Australia Day Celebrations

The next big event for the Sustainability Unit is to attend Council's FREE Australia Day Celebrations, being held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, on Saturday 26 January 2008.

Staff from the unit will be there from 9am through to 5pm and will be located in the SITA Environmental Solutions Sustainability Centre, located near the entrance to the main island for some hands on fun, competition and helpful tips for living more sustainably.

Come and try your hand at racing our model solar powered boats and see if you can beat the best time of the day. Take a turn of the 'Blue Bandit' or 'Red Rocket' and see just how far you can push this alternative technology, of course picking the brightest part of the day will also give you a good head start!

We will also have a piloted solar boat on display as part of our promotion of the 2008 Solar Boat Challenge. Come and find out more about this great event and how it works - you can even register your interest to get your school or group involved in 2008.

Council’s Sustainable Penrith mascot, the Eastern Water Dragon, will also be there, and this year our friendly mascot is looking for a name. Enter the naming competition and you could win a pass for a family of four to Taronga Zoo's 'Roar and Snore' adventure. This great package includes overnight camping accomodation, meals, behind the scenes tours and access and general admission (value $550).

So, put your thinking caps on for a great name for our lizard and come and fill out an entry form on the day. The winner will be announced in March 2008, with final entries to be received by 29 February 2009.

Wishing You and Yours a Merry Christmas

Best wishes to all for a wonderful (and sustainable) Christmas. Why not try this festive silly song, sung to the traditional tune!

The Twelve Days of Christmas...with a twist

On the twelfth day of Christmas my good friend gave to me...

12 organic chocolates

11 home cooked pies

10 shoes for walking

9 shower buckets

8 rain tanks brimming

7 solar panels

6 seeds for planting

5 gardening tips!

4 Oxfam goats

3 laying hens

2 fair trade gifts

and a local native pot plant!

Why not send us your ideas for sustainable Christmas gifts - go on, leave us a comment!

Christmas Edition of the Sustainability Street Newsletter Out Now!

The Christmas edition of the 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:

• Have a Merry (& Sustainable) Christmas!


• Upcoming Street Dates
  
• Sustainability Streets Take on Water


• Greywater...No longer a grey area


• Water Efficiency Labelling for Household Appliances


• Make Yours a Green Christmas


• Australia Ratifies Kyoto Agreement


• Give the Environment a 'Happy New Year'


• Fresh Manure Available

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

TT Postcard from Bali

Thirteen Things about Bali's UNFCC Conference

Like any postcard it arrives after you have returned home.

1….Concerns over safety were quickly dispelled, with security checkpoints aplenty. Bag checks were a daily ritual, with registration required on the first day. We were lucky enough to complete the registration process early, before the queues below took place. Not fun in the heat and extreme humidity.

UNFCCC Entrance, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. Entrance Security, 2. Entrance to Register

2…. An invitation to the Governor of Bali's residence provided a taste of Bali's rich culture.

Indonesia's Govenors Dinner Entertainment, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. Entrance Dance, 2. Govenors backstairs, 3. Staff and Performers, 4. Delegates on stage

3…. Amazing displays were scattered between the conference centres.

Entrance to UNFCCC, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. Global Thermometer, 2. Posters

4…. The Local Government sessions were held concurrently with the the UNFCC Conference in the Old Convention Centre.

WMCCC, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

5…. The Cool Energy Exhibition was held on the Peninsula Island a short but hot walk from the Old Convention Centre. A two hour lunch break enabled us to take in exhibits from a range of organisations including Unilever who were promoting a program similar to our Sustainability Street program, United Nations Environment Program, and various Indonesian government departments amongst many others.

Cool Energy Exhibition, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

6…. For every thumbprint a tree was to be planted.

Holcim Tree Thumbprint, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

7…. There was much talk about sustainable transport in many of the sessions that I attended, and although I didn't give it a go, this taxi certainly caught peoples attention. I am not sure how practical it really is given it only had room for one passenger and the trailer which consisted of the solar panels was quite sizeable.

Solar Taxi UNFCCC, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. Solar v Normal Taxi, 2. Solar Taxi Trailer

8…. The main stage for the conference, we arrived early so that we could hear Senator Penny Wong give her address.

Staff in UNFCCC Hall, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

9…. 'Polly' spotting, we managed to give Minister Peter Garrett, and Senator Penny Wong each a Sustainable Penrith hat.

Politician Spotting, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. Peter Garret, 2. Penny Wong with SP hat

10…. To help delegates get around bikes were available free of charge.

Free Bike UNFCCC transport, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

1. UNFCCC Free Bikes, 2. UNFCCC Free Bike

11…. Not quite the street stalls synonymous with Bali, this store was more high end, however, it is interesting as it was started by the former Minister of Culture and Tourism, and celebrates the works of Indonesian artists and craftpersons, both those who are already famous and those living hidden away in remote rural areas who are producing extraordinary works.

Alun Alun, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

12…. The energy efficient lightbulb was commonplace, shown here in a family's shrine.

Energy Efficient Shrine, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

13…. We appreciated the friendship provided us by the 'friendly' police, guides and drivers that made sure we got to and from the conference on time and in one piece, whilst teaching us a lot about Bali.

Staff & local Support Crew SP Hat, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Wordless Wednesday: - UNFCCC Bali December 2007

UNFCCC Bali December 2007, originally uploaded by penrithsustainabilityunit.

wordless wednesday

It's a disposable world

I remember a time when things were built to last. These days rather than going and repairing household appliances like kettles and toasters it is cheaper to replace these items. The saying “they don’t make em like they used to” is becoming the norm of our times where it is cheaper to replace than repair.

Once upon a time things were designed and manufactured to last, and if they did break they were easily repaired. The construction of new ‘things’ requires an enormous amount of energy input, resource extraction and man hours. Whilst the price for a new item may be cheaper this price tag does not represent the whole cost of the item.

Not only are we purchasing items that are of poor quality and will need replacing in a short period of time, we are also increasingly purchasing items of little need, “want items”, that often go unused. Infact, it is suggested that Australian’s spend over $10.5 billion dollars annually on unused items (Hamilton et al 2005) and that trend is increasing.

2 dollar shops are thriving and we are consuming more and more without realising the deeper and ongoing consequences. We as a race seem to be caught up in the cycle of “things”. We like new “things”, lots of “things”.

Whilst we are becoming more aware of the need to recycle most people have not yet grasped the ‘reuse is better than recycle’ theory. For example, statistics show that Australians change their phones every 12-18 months, with only 4% recycling their old phones (Phillips 2007). TVs, DVDs, household appliances, stationary, computers, houses, clothing, nappies are other notable areas where items are over consumed and/or wasted, with food highest on the waste list (Hamilton et al 2005).

Waste Sorting in a Sydney Recycling Plant.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald 11 March 2007

So the next time you are looking to buy something think about the ongoing costs, perhaps it is better to buy it once and buy it properly rather than settling for the ‘cheap’ disposable item. And, next time you go to get rid of something ask the question “would anyone else benefit from the use of this item?” and think about the ways it could be reused. Remember: “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure”, sell your unused items online (Freecycle, E-bay, Grays Online, Trading Post, interest forums) or donate them to charities. Most importantly: use everything that you buy.

References

Hamilton, C., Denniss, R., and Baker, D. 2005, Wasteful Consumption in Australia, Discussion Paper No. 77, The Australia Institute.
Phillips, S. eds. 2007, G Magazine, Luna Media, Chippendale, Australia.
Sydney Morning Herald. 11 March 2007, http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/drastic-plastic-bag-ban-looms/2007/03/10/1173478729172.html

Local School Kids Pass the Solar Challenge!

Last Wednesday, 5 December 2007, Council held a special presentation ceremony to recognise and celebrate the wonderful achievements of local school studnets in the recently completed Solar Boat Challenge. This year the Penrith area was well represented at the Challenge with 11 teams from the immediate Penrith area taking part, along with another 7 from the wider Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury area.

It's fair to say that each of the individual school students and teams passed the challenge, with flying colours. There were some great results from the teams including:

Primary School Wire Guided Division:

• 1st place overall - Emu Heights Public School
• 1st place in the racing component - Colyton Public School
• 2nd place in the racing component - Claremont Meadows Public School

State Primary School Remote Controlled Division:

• 1st place overall and 2nd place in the racing component of the State Primary Remote Controlled Division - Lapstone Public School

Secondary School Wire Guided Division:

• 3rd place overall and 2nd place in the racing component of the Secondary Wire Guided Division - Colyton High School

State Secondary School Remote Controlled Division:

• 2nd place overall in the Secondary Remote Controlled Division - Springwood High School
• 3rd place in the racing component of the Secondary Remote Controlled Division - Caroline Chisholm College

Prizes and certificates were also awarded in other areas including graphic and technical design, and presentation.

Lapstone Public School, Winmalee High School, Springwood High School and Penrith Anglican College all received certificates for their graphic design skills while Lapstone, Springwood, Penrith High School and Penrith Anglican College all picked up certificates for their technical design.

The schools also did a great job on the presentation side of things with special mentions for Lapstone Public, Winmalee High School, Glenmore Park High School, Arndell Anglican College, Cranebrook High School, Claremont Meadows Public, and Caroline Chisholm College all picking up awards or certificates in this area.

Schools that participated are listed below. Click on the individual schools for a case study of how they tackeld the Challenge.

Primary Schools:
Claremont Meadows Public School
Colyton Public School
Emu Heights Public School
Lapstone Public School

Secondary Schools:
Arndell Anglican College
Colyton High School
Cambridge Park High School
Caroline Chisholm College
Cranebrook High School
Doonside Technology High School
Glenmore Park High School
Hawkesbury High School
Master Coaching, Richmond
Nepean High School
Penrith Anglican College
Penrith High School
Springwood High School
Winmalee High School

Visit Council's website for more information.

Plants are Amazing- Series Two

Well I hope you have all been admiring the many amazing adaptations that plants have developed to cope with the harsh Australian climate in your gardens or while bushwalking, and have possibly noticed a few more structural features that plants have and maybe questioned the reasons why they have these features. Detailed below are some more amazing features that you may have noticed along your tracks.

As you walk around the garden or along your bushwalks you will see numerous examples of leaf adaptations designed to cope with low rainfall, searing summer temperatures, or saline soils. Examples of leaf adaptations include short, leathery leaves which have reduced surface area to minimise evapotranspiration (water loss due to evaporation). Other examples are terete (tubular leaves), spiky or in rolled leaves. Look at the leaf structure of Spinifex plants. Wattles have phyllodes (modified stem structures) instead of true leaves- this is believed to be a response to our infertile soils, rather than to the dry, hot climatic conditions.

Some heat defecting modifications of leaves include the presence of stellate (star-shaped) or branched hairs, scaly or waxy cuticles (outer surface of leaves), and the blue-grey colouration of many plants. Many of the Emu Bushes have hairy stems or leaves, and many of them are also blue-grey coloured. Saltbushes are well represented in arid regions in Australia, and many of these have scaly or hairy foliage, as well as succulent leaves (water-storage), and vesicle structures on their leaves to assist with salt exclusion for survival in saline soils.

Another leaf modification some plants have to limit evapotranspiration is the placement of stomata (the structure where gas exchange occurs) - some plants limit these to the underside of leaves, while others have their stomata hidden in pit-like structures, often covered by fine hairs.


The orientation of leaves in plants is often with the leaf edge turned toward the sun in order to reduce the surface area impacted on by evaportranspiration. Look for this feature in some wattle species.

Stem modifications are also apparent in some plant species to help them survive the harsh climate. Mallees are multi-stemmed gum trees (Eucalyptus species) that have modified stem base called a lignotuber which allows the trees to sprout again after severe drought or fire has killed off the top growth. Multiple growth points under the bark of trunks of many Eucalypt species allow them to re-sprout along their trunks after fires.

Stay tuned over the next fortnight for more amazing plant adaptations.

Imaged sourced from Botanical Gardens at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Penrith Walks Against Warming

After a week or so of overcast, cool and showery days it was a minor miracle that Sunday 11 November dawned as a mostly sunny and fine day - just perfect for the Penrith Walk Against Warming.

More than 100 people turned up to Weir Reserve in Penrith to lend their support to the walk, which aims to increase awareness of the issue of climate change and global warming among all levels of the community.

Just after 10am the crowd gathered for a couple of short speeches - one from Councillor Karen McKeown, who is Penrith City Council's Sustainability Champion, and another from a concerned local resident, Nevin Sweeney. Following these words the group headed off for a march along the Great River Walk.

It was a leisurely stroll alongside the beautiful Nepean River with most people stopping to pick up a temporary tattoo to mark the day!

After getting back to Weir Reserve there was plenty of time (and space) to relax with a sausage sandwich and cold drink thanks to the Penrith Lions Club and to pick up a free native tree to take home and plant in the garden.

All in all it was a great day that I'm sure will be bigger and better in 2008!

Penrith Walk Against Warming

Penrith City Council is supporting a local ‘Walk Against Warming’ right here in Penrith on Sunday 11 November to raise awareness of the urgent issue of climate change.

Come along and show your support by walking with us for a short way along the Great River Walk. Meet near the rotunda in Weir Reserve (off the Great Western Highway) at 10am and if you are one of the first 100 to arrive you can also pick up a free sausage sizzle and native plant!

We need your help to get the message out there so if you would like some posters (A4 or A3) or postcards to distribute at your school, church or in your neighbourhood contact Carmel Hamilton on 02 4732 8050.

If you have your own printer at home or would like to email the posters or flyers to your friends and relatives you can download the A4 poster, the A3 poster or a single postcard flyer.

Hope to see you there!