third – Carpooling – if you know you are working with some who has a car suggest to carpool, not only do they get some company, its a great way to support each other and time to also have a catch up. It means you also get to your event at the same time.

• Fourth – Continuing from this – Plan your day! If you are in the position where you can be a bit more flexible, plan your day to minimize how much travel you need to do. For example, I have family in the area I work in, sometimes I might plan to see them or stay over the night and then walk to the location I am working in or carpool with them and get a coffee with them beforehand if they are going shopping nearby.

• Last but definitely not least – My very handy shopping trolley! Now this could be a suitcase, any storage with wheels that you can pull! My shopping trolley has been so important, I feel like it’s a colleague sometimes! It means that I can take a lot more materials than I can carry, it fits easily on the bus and trains and even the car if needed. It also means that I can walk with it to each venue smoothly!