OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the October Sustainable Living Space newsletter. We will endeavour to bring you information about a range of events about sustainability, both local and further afield. There is much happening out in the wider environmental sustainabilitiy circles. This month’s local events include details about the October SLS Green Film Night (please note that booking is essential to bdettethomas@gmail.com,) as well as the SLS Community Forum and notice of an upcoming Green Domestic God/dess workshop in November ( Date TBC). Further afield, a host of conferences and a Climate Candlelight Vigil in the lead up to Copenhagan and training workshop to demystify the International Climate Negotiations.
We will be happy to advertise local events or activities, so please forward details to the Sustainable Living Space project@sustainablelivingspace.org.au.
SEE ATTACHMENT FOR AUSTRALIAN PLANTS EXPO
SUSTAINABLE LIVING SPACE PROJECT COMMUNITY FORUM
The Sustainable Living Space Project invites you to attend a Community Forum on Thursday October 8, at 7.00pm in Room 5, Federation Estate, Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood.
This will be an opportunity to be updated on the findings of our research in 2008, and progress in 2009 towards implementing the findings. We would also like your suggestions and input into the future directions of the Sustainable Living Space
Please assist us to arrange catering by calling North Ringwood Community House – 9876 3421 by October 6 to RSVP or email to project@sustainablelivingspace.org.au
SLS GREEN FILM NIGHT
Tuesday October 27 October 7.00pm
Fast Food Nation
Maroondah Civic Centre, Braeside Ave, Ringwood
Entry is free by bookings essential: bdettethomas@gmail.com or 9687 8675
YOU TOO CAN BE A GREEN DOMESTIC GOD/DESS
It’s easy being green when you know how! Our presenters,
Jo Raydan from TriNature,
Warren Morey from Melrose Health,
Sera Blair from Mainstream Green,
Will let you into their secrets about how to use household cleaning products, domestic goods and various consumable items including spreads and condiments in your more sustainable home. (Some items can be purchased at the market tables.)
Date TBC
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
The Sustainable Living Space Project is committed to offering educational opportunities that will assist you in becoming more sustainable. To assist us in our program development, we would appreciate your suggestions on subjects you would like to learn more about.
These subjects could relate house and garden, how to shop ethically and sustainably, home reno’s, personal care, resurrecting the old crafts, mending for beginners, the spirituality of sustainability… and I’m sure there are many more!
Please send your ideas to project@sustainablelivingspace.org.au
MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS CHRISTMAS
A few years ago, I heard Rhonda Galbally from www.ourcommunity.com.au speaking about a range of ways in which we can make a difference in our community, either local or global by some of our choices that we make as we come to the Christmas festival. In the talk back that followed, people rang in and talked about the diverse ways in which they were approaching Christmas within their families and with friends. They talked about volunteering on the Day, making donations on behalf of loved ones in lieu of gifts, shopping ethically,families discussing how they might approach the question of giving. Some of the ideas for sustainable Christmas gifts included:
• Support Fair Trade suppliers eg Oxfam www.oxfamshop.org.au, www.newint.com.au
• You can buy a goat or a veggie garden or water supply for a family or community in the developing world – TEAR Australia, World Vision, OXFAM
• You can make a donation to your favourite local community agency or club
• Make a donation to your favourite Environmental / Sustainability Group
For more giving ideas, go to www.ourcommunity.com.au , and search “Christmas”
SMART GARDENS CAN BE TRAINED TO BE WATERWISE
Melburnians have adapted to water restrictions – did you know our gardens can be trained to be water wise too?
The city is experiencing one of its warmest and driest years on record, but excessive watering is not necessarily the answer to keeping the garden green. Like a baby and its bottle, plants can be gradually weaned off high water dependency. Less frequent watering forces the roots down and makes plants less reliant on surface water – making it easier for the garden to withstand those hot, dry days ahead. Many Australian native plants use clever water conservation techniques – for example, grey leaves that reflect the sunlight, hairy or rough textures that slow the movement of air over the leaf surface, or hard waxy coatings that also reduce water loss. And many also have beautiful flowers.
The Australian Plants Society Yarra Yarra will unearth some of the water saving secrets of Australian native plants at its annual Australian Plants Expo in Templestowe next month.
Gardening enthusiasts can take part in workshops to learn more about sustainable gardening with Australian plants, and hear speakers on a range of topics from designing drought-tolerant gardens to encouraging pond life. The expo will also feature a large native flower display, including orchids and eremophilas (emu bushes).
The official opening of the expo, featuring Gardening Australia’s John Patrick, will begin at 11am on Saturday 10 October.
What: The Australian Plants Expo
When: 10–11 October (Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 9am-4pm)
Where: Templestowe College, Cypress Ave (off Lynnwood Pde) Mel 33 D7
Admission: $4 adults; children free
Full program of Workshops, Speakers and events: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sgapvic and click on Australian Plants Expo.
For more information contact Mike Williams on 9439 2427 mob 0418 372 262 or email apsyarrayarra@gmail.com. Or Ben Somerville Sustainable Ambassador on 9802 1281. EmailL sustainable.ambassador@gmail.com
WHAT’S ON?
30 Sept 7.30pm
Open forum: IN A CHANGING CLIMATE – WHAT ARE OUR BEST OPTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE WATER FUTURE?
For you cities homes and garden. For agriculture and food production. For our rivers and the environment We will invite questions, comments and ideas of all who attend.
Guest Speakers include:
• Ian Penrose, Yarra River Keepers who will speak about water quality
• Tim Curmi, endangered fish and the pipeline,
• Laurie Levy, wildlife and wetlands
• Greg Barber MLC, Greens MP
• Neil Rankine, Watershed Victoria
Info 9844 5135 Hosted by the Manningham-Warrandyte Greens
2 Oct
CLIMATE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
A Climate Candlelight Vigil will be held in the lead up to Copenhagen, – This event will be used to raise awareness of the negotiations, and create a space for new demographics to get active.
All groups are invited to be involved to help make this event a success, and to put the Australian population’s call for climate action at the centre of national coverage of the Copenhagen negotiations.
VENUE: WARRAGUL Arts Centre
Sat 10 Oct 9am-5pm & Sun 11 Oct 9am-4pm
AUSTRALIAN PLANTS EXPO: Sustainable gardening with Australian native plants
Greening Australia, Sustainable Gardening Australia, Bird Observers Club of Australia, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, Friends of Warrandyte State Park and many more.
Official opening: 11am Saturday by John Patrick of Gardening Australia.
Plant sales, a huge display of Australian native flowers, and presentations on landscaping, sustainable water use and wildlife, a DVD program, propagation demonstrations, display of botanical art, and book sales.
Full prog http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sgapvic Aus Plants Soc Yarra Yarra Group. A nfp community organisation aiming to promote the cultivation and conservation of Australian plants.
VENUE: TEMPLESTOWE College, Cypress Avenue (Mel 33 D7)
11 – 17 Oct
ENVIRO WEEK
15 – 16 Oct
BIKE FUTURES ‘09
Dedicated to the people who will transform our communities into bike-friendly, economically thriving and sustainable environments and the key to unlocking the solutions that government professionals and community leaders require at the local, state and national level.
Keynote speaker: Niels Tørsløv, Director of the Traffic Department at the City of Copenhagen, where he has guided the massive and unprecedented development of the bike transportation environment. Copenhagen will have 50 per cent of all trips by bike by 2020. Niels Tørsløv will show us how the Danish capital will get there.
This conference is the first in an annual series designed to assist national and local leaders, planners, designers and builders respond to the critical demands brought on by the explosion in growth of bike transportation and recreation across Australia. We all have a massive challenge ahead of us: more of our citizens are riding, and riding more often; riding in places and at times that were never envisaged; placing stresses and strains on physical infrastructure and political patience alike. Answers can be hard to come by in these resource-constrained times.
Register here. Bike Futures Conference
VENUE: MELBOURNE MCG function centre
21 Oct 2 – 5pm
‘COUNT DOWN TO COPENHAGEN: A WORKSHOP TO DEMYSTIFY THE INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS’
This December, all eyes will be on Copenhagen, where world leaders will meet to strike a deal that could prevent dangerous climate change. But the details of the Copenhagen negotiations by the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change are involved and complex. Key deals will be built around issues such as financing, deforestation, emission reduction targets and adaptation.
Australia’s negotiating platform will be particularly crucial in ensuring that our regions’ forests are protected, that we provide additional – and adequate – finance for developing countries to stem their emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, and that we set a target that sets us on a path to averting runaway climate change.
This workshop seeks to demystify the complexity of the Copenhagen talks. Climate campaigners who have played an integral role representing civil society and the environment at negotiations in past years will dissect the topics and politics of the UNFCCC, and identify the pressure points for securing a good climate deal. It will identify the thorny issues that will make or break the negotiations and the role Australia is gearing up to play. Beyond demystifying the Copenhagen negotiations, this workshop will provide a tour of the events, investigate the dimensions of the REDD and LULUCF policies, outline the minimum requirements for supporting developing countries, and put forward a strong case for strong emission cuts. Workshop participants will hear from campaigners and policy directors from World Vision Australia, Oxfam Australia, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific, The Wilderness Society, The Climate Institute and Australian Conservation Foundation. The workshop will also hear from grassroots organisers about activities planned in the lead up to Copenhagen, and do some hands-on planning for how groups and individuals can activate for the best possible outcome.
To reg: Complete the reg form http://www.cana.net.au/index.php?site_var=61) and submit
Pay by completing the form or online: http://www.cana.net.au/index.php?site_var=61
Info: Dr Nina Hall, ED, CANA 02 8202 1248 mob 0415 750 957 nina@cana.net.au www.cana.net.au
VENUE: CARLTON Meeting room, Ground floor, 60L, 60 Leicester St
Essential for anyone planning to attend the Copenhagen talks, non-government campaigners seeking to analyse and communicate the Copenhagen outcomes, cags seeking to influence the negotiations for Aus comm, policy analysts, and everyone interested in ensuring Aus plays its part in an equitable, effective and rapid global answer to climate change.
Cost: $20: CANA and Climate Action Group members / unemployed $35: Non-CANA NGOs $85: Other
24 Oct& 25 Oct
GREEN NEW DEAL CONFERENCE – National Conference on Ecology, Economy and Democracy
This conference will chart ways forward by bringing people together, sharing ideas and planning green action. Keynote speaker will be UK Professor Tim Jackson, author of Prosperity without Growth and there will be an exciting line up of other presenters, workshops, displays and plenty of time for discussion. Initial information about the emerging plans for this conference can be found at www.greeninstitute.com.au. You can register your interest to receive updates at gnd@greeninstitute.org.au
Opportunity to run a workshop for up to 500 people Now’s the time to offer a workshop or forum for the Green New Deal conference or nominate a topic you would like to see included in the program. These can cover the widest range of subjects, but we especially welcome proposals on the following themes:
Ecology – living within the planet’s ecological limits
Economy – economics for people and the planet
Democracy – pathways for change, governance for equity and sustainability
Multi-faceted – tackling change on a broad front or addressing multiple aspects of the crises that confront society and the planet.
The scope can be local to global. Types of workshops or forums could include presentations, panels, debates, workshops, creative work, films and more. You can also request space for meetings, e.g. transition towns, regional groups, interest groups.
More info: the Green Institute: http://www.greeninstitute.com.au/
Reg for the conf: https://www.conferenceonline.com/index.cfm?
VENUE MELBOURNE Copland Theatre, University of Melbourne, Parkville
24 Oct
350.org campaign – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AROUND THE WORLD
27 Oct 6.45pm – 9.00pm
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT –workshop
You will discover the magic of electric bicycles, the innovativeness of car share programs, and the best ways to use public transport. You could also WIN a $1000 voucher towards sustainable transport! A really fun, hands-on night.
Registration and snacks from 6:45pm followed by workshops from 7 to 9pm. NO COST
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL To register for workshops and for more information go to www.sustainablehomes.vic.gov.au or contact the Sustainable Homes Coordinator on 8470 8373, TTY (Hearing Impaired) on 8470 8696, or email: emily@sustainablehomes.vic.gov.au
VENUE: PRESTON Darebin Council Chambers, 350 High Street,
