Plants are Amazing- Series One

Nearly everyday now we learn something new about the ways we can save water and energy around the home to reduce our impact on the environment, and ultimately help minimise our effects on climate change. So every now and then it’s nice to sit back and appreciate the amazing things that nature has to offer and some of the cool ways our environment deals with the harsh Australian climate. In particular, many Australian plants have special adaptations that help them survive periods of drought, extreme summer temperatures, fire, or highly saline soils.

Within the Western Sydney region plants have to contend with low, highly variable rainfall, high summer temperatures, relatively frequent wildfire events, and infertile soils. These plants have adapted to these conditions be evolving a suit of structural, biochemical or growth response adaptations.

One way that plants have adapted to this is with special root system modifications. Root adaptations include the development of water storing roots in plants such as Mallees. Structural and biochemical changes in these plants allow the roots to store supplies of water harvested after big rain events, so that these plants can survive better during long drought periods. Other plants have modified root systems called tubers where stores of nutrients are held, allowing the above ground part of these plants to die off during drought times and then regrow after rain.

Some other species (for example Hakeas and Grevilleas) have root modifications (called proteoid roots) that allow them to extract phosphorous from our low fertility soils. Many legumes (wattles, pea family plants) have evolved a relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that amass in nodules along their roots and make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants after the host plants has died.

Each fortnight, as part of the ‘Plants are Amazing’ series, another adaptation will be revealed, so stay tuned in the coming weeks for more cool adaptations our plants have developed.

Image from: Australian Plants Society Tasmania

Start at home - Save the Earth!

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year's theme is the Environment! What a perfect fit with the Sustainable Penrith Blog - just like rainwater and tanks or peaches and cream...

Read below for some easy tips on saving the planet by starting at home. If you are already doing all of these - congratulations! Send in your own tips for sustainable living and we'll also post them on our Sustainable Penrith website.

In the Kitchen

• Providing enough space for circulation around the fridge, and locating your fridge away from the sun and your oven can result in big energy savings.
  
• Make sure that your door seals are clean and that the door closes properly.


• Buy energy efficient appliances when you need to replace an item.


• Switch all of your kitchen appliances off at the wall when they aren't in use.


• Wait until the dishwasher and washing machine are full before use

In Your Living Areas

• Switch to energy saving lights like compact fluorescents to save up to 80% of your lighting energy.


• Use light coloured paint outside your home to reflect, rather than absorb, light and heat.


• Standby power for televisions, videos and stereos can account for 11% of a household electricity bill. Turn them off at the power point.


• Insulate ceilings and walls to reduce heat loss in winter and to keep the house cool in summer.


• Protect your windows with curtains and blinds.
  

In Your Bathroom & Laundry

• Install AAA rated showerheads and tap fittings to save water and energy.


• Brighten rooms with a skylight rather than a light bulb.


• Buy a water and energy efficient washing machine.


• Use cold water for washing clothes.
  
• Use the clothes line to dry clothes.
  

Transport

• Walk or ride your bike instead of using a car.


• Catching public transport.


• When buying a car, buy a fuel efficient one. See the Green Vehicle Guide http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/.


• Carpool. When at work find out who lives near you, better still try to establish a carpooling group and post up on notice boards. This can save you money and is a great way of meeting people. It also helps the environment.


• Drive smoothly, don't stop and start too many times and avoid hard braking.
  

Eat locally, save globally

Upon returning from the supermarket recently I was casually reading the label of some blue berry jam that I had purchased when I noticed that my 284 gram jar of jam had been "Made in France from local and imported ingredients". This prompted me to look at a few more products where I discovered that a good proportion of my pantry originated overseas, and even worse the ingredients all seemed to be grown in countries foreign to where the products were produced. Through a quick call to my jam manufacturer I discovered that the fruit for my French made blueberry jam actually originated in countries like Canada or Australia, or wherever the markets were good.

Then I started to think about the route of the blueberries from the farm to my toast. Most likely my blueberries were trucked from the farm where they were grown to the airport where they were transferred to a plane where they travelled up to 21322 kilometres (5525km from Canada) to France. Upon arrival in France they were unloaded from the plane and trucked to the jam factory where they were made into jam. Once converted to jam, my blueberries began the lengthy journey to Australia. Back on the truck, transferred to ship or plane, transferred to a truck, sent to a distribution warehouse, transferred to a truck and on to the shelves of the supermarket where I take them, in my car, to put on my toast.

There are huge fossil fuel requirements associated with international food transport, and the question that should be raised is: are all of the movements necessary? With the looming issue of climate change it is about time we placed a greater focus on local produce.

Living in the Penrith local government area we are blessed with a vast array of locally grown produce. By purchasing locally grown and manufactured produce you are ensuring freshness, local economic viability, and you can save the resources required to send produce to the other side of the world. So the next time you are in the supermarket have a look at where your produce is grown and manufactured. Buy Australian produce and reduce the number of kilometres travelled by your food.

In 2000 a group of local people developed Hawkesbury Harvest which promotes locally grown produce. To find out where and what local produce is available visit www.hawkesburyharvest.com.au. A great way to discover what the region has to offer is to pack a picnic and take a leisurely drive along the The Farm Gate Trail.

Another great option for purchasing locally grown produce (as shown in the photo) is to buy from local produce markets. Several markets can be found in the Sydney metropolitan area:

• Camden Produce Market: Lower John St, Camden - 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, 7am to 12noon
• Cobbitty Village Market: Cobbitty Public School, Cobbitty Road, Cobbitty - 1st Saturday of each month (except Jan & Feb), 8am to 1pm
• Fox Farmers' Market: Fox Studios - Every Wednesday, 10am to 4pm
• Good Living Growers Market: Pyrmont Foreshore - 1st Saturday of each month, 7am to 11am
• Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers & Gourmet Food Market: Castle Hill Showground, Showground Rd enter via Carrington Rd, Castle Hill - 2nd Saturday each month, 8am to 12noon
• Hornsby Organic Food & Farmers Markets: Hornsby Mall - Every Thursday, 8am to 4pm
• Hurstville Organic Food & Farmers Market: Cnr Forest Road and Durham Street - Every Sunday, 9am to 2pm
• Kings Cross Organic Food & Farmers Market: Fitzroy Gardens, Macleay Street, Elizabeth Bay - Every Saturday, 8am to 2pm
• Leichhardt Organic Food & Farmers Market: Orange Grove Public School, Cnr Perry St & Balmain Rd - Every Saturday morning
• Marrickville Organic Food & Farmers Markets: The Addison Road Community Centre, Addison Road, Marrickville - Every Sunday, 8:30am to 2pm
• Penrith Market: Penrith Showground - Every Wednesday
• Sydney Fresh Food Market: Sydney Markets, off Parramatta Road, Flemington - Every Saturday, 6am to 2pm
• Warwick Farm Trackside Market: Warwick Farm Racecourse, Governor Macquarie Drive, Warwick Farm - Every Saturday, 8am to 12noon
  

For more information on produce markets check out the Australian Farmer’s Markets Association website: http://www.farmersmarkets.org.au/.

Latest Sustainability Street Newsletter

The October Sustainability Street Newsletter is out now. Click here to download your copy.

The newsletter is full of updates on what our six Sustainability Streets have been up to, including:

• Spring into Veggies


• Upcoming Street Dates


• Magical Mini Bus Tour


• Sustainability Street Energy Stars


• Sustainability Streets Have the Energy!


• Solar Boat Challenge: State & National Finals


• Rebates Available for Insulation and Hot Water Systems


• Website of the Month: G Magazine

If you would like to be added to the electronic mailing list send a quick email to Carmel Hamilton.

A Great Opportunity - New Rebates Available!

Some great new rebates have just been announced by the NSW State Government to help householders offset some of the costs of installing energy efficient hot water systems and ceiling insulation.

Energy Efficient Hot Water Systems

The NSW State Government has just announced a rebate of up to $1200 when you install an energy efficient hot water system to replace an existing electric hot water system. To be eligible your new system must be installed by a plumber.

Basically if you replace an electric system with a gas hot water system you will receive a rebate of $300. If you decide to replace an electric system with a gas or electric boosted solar system, or a heat pump system then you will receive a rebate of up to $1200, depending on just how efficient your new system is (measured by the amount of Renewable Energy Certificates - RECs it is eligible for).

The great thing about this rebate is that it is available in addition to the rebate already on offer by the Federal Government. The Federal Government offers a $1000 rebate when you replace an electric system with a solar or heat pump unit, however this rebate is means tested. To be eligible you must have a combined household income of <$100,000. So, combining both rebates gives you the opportunity to claim back up to $2200 from the initial cost of your hot water system.

To find out more about the State rebate call the information line on 1300 361 967 or visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/rebates. For more information about the Federal rebate call the national information hotline on 1800 808 571 or visit www.greenhouse.gov.au/rebates.

Ceiling Insulation

Another rebate just recently announced helps you with the costs of installing ceiling insulation in your home.

To be eligible you need to install a product that complies with the Australian Standard (it should be marked on the product) over the entire ceiling area of your home to a minimum rating that depends on which climatic zone you live. The rebate will cover half the costs of purchasing and installing the insulation, up to a maximum of $300.

To find out more about this rebate call the information line on 1300 361 967 or visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/rebates.

Other Rebates

To find out about other rebates that are available click here to download a copy of our fact sheet.