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"Cathy McGowan tells parliament it's time for the government to do its bit supporting community energy, supporting communities to be self reliant and self-sufficient in their energy use". (You Tube, Aug 15, '17)
Cathy incorporates BSFG and Benalla Council in her speech. Thank you, Cathy!
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The Renewable Energy for Benalla (REB) Action Group is currently planning a workshop on reducing energy costs for business. REB has been working closely with Benalla Business Network, Catherine Macmillan, Business Development Coordinator for Benalla council, and Sustainability Victoria to plan this workshop.
REB has developed a questionnaire to survey energy use by business that will be distributed through the Business Network. This will provide some base line data on energy use in the business/industry sector and will help with planning of the workshop. REB members have started to make some preliminary investigations about a suitable community energy project. Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) Involvement At the recent EcoCity World Summit in Melbourne, BZE launched the Zero Carbon Communities Guide in which REB features, as do the other two communities BZE is working with, Baw Baw and Nillimbuk. attended the launch as did representatives from the other two communities. REB has recently received the first draft of a ten year transition strategy to 100% renewable energy. There is much work to be done on this document before it is finalised. John Lloyd  The Benalla Plastic Wise community sewing events have been growing each fortnight as the community becomes more aware of the damage that single use plastic has on our environment.
Every fortnight a team of committed volunteers meet at the Drill Hall to lend their time and skill to creating reusable bags from upcycled materials. Take-home kits have also been a hit, with those who cannot make the working bees picking up a sewing kit and helping out from home. Without our wonderful community this venture wouldn't be possible. With even the big chain supermarkets getting on board it won't be long until everyone will sporting our beautiful bags! We hope to see you soon! If you would like to grab a sew-at-home kit, or can donate some material or cotton, please get in touch so we can continue to provide for our community, and for our environment. Wendy Baker The next meeting of Benalla Sustainable Future Group will be held on Thursday 24th August at 7:30pm in the meeting room at the Uniting Church, Carrier Street, Benalla.
The guest speaker will be Michael Staindl from Beyond Zero Emissions whose topic will be ‘Climate Change: the Bad the Good and You.’ Michael, who has degrees in Nuclear Physics, Computing and Biomedical Instrumentation, considers himself a 'tech-head', and when he had his OMG moment about climate change some years ago he initially thought the problem could be solved through exciting new technologies. However he quickly realised that while we had the technical technologies to solve the problem we didn't have the 'soft' technologies - the attitudes and thinking capability. Michael's presentation will cover the reality of where we are with Climate Change, touch on some of the positive efforts to address it, then introduce concepts such as cognitive dissonance and wicked problems to try to understand why we are not facing this existential crisis. Michael now works full time on climate action and is a producer of the Beyond Zero Emissions community radio program. Ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Your Plastic Containers
This article was recommended to us through the contacts page on our website by some young girls in California! Amanda, their Girl Scout Leader, writing on their behalf, wrote "thank you for your page, http://www.bsfg.org.au/links.html My troop found your resources to be so helpful while they are working very hard on earning their Go Green badges! The girls would like to suggest another page, as a thank you for being such a big help: http://www.bottlestore.com/ways-to-reduce-reuse-recycle-plastic-containers They thought that other people (and possibly other Girl Scout Troops) would find it as helpful as they did!" We'd like to thank them for their recommendation which comes from a different lens - ideas for children and families. ____________ "How much of an impact can you have on the environment? Isn't recycling and saving energy something that only adults can do? You might be surprised to learn that you can play a huge role in making a real difference. There are things that you can do at home, at school, or even while spending time in the backyard that can help conserve energy, reduce waste, and ensure that we take good care of the environment. One of the easiest ways for kids to help is learning how to recycle. A lot of the items that you use every day can be turned into something useful when recycled. From the milk cartons or jugs in the fridge to papers from school, you can collect these items and turn them in to a recycling center to go green! Plastic bottles can be made into lawn furniture. Some milk jugs can get a new life by being made into things to play on at a local playground. But there is more to do than just recycling. Turning off the lights when you leave the house can reduce energy costs (which makes Mom and Dad happy, too). Some families start composting. This means they take things like grass clippings and leftover food and turn them into mulch to keep plants thriving. There are lots of resources available to help you learn more about green energy, how to recycle, and what to do with a used plastic bottle. You can make a real difference in your environment!
Article By : Jonathan @ BottleStore accessed on 18 August 2017 at http://www.bottlestore.com/ways-to-reduce-reuse-recycle-plastic-containers We are making some progress with our Plastic Sub-committee. We recently had our first 'bag making session' where we are upcycling scrap/waste material into very trendy bags. We are not calling them boomerang bags but obviously a similar type of thing. We intend to sell them at various outlets and to our friends for $2 to $3. Haven't decided on the price yet. We are investigating how to promote this on social media. Ideas include linking "Plastic Wise Benalla' on the BSFG website and setting up our own facebook page. BSFG will be the overarching body for our Group, Plastic Wise Benalla. We have our own logo which is based around that used in by the Indigo Shire Groups. Jason, Fabio Industries, has screen printed our first batch of pockets for free. And the Council have provided us with a room at the Drill Hall for free for bag making sessions each fortnight for the next 2 months. It is great that we are creating some community action about this issue and some wonderful helpers have been recruited. We have started off small just to get ourselves organised. We have several people who are very willing to sew at home which is great. Any donations of heavy duty fabric, curtains/tablecloths, and not so heavy duty (for a contrast), and calico will be gratefully accepted. Wendy Bacon |
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