The Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL), SustainableMelbourne.com and VicUrban would like to invite you to:

The Sustainable Cities Round Table - SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
6:30 – 8:30pm including drinks, Wednesday 28 May
Melba Hall, Ground Floor, Conservatorium Building (near Gate 12), Royal Parade, University of Melbourne
RSVPS essential to fedwards @unimelb.edu.au
Proudly supported by VicUrban

The Sustainable Cities Round Tables showcase local environmental initiatives and encourage networking for people working in urban sustainability issues. In addition to our “famous” 3 minute presentations of people from the public, private and community sectors, we will also be featuring music accompaniment by pianist Dave Newington, an exhibition of RMIT University students’ work on food in cities and networking and drinks. To view previous Sustainable Cities Round Tables click here. The theme for the next event is “sustainable food systems“.

Speakers include:
Kirsten Larsen, VEIL Report: Sustainable and Secure Food Systems
Mary Stewart: Insights into the food retail and wholesale sectors
Marika Wagner: Water for food petition
Ferne Edwards, VEIL: Introducing the VEIL food map
Michael Chew, Environment Victoria: Scoping the Fruit Peddler project
Marcus Godhino, CEO, One Umbrella
Mikhil Kotak, Co- founder, Tiffins
Grant Taresh: Elgo Estate Wines
Chris Ryan, VEIL: Jim’s food ventures in Melbourne 2032

Seats are limited! RSVP to Ferne Edwards at fedwards@unimelb.edu.au by 23 May.

Merri Creek Management Committee invites you to:

ENABLING CHANGE WORKSHOP- A 2 full-day challenging and inspiring, expert workshop on engaging your community in grassland conservation.
Tuesday 13th and Wednesday May 14: 8.00am for 8.30am start; finishes 3.30pm each day.
Craigieburn Tennis Club, Selwyn Ave, Craigieburn, Melways Map 387 A9
Presented by: Les Robinson - author of Enabling EcoAction and the Seven Doors Program Design model

Les was Social Marketing Director at social Change Media for 10 years. Les is one of Australia’s most experienced communication trainers and facilitators. Les’s approach distills a wealth of practical campaign experience together with in depth research into social psychology and social marketing, combined with global research into good practice in the
design and evaluation of social change programs. The workshops have been refined through testing with over 1000 project staff in fields as diverse as health promotion, crime prevention, sustainability, natural resource management, and emergency services.

This enjoyable workshop will provide you with proven strategies and tools to design programs that really motivate people – all richly illustrated with numerous cases from Australia and overseas.

You will:
• have powerful insights into behaviour change
• make your programs more persuasive
• know how to set achievable objectives
• understand how to work with values, norms and comfy zones
• learn to avoid common pitfalls
• simplify the process of evaluation.

DAY 1: Understanding behaviour change - Explore what makes voluntary change happen, and examine key concepts and models of social change – illustrated with numerous examples from social marketing programs in Australia and overseas. The outcome from Day 1 is a rounded insight into the processes of social change.

DAY 2: The program design template - This is a system of program logic designed to deal with social change projects. Participants work in teams to develop a program framework to tackle their own ‘change challenges’. The Day 2 outcome will be a customized program design and evaluation strategy, targeting communities living near Native Grasslands, including tactics, messages and evaluation methods.

Registration form: www.mcmc.org.au and send to Ray Radford ray @mcmc.org.au, ph 9380 8199
Cost: $330 Per person / $110 Concession - Includes lunch and morning tea

The City of Stonnington presents its inaugural Sustainable Living Expo hich continues Council’s commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. The Expo will feature presentations and a range of exhibitors showcasing their products and services for homes and small business - visit the Exhibitors page for further information.

Free event
Friday May 9 to Sunday May 11: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Malvern Town Hall, Corner of Glenferrie Road and High Street, Malvern

Exhibitor expression of interest: complete the Expression of Interest form.
Info: Emma Bentley at Arts Events on 9663 7044, emma @artsevents.com.au or visit http://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/
Hosted by: Arts Events

Please find a message below from Growing Communities.

Dear all across Australia,
It is time to bring the Australian school gardens community together to celebrate our achievements learn from each other’s experiences and examine the role of school gardens in bringing about a sustainable future.

Growing Communities would like to invite you all to the 1st Australian School Gardens Network Gathering & Learning in the Garden Seminar, Brisbane, 13th, 14th, & 15th July 2008.

After our suggestion for a National gathering of the school garden community about a month ago, already 10 people from outside Queensland have said they want to come. So, seriously think about booking your flight and registering as if there are lots of people coming, then will need to adjust size of venue, re-think billeting, etc.

For program and registration details visit http://www.growingcommunities.org.au/litg2008.htm.

All inquires email: litg @growingcommunities.org.au

Hope to hear from you all soon.
Happy gardening.

Growing Communities

Growing Communities
192 Boundary Street
West End Qld 4101

p: 0423 945 621
f: (07) 3844 7322
e: info@growingcommunities.org.au
i: www.growingcommunities.org.au

Growing Communities is a community based cooperative enterprise working to promote the establishment, development and on-going support of school gardens, community gardens and city farms in South East Queensland and beyond.

Find below the latest newsletter from eVillage Melbourne. To see more details visit the website at http://evillagemelbourne.com.au/.

Hello to all eVillage Melbourne members,

Future Melbourne draft plan
The final stages of the Future Melbourne project are fast approaching, as the City of Melbourne puts the finishing touches to the Future Melbourne draft plan. This document will reflect the contributions of eVillage members and the wider Melbourne community. And these contributions will become even more evident shortly, with the official opening of the Future Melbourne draft plan wiki.

From Saturday, 17 May to Saturday, 14 June, you will be able to log into, read and edit the Future Melbourne draft plan wiki via www.futuremelbourne.com.au. This is an exciting development for the City of Melbourne and the Future Melbourne project and we’re sure you’ll enjoy this final opportunity to help shape Melbourne’s future.

Archived options and talking points
The Future Melbourne’s ‘Considering the options’ phase is now over, and the project is moving into final phases. We have archived all options-related posts, so you can still see and read what was said but you won’t be able to reply to any posts. As all discussion and ideas under each ‘talking point’ have now been absorbed into comprehensive goals and directions within the Future Melbourne draft plan, the talking points have now served their purpose and will be ‘retired’.

Key themes for discussion and action
Out of all the discussion about the future of Melbourne on the eVillage, 17 issues and themes have emerged as the most important and pressing for our members. Here are some of these.
- Spending on major events brings people to our doorstep. These people come back, and they are ambassadors for our city when they go home.
- Melbourne should continue to develop its standing as an education-focused and design-oriented city.
- Melbourne should place a far greater emphasis on green spaces and appropriate development.
- Violence on the streets must be reduced, and better liquor licensing laws are needed to help manage the problem.
- Businesses and residents have competing interests.
- The city needs to shift its transport planning from motor traffic to bicycles and feet.
- The city should develop programs that better integrate its constituents into ‘one’ community (business, residents, students, employees and so on.)

You can view and comment on these and more at Discussion HQ.

Thank you for your continuing contributions and interest, your efforts are making a difference to the future of our city.
The eVillage Melbourne Team.

The Victorian Sustainable Development Conference 2008 will bring together key Victorian Government ministers, industry leaders, local government, scientists, conservationists and others to discuss the current and future directions and frameworks for sustainability in Victoria, and will review how it will affect Victorian local government, business and the community.

It will provide an opportunity to examine progress towards sustainable objectives in a range of key areas such as:
Water
Energy efficiency
Climate change response
Waste and resource recovery
Planning and urban design, including a review of the Melbourne 2030 strategy.

The Conference will also feature best practice case studies in sustainable development, including creating a sustainable workplace, addressing challenges of sustainability, and provide advice for how state and local government and business can achieve their sustainable development goals in a cost-effective manner.

Keynote Speakers include:
Hon. Gavin Jennings MLC, Minister for Environment and Climate Change
Hon. Peter Batchelor MP, Minister for Energy and Resources
Dr Ian McPhail, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability
Timothy Piper, Director, AiGroup
Kelly O’Shanassy, Chief Executive Officer, Environment Victoria
Rob Hogarth, Partner, KPMG
Dr Wendy Craik, Director, Murray-Darling Basin Commission

Confirmed Speakers include:
Andrew Allan, President, Stormwater Industry Association - Victorian Branch
Michael Ambrose, Construction Systems Scientist, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Linda Bradburn, Education Officer, Melton Shire Council
Larissa Brown, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainability Leadership
David Buntine, Chief Executive, Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority (PPWCMA)
Colin Dimitroff, Principal, Corporate Sustainable Solutions, URS Asia Pacific
Robert Easson, Manager Alliance Partners, Prima Consulting
Andrew Fennessey, Principal Adviser Industry and Economics, Department of Sustainability and Environment
Paul Holper, Manager, Australian Climate Change Science Program, CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research
Chloe Munro, Commissioner, National Water Commission
Robert Kerr, Commissioner, Victorian Competition and Efficiency
Robert Powell, Industrial Resource Efficiency Officer, City of Frankston
Cathy Ronalds, Policy Officer - Climate Change Adaption, Department of Sustainability and Environment
Maria Simonelli, Executive Manager, ICLEI Australia/New Zealand
Brian Peadon, CEO, Waterexchange
Thinh Tran, Project Manager, Sustainability Victoria
Jon Ward, General Manager, Business, Innovation & Technology, Sustainability Victoria
Tony Wood Executive General Manager, Corporate Communications & Government Relations Origin Energy.

A conference agenda is available at www.halledit.com.au/conferences/sustainability/2008 or by contacting Denise McQueen on (03) 8534 5021 or denise.mcqueen @halledit.com.au.

Would you like to be trained to provide talks to community groups on promoting climate justice and preventing runaway climate change?

Friends of the Earth (FoE) receives requests from a range of community groups to provide talks on climate change. These are important opportunities to increase awareness about climate justice and climate change issues, and to promote FoE’s valuable work in this area.

We are inviting applications from people who would like to provide talks to community groups about these issues on FoE’s behalf, on a voluntary basis (though travel expenses incurred through making presentations would be reimbursed). Successful applicants will be trained to prepare for their role, focusing on skill development in public speaking, presentation
techniques, understanding climate justice and climate change issues, and responding to questions from the audience. Approximately 5 hours of training will be provided.

Successful applicants would do approximately one talk per month, and we are hoping for a commitment of at least six months. Handout material and a PowerPoint presentation (for those situations in which it is needed) will be provided by FoE for presenters to use.

To be eligible, you must be either a current or former FoE member, and/or have donated time (e.g. through volunteering on a specific task or campaign) or money to FoE. You would need to understand FoE’s general principles and philosophies concerning our social justice and environmental work, and have at least a moderate understanding of climate change and climate justice issues. You don’t need to be a great public speaker, but be someone who likes to communicate with people and be willing to improve your presentation skills.

If you are interested please contact Arius, arius.tolstoshev @foe.org.au asap.

A message below from Frank Ryan, Vox Bandicoot.

Dear Special Friends and Colleagues of Vox Bandicoot,

We are living through the truly most critical and exciting time in history. There is still a seriously long way to go, but, being imbued with the optimism which must drive environmental education, we find current movements both inspiring … and rewarding.

Vox began in 1988 and now, 20 years later, the pinnacle of our work has just been published. The Sustainability Street Approach (SSA) is our Magnus opus. It reflects the values, techniques, focus and joys that have driven our little outfit since last century, namely … “… a human scale and judicious mix of humour, science, art, education, sociology and aesthetics … all glued together with a profound belief and sense of joy in and commitment to grassroots ideas and action …” Indeed, the SSA reflects a little bit of the hundreds upon hundreds of communities around Australia with whom we have had the great privilege and pleasure of working. This book is our offering back, based on all that we’ve learned.

“Sustainability Street – It’s A Village Out There; a manual for sustainability culture change” is now available for free or for the recommended retail, or for more; if you wish to further help contribute to our mission – for the next 20 years.

Please check out http://www.voxbandicoot.com.au/virtuemart.html.

FREE PUBLIC LECTURE WITH PETER HARPER FROM CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY (CAT), UNITED KINGDOM

Responding to the threat of climate change, governments have set targets for reducing greenhouse gas by 60-80% over the next 40 years. Recent climate science suggests this is nowhere near enough. A 100% reduction in 20 years might be necessary. Is this remotely possible? How might it be done? What technologies would we need? How would we design a zero-carbon – modern - economy? What impact would it have on lifestyles – on food, travel, housing, infrastructure, employment, leisure? Would it be a nightmare? Does it offer opportunities for a revitalisation of society?

30 years of living investigation at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Wales may provide the answers the world urgently needs. (www.cat.org.uk)

Peter Harper has been part of a team working on these questions at CAT. He can bring an unusual lifetime of experience to illuminating the vigorous debate around a new vision for ‘Zero Carbon Britain’ 2020. Peter Harper is Head of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Alternative Technology, where he has worked for 25 years, with periodic secondments to overseas universities. He was a pioneer of the alternative technology movement and has always tried to relate technological ‘hardware’ with social and personal ‘software’. His main interests have been in horticulture and low-carbon lifestyles. He runs his own home as an experimental ‘lifestyle lab’. He is mildly obsessed by compost.

6-8pm, 21 April 2008 at the Prince Philip Theatre, University of Melbourne. Please RSVP your attendance to Ferne Edwards at fedwards @unimelb.edu.au. More information will be published shortly.

Map of the campus

Please see message below and attached from Boroondara City Council about their upcoming Sustainable Living Expo - 19 April.

Are you trying to live in a more sustainable way, but feel you need some expert advice about water saving, solar energy, composting and which sustainable products are right for your home?

Go along to the ‘Living for our Future’ Expo held at the Boroondara Farmers’ Market. Browse products and chat with experienced suppliers who are happy to help you achieve a more sustainable lifestyle, while sampling farm fresh supplies and yummy treats from the market. Featuring a free recycled art workshop for the kids, music, entertainment and free product show bags to the first 500 visitors.

Saturday 19 April. 8am-1pm, Patterson Reserve, Auburn Road, Hawthorn. Phone 9278 4347 or visit Councils website www.boroondara.vic.gov.au
Expo - 19 April