Benalla Sustainable Future Group
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • ABOUT BSFG
    • Advocacy, Education and Lobbying >
      • ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY
      • Education
      • Lobbying and Media
    • INTERESTS >
      • Bio-diversity
      • Food and Agriculture >
        • Food & Agriculture
        • Food Co-op
        • Benalla Local Food Network
        • Permaculture and Sustainable Gardening
      • Renewable Energy >
        • Renewable Energy
        • Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
        • Renewable Energy Benalla
        • Benalla Community Energy Project (BCEP)
      • Sustainable Building >
        • Sustainable Building
        • Green Rebuild Toolkit
        • BSFG's Guide to Sustainable Housing
      • TRANSPORT/TRAVEL >
        • Bicycle Action Group
        • Cycling in Benalla
      • Waste/Plastic >
        • Plastic Wise Benalla
        • Single Use Plastics
        • Microfibre shedding
        • Plastic Wise News
    • FUNDING
  • ACTION GROUPS
    • Connecting and engaging the community
    • Ecological Sustainable Design and Development*
    • Greening and cooling our Urban Spaces
    • Renewable Energy
    • Sustainable farming systems
    • Waste Wise Benalla
  • Food Co-op
  • NEWS
    • News
    • Newsletters >
      • BSFG Newsletter Archive
      • Climate Ready Hume - February 2025
      • Benalla Permaculture
      • NERSA News
    • Swanpool Environmental Film Festival
    • Hot Topics and Kitchen Table Conversations
    • Light Ideas
    • Gallery
  • JOIN
    • Become a Member
    • Online Membership Form
    • Membership Form
  • CALENDAR
    • BSFG & Food Coop Calendar
  • Links
    • BSFG Favourites
    • Catch Up videos
    • Benalla Central Community Garden
    • Benalla Permaculture
    • Bendigo Sustainability Group
    • Climate Ready Hume
    • Ecoportal
    • Gecko Clan Landcare
    • North East Region Sustainability Alliance (NERSA)
    • Our Strathbogie Forest
    • Totally Renewable Yackandandah
    • Wangaratta Land Care and Sustainability
  • Contact

Greening and Cooling Benalla report for AGM 2024

21/6/2024

0 Comments

 
The Greening group is currently working on the Plant a Tree Day event planned for this Sunday
26th May. We were successful at gaining a Social Inclusion Grant funded by Benalla Council. This event is free, for Benalla locals, all ages and abilities welcome. There will be Wayap Wuurrk for connection and wellbeing, nature games, and a free barbeque. People will be given a plant to plant around their home to create a shady spot for their household. They will also be provided with information on the importance of shade and how to plant their small tree or shrub. (flyer)

In March we hosted Andie Guerin of the Regent Honeyeater Project to speak at our BSFG General meeting.Andie shared his extensive knowledge on local plants that would be suitable for planting on our nature strips and in our gardens, and what conditions and pitfalls we need to consider when selecting plants.

The Greening group is concerned about the way we see subdivisions being developed in the
Benalla Council area. Specifically, the lack of planning to provide for public open space in new
subdivisions, and the mass clearing of all existing, often mature, trees to make way for new
subdivisions poses a problem for the future. Fewer shade trees have been planted in and around Benalla over the last 20 years. The problem of reduced and insufficient shade where people live is now widely recognised across Australia with regional towns having some unique blockers to solving this problem.

Climate Change being the driver of increased temperatures around the globe, trees have an important part to play in mitigating its effects, and in protecting the health of communities with a wide variety of benefits as we learnt when Dr Greg Moore spoke in Benalla last year.

In Benalla, less shade trees have been planted due to several factors, including overhead power lines, narrow nature strips in newer subdivisions, and a reduced budget for footpaths, curb and channel.

BSFG member Howard Bartlett has shared with us a document prepared for the Municipal Association of Victoria titled 'Shaping Regional and Rural Victoria - A Discussion Paper'. It has
many point of interest in common with BSFG objectives including:

  1. Greening of streets and reserves
  2. Solar farms
  3. Council Resources
  4. Affordable appropriate housing

If anyone is interested in a copy, see me or Howard after the meeting. This area is one that the
Greening & Cooling Benalla group will be working to address going forward.

We hope we can work with Benalla Council and developers to ensure that Benalla has shade trees in every subdivision and on all vacant Council land, and also encourage home owners to plant shade trees.
Greening and cooling benalla action group report to 2024 AGM - pdf
​

Judy Schwarzman
0 Comments

    'Greening Benalla' - Greening and Cooling our Urban Spaces

    An action group of BSFG which works towards the greening of the Benalla landscape by preserving existing vegetation and creating new green spaces and corridors. 

    Group members:
    Karen Nankervis
    Judy Schwarzman
    Sue Campbell
    Kate Holmes
    ​Christine Holmes 

    Categories

    All
    Andie Guerin
    Application For Tree Removal
    Climate Ready Trees
    Council's Tree Planting Program
    Dr Greg Moore
    Plant A Tree Day
    Planting Nature Strips
    Rec-Less Project
    Report To BSFG AGM
    Resilient Plants
    Shaping Rural And Regional Australia Report
    'Trees Are Major Assets As Climate Changes'

    Archives

    June 2024
    May 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    August 2022

    RSS Feed



    Banner photo: Graphic for 'Planting Nature Strips' Presentation, March 2024
Picture
Picture
Picture
News Blog
​Gallery
Newsletter
Light Ideas
​Hot Topics
Mailing List
Membership Form
​
​Donate to Support BSFG

Action Groups
​Benalla Food Cooperative
​Connected, Engaged Community
Ecological Sustainable Design and Development
​Greening  and cooling our urban areas 
​
​
​Renewable Energy
Sustainable Farming 
Waste Wise 
Email addresses: 
BSFG:    [email protected]
Food Co-op:  [email protected]
​Benalla Sustainable Future Group acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we live, work and meet, the Taungerang, Yorta Yorta and Bpangerang people ​of North East Victoria, and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.