In the last couple of turbulent years, there haven't been many uplifting events to raise our hopes that any governments in Australia were seriously prepared to tackle climate change. The wheel may just have finally turned, as Australians have finally voted for candidates espousing much stronger action, and this gives me hope that, despite the rhetoric, the Labor Party might just need to raise their emission reduction target for 2030 beyond their policy level.

For BSFG, the review sessions held in March and April, and so well facilitated by Cath Botta, have given our organisation a new burst of enthusiasm, and new ideas to move forward and engage with the community and local government, in addition to continuing the successes of the Food Coop and REB's community energy project. Each of the focus groups established during the review sessions have already had preliminary meetings to establish their plans of action.

Also, on a very positive note, from the review sessions, was the interest shown by younger people in the work of BSFG, and this, together with ongoing contact with student leaders at Benalla College gives me encouragement that we can continue to enhance our engagement with the wider community on these vitally important issues. Some of this year's student leaders have registered for the Youth Climate Action Group sponsored by the City of Shepparton.

Just last week, we conducted a successful forum for landlords in Benalla on the topics of installing solar systems on their rental properties, along with potential energy efficiency measures to take to improve the houses. The forum was addressed by Brad Foletta from Solargain, and the audience of around 30 people were quite engaged in the discussion. A forum for renters will be held next week, and largely concentrate on the energy efficiency theme. Thankyou to Peter Maddock and Kevin Smith for leading last week's forum in my absence.

BSFG members also contributed some regular articles to the Benalla Ensign over the past twelve months - these were related to issues around the use of plastics and waste management.

I want to acknowledge the incredible amount of thought and energy that has gone into enabling the Food Coop to continue functioning throughout the pandemic. Congratulations to firstly Christine, and then Susanne, and the coop committee for developing strategies and procedures to safeguard the health of members during this time.

Congratulations also to REB for securing the funding for a second solar on kindergarten project, and now that the revolving fund is beginning to build, they can look forward to auspicing further projects very soon.

After a hiatus of 2 years, we are excited to have the Swanpool Environmental Film Festival returning next weekend. This festival has become a highlight of the annual cinema program, with the range of internationally and nationally recognised experts who have accepted the invitation to speak, and the fantastic selection of films that have informed, challenged and encouraged us over the years. Thanks and congratulations to Ian Herbert and the festival committee for providing us with yet another great program, and of course to the Swanpool catering team for their efforts in providing the physical nourishment required to see us through the 8 or 9 hour program!
 
Amongst all the positive achievements of BSFG during the past 12 months, unfortunately there was one large disappointment - our petition of 600 residents and submission to Benalla Rural City Council to declare a Climate Emergency and develop plans to reach net zero emissions by 2030 was rejected. We will endeavour to work closely with Council to make sure that steps are taken to reduce emissions, to help Benalla avert the worst consequences of climate change. The most obvious of these steps are the rapid uptake of renewables, the reduction in energy usage from all sectors of our community, the transition to electric vehicles, and the future-proofing against climate shock through greening and cooling our urban environment. We want to see targets and timelines developed that will ensure a safer and healthier future for all generations of the Benalla community.

In conclusion, I want to again thank everyone who has helped keep BSFG ticking - especially the committee members, David (vice President), Wendy (Treasurer), Judy (Secretary), Kevin (NERSA rep), Kay and Wendy, the website coordinators Peter and Bev, and our newsletter editor Ian. We will be welcoming new committee members this year, and as part of a longer term transition plan, we hope to coopt a few other members to join the committee as the year progresses. As Wendy Sherlock is retiring from the committee this year, I wish to acknowledge her extremely valuable insights over a number of years with her depth of knowledge in environmental management.

Finally, the whole BSFG community wishes John Lloyd and Freida Andrews a happy and successful relocation to Bendigo. John's outstanding contribution to the establishment of BSFG, and his leadership of BSFG and REB over the past approximately 14 years have previously been recognised by the conferring of a "life membership", and we feel certain that both he and Freida will soon find a cause to support in Bendigo which will add to their efforts in the Benalla community.


Peter Holmes 

"It's not that many months since we had our previous AGM by Zoom in September, but there seems to have been a steady stream of activity on the environmental and sustainability front since then.

I do believe that the tide is finally turning with respect to worldwide action on climate change - sadly, not so much in Australia, because of the inability of the major political parties to comprehend the urgency of the problem. We can only hope that businesses will continue to modify their enterprises towards low carbon models, and that this will drag Australia in the right direction.
​
Climate scientists have been telling us for some time that this is the critical decade in tackling climate change, so BSFG needs to ensure that this message is heard by our community and its leaders. To this end, we organised the Climate Science talks in late February, with Dr Leanne Webb (CSIRO), Dr Lynette Bettio (BOM), Dr Helen Haines (Independent MHR, Indi), and Cr Jenny O'Connor (Mayor of Indigo Shire) as guest speakers. Approximately 130 people attended, including Benalla Mayor, Danny Claridge and Councillors O'Brien and Gunaratne, as well as the Benalla P-12 College student leaders. These student leaders have subsequently participated in the BSFG presentation to Benalla Council in March, as well as leading last Friday's Student Climate Action rally at the Ceramic Mural, with approximately 80 people taking part. This has been really encouraging for me personally, that finally there has been some engagement with our youth, and a real willingness on their part to become informed and take action.  I have requested a meeting with the P-12 College Administration to discuss the level of school engagement on the issues of climate change and sustainability. The other aspect of this engagement, I believe, is that the student's involvement has possibly influenced a shift in attitude of our local Councillors towards climate change - we will know more in the coming weeks when Council deliberates on whether to declare a climate emergency - an action that would require Council to focus its planning more acutely on sustainability issues.

Since resuming our meeting schedule after Covid, in November we screened the movie "Kiss the Ground", highlighting land restoration projects from around the world, and in March, we watched the Bob Brown Foundation documentary, "Forest Defenders", followed by a talk from Bert Lobert, giving us an update on the Strathbogie State Forest situation.

Renewable Energy Benalla continues to work towards its goal of making Benalla into a net zero carbon emissions town. It has reverted to being an action group of BSFG again, but as convenor, John Lloyd says in his report, they need more people to come on board to help in their endeavours. I urge all BSFG members and supporters to consider being involved in this work, as transforming our energy systems and becoming more energy efficient, are the major ways in which we can reduce our emissions and help avert the worst effects of climate change. Congratulations to REB for securing the funding to complete their first project of solar panels at Munro Ave Kindergarten.
I am extremely proud of Christine Holmes' work over the past ten years in planning, setting up, and coordinating the operations of the Benalla Food Co-operative. Christine, along with the people who have helped in the planning and operation of the Co-op, have through countless hours of volunteer time, established an organisation that has provided the community with choice, an opportunity to meet new friends, and of course to reduce food packaging and food miles, and support local producers where possible. Having successfully negotiated their way through the Covid problems of 2020, the Co-op can now look forward to expanding its membership base, and help spread the message of sustainable use of our resources more widely in the community. I wish Susanne Bennett all the best as she takes over Christine's role as coordinator.

I would also like to commend Larissa Montgomery for the many years she spent as the Environmental Officer of Benalla Rural City and thank her for the support and advice she gave to BSFG over that time. In recent times, Larissa worked extensively with REB to help them formulate their vision and action plans. We wish her well in her new position with DELWP.

Finally, I again wish to thank, and congratulate a number of members who have contributed greatly to the work of BSFG this past year. Thankyou to all committee members for your open and frank discussions in organising events, formulating submissions, and in keeping records, handling finances, sending out messages. Thanks to Ian Herbert for again editing and publishing our newsletter (and to all who have contributed articles), and we also thank Ian for his efforts in putting together the program for the Swanpool Environmental Film Festival (Sat 19th June) which we all eagerly anticipate, after the disruption of 2020.

In this era, no organisation could successfully reach out to its community without the assistance of technology, and we owe a great deal of gratitude over the past 6 years to Bev Lee and Peter Maddock especially, and more recently to Heath Whiley, Kim Lukey and Karen Nankervis, for the marvellous BSFG and REB websites, where events are publicised, interesting articles are posted and reports archived."
 
Peter Holmes
​Thursday 27 May 2021

​Finally, on Thursday 26th November, we will be able to have our first "real" live BSFG meeting for 2020! As this is also our last scheduled meeting date for the year, the committee felt it would be good to have something special, and a little less formal, to end the year.

We have obtained approval to screen a recently released film, "Kiss the Ground", which examines the effects of industrial farming practices on the world's agricultural land, and the potential benefits of regenerative farming techniques, not only to heal the land, but in assisting the drawdown of carbon from the atmosphere, to reduce the effects of climate change.  https://kissthegroundmovie.com/

The film showcases some amazing examples of restoration projects from various parts of the world, and how they have transformed landscapes, and restored hope in the ability of the Earth to heal itself.

As this is a film about the future of the Earth's food production capability, I urge you all to attend, and to invite a friend who may be involved in food production, be it meat, grain, fruit or vegetable.

As usual, we will conclude with a cuppa and something to eat, and a chance to chat about the film, and of course, the year that was!!

We hope to see you all at the John Cooper Hall, Benalla Uniting Church, 7.30pm on the 26th.

As we may have limits on numbers attending, please RSVP to email:  bsfginc@gmail.com  or simply reply  to this email with names attending.
Of course, covid protocols will need to be followed: stay home if unwell, wear facemasks, sanitize hands on arrival, and observe correct social distancing.

New Committee

In September, the new BSFG Committee was elected at our special zoom AGM. The members are as follows:
Peter Holmes - President
David Blore - Vice President
Judy Schwarzman - Secretary
Wendy Baker - Treasurer
Christine Holmes - food Co-op rep
Peter Maddock
Wendy Sherlock
Kevin Smith
Kay Blore

Many thanks to each of these members for agreeing to serve on the committee, and we look forward to achieving some of our (deferred) goals in the very near future.
​
Peter Holmes

Over the past couple of months, I have read various commentaries regarding the relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic and carbon emissions, and the potential positive effect on climate change, due to less traffic on our roads.

The downside, however, is that we have become even more of a ‘takeaway’ society, and the proliferation of throwaway coffee cups and polystyrene food containers, is a disturbing outcome. Try as I might to convince coffee baristas to accept my keep cup, explaining that they could make my coffee in a china mug and pour it into my keep cup, logic and common sense had gone out the window, as they all insisted Covid health regulations required them to use takeaway cups - which they handed to me with ungloved hands!!

This all might seem trivial, but it is actually symptomatic of a more wide-reaching problem that concerns me in this current period of crisis. Have we become a society that is totally compliant to expert advice without question, worn down by the enormity of all the problems we face? Have we lost the will to question decisions of government thrust upon us, either because of the uncertainty of where this is all heading, or because of the threat of the penalties for non-compliance?

Please understand that I am not questioning the dangers of this Covid-19 pandemic. Rather, I am concerned about the type of society that may be evolving from the pandemic. There are extreme reactions already in evidence around the world, ranging from the desperation of poor people deprived of health care and essential supplies, to the arrogance and selfishness of those people (politicians, elite sports people, beach revellers, etc.) who either don't think or care about the effect of their actions on others. These are not new issues, but my concern is that they will become more prevalent and extreme, the longer the pandemic continues.

As for the effect on climate change, the reduction in carbon emissions has helped, but the proposals to lead us towards economic recovery in Australia will not, especially if Scott Morrison's gas-weighted committee has its way. Whichever way I look at gas as a means of providing energy, it is still burning a fossil fuel, producing carbon dioxide and methane, and certainly not alleviating the problem of climate change. Renewables create emissions in their manufacturing phase and in the mining of the construction materials, but that is the end of the story, unlike gas and coal.

Finally, if you missed the last episode of ‘Road to Now’ on ABC TV (30th June), try to watch it on iview, as it dealt with natural disasters, and in particular, those associated with climate events - a stark reminder of the need to take urgent action on climate change.

Peter Holmes

Tim Bowtell's compelling portrait of Greta Thunberg, painted on the side window of the Benalla Rural City offices in Mair Street for the Window to Window festival, draws from and is representative of Tim's current work.   Tim describes being surprised that around 90% of people who spoke to him while he was painting weren't aware of Greta Thunberg, and is pleased that his work has acted as such a catalyst for conversations about climate change.  The discussions continued this week in three pages of Letters to the Editor in the Ensign, most of which were about the portrait of Greta, and most of which were postive!

The announcement by Time Magazine of Greta as their Person of the Year a few days into the controversy on social media proved a wonderful endorsement of Tim's choice of a portrait of Greta for his window. 

This news item from 9 News Border North East on December 12 includes responses by Benalla Sustainable Future Group's President Peter Holmes and Renewable Energy Benalla's John Lloyd.