See the latest on the Sustainable Cities Network
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 17th, 2012
| 27 May , 2012 | ||
| 9:00 pm |
The expedition was part of The Arctic Circle Project, run by The Farm Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, based in New York. http://thearcticcircle.org/#
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Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on May 16th, 2012
Photo by John Gollings
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Despite the challenges of working mainly within the tight constraints of high-rise residential development, it is Elenberg Fraser’s stated ambition to introduce one new environmental feature into every building it designs.
As Fraser describes it, to date Lilli is the most successful exploration of the wind-model driven, passive systems approach it has been developing. While aesthetically striking, the distinctive scalloped striations of Lilli’s balconies have actually been carefully designed to draw air into the apartment interiors.
Working with engineering company VIPAC from data on site-specific solar and wind patterns, the facade elements have been modelled to not only provide sunshading, but also emphasise pressure differentials between the balconies off the living rooms and windows in the bedrooms.
In effect, rather than cross ventilation, what this creates is ‘through’ ventilation, as wind is trained across the facade and then sucked laterally through the apartment interior, in one opening and out the other.
Leaving the window to the surprisingly deep balcony open a crack, Fraser pops the casement window in the main bedroom, and sure enough, from my spot in the centre of the living room I feel a distinct breeze begin to play across my skin. It seems like such a small thing – a gentle eddy so subtle that many occupants may not even notice it; enough, perhaps, to keep them just those few degrees shy of reaching for the air conditioner remote – but it has wide implications.
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Posted in Events by sashashtargot on May 11th, 2012
| 15 May , 2012 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 12:00 pm |
Learn all about solar photovoltaics at the next free webinar by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) on Tuesday, May 15, 11am-noon.
What should you consider before buying a solar system for your home? We will look at system size, panels, warranties, installation and choosing a supplier. We will also touch on rebates and feed-in tariffs.
The webinar will feature presentations from the ATA’s energy expert Damien Moyse and technical specialist Mick Harris. It will finish with a Q&A session.
The webinar will be broadcast live for view over your web browser. It will be recorded and available a couple of days later to watch if you are not able to join in live.
The ATA is a not-for-profit consumer-based organisation promoting renewable energy, sustainable building and water saving.
Date: Tuesday 15 May, 2012
Time: 11am-12pm
To register for free to join the live webinar, go to: http://www.ata.org.au/news/solar-pv-webinar/
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Posted in Events, Research by Kate Archdeacon on May 10th, 2012
| 24 May , 2012 | ||
| 12:00 pm | to | 1:00 pm |
Professor Jon Barnett, Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne
As knowledge and modeling of the risks of sea-level rise builds momentum so too does the need to begin processes to adapt to avoid these risks. This seminar will be an informal discussion of an ongoing ARC Linkage Project in Gippsland East which aims to understand the equity dimensions of climate change for small coastal communities. Amongst the research locales are Lakes Entrance, Port Albert, Seaspray, Manns Beach and McLoughlins Beach. We will present findings about policy-makers’ views of the ‘problem’ in this area, and emerging insights about the nature of social justice with respect to adaptation to sea-level rise.
Jon Barnett is a Professor in the Department of Resource Management and Geography at Melbourne University. He is a political geographer whose research investigates the impacts of and responses to climate change on social systems, with a focus on risks to human insecurity, hunger, violent conflict, and water stress. He has done extensive field-work in the South Pacific, China, and East Timor. Jon is convenor of the national research network on the social, economic and institutional dimensions of climate change, which is part of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, and is a Lead Author for the forthcoming Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC. Jon is co-lead investigator on this project, along with Professor Ruth Fincher from the Geography program at the University of Melbourne, and Dr Anna Hurlimann, who is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning at Melbourne University.
12noon-1pm, Thursday 24 May
Brotherhood of St Laurence, 67 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in Father Tucker’s Room
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Posted in Events by JulietteA on May 9th, 2012
| 20 May , 2012 | ||
| 4:00 pm | to | 6:00 pm |
The Transition Towns movement has just launched a new film – and guess what?! Sharing Abundance has teamed up with Transition Coburg and the Moreland Energy Foundation to hold the first ever screening of this film in Australia!!!
The film will be shown on Sunday, 20th May, in the Coburg library – meeting there at 3.45pm for a 4pm start. Hope to see you there, and please invite a friend or a neighbour. Everyone’s welcome!
It would also be great to hang around afterwards to have a cup of tea and a chat.
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Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 8th, 2012
| 10 May , 2012 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 8:30 pm |
Image via words@bldg50
What role and form does Public Art have in the City and its future/s? In imagining the city, ideas of community and culture, and their dynamic interrelations, can be obscured within a focus on physical and built forms. Artist John Vella’s public lecture will examine the matrix of Public Art in the contemporary city, with a focus on spatial practice. Drawing upon recent shifts in conceptions of ‘place-making’ that attempt to take greater account of socio-cultural dynamics, can spatial practice be imagined more broadly – as a platform and medium for dialogue in the city? For articulating ‘the right to the city’? For reconnecting people to place via Public Art ‘place-making’ as a relational activity? For imagining futures and producing public space, whether utopian or pragmatic?
Join us for a public discussion with:
Thursday, 10 May 2012 at 7PM.
RMIT Building 50, Orr St, Carlton.
Entry by gold coin donation. Refreshment provided.
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Posted in Events by UNAAVictoria on May 7th, 2012
| 17 May , 2012 | ||
| 2:30 pm | to | 5:00 pm |
In June 2012, world leaders will convene at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to build global consensus on the green economy as a means to achieve sustainable development. The upcoming UNAA (Vic) Australia at Rio+20 Seminar, be held in Melbourne on Thursday 17 May, brings together key players from business, government and civil society to discuss Australia’s role and contribution at the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
Recognising that business is a key agent for achieving the Rio+20 goals, this seminar explores the role that Australian business can play in advancing sustainable development and the green economy through responsible business practices and collective action with government and civil society.
DOWNLOAD AUSTRALIA AT RIO+20 FLYER
Come and be part of the conversation with an expert panel to discuss:
Facilitator:
Rosemary Sainty (Former Head, Secretariat UN Global Compact Network Australia and Adviser, Corporate Engagement, Transparency Australia)
Guest speakers:
RSVP Essential. Please note places are limited; please register early to avoid disappointment.
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Posted in Policies, Seeking by Kate Archdeacon on May 4th, 2012
Melbourne Water is preparing two draft strategies: The Healthy Waterways Strategy and The Stormwater Strategy to guide our actions and management of our waterways and stormwater in the period 2013/14 to 2017/18.
The Healthy Waterways Strategy will replace the current Regional River Health Strategy when it expires in 2013. It will guide investment and actions for healthy rivers, estuaries and wetlands from July 2013 to June 2018. Activities that will be guided by this strategy include vegetation management, environmental flows, habitat enhancement and working with communities to achieve healthy waterways.
The Stormwater Strategy is closely linked to the Healthy Waterways Strategy. It will focus on the management of stormwater in rural and urban areas to protect and improve ecosystem health of waterways and bays over the same period. It will see Melbourne Water working with others to achieve multiple community outcomes for stormwater management in relation to liveability, alternative water supply and public health.
We are really keen for your input into finalising these strategies, and will be consulting on both at the same time during May and June 2012.
Online:
You can join in and comment via an online forum, survey and email on the consultation site.
This will be activated in Mid May 2012.
In person:
You can attend one of eight workshops held in May and June throughout the Port Phillip and Westernport region to learn more and provide comment.
To register, please go to the consultation site. Registration closes one week prior.
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Hopefully the Stormwater Strategy will link up with the recommendations in the Living Melbourne, Living Victoria Roadmap released last week. KA
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Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on May 3rd, 2012
| 6 May , 2012 |
Australia’s National Permaculture Day has gone global. A worldwide celebration of self-reliance is about to take place as permaculture practitioners from California to Cameroon open their properties and share their skills for International Permaculture Day (IPD). “This would have been the fourth year of Australia’s National Permaculture Day but so many other countries wanted to take part that it has become an international festival,” says IPD Australia co-ordinator, Penny Pyett.
Events are planned in about 20 countries, including the US, Chile, Turkey, Cameroon, Spain, the UK and Morocco. “People are fattening their chickens and preparing to harvest their crops. This year’s theme is ‘Share and celebrate’. We want the public to see what we do and celebrate with the movement.”
Permaculture, a design system for sustainable living, was developed in Australia in the 1970s and is practised worldwide. “The movement is growing,” Pyett says. “People are desperate for sustainable solutions.”
On Sunday, May 6, urban and rural permaculture properties in all Australian states and territories will be open to the public, showing sustainable designs that include:
There will be kids’ activities, talks, film screenings and workshops teaching everything from keeping chooks to composting. Plus there will permablitzes (sustainable garden makeovers), in which teams of permaculture designers descend on unsustainable backyards and nature strips to turn lawns into edible landscapes. “We want to show permaculture in action,” Pyett says. “By having a special day it’s like a birthday. It’s celebrating all the things we have learnt about becoming more self-reliant and sustainable.”
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Permaculture events in Victoria include an open day at Ashwood College Permaculture Food Garden , a persimmon-preserving day with Permaculture Inner North, and a celebration at Fairfield community garden.
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Posted in Events, Seeking, Visions by ceres on May 2nd, 2012
| 3 May , 2012 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| 24 May , 2012 | ||
| 6:30 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
CERES Global is offering the opportunity for students and professionals interested in areas of environment, sustainability, community development, global equity, health and education to travel to Indonesia in July this year and contribute to local village societies by sharing skills in a range of community engagement areas.
To find out more attend and Information Session
Thursday 3rd May 6.30pm
Thursday 24th May 6.30pm
All information sessions are held in the CERES Eco house, Crn Roberts and Stewarts Streets, East Brunswick.
Alternatively, you can read more information below.
Background to CERES
CERES is an environmental community organisation in East Brunswick, Melbourne. It has become an icon of locally based education and action on environmental and social justice issues. CERES aims to create awareness and action on issues of environmental sustainability and social equity – engaging the community in the process and celebrating the diversity of cultures making up our local community and world.
Background to CERES Global
CERES Global is a project within CERES aiming to engage with the issue of global inequities and the well being of all people on the planet and the environments in which they live. CERES Global runs trips India, Indonesia and Arnhem Land with the aim to engage Australian people with the issues of developing countries whilst enjoying the richness of their cultures and the wisdoms they can add to our understanding of sustainable wellbeing. The trips are also valuable in establishing ongoing relationships and links between remote communities and the resources and skills of our part of the world.
Indonesia 1 – 17th July 2012
This cultural volunteer program offers interested people the opportunity to take part in a socio-environmental and cultural journey focused on mutual learning and exchange. The aim of the trip is to harness connections and build cross cultural friendships, share ideas, skills and experiences, and create understanding between people from diverse backgrounds. Travellers will experience daily village life and work alongside community organisations implementing fresh approaches to sustainability and community development.
Most of our time in Indonesia will be spent working alongside the organisation Yayasan Usaha Mulia (YUM)
“Yum’s community based projects aim to provide a better standard of living for those families living in poverty. They work in a number of sectors including water and sanitation, agriculture and microcredit for women. YUM aims to create a foundation for long-term stability and growth by promoting cooperation between members of each community and show communities what can be achieved when they work together.”
How participants can get involved:
CERES provides a fully supported program including pre-trip information sessions and post-trip debriefs. We organise all internal transport, accommodation, and food and facilitate projects with the groups we visit. We will even help you raise funds to get over there.
Please note that there is a cost to participate in this program of $2000 including all internal food, accommodation and transport. This does not include flights to and from Indonesia.
How to express interest
To get involved and for more information please contact Sophie with your area of interest:
Email: ceresglobal@ceres.org.au
Phone: 03 9389 0183
Or visit our website: http://www.ceres.org.au/global/exchange/indonesia
