Issues related to the Environment, Climate Change, Water and Energy

Meeting Wednesday 18 January, 6 pm re Cooyong Street Urban Renewal Proposal

There will be a Question and Answer Session with ACT Government representative, Mr Peter Johns, on Wednesday 18 January at 6 pm, in the Canberra Korean Uniting Church Hall, corner of Doonkuna and Coranderrk Streets, Reid. Mr Peter Johns, Senior Manager, Asset Management Branch of the Community Services Directorate ACT, has kindly agreed to respond to questions. He has also offered to take on notice, and forward, questions best addressed to other Directorates. All residents and owners in Monterey Apartments and Argyle Square are invited to attend.

Introduction to ACAT decision 61 Griffith

Have you even been curious about ACT Civic and Administrative Tribunal decisions? ACAT decision 61 of for a 160 bed Residential Aged Care Facility in Griffith was released on 12 September 2011. The Tribunal has constituted that no plot ratio applies to developments of this type on Community Facility Zoned land, and that a number of significant trees on the site can be removed despite advice given by the Conservator of Flora and Fauna. The decision on tree management has wide-ranging implications for challenging the removal of significant tree(s) on un-leased land in the ACT. Read the decision »…

Introduction to inquiry into the ecological carrying capacity of the ACT and region

On 8 September 2011. the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Environment and Water held the first sitting of an inquiry into the ecological carrying capacity of the ACT and region. Representatives of the ACT Government and Regional Development Australia (ACT) addressed the committee. A full transcript of proceedings can be downloaded from the www.hansard.act.gov.au/committees website. Some brief extracts from the inquiry follow

The Elephants in Majura Valley

The North Canberra Community Council (NCCC) has questioned the proposed route of the planned Realignment of Majura Road. The Chair of NCCC, Jochen Zeil, has said that while the NCCC agrees that an Upgrade to the road is needed, the proposed Realignment is more expensive and more damaging to both heritage values and to endangered ecological communities, compared with upgrading the existing road. Read the media release here»… Read The Submission on the Eastern Broadacre Area here »… Read the submission regarding the Majura Parkway EIS here »…

10 million reasons ACT is the bush capital

Warren Saunders and his nursery staff are Canberra’s secret gardeners, responsible for creating much of the city’s landscape that’s taken for granted. They’ve propagated 350,000 seedlings to create 6ha of native plants along Anzac Parade, and literally got down and dirty in Mitchell’s urban wetlands, planting 150,000 native shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers. For a single revegetation project in the Brindabellas, they collected 900kg of native seed — and that’s just for the understorey plantings.

Inner North SEE-Change presents: Backyard Tour – Retrofitting and everything Solar (27 June 2010)

Matthew Driver of Lyneham has extensively retrofitted his 1950’s Lyneham house, dramatically reducing electricity, gas and water use and cutting their households carbon emissions on energy use from 19 Tonne a year to minus one Tonne. Join See-Change for a tour of this house to see what can be achieved with your existing house. On display will be rain water harvesting, DIY grey water distribution, a solar food dryer, a solar food cooker, two DIY solar air heater designs as well as the more conventional solar hot water and solar PV systems. Date: Sunday 27 June 2010 Time: 13:00 for …

World Environment Day in Garema Place, Civic (04 June 2010)

Visit Garema Place from 11.00am to 2.00pm this Friday to celebrate World Environment Day with the Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water (DECCEW). The interactive event will include displays from local organisations and government agencies to celebrate our environment as well as showcase environmental initiatives and programs that can help our community.