The Food Security Network (FSN), www.foodsecurity.vlga.org.au, aims to provide support for local government and organisations who are working with communities to reduce barriers to local food access for healthy eating. Healthy eating also includes the provision of sustainable food systems for all, bridging the divide between social and environmental sustainability. The FSN is supported by the Victorian Local Government Association (VLGA), a peak body that advocates for social change and empowers local government to strengthen their capacity to engage with their communities. The FSN offers a regular email list to its members, which provides current information on FSN news, events, discussions and reports. For more information about FSN visit their website.

Sustainability Street (in Partnership with Yarra Valley Water) is now able to participate in the “Yarra Valley Water showerhead exchange program.” This program aims to replace inefficient showerheads with new, more efficient showerheads.

Previously this was done through exchange centres; now each Sustainability Street is able to access this program in the most appropriate manner for their local area. This may include organising swap days, going door to door with existing members, incorporating an exchange into community days or whatever is appropriate for the local group. Each household may swap up to two showerheads (if they produce two old showerheads.)
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As stated in the Transport Newsletter #22 produced by Stephen Ingrouville, Going Solar, Gordon Price, former Vancouver city councillor, was in Australia early this year and has made some interesting observations on Melbourne.

Download his photo presentation/ comments at: www.pricetags.ca/pricetags/pricetags93.pdf

The City of Melbourne is one of the many local Councils who is very involved in urban sustainability. One activity that they provide is the publication of The Green Leaflet - a quarterly email newsletter that provides a summary of community activities and offers advice on ways for households can become more environmentally sustainable. As stated on the City of Melbourne website, each issue contains information on:
Council programs;
residents;
schools;
business; and
coming events

To receive an electronic copy, visit Subscribe to The Green Leaflet.

The Banksia Environmental People’s Choice Award recognises the individuals, organisations and businesses in Australia that are trying to change the world so we won’t have to face the consequences of:-
Climate Change
Loss of our precious plant and animal species
Land degradation
And just being able to enjoy our unique natural surroundings as we know them……..

For the past 19 years, the Banksia Environmental Awards have been seeking out and acknowledging leaders and innovators in the environmental field through a judging process that has been based on experts and peers.
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The City of Manningham is introducing the Manningham Waterwatch Monitoring Network.

Over the next 12 months community volunteers from across Manningham will be monitoring the health of our local rivers, creeks and wetlands. Information collected will enable environmental groups, concerned residents and council to track the health of local catchments and waterways. Information collected will be reported on each month, and will be used to adapt and prioritise on-ground action and management strategies relevant to local catchment conditions and issues. Each month a water quality report card will be produced to track the health of our local stream conditions.

If you are interested in following our sustainable waterways journey then please email:
nigel.philpot @manningham.vic.gov.au and write in the subject column - sustainable waterways email. You will then be put onto our free monthly waterway snapshot e-mail list.

Click here to view pictures of the Top 10 green buildings in Australia, as published by News.com.au. These buildings from Melbourne, Bendigo, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide feature a range of the fantastic designs that can make the buildings we work in that bit greener! And, as they’re all up and running, they act as wonderful models for others to duplicate and improve on.

Fed-up with seeing perfectly good furniture and whitegoods being thrown out on the street and adding to landfill, friends Cameron Andrews, Sandra Wang and Emma Rogers have launched the free site http://www.e-cycled.com.

e-cycled.com was developed as a safe, easy and free way to get in touch with people in your local area who are looking for things that you don’t need any more. Moving apartments recently, Cameron found he had a pile of furniture that needed getting rid of quickly. It was in good condition but not worth selling, and much of it was not wanted by charity. Convinced that someone would want the furniture, and not wanting to put the items on the street or throw them away, Cameron started looking for an alternative. The trio have developed e-cycled.com with the belief that just because something isn’t worth selling, doesn’t mean it’s worthless and should not be destined to contribute to the world’s mass of waste. “To tackle climate change, people need to think more seriously about re-use and recycling, rather than consumption and dumping,” said Cameron. “We hope that
e-cycled.com will help provide an easy to use alternative that will help people see old household items as reusable goods, not landfill waste.
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The event detailed below is another example (as also illustrated by ACOSS’ upcoming event on the implications of Peak Oil) on how the impacts of Climate Change could affect the social fabric of our society.

GOOD SHEPHERD Youth and family services Free Public Event:
SPIRIT IN THE PUB - “How will climate change impact on the poor?”

Thursday June 28: 5.00 – 7.30 p.m.
The Artery, 87-89 Moor St, Fitzroy
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AWARE - the Association for Waste and Resource Education - held a “Networking for Sustainability” and launch for its latest magazine last Wednesday, 6 June. Supported by Sustainability Victoria, Tracey Curro kicked off the afternoon and speaker Robyn Henderson presented useful tips and strategies for successful networking in the environmental sector. The event was well-attended by a wide range of people involved in local environmental initiatives who were able to use their newly-acquired networking techniques to get better acquainted to form future sustainable partnerships.

The magazine, “Awareness“, is an annually-produced report and showcase of the wide variety of waste and resource education initiatives undertaken in Victoria over the last year. Groups presented include local councils, Sustainability Victoria, environmental services and community groups.
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