Banyule's Environmental Sustainability News No Images? Click here Welcome to winter in Banyule! This is a great time of the year, as planting kicks off again with many of our Friends Groups and Bushland Management team. Make sure to check our website for how to get involved in these and other events. Wildlife Corridor ProgramOur Wildlife Corridor program is kicking into gear again, after recent autumn rains. This Council funded program aims to protect and enhance wildlife corridors throughout the municipality. Indigenous planting is a key component of the program and is encouraged to help create habitat for native wildlife. Our school program is underway, with Viewbank PS and Sherbourne PS completing the first step of the program - a Biodiversity Audit /Habitat survey of their school grounds. Montmorency PS has booked in their audit date and the community revegetation dates are set. Residents have responded positively to the article in the recent Banyule Banner promoting the Buy 1 get 1 free indigenous plant voucher. Residents are eligible for a “buy 1 get one free” indigenous voucher each financial year to create habitat and wildlife corridors in their gardens for local fauna. To request a voucher, e-mail your name and address to Jim Mead. Evergreen - A nature program for older peopleThe Environment Team was delighted to run a pilot nature program for older residents in May. The trial aims to address social isolation and improve general health outcomes through the use of therapeutic horticulture. The Pilot provided participants with a taste of the kinds of activities that would be included in an ongoing program. Designed by our consultant Horticultural Therapist, the activities offered sensory stimulation, physical exercise, maintenance of fine motor skills and importantly, a relaxed environment for socialising. Big change starts with small steps. What will your next step be?We are excited to again be running Change Makers - an annual free event which will help to energise and connect residents passionate about protecting our environment. This event will be led by humanatureconnect, with lots of opportunity for thoughtful and action-based discussions around sustainability. Change Makers will be held at the Old Shire Offices in Heidelberg, Thursday 8th June. Doors open at 6.15pm for a 6:30pm start. Environmental Sustainability Grants Program - Opening Soon!Banyule’s annual Grants Program is opening shortly. The Environmental Grants are an annual program, run by Council to incentivise new or established groups to develop initiatives that achieve environmental sustainability outcomes such as:
The Grants for 2017 will be opening shortly on Monday 26th June and closing Friday 4th August. Questions? Call our Environmental Sustainability Officer, Sian Gleeson on 9457 9828 or click below for further details and guidelines. Arty Farty - Discovery LandBanyule Kids Arty Farty event is a great interactive event held every year in March at Sills Bend. The Environment Team hosted a number of activities as part of the day, including a water bugs activity from our local waterways. Everyone from Bulleen Art and Garden to Banyule’s local artist Felicity Gorden were there to engage kids in water focused art activities. As part of Council's commitment to waste reduction, participants were encouraged to bring along healthy, waste free picnic lunches. Young Caleb Cilia was the winner of this initiative. Caleb said his family “always take food from home and use environmentally friendly containers so we have no waste.” He won 4 family passes to Watermarc, Congratulations Caleb and keep up the great work! Showcasing our Significant TreesThe Environment Team was delighted to trial a new program in May - engaging arborists David Galwey and Linda Worland from Tree Dimensions to facilitate a bus tour of Banyule’s top ten significant trees. At Banyule we maintain a Register of Significant Trees, which features locally indigenous trees, other Australian native species as well as exotic species. Trees are able to be nominated for inclusion to the Register by all residents, through a nomination process. Trees can be successfully added to the Register for a number of reasons, such as their contribution to the landscape, size, age or historical value. This latest tour was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. We hope to run another during Spring Outdoors, so make sure you check the Spring Outdoors program to get involved! The half day outing featured just some of the municipality’s amazing public trees including a 400 year old red gum in Yallambie and a Swamp Gum in Montmorency, remnant of pre-European settlement. Wetlands and billabongs – improving environmental water deliveryBanyule Billabong is a remnant of a previous course of the Yarra River. The river has migrated across the floodplain and carved itself a new channel into the landscape, leaving this classic “ox bow” wetland, or billabong. Under natural environmental conditions the billabong would have most likely been inundated nearly annually but due to altered water regimes it barely gets enough water every four years to meet its ecological requirements. Working together, Melbourne Water, Parks Victoria, the Victorian Environmental Water Holder, and Banyule Council identified Banyule Billabong as one of the three most important billabongs in the entire Yarra catchment. A trial watering of the billabong took place in November/December 2016, allowing the pumping of up to 62 million litres of water into it from the Yarra as part of Melbourne Water’s Wetlands and billabongs – improving environmental water delivery project. The trial was a great success, with immediate biodiversity benefits noted including the return of frogs and waterbirds to the billabong. More Bike Racks for Coffee LoversBanyule has some delicious cafes throughout the municipality – many which are a great refuelling point for cyclists. Recently some already well utilised bike racks have been put in at Crate Café in Haig St in Heidelberg West. Council provides bike racks in many locations in our activity centres to encourage the use of cycling. Cycling instead of driving allows residents to access the health benefits of active travel while reducing the environmental impact of car use and traffic congestion. Have a Gawk at the Goshawk!Darebin Creek Forest Park is lucky enough to have its very own, local Brown Goshawk. The Darebin Creek bush crew are lucky to catch a glimpse of it often as we are working along the creek. Brown Goshawks are a medium sized bird of prey. They have a brown head, slate-grey to brown upper parts with a red-brown collar across the upper nape of the neck. The rounded wings are dark brown to grey above and buff to reddish brown below with darker wingtips, and the long rounded tail is grey with dark bars. The long legs are yellow, with reddish brown feathering about the thighs. The eye is bright yellow (Birds in Backyards). If you are walking along the Darebin Trail keep an eye out for this wonderful bird as they are not common in metropolitan Melbourne. Turbulence - Art and Climate Change ExhibitionAn environmental focused art exhibition, Turbulence, was run by Banyule City Council’s Arts team in March. Turbulence was a creative response to global climate change and environmental sustainability. Banyule artists from the Textile art community, sound artist Alice Bennett and environmental artist Felicity Gordon collaborated to create an interactive art installation using salvaged and recycled materials. The exhibition was well received by community and school groups visiting the space. "Passion Mashing" Workshop for VolunteersBanyule environmental friends of groups were well represented at a “Passion Mashing” workshop during May, delivered by Changeology expert Les Robinson. Banyule partnered with neighbouring councils to present the workshop, which aimed to reinvigorate volunteer groups and help them to attract new members Les took the fifty participants through a range of activities focused on how to more effectively recruit for new members. The overarching message was that behaviour change happens when we interact with people we know and trust, and we can use this knowledge to recruit new volunteers. Stay Warm This WinterIn May Banyule ran a free workshop with Positive Charge, exploring simple ways to keep your household warm in winter. Attendees learnt about different types of heating, insulation and draft sealing products that save money and keep you comfortable during the colder months. Did you know Banyule City Council offers a free energy advice service for residents and businesses, through the not-for-profit organisation Positive Charge? Positive Charge can answer questions about building envelopes (windows, draught proofing, insulation and smart design), going solar (is now the right time to buy and how you can maximise savings), hot water systems and appliances (what to buy and how to use them!) Diaries from our Bushland Management CrewsWeed control kicks off with our Bushland Management Crews... Weed Control - Yarra Crew The Scented Sundew (Drosera aberrans) At this time of the year the cooler weather results in lots of moisture on the ground in the mornings. Increased amounts of precipitation and cool weather mean that over the next few months we will be busy controlling annual weeds and preventing them from setting another generation of seeds. Using this strategic approach we hope to see a decline in these weed species which compete with indigenous plants for space and resources. Some indigenous species we have photographed in our reserves this month include the Cranberry Heath (Astroloma humifusum) and the Scented Sundew (Drosera aberrans), pictured. The Cranberry Heath is a prostrate spreading plant with bright red tubular flowers and edible berries and known as an aboriginal food plant. The Scented Sundew is a carnivorous plant which captures and digests insects with sticky hairs on the surface of its leaves. Annual Burning- Plenty River Crew Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium strictum) In autumn and winter we will be targeting areas with a mix of indigenous ground-cover species and cold-season annual weeds. By burning the young weeds as they stick their heads up, we can knock them off before they’ve even begun. Meanwhile, the combination of heat, smoke, and nutrient-rich ash stimulates germination in many local species, including Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium strictum), Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior) and Mat Grass (Hemarthria uncinata). Some of these plants are extremely difficult, or even impossible, to grow from seed, so in areas where their populations are low we rely on fire to encourage them to flourish and multiply. There are many local bush land plants that benefit from fire, which is why the Plenty River crew has been out and about with spot burners through autumn and winter. These hand-held gas burners allow us to be very controlled about where and what we burn – particularly at this time of year, when the challenge is not putting out fires but getting them to start in the first place! Victoria’s sustainability leaders are being urged to enter this year’s Premier’s Sustainability Awards and share their insights with people, organisations and companies across the state. Sustainability Victoria CEO, Stan Krpan, said the 15th Premier’s Sustainability Awards were a great way to recognise Victoria’s sustainability talent. “The bar gets higher every year. We’re delighted to see increasingly diverse and interesting ways that people are working hard to combat the effects of climate change and improve the environment. We want to recognise them and their wonderful work, and hopefully inspire others to think about their own environmental contributions.” Entries close Wednesday, 21 June 2017. EventsJoin us for business networking and hear from tech talk guru Stu Atkins. Stu Atkins is a professional keynote presenter in technology. He understands what’s around the corner and how to future proof your business for the next phase of innovation, disruption and social engagement. In this thought provoking session, Stu will highlight the key changes in your customers, what they want moving forward, which technology is likely to change their behavior and who may be looking to disrupt your market place. His social media tips will help improve your business’ standing, build a more loyal following and drive new business outcomes. Friday 16 June, 7am-9am, Greensborough RSL - 111 Main St, Greensborough $49 per person, hot breakfast included. This event is brought to you by Council in partnership with the Greensborough Chamber of Commerce Love Food Hate Waste15 June 2017, 7pm – 8.30 pm at St Francis Xavier Parish, 86 Mayona Road, Montmorency.Did you know the average Victorian household throws out $40 worth of food a week? That’s $2,080 per year. Food waste not only wastes money, it also adds to our carbon footprint. Eco-organiser guru, Tanya Lewis, shares her tips on:
This is a free event. Bookings are essential call 9490 4222. Film Screening- FernGully: The Last RainforestWe are excited to be hosting a free screening of the brilliant FernGully: 'The Last Rainforest', in celebration of National Tree Day. The kid focused evening will be held Saturday July 29 at Hatch from 5pm. Numbers are limited so be sure to book here. Please BYO picnic dinner - popcorn provided. |