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The film Albatross by Chris Jordan was screened at North East Artisans on Saturday 1st August. A joint initiative of BSFG, Plastic Wise Benalla and NEA, the film was introduced by Wendy Baker from Plastic Wise Benalla and BSFG's Peter Maddock, with the screening followed by discussion and tea/coffee. . Peter's inspiration for screening the film in Benalla is evident from the preamble he wrote prior to its screening... "I spoke to Tim Bowtell at NEA a few years ago about screening a film at NEA. At the time I was influenced by seeing a recording of Art Climate Ethics: What Role for the Arts? at the Melbourne Sustainable Living Festival 2014. This presentation featured a number of artists talking about their art and climate change and was presented by Guy Abrahams of CLIMARTE: Arts for a Safe Climate. One of the featured artists was Chris Jordan director of Albatross who spoke about his making of the film on Midway Island, https://www.albatrossthefilm.com/ Over recent months I have looked up some of Chris Jordan’s work and have come to see how Chris wants to take us beyond the numbers used to describe our impact on the environment. By showing us the consequences of the cultural choices we make he wants us to feel these impacts, because large numbers such as tons of carbon emissions, the number of species threatened with extinction, etc. doesn’t mean much to us. Chris Jordan’s website presents some amazing Photographic Arts, in particular some animations titled Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait and Running the Numbers II: Portraits of global mass culture, visualising the numbers resulting from our personal consumption. In his TedX talk 'Midway Journey' Chris describes his artistic work as “visualising and facing the invisible truths of our time”. Earlier this year I came across a video of Chris talking about the making of Albatross on Midway Island. In particular I was taken by his comment that the tragedy unfolding on Midway from our plastic pollution in the Pacific is a bit like global warming, it is largely invisible to us. Chris’ message is that he wants us to feel the tragedy of our times. A wakeup call for us to make new choices. This year Albatross was screened at the Transition Film Festival in Melbourne and has been offered by Chris Jordan as a free public screening to spread the word about the tragedy of plastic pollution in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. So thank you to Tim and North East Artisans for providing us with the opportunity to screen Albatross at NEA.
A reminder also that Tim Bowtell has in his own way been visualising some of the tragedies of our times. His mural at Benalla Wall Art this year was “Cornography”, a critique of our modern corporate food chain. And most recently Tim’s entry in the inaugural Swanpool SCRAP Art Prize, the “Treadmill of Perpetual Happiness” is now situated at the entry to North East Artisans." (Peter Maddock) People who attended the screening of Albatross at NEA were clearly very moved by it. NEA member Pamella Francis wrote the following comment on NEA's Facebook page - "I attended the free ALBATROSS movie last night, Saturday 1st Sept at NEA.... I was totally aghast at what we, as humans are doing to our beautiful planet and the animals who innocently go about their lives unaware of the dangers that they ingest and pass on to their offspring. The parent bird don't know that they are slowly killing them. As humans we at least have choice and can be aware of the dangers of what we choose to eat and the lifestyles we live in. Whilst there is a minority of people who are trying to do the 'right' thing with plastic, recycling etc etc... the BIG companies need to get on board if real changes can be made! I don't usually say much on FB just "like" what other people post but I can't not say something about this movie on the Albatross. If everyone took the time to watch this move, they would be moved to change".  Sustainable House Day 2018 is on Sunday 16 September 2018 https://sustainablehouseday.com/.
Two locations are listed for Benalla on the Sustainable House Day website - Sandy's Tiny House and BSFG Member Howard Bartlett's Solar Skillion Sleep Out. You will need to register on https://sustainablehouseday.com to get details of the addresses. If you missed it Howard's Solar Skillion Sleepout last year pop in to have a look and discuss with Howard options for Sustainable Housing. Entry is free or a gold coin donation which Howard is directing to BSFG. Howard is asking for assistance from a few BSFG members for his open house by collecting visitor details and gold coin donations. If you are able to assist could you reply to this email indicating a preferred time from 10.00am to 4.00pm? A one hour time slot would assist making up a roster. Peter Maddock 0418 135 330 At the BSFG General Meeting held on August 23, our guest speaker from FRV Services, Development Manager Avantika Basu, provided an update on the 85MW AC Winton Solar Farm. The first solar farm to be approved for development in the Winton region, Winton Solar Farm will help to establish a sustainable new industry for the region. Project Developer, FRV Services Australia, is one of the leading solar developers in the country, having now initiated six large-scale solar farms across QLD, NSW, SA and Victoria. Avantika provided an update on the project concept, its development approval and expected social and environmental benefits and answered a range of questions from the audience. Information about the Winton Solar Farm Project can be viewed at the FRV website, http://wintonsolarfarm.com/, and FRV in Australia, http://frv.com/en/tag/australia/. This proved to be an excellent opportunity to hear more about this Solar Farm Project for which it is hoped construction will begin in 2019. Engineer Avantika and her team stayed behind to answer questions and engage with us all about a project about which they are clearly very well informed and passionate.  The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (IAN) has contacted BSFG seeking support for the Nobel Peace Ride 2018.
ICAN was co-founded by Lima East resident Professor Tilman Ruff from Melbourne University. ICAN are the current Nobel Peace laureate, who were awarded this honour last year for their work on pushing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, making the greatest weapons of mass destruction illegal and paving the way towards full nuclear disarmament. In September the treaty will tour from Melbourne to Canberra by bicycle in an effort to raise awareness among smaller towns and urge our government to sign the treaty as a matter of urgency. Benalla is a major stop on the tour on Sept 6-7, where there will be an exhibition at BPACC at the request of Mayor Don Firth and MP Cathy McGowan. All local residents are welcome to attend the exhibition for a chance to share in the campaign. An event will be held from 6 - 7 pm on Friday 7 September from 6-7 pm (refer poster). For support along the way, ICAN are reaching out to community/peace groups and organisations for food and shelter. Any food donations will go a long way in supporting an altering group of 5-20 riders. Lavanya Pant is the Project Coordinator for the Nobel Peace Ride 2018 and is organising all the logistics for the ride. If you are able to offer support or have suggestions please contact Lavanya on 0468490768 or email Lavanya Pant, lavanya@icanw.org. More details are on the ICAN Facebook Events page, https://www.facebook.com/events/1246449445492082/. Peter Maddock 0418 135 330 In collaboration with North East Artisans, Benalla Sustainable Future Group and Plastic Wise Benalla presents a free screening of the film Albatross on Saturday September 1ST at 7:00PM. On a remote atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, albatross chicks are dying, bodies filled with plastic. ALBATROSS unflinchingly shows the horror and grief of this tragedy, but ultimately brings us to a deeply felt experience of beauty and love for life on Earth. Stepping outside of traditional documentary film style, ALBATROSS delivers a profound message of reverence and renewal. Chris Jordan is a multi-media artist based in Seattle. His work explores contemporary mass culture from a variety of photographic and conceptual perspectives, connecting the viewer viscerally to the enormity and power of humanity’s collective unconscious. Jordan’s work edgewalks the lines between beauty and horror, abstraction and representation, and the visible and the invisible, challenging us to look both in-ward and outward at the complex landscapes of our collective choices (www.chrisjordan.com). Jordan’s work reaches an increasingly broad international audience through his exhibitions, books, web-site, interviews on radio and television, and speaking engagements and school visits all over the world. He is currently involved in an international tour of his first feature film ALBATROSS, bringing to world the awareness and message of plastic pollution’s devastation effect on the albatrosses of Midway island (www.albatrossthefilm.com). This film is exempt from classification and is restricted to people over 15 years. People under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. Running for 97 minutes there will be time for discussion afterwards. Free screening at NEA, 122 Bridge Street East, Benalla, VIC 3672, Sat Sep 1ST, 6.30pm for 7.00pm Start. Limited seating. Additional screenings may be possible. RSVP By 27 August; Phone Peter 0418 135 330 or email peter_maddock@iprimus.com.au.  Some ideas for Plastic Free July! Set personal goals; join the Benalla Food Co-op; buy a 'Plastic Wise Benalla' reusable bag; consider a trip to the Good Vibes Food Store in Nunn Street next to the Town Hall; check out the "In the Bag" exhibition by regional artists at the Wangaratta Library's Bainz Gallery; watch the new series of the ABC's 'The War on Waste'starts on July 24; listen to the North East'sLuke Davies & the Recycled String Band'perform 'Reduce, Recycle & Reuse' & more!
New, renewable energies are changing the way we get our energy. We are no longer reliant entirely on power from the big energy generators and companies.
We need to make sure that communities benefit from the renewable energy. The Community Energy model gives local towns and regions power over how they generate and consume electricity. Join us at a Community Energy Forum on Friday 3rd August at BPACC and find out what community energy means for you and our region. Locally generated renewable energy will create local jobs, cleaner energy and allow the community to control where their energy comes from. It means that towns can create mini-grids, where residents can trade power between themselves – powered by household solar and battery energy. This reduces reliance on the dirty and expensive national energy grid. A local community energy retailer is currently being developed to allow towns and regions to achieve their renewable energy goals. Come along and listen to some of Australia's foremost experts in the field explain how we can harness this new form of energy to build a new model of energy. Three great speakers will outline what community energy is and how we can benefit from it: Simon Corbell, Victorian Renewable Energy Advocate; Nicky Ison, Co-founder of the Community Power Agency; Alison Rowe, Chief Executive Officer of Moreland Energy Foundation. This is a free event but please RSVP for the Benalla meeting by 3 August at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/benalla-community-energy-forum-tickets-47537010478 Download the Forum Flyer. The Annual General Meeting of Benalla Sustainable Future Group was held on Thursday 28th June at the Benalla Uniting Church, Carrier Street Benalla. After accepting the minutes of the previous AGM and presentation of reports all elected positions were declared open by Councillor Scott Upston and the election of Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary plus a minimum of four committee members and a nominated member from the Food Co-Op was proceeded with.
As there was no nomination for President, Wendy Sherlock, who is continuing in as Vice President, will proceed in this role in the interim. As most of you know, John Lloyd has resigned as President after many years to focus on the work of Renewable Energy Benalla. Councillor Upston made particular mention of the valued work John has played working with the Council in relation to environmental sustainability and renewable energy. Our guest speaker for the meeting was Leigh Ewbank who has worked as an activist with Friends of the Earth for six years and is the current Act on Climate coordinator for Friends of the Earth. He has also worked on the Yes 2 Renewables campaign and was very much involved with campaigning against the anti-wind farm lobby. Yes 2 Renewables was the driving force behind the campaign to restore fair wind farm laws in Victoria, and spearheaded the case for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target. Leigh has a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from RMIT University, Melbourne. He has been engaged in climate and energy debates for years and more recently has lectured in the Urban Planning and Energy and Energy Policy and Management courses at RMIT University. Leigh presented a most engaging slide show to accompany his talk, highlighting many case studies of FOE's grass roots involvement with communities concerned about climate change issues. He spoke of his current concern at the absence of climate change policy in the State's Liberal Party policy platform and recent backward steps in some aspects of previously very positive Labour Party policy. Leigh then organised us to work in groups to develop responses to questions relating to our concerns about climate change. The 'scribe' for each group then read back the responses - these are being collated by Leigh, working with BSFG's Cath Marriott, for inclusion in a letter to be sent to local politicians which we will inclorporate into this post when available. A delicious supper, the signing of postcards as part of an advocacy campaign and convivial discussions concluded the evening. The 2018 SEFF was held on Saturday 16th June and was run by Swanpool Landcare and Benalla Sustainable Future Group. Sponsors for the event were the GBCMA, Gecko CLaN, Benalla Permaculture, Granite Creeks Landcare Network and Benalla Rural City (via BSFG).
This annual event is run in three sessions and the fabulous Swanpool Catering Team provides afternoon tea and dinner during the breaks. It’s always excellent but this year they excelled with tasty Asian style rice dishes, vegetable tart and the fruit platters. The guest speakers and films for the afternoon sessions really dovetailed together well. Dr Sam Alexander from Melbourne University gave the opening talk on ‘Life in a degrowth economy and why you might actually enjoy it’ followed by the film ‘Living in the Future’s Past’. Discussion around ‘degrowth’ centred on the definition of real human wealth versus our focus on GDP. The more we spend on disasters for instance the more GDP rises. A Tiny House on a trailer, parked adjacent to the hall, was supportive of the ‘simpler living’ theme. Thanks to Neil and Sandy Garrett of Violet Town for bringing it along. Dr Charles Massy from ANU took the stage following afternoon tea with his talk on ‘Can regenerative agriculture help save the world?’ This was highly appreciated by the switched on audience. The slides displayed on the screen told much of the story; just compare one side of the fence to the other. The promotion of non-organic fertilizers and chemicals was also addressed with their negative effects on soil and human health. Charles’ book ‘Call of the Reed Warbler’ was on sale at the event, thanks to ‘Country Tales’ Mansfield bookshop, and is highly recommended reading. The second film ‘Living the Change’ was introduced by the co-director Jordan Osmond and his enthusiasm for the material shone through. The film starts off setting the scene then presents the stories of New Zealand individuals, families and communities who embrace change for a more sustainable and less wasteful lifestyle. Questions from the audience were all about what we could do locally in our own environment. The evening session was a bit different from past years. A panel consisting of Prof Kate Auty, Dr Ian Herbert, Shirley Saywell and Bertram Lobert gave brief presentations on community voices and democracy, climate change, Strathbogie Forest under climate change and local actions to protect the forest. Anthony Chisholm supplied stunning video footage for the latter and Mick Frewin gave an impassioned testimonial as to why he is engaged in forest actions. The panel discussion concluded with a unanimous vote asking the government of the day to enact a climate policy. ‘Paper Trail’ was the last film and was produced in 1992. It is still very relevant. Starting with NSW and Gippsland logging it follows those logs through wood-chipping at Eden and transport to Japan to be made into paper then final recycling for just a fraction. What’s changed in a quarter century? Just the site of the woodchip mills, the destination of the ships (China now) and the extent of state forests felled for this voracious trade. The film concluded with feasible alternatives for paper making – plantation timber or fast growing industrial hemp. How do we measure the success of this annual event? Numbers through the door is one measure (we had a full house) but the real measure is how the audience responds to the speakers and films. They didn’t go away with a warm fuzzy feeling (there are too many pressing environmental concerns for that) but they did go home better informed and motivated. With Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise (set now to miss the 2020 Kyoto target) and our land and forests under stress and threat, it’s up to each of us to act locally and nationally and press for change. We thank our speakers and our sponsors and all our volunteer support once again for making SEFF 2018 such a stand out environmental film festival. Ian Herbert Event Coordinator It appears that Australia's response to intensifying extreme weather events remains at the bottom of the national agenda, as climate change barely rated a mention in the Federal Budget.
Climate Council Acting CEO Dr Martin Rice said it was disappointing the Federal Government’s 2018 Budget had appeared to ignore climate change, despite the nation’s greenhouse gas pollution levels continuing to rise for more than three consecutive years. “The Federal Government’s continuous failure to seriously tackle climate change is an embarrassment,” he said. “Australia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in the developed world, with worsening extreme weather events including severe heatwaves, supercharged storms, heavy rainfall, flooding, droughts and bushfires.” “Australia is at risk of further cementing its reputation as a global laggard when it comes to slashing growing greenhouse gas pollution levels and tackling climate change. We cannot continue to sit on our hands, while nations like New Zealand and France show real climate leadership.” "Australia must rollout credible climate and energy policy that ramps up our transition to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy and storage technology, while moving away from our polluting fossil fuel past. The only thing standing in our way is political will.” (Climate Council media release, 9/5/2018) Our biggest climate error Ross Gittins, writing in The Age, also reports that after combing through the budget's fine print he finds that its thousands of pages make almost no mention of climate change. ('Our biggest climate error', 30/5/2018) Gittins says, "I fear that history won't be kind to the present generation. We've known of the scientific evidence for human-caused global warming since the late 1980's. Since then the evidence has only strengthened. And by now we have the evidence of our own senses of hotter summers and autumns and warmer winters, plus more frequent extreme weather events. And yet as a nation we procrastinate." Gittins states, "The biggest mistake we've made is to allow our politicians to turn concern about global warming into a party-political issue, and to do so merely for their own short-term advantage. The initial motives may have been short-term, but the adverse effects have been lasting." "Global warming used not to be, shouldn't be and doesn't have to stay a right-versus-left issue. In Europe it is bipartisan. Margaret Thatcher was a vocal fighter for action on climate change, and the Conservative Party is anti-denial to this day." Gittins concludes by saying, "But we can't put all the blame on short-sighted politicians and crony capitalism. If enough of us did more to voice our disapproval, the pollies would change their tune very quickly. And we'd have a more convincing story to tell our grandchildren when they want to know what we did in the climate war." John Lloyd Renewable Energy Benalla has a keen interest in utility scale renewable energy developments and contributes as a community networker by learning about and sharing information about renewable energy proposals. REB recently publicised the Lightsource BP Urbis proposed solar installation at Winton. Information was shared about, and some BSFG members attended, a community information event held by Lightsource BP Urbis on June 13 at Winton Raceway. Kristi Jorgensen and her team from Urbis Lightsource BP welcomed visitors warmly to the community information session, sharing pamphlets, answering questions and listening to community feedback on the proposed solar installation.  The informative posters on display in the room have been made available to our website by Urbis for people unable to attend the information session: The following morning REB committee members including John Lloyd and Peter Maddock met with Kristi and members of her team at a breakfast meeting to find out more about the proposal and share a community perspective.
Other resources: Lightsource BP Information Sheets about the Lightsource BP Solar Farm Proposal.  Photograph: Karl Philipson Sponsored by BSFG and Sun Real, the biennial Environmentally Sustainable Business Award announced at the recent Benalla Business Network Business Excellence Awards went to Benalla Church Street Surgery. BSFG President John Lloyd presented the award. John is pictured above with Janine Rofe, Practice Manager from the surgery and Martin Nichol from Sun Real. . The Environmentally Sustainable Business Award for excellence recognizes a business that has taken significant steps to reduce the environmental impact of the business through using resources more efficiently and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Benalla Church Street Surgery was commended by the judges, John Lloyd from BSFG and Nick Katsanevakis from Sustainability Victoria, on
During the site visit the judges recommended setting a target of reducing energy, water and waste by a certain percentage as part of the surgery's environmental policy, suggesting that making this an annual target could form the basis of a policy of continuous improvement. Congratulations go to Dr Brownstein who, inspired by discussions about the issue of sustainability and health, introduced the development of an environmental plan at the Church Street Surgery to make it more sustainable. Energy auditors Ecomaster, presenters at BSFG's Building forums in 2015 and 2016, completed the audit, making recommendations which were implemented at the surgery relating to draughts, insulation and waste. One of many efficiency strategies introduced by the practice has involved eliminating faxes by sending emails rather than faxes! Interestingly, prior to the energy audit the surgery had been told that it would need 25kw solar panels, however after implementing the audit only 15KW of solar panels are required. A worthy winner and an inspirational case study!  The Annual General Meeting of Benalla Sustainable Future Group will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday 28th June at the Benalla Uniting Church, Carrier Street Benalla, opposite the Coles car park.
After accepting the minutes of the previous AGM and presentation of reports all elected positions will be declared open and there will be an election of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary plus a minimum of four committee members and a nominated member from the Food Co-Op. This year John Lloyd will not be accepting nominations for President nor the Committee as his work with Renewable Energy Benalla is occupying him fully. So please give consideration to nominating for an Office Bearer or Committee position. Contact me if you require further information about standing for a position. Our guest speaker for the meeting is Leigh Ewbank who is the current Act on Climate coordinator for Friends of the Earth. He has also worked on the Yes 2 Renewables campaign and was very much involved with campaigning against the anti-wind farm lobby. Yes 2 Renewables was the driving force behind the campaign to restore fair wind farm laws in Victoria, and spearheaded the case for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target. Leigh has a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) from RMIT University, Melbourne. He has been engaged in climate and energy debates for years and more recently has lectured in the Urban Planning and Energy and Energy Policy and Management courses at RMIT University. We look forward to seeing you at our 2018 AGM. Regards, Peter Maddock Secretary 0418 135 330 Recently public policy evaluation and consultancy firm URBIS contacted BSFG about a new Mokoan solar farm proposal at Lee Road Winton. Representing Lightsource BP, Urbis has arranged a Community Information Drop-In Event to be held on Wednesday 13 June 2018 Winton Raceway 41 Fox Street, Winton. Visit the project team any time between 4pm and 7pm.
Download information about the meeting. Lightsource BP is a global market leader in the development and long-term management of large-scale solar projects and smart energy solutions. Download information about the Lightsource BP Mokoan Solar Farm Proposal. The REB Efficiency Group had the first meeting in its workshop series 'Wipe Out Your Gas and Electricity Bills' on Tuesday May 22nd at the Benalla Gliding Club.
This meeting provided a brief overview of the series with an emphasis on reading power meters and understanding power bills. It is considered useful to establish a baseline energy use before people embark on improving the energy efficiency of their homes so that improvements in performance can be measured. Geoff Lodge, CEO and Executive Director of GV Community Energy gave an informative talk on the Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard including some valuable insights on retrofitting. There are three more sessions in the series. Session 2 - Tuesday 26 June - Lighting, Draft Proofing and Insulation. Session 3 - Tuesday 24 July - Windows, Appliances & Cooking and Heating & Cooling. Session 4 - Tuesday 21 August - Hot Water, Energy Monitoring & Control and Solar Power. We encourage you to analyse your power bills to establish your baseline energy use. Full details in REB's 'Wipe Out Gas and Electricity Bills' flyer. A light supper will be available at the end of the evenings. RSVP by the Sunday before a session, Phone Peter 0418 135 330, AH Howard 0409 504 420 or Email RSVP to Peter - peter_maddock@iprimus.com.au 'SCRAP' - Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize, is Swanpool’s fabulous, fearsome, funny and frolicking art challenge to Australian artists in the use of recycled materials. Please join the Swanpool Community in August for Swanpool’s inaugural exhibition of scrap art presented by some of Australia’s artistic leaders in the use of recycled materials.’
The Swanpool Community Development Association is moving on from their successful involvement in the Bald Archy Touring Exhibition to deliver their own exhibition own exhibition and art prize in 2018 'SCRAP - Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize'. 'SCRAP' The Swanpool Creative Recycled Art Prize Saturday 4th August to Sunday 19th August 2018 Gala Opening Friday 3rd August Swanpool Memorial Hall 2386 Midland Highway, Swanpool Vic 3673 Cost - $5 per person, Students $2 Morning and Afternoon Teas; Light or Main Lunches; Wine, Barista Coffee and slices available Merchandise will be on offer, including the popular Swanpool Cookbook $15 Exhibits will be for sale, unless the artist chooses not to do so. SCRAP's “Call for Entries” poster and entry form are now available! Community Art Exhibitions will also be held nearby - Benalla Camera Club – Swanpool Bowls Club rooms – Entry by a gold coin donation. Benalla Broken River Painters – We have received notification that Benalla Broken River Painters have now withdrawn from this event. For Group Bookings - contact Rob Collins mobile 0422 370 389 or swanpoolartsfestival@gmail.com www.swanpoolanddistrict.com.au Do you have an interest you could write about and submit for publication in our Newsletter? Perhaps you are involved in one of our action groups and could write an article about this. Articles only need to be 200 to 300 words. We aim to produce the Newsletter four times a year.
We now upload the Newsletter to our website a few weeks after distribution to members. There is an archive of Newsletters on our website at https://www.bsfg.org.au/newsletter.html. We also publish some newsletter articles on our website News page, https://www.bsfg.org.au/news. This News page is a great collection of articles reflecting BSFG activities. So please consider writing a short article for our newsletter. The deadline for our next Newsletter is June 1st. You can submit your article to John Lloyd, andrewslloyd@iinet.net.au. The editor will include most articles if they relate to BSFG activities, purpose and general environmental issues and solutions. Peter Maddock 0418 135 330  Renewable Energy Benalla's Efficiency Group is conducting a series of workshops commencing Tuesday 22nd of May, from 7.00 until 9.00pm at the Benalla Gliding Club, Samaria Road, Benalla. RSVP Sunday before Session. Titled “Wipe Out your Gas and Electricity Bills - Come and Find Out How” the series looks at options to improve energy efficiency in our homes. These improvements can increase the comfort of our homes and reduce energy costs. The series commences with an overview of how energy efficiency supports the Renewable Energy Benalla goal of Benalla becoming a Net Zero Stationary Energy City by 2028. Session 1 - Tuesday 22 May: Overview of project. Hear about the new Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard. Major emphasis on reading your meter to establish baseline energy use. Please bring in your power bills. Session 2 - Tuesday 26 June - Lighting, Draft Proofing and Insulation. Session 3 - Tuesday 24 July - Windows, Appliances & Cooking and Heating & Cooling. Session 4 - Tuesday 21 August - Hot Water, Energy Monitoring & Control and Solar Power. We encourage you to bring in your power bills to establish your baseline energy use. Full details in REB's 'Wipe Out Gas and Electricity Bills' flyer. A light supper will be available at the end of the evenings. RSVP below by the Sunday before a session, if necessary adding information about additional participants in the Comments Box, OR phone Peter 0418 135 330, AH Howard 0409 504 420 Newsflash - Saturday Morning June 16 - 'Sold Out'! BSFG partners with Swanpool Landcare and the Gecko CLaN in running the annual Swanpool Environmental Film Festival at the Swanpool Cinema.  The 2018 Swanpool Environmental Film Festival is being held on Saturday 16 June from 1 to 9.40 pm. There will be three sessions with breaks for afternoon tea and an evening meal.
Session One: Dr Samuel Alexander and film ‘Living in the Futures Past’ Session Two: Dr Charles Massy and film ‘Living the Change’ Session Three: Guest Panel and film ‘Paper Trail’ Download the 'SEFF 2018 Flyer' Download the 'SEFF 2018 Programme' Tickets $30. Booking essential. Phone 0498 007 988 Afternoon tea and dinner included. Catering by the fabulous Swanpool Catering Team.  Concert at the 'Under the Sun' Cafe, Strathbogie ... 3 to 6 pm
Shaking the Tree directed by Bronwyn Calcutt plays songs by Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, Hozier, Sting, Tim Minchin, The Cure, Pink Floyd and Leonard Cohen. The group is backed by accordion, guitars, mandolin, ukelele and percussion. Milkwood play original music and re-crafted covers with cheeky story-telling lyrics, folk style roots and blissful harmonies. Tom Yates, poet and folk singer Plus local singer-songwriters Andy Guerin and Indigo Tickets $20 through www.trybooking.com/VGOR . |
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