Are you a young Aussie with brilliant ideas to tackle climate change?

If so, then The Women's Weekly want you!

The Women's Weekly is searching to find Australia's environmental heroes.

Environmental expert Anthony Pratt, helped to launch the Australian Women's Weekly competition to unearth Australia's Environmental Heroes and combat climate change.

"We are looking for young Aussies who have brilliant ideas for battling climate change and saving endangered species," he says.

The Environmental Heroes competition will be launched in the March issue of Women's Weekly, in conjunction with Visy Recycling and the Australian Conservation Foundation.

"The Women's Weekly is giving school, community, social and sporting groups in Australia the chance to win a share of $100,000 over the next 10 months with $10,000 being awarded to a different group each month."

The competition invites children under 18 in school, social, sporting and community groups to use their creativity to devise new and effective ways to care for our environment. "The judging panel will then award $10,000 each month to the group who are believed to have presented the best project," he explained.

"I am more comfortable with recycling and hope to be deluged by entrants' innovations in this area," he says. "Recycling is an important but underestimated weapon in combating climate change. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions from landfill and deforestation, which account for a quarter of the world's carbon emissions and for double the greenhouse gas emissions of the entire global aviation industry. Recycling also saves energy and produces more energy-efficient products."

"The entrants' ideas should be able to be replicated Australia wide," he explains.

"We're hoping governments and companies will match our enthusiasm and provide financial support to get them up and running all over the country," says Anthony. "At the end of the one-year competition, we expect our Environmental Heroes to have made a huge educational and practical difference."

Terms and Conditions

1. Information on how to enter and prizes forms part of these conditions of entry. Entry is only open to groups of children from schools, community, social and sporting groups based in Australia, except employees (and their immediate families) of the Promoter and agencies associated with this promotion. The competition is only open to groups with at least one person aged 18 years or over and at least two (2) people under the age of 18 years.

2. To enter, complete the original entry coupon in The Australian Women’s Weekly (February to November 2008 issues), including your group’s name and the full name, address, daytime phone number and email address of the group leader, and send to The Australian Women’s Weekly Environmental Heroes Competition, PO Box 439, Eastern Suburbs MC, NSW 2004, so that it is received by last mail on November 25, 2008. Each entry must include a submission describing a project(s) that the group is conducting (or has conducted) to help the environment and explaining why the group are Environmental Heroes.

The submission must be no longer than three (3) x A4 single-sided pages and should address the following judging criteria:

a) Amount of CO2 reduction achieved from the project;
b) Ease of the project being expanded and replicated by others to decrease CO2 emissions further;
c) Degree of leadership (including educating and training others) displayed by the project founder/leader (for example, how many people are involved directly);
d) Creativity and innovation of project. Illegible, incomprehensible or incomplete entries are deemed invalid and will be discarded. Each entry may also include a photo(s) to illustrate the written submission.

Entries will not be returned to entrants.

3. The judges’ decision in every aspect of the competition is final and binding on every group who enters and no correspondence will be entered into. This is a game of skill and chance plays no part in determining the winner. The entries will be judged according to which best meet the stated judging criteria. Multiple entries from the same group will not be accepted.

4. Promotion commences January 23, 2008 and closes on November 25, 2008. The judging will take place at the premises of The Australian Women’s Weekly, 54 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, by a panel of judges appointed by The Australian Women’s Weekly, which will include Anthony Pratt, Don Henry, Tim Flannery and Deborah Thomas. Each month during the promotional period, the judges will select the best entry and will deem that entry a winner. Entries for each monthly judging period will close by the last mail received on the following dates: February 26, 2008; March 25, 2008;April 22, 2008;May 27, 2008;June 24, 2008;July 22, 2008; August 26, 2008; September 23, 2008;October 23, 2008; and November 25, 2008. All entries received will go into the one judging each month and all unsuccessful entries will be rolled over into each subsequent month to ensure that each entry has a fair and equal opportunity of winning. There is one winner selected each month with a total of 10 winners selected over the entire promotional period. The Promoter will contact each winning group by phone and they will be announced in the following issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.

5. The winning entry selected each month will receive AUD$10,000 in prize money to be spent on further environmental projects. Total prize pool over the promotional period is AUD$100,000. All prizes will be awarded in the form of a cheque payable to the group. In the case of any group that does not have a legal identity, the prize will be awarded to the nominated group leader (who must have written permission from their parent/legal guardian if under the age of 18 years) or, if the group leader is under the age of 18 years and does not have permission from their parent/guardian to accept the prize, the prize will be awarded to another adult in the group at the absolute discretion of the Promoter. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any tax implications that may arise from the prize winnings. Independent financial advice should be sought.

6. All entries (including photographs) submitted become the property of the Promoter. Each entrant warrants to the Promoter that each entry submitted is an original literary/artistic work of the entrant, which does not infringe the rights of any third party. The entrant agrees to indemnify the Promoter against all claims and costs by third parties arising from a breach of the warranty set out in this condition. The Promoter is entitled to use any of the entries for any purposes at its discretion, including using the entries for future promotion, marketing and publicity purposes. As a condition of entering into this promotion, each entrant licenses the Promoter to use their entry in any media for an unlimited period for any reason. Entrants consent to any use of their entry which may otherwise infringe their moral rights pursuant to the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).

7. Entrants consent to the Promoter using the entrant's name, likeness, image and/or voice in the event they are a winner (including photograph, film and/or recording of the same) in any media for an unlimited period without remuneration for the purpose of promoting this competition (including any outcome), and promoting any products manufactured, distributed and/or supplied by the Promoter.

8. Prize, or any unused portion of the prize, is not transferable or exchangeable.

9. The Promoter reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and entrants (including an entrant’s identity, age and place of residence) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions or who tampers with the entry process. If there is a dispute as to the identity of an entrant/group, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine the identity of the entrant/group. Failure by the Promoter to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

10. If this promotion is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter, the Promoter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to disqualify any entrant; or (b) to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the promotion, as appropriate.

11. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for late, lost or misdirected mail, or for prizes damaged in transit.

12. To the extent permitted by law, the Promoter and companies associated with this promotion shall not be liable for any claims, losses, damages, injuries, costs and expenses suffered or incurred (including, but not limited to, indirect or inconsequential) as a result of, or arising out of, in any way connected with this promotion and all its prizes. As a condition of accepting a prize, the winners (including the group members and/or their parents/guardians) must sign any legal documentation as and in the form required by the Promoter in its absolute discretion, including but not limited to a legal release and indemnity form.

13. All entries become the property of the Promoter. The collection, use and disclosure of personal information provided in connection with this promotion are governed by ACP’s Privacy Notice (below/right??).

14. The Promoter is ACP Magazines Ltd of 54 Park St, Sydney NSW 2000. ABN 18 053 273 546