Posts Tagged ‘biodiversity’
Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard
Posted in Events by samgreen on October 26th, 2011
| 9 November , 2011 | ||
| 12:30 pm | to | 1:30 pm |
Endangered: Regent Honeyeater. Photo by marj k via flickr CC
How we garden makes a big difference to the health of our local environment – water conservation, growing our own chemical free food and creating wildlife habitat all help keep our environment healthy.
In this session you will learn how you and your community can create food, water, shelter and nesting sites for birds, bees, frogs, butterflies and other wildlife in your garden and local neighbourhood.
Date: Wednesday 9 November 2011, 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Reception Room, Maribyrnong Council Offices, cnr Hyde & Napier Sts Footscray
To register please visit ww.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/lunchbox or contact Council’s Sustainability Officer on 03 9688 0357 for more information.
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2011 Bioregional Permaculture Conference in Melbourne: Registration Closes Today
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on September 23rd, 2011
| 30 September , 2011 | ||
| 12:00 am | to | 11:00 pm |
| 1 October , 2011 | ||
| 2 October , 2011 | ||
Workshops, speakers, site tours, party, film screening, a marketplace of ideas
The conference and its associated events will bring people together to share stories and discuss where we’re going as a movement. Presentations will be given by a wide range of local activists from local group leaders to gardeners, educators, writers, designers, foresters and more. Site visits will be happening to local gardens and community sites and a market place will take place. Evenings will be social time – Friday will be a large party with food, music and dancing, Saturday evening will be a screening of the new film Anima Mundi and a talk with the director. Both evening events will be suitable functions for bringing partners and friends. A marketplace area is available for ideas and produce – for stalls, posters and displays so please make use of this opportunity to tell your story and to let others know what you and your community are doing.
Friday 30th September – Sunday 2nd October
Venue: South Melbourne Commons, corner Bank & Montague Sts, South Melbourne.
Visit the Permaculture Melbourne site for more information – registration closes September 23.
Queen of the Sun: Film Screening
Posted in Events, Visions by Kate Archdeacon on September 20th, 2011
| 4 October , 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
http://www.rosshouse.org.au/node/162
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Greening a Changing City: Urban forest, health, liveability
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 27th, 2011
| 28 July , 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Image: stevendepolo via flickr CC
Greening a changing city: urban forest, health, liveability:
As Melbourne inevitably grows, central to its environmental and economic sustainability, is its capacity to have green spaces that can be the lungs of the city. Appropriate tree planting can serve to reduce the heat island effect, as climate change affects our city. The benefits of an enhanced urban forest and green infrastructure will be part of the solution to future changes, as we grow and old trees need replacement. Commentators will discuss how a future urban forest might evolve. Better places and spaces, healthy trees and water storage contribute to human health, wellbeing and economic sustainability.
Panellists include: Dr Cecil C. Konijnendijk, Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning, University of Copenhagen; Dr Kate Auty, Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, Melbourne; Rod Marsh from Net Balance, Joy Murphy AO a Wurundjeri elder and traditional owner and GP Dr Dimity Williams the Secretary of Doctors for the Environment Aust.
Thursday July 28, 6 – 7:30 pm
Melbourne Town Hall
No RSVP required
thatsmelbourne.com/conversations
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A Wildlife Experience in St Kilda
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 22nd, 2011
| 30 July , 2011 | ||
| 2:00 pm | to | 5:00 pm |
A Wildlife Experience in St Kilda (for parents and kids) on Saturday 30 July
Aimed at kids, together with their parents, this workshop is designed to stimulate interest in native animals and birds. It also provides kids and their parents with a project that they can tackle together at home i.e. constructing a nesting box and then attracting owls, birds, etc. to their home, school or neighbourhood. Gio, a local 14 year old boy, is a keen naturalist and has built and deployed nesting boxes all over St Kilda and even as far afield as Phillip Island (where the hospital there has attracted a barn owl into one of his boxes). Marian is a PhD student specializing in a local bird, the tawny frogmouth.
2.30 pm : Gio, (14), will teach parents and their kids how to make a nesting box to attract birds and animals.
3.30 pm: Marian Weaving will explain how to do wildlife surveys.
4.30 pm: A walk around the St Kilda Botanic Gardens with Gio & Marian to observe wildlife and to illustrate the best way to conduct a wildlife survey.
Date: Saturday 30 July; Cost: $20 per family
Bookings essential – phone 9534 0670.
For more information, contact Bede Doherty (GM at Port Phillip EcoCentre)
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Where Are They Now? Ben Nicholson, Groof
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on June 30th, 2011
Here at Sustainable Melbourne we’ve been contacting Sustainable Cities Round Tables (SCRT) presenters, to find out how their projects and ideas have grown and changed since Ferne Edwards first launched the Round Tables in May 2007.
Ben Nicholson gave a presentation at the SCRT in November 2008, after spending two months studying green roofs in cities around the world as a Churchill Fellow. During this time, Ben met green roofs advocates; planners, environmentalists and designers, and he visited research sites and commercial sites, some of which have been in existence since the early 1990s. In his presentation, “Vital Signs for a Healthy City”, he described Melbourne as an adolescent city at risk of on-going health problems due to its large energy requirements, poor water management lack of biodiversity. Green roofs would change this prognosis by cooling the city, increasing urban food-growing space and wildlife habitat, and conserving storm water and energy.
In 2007, Ben established his own green roof consultancy, Groof, providing designs and advice to green roof developments in Victoria and overseas.
We caught up with Ben to ask about the changes in green roof implementation and acceptance in Australia since his presentation in 2008. There have been some notable green roof and wall projects developed in that time, including the vertical garden we sat next to in the foyer of the Gauge building in Docklands. During our conversation, Ben reiterated the importance of solid research and demonstration projects for industry players to assist in the development and maintenance of a successful Green Roof program in Australia’s cities.
Below are some extracts from Ben’s Churchill Trust Report:
Just as the ant spends a lifetime crawling up and down a tree without ever comprehending the tree’s full scale or its place in the wider world, so we spend our lives in cities without ever comprehending their true size or the impacts they are having on the planet… imagine for a moment you are sitting on a hill, watching a tree grow that, one day, will be crawled upon by an the ant mentioned above. And from this hill, imagine that you can fast-forward time as quickly as you like, so you sit and watch this tree grow from a tiny seed to a sapling to a huge, spreading lemon-scented gum in only a few short minutes. Now imagine that from the same hill you are watching your own city grow up from its earliest days of a few tents and dusty tracks into the sprawling suburbs, skyscrapers, freeways, factories and warehouses that it has become today. From this perspective, it is suddenly much easier to comprehend the amount of disruption that has occurred to all the other living things and natural systems forced to make way for the people and non-living things that make up your city today. We may never be able to bring everything back, but from the vantage of this hill we can at least start to imagine what our cities would look like when transformed into thriving eco-systems.
In many cities around the world, harm is being reducing by people as they build each new piece of eco-infrastructure into the city fabric. To do this properly, people first ask:
- what does harm look like?
- where is it most concentrated?
- where is the worst of it coming from?
[…]
During the fellowship I learnt that the green roof and wall industry in each city has developed in the presence of local champions, detailed science, government support and an enlightened citizenry. The people in the cities I visited have developed policy responses and designed ‘eco-infrastructure’ that is unique to their local topography, climate and system of governance. In the more advanced cities, I observed some or all of the following activities taking place:
- Environmental indicators such as topography, temperature, rainfall and biodiversity are examined to understand the ways in which a city impacts upon its host environment. Using data sourced from early settlement to the current day, time-lapse analysis reveals the extent to which the city has affected its surrounds. Forecasting models are then used to predict future impacts with the key variable being extent of vegetation cover.
- Economic costs for the design, construction and maintenance of air conditioning/cleaning systems, water supply/removal systems and agricultural production/distribution systems are compared with the costs of using green roofs and walls to identify areas of city management that can be carried out more efficiently using green roof and wall technology.
- The benefits of green roofs and walls are tailored to address environmental and economic ‘trigger points’ specific to each city. These trigger points inform local green roof and wall design and assist in targeting the most effective locations for the placement of green roof and wall infrastructure.
- Demonstration and research projects raise awareness and provide information for public, private and government sectors.
- Political support for green roofs and walls leads to subsidies for the eco-infrastructure industry and the incorporation of built form standards and incentives.
- Environmental and economic indicators are regularly monitored to refine eco-infrastructure design and placement.
- Over time, the economic and environmental costs associated with the negative impacts of urbanisation are reduced and the benefits associated with an increase in vegetation cover are multiplied.
[…]
As eco-infrastructure projects begin to reduce harm, there will be an increase in the demand for high quality products and services. It is therefore up to the people and companies who stand to benefit the most from this demand to provide funding for eco-infrastructure research and demonstration projects in the early phase of the industry’s development. We can learn a lot from the failures and triumphs of other cities. Now is the time to transform our negative impacts into positive ones. And in doing so, we will transform ourselves from being harmful pests to welcome guests.
Download Ben’s report to read more about his research, including case studies from his tour and further reading and recommendations.
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Earthwatch Australia – get involved!
Posted in Seeking by EarthwatchAustralia on March 1st, 2011
Earthwatch engages regular citizens in scientific field research alongside scientists to work together for a sustainable planet. As a not-for-profit organization, Earthwatch is committed to conserving the diversity and integrity of life on Earth. The need for further research into species, habitat management, agricultural practices due to climate change and natural resource use is significant in order to understand and manage our environment.
Earthwatch involves matching volunteers from around the world to suitable scientific research projects. They also collaborates with global partners on conservation and management plans, and communicate with scientists about proposed research projects.
Anyone can do their part in preserving our natural environment. Join an expedition today!
Wildlife of the Mongolian Steppe
Explore the lives of unique grassland animals, from lesser kestrels to Siberian ibex, to help conserve their wilderness home
Origins of Ankor
By uncovering Southeast Asia’s past, you’ll learn how agriculture, technology, and changing climates affect civilizations.
For more visit www.earthwatch.org.au for more expeditions and information or check us out on Facebook !
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Living with forests: Panel Discussion
Posted in Events by land-environment on September 23rd, 2010
| 29 September , 2010 | ||
| 5:30 pm | to | 6:30 pm |
World leading experts discuss impacts of climate change, biodiversity, fire, and industry, exploring the intricacies of human dependence on forests.
Panellists:
- Professor Tim Flannery on ‘Climate change and the impacts of changing forests on humans’
- Dr William Jackson, Deputy Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on ‘The importance of species and diversity and the impact of changes to humans’
- Dr Kevin Tolhurst, Melbourne School of Land and Environment on ‘Living with forests and bushfires’
- Veronica Tyquin, Conservation Planner, Forestry Tasmania – ‘Industry perspective’
Wednesday 29 September, 5.30-6.30pm
Carillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre (Building 158), University of Melbourne, Parkville
For more information and to register, visit:
http://www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/info/seminars/2010/livingwithforests.html
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Knox Urban Biodiversity Policy
Posted in Models by Virginia on June 2nd, 2009
“We do not inherit the earth from our parents, but we borrow it from our childrenâ€
A poignant phrase that highlights the intentions embedded in the notion of sustainability and inter-generational equity. The Knox City Local Council has taken this view of equity to ensure and increase the biodiversity values that currently exist in the local region, continue to exist in the future in the face of the uncertain environmental impacts of climate change.
The rehabilitation efforts include the creation of wetlands which have revitalized the frog population in Blink Creek Billabong in Ferntree Gully, revegetation along creeks and rivers, education programs in schools and involvement of the community. A significant program the Knox Council has launched, called the Gardens for Wildlife program, addresses the issue of ‘garden escapees’ or garden plants becoming weeds in the native environment. The Gardens for Wildlife project aims to educate as well as demonstrate how to create a native garden and the biodiversity values it supports.
Submissions sought – Review of the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act – by 19 December
Posted in Seeking by Ferne Edwards on December 2nd, 2008
This message was originally posted by Monique Decortis as part of the Climate Action Calendar. The Climate Action Calendar covers local events in the greater area of Melbourne, Melbourne City based events and major events elsewhere in Victoria and other places. If you wish to subscribe to the calendar please email Monique decortis @bigpond.net.au with “subscribe CAC†in the subject bar.
On 31 October 2008 the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts commissioned an independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), the Australian Government’s central piece of environmental legislation requires it to be reviewed every 10 years. This is the first review of the EPBC Act since its commencement on 16 July 2000. The review will assess the operation of the EPBC Act and the extent to which its objects have been achieved.