I like willows.
I like the way they look, the sound they make as they move in a breeze, the way their roots build up a shoreline, the way the highlight a watercourse across a landscape.
And I’ve got a soft spot for ratty and mole
Jon Stanhope does not like willows. His government likes to go [...]

Took the dog for a walk and a protest broke out, as a bit over 1000 people came together for the Canberra Walk Against Warming. Seems to be working as its bloody cold and cloudy today.
Senator Bob Brown was there along with MLA Shane Rattenbury, ACT Greens Senate candidate Lin Hatfield Dodds, local Getup [...]

Thanks to our fantastic supporters the National Convention Centre Canberra (a member of the International Hotels Group-IHG) we have 2 double passes to an amazing concert to be held in December.
Less than a month after being honoured with the award of a Member of the Order of Australia, guitar maestro Tommy Emmanuel has announced plans [...]

A friend, who has lived in the first stage of Macgregor West for about 18 months, recently received an unusual water bill; featuring excess water charges of well over $400.
This is unusual for many reasons, but mostly because it is only her living there, and besides the usual washing and toileting, she uses [...]

[ 13 July, 2010; 12:00 am to 9:30 pm. ] SEE-Change, in conjunction with the Canberra Loves 40% campaign, is organising a series of public discussions with members of our legislative assembly to discuss Canberra’s carbon emission targets. These meetings will give the public a chance to question their MLA’s about the upcoming government decision on Canberra’s emission targets.

 The first meeting on 24 June in [...]

I am looking to install a 5000L round water tank at our home, our second.  The first installation we had was through a local company, they were ok but we were not 100 per cent happy with their service, in particular their installers/plumbers leaving cigarette butts in our vegetable garden and all over the back [...]

Simon Corbell has announced that the ACT is getting on the bandwagon for a national container deposit system (getting a few pennies for every drink bottle you bring back).
Hopefully this is meant (should it not be derailed by a big state that would already have it if they wanted it) to improve recycling rates.
Although [...]

If you care about the local environment, please watch the “Save Collector Creek”
How To Spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R  YouTube video here:
Thank you!
www.CollectorVoice.com

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 us for a tour of this house to see what can be achieved with your existing house. On display will be rain [...]

[ 24 June, 2010; 7:15 am; ] The 1 Million Women Campaign presents – OUR CANBERRA BREAKFAST, JUNE 24 - Women in Climate Change, a national forum series.

Following sell-out events in five state capital cities drawing over 1700 women of Australia, the 1 Million Women campaign (www.1millionwomen.com.au) is delighted to bring our Women in Climate Change (WICC) national forum series to CANBERRA.

JOIN US at this special event to hear [...]

According to an ABC report on a Conservation Foundation survey of Australian cities.
What more can I say? Stanhope just has to try harder in getting us to use our cars less.

[First filed: Jun 7, 2010 @ 8:45]

Dear Canberra Neighbours,
I just found this site, and thought I might let you know that the old wooden Collector Town Creek Bridge (that you cross directly before arriving at the Collector Pumpkin Festival) is being demolished by our local council this month – maybe even this week – bridge [...]

[ 4 June, 2010; 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. ]

Don’t know what a seedstick is?  There’ll be hundreds in Garema Place this Friday (4 June) as giveaways for the World Environment Day event.  Our seedsticks are weeping red bottlebrush… great native for the Canberra climate.  You can simply take the seedstick, follow the instructions and plant your very own bottlebrush.

And there’ll be lots more [...]

[ 19 May, 2010; 5:30 pm; ] Got this in an email today from The Australia Institute.
GREENWASH: HAS TAX REFORM AND THE BUDGET SOLD THE ENVIRONMENT SHORT?

The Australia Institute’s Executive Director Richard Denniss will discuss the state of play in environmental policy in the context of tax reform, the Budget and the deferral of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Wednesday, 19 May
5.30pm for [...]

Here’s the original story about the Inner North Community Fair.
Got some more details about who and what you can see at this event. It’s on Sunday 16 May from 11am til 3pm at Hawdon Oval in Dickson. It’s organised by the ACT Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water to promote awareness of [...]

[ 4 June, 2010; 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. ] The ACT Government is holding a World Environment Day celebration in Garema Place on Friday 4 June from 11.00am to 2.00pm.

The interactive event will include displays from local organisations and government agencies to celebrate our environment as well as showcase environmental inititatives and programs that can help our community.

Come and visit us in Garema Place [...]

I called this morning to arrange a quote for installation of solar panels from a reputable company. When I said I was in Canberra, the salesperson told me that regrettably the company had decided they would no longer provide services in the ACT.
I would like to congratulate the salesperson on their obvious efforts in restraining themselves as [...]

For anyone interested in the science behind the protection of our wonderful National Parks and in particular Namadgi NP, there is a terrific Symposium being run this Friday/Saturday by the National Parks Association of the ACT Inc in the CSIRO Discovery Centre.
Nineteen speakers/presenters from all over Australia will be giving short, sharp and entertaining [...]

[ 16 May, 2010; 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. ]

The ACT Department of Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water have organised an Inner North Community Fair on Sunday 16 May, 11am til 3pm, at Hawdon Oval in Dickson.

Apart from having a great time and seeing what else happens in our local community to support the environment, they’d like people to check out the proposed [...]

I can see from TAMS there was supposed to be a controlled burn in Namadgi yesterday 18 March – is this smoke from yesterday?
[Ed - we got a few questions on this one, lets hope a controlled burn is all it is - ESA has details here]

[ 21 March, 2010; 10:30 am; ]

Freedom is not a word. Freedom is not a lifestyle that can be bought and sold. Freedom is an action. Freedom is the wind in your hair. Where ever than hair may be. Freedom is a bicycle and the open road stretching out into the horizon. Freedom is not needing permission. Or oil. Or clothes. [...]

Playdates for the Planet, Canberra is a playgroup for families living in the Canberra region, who are trying to live lower impact lifestyles, or who are interested in finding out more! It aims to bring together local families with similar beliefs about protecting the planet we live on, and for those interested to find out [...]

Word on the Lanyon Drive job site is that both ACT and NSW Govt’s are scurrying to rectify a “mistake” made by ACT Roads on this latest bit of traffic jamming activity.
Apparently work has started without the proper planning approvals being in place.  The rumour is that some of the outstanding approvals relate to enviornmental and flooding [...]

Thanks to the generosity of federal government conditions of service,  many permanent Canberra employees are currently entitled to salary sacrifice provisions by maximising the entitlement in the form of  acquiring their own motor vehicle.
Now here’s the environmental rub.  An incentive exists for those entitled to this condition of service to reside a long way from [...]

Does anyone know who is responsible for the guys with the “stop/slow” signs who are discouraging pedestrians from using the pedestrian crossings in Petrie and Scotts Streets – the ones that connect the separate parts of the Canberra Centre.
There is no construction work going on.
Cars rule OK! So much for encouraging people [...]

[ 12 December, 2009; 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. ] ACT otherWISE and Green Threads join forces again to bring you another GIANT clothes swap event at this years Canberra Walk Against Warming, this Saturday December 12th on the lawns of New Parliament House.  The purpose of the swap is to raise awareness of the impacts that our wardrobe choices can have on the environment, [...]

Does anyone know how clean / useable the waste water is from an evaporative air conditioning unit? I’ve got my unit draining into a 600 litre tank which then goes out onto the lawn. It doesn’t appear to be killing the grass, but then again the lawn ain’t looking that great either.
Would the water be [...]

Peter Miller from the Home Energy Advice Team will talk about ways in which we can keep our homes cool in summer. Followed by Chris Mobb who will explain the Green Loans Program. Green Loans is a new Australian Government Initiative to assist families to install solar, water saving, and energy efficient products.The program provides a detailed [...]

Working on the weekend Andrew Barr has proudly announced that the new town centre of Molonglo is coming together with the first suburb of Wright getting its Commonwealth environmental approval.
The suburb of Wright had been subject to an assessment under Commonwealth legislation and had been given the all clear. There are 800 blocks in [...]

A couple of months ago, there was a rather energetic discussion on the RA about the future of plastic shopping bags.
More recently, there was an obscure vox pop in the Chronicle and some official phone polling too (nobody calls me).
Well, it seems that it’s all part of a new Government campaign.  Stanhopia is spending $85 [...]

Today the ACT Legislative Assembly will be debating a bill for mandatory energy efficient hot water systems for new homes, which is being spearheaded by the Greens.
ACT Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur says:
“The Liberal Party, in their 2008 Climate Change policy release, said they would require ‘Solar or other low energy hot water systems on [...]

Today’s post is about the Federal Government’s ceiling insulation subsidy scheme. There are two of them – one for home owners and one for renters – offering a subsidy of up to $1600 towards the cost of installing ceiling insulation. It’s part energy efficiency feel-good factor, part economic stimulus for household trades.
You would think Canberrans [...]