Sustainability 2021

HINTS FOR LIVING A SUSTAINABLE LIFE

VOLUME 12 MAY 2021

in the international year of fruit and vegetables

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Sustainability 2021 – an Echo supplement

www.echo.net.au Supplement editor: Aslan Shand Advertising manager: Angela Cornell Design & production: Ziggi Browning, Tirza Abb Front cover: Photo by Tree Faerie, design by Tirza Abb © 2021 Echo Publications Pty Ltd ABN 86 004 000 239 Village Way, Stuart Street, Mullumbimby Phone 02 6684 1777 Fax 02 6684 1719 Printed on recycled paper

Some Sustainability 2021 highlights: ▶ What can I do on climate? ▶ Time to care for country

page 26 page 27

▶ Take a look at ethical investing page 31 page 32 ▶ On track to three degrees page 37 ▶ Moving forward with solar ▶ Councils on climate action page 38–39 ▶ A sustainable farming future

page 40

The time to take action is now Aslan Shand There are signs that governments around the world might actually start to get serious on addressing climate change. But it has taken a long fight by generations of scientists, activists and, ultimately, children who had no vote, just their voices and actions, to finally get any real action on addressing the impacts of a heating planet.

The big question is why?

Why have governments refused to listen to scientists? Why have the likes of the Australian politicians spent decades supporting fossil-fuel industries and the lies of climate change denialists? Why are they still supporting industries that they know will make the climate crisis worse?

Partly it is to do with the enormity of the issue, partly it is to do with the inability of our politicians to move beyond their own ideas, experiences and upbringing, and partly it is to do with corruption.

Many people feel overwhelmed by the issues and the fact that the impacts

Rural Fire Service firefighters battling out of control fires during the Black Summer fires of 2019-20. Photo Ewan Willis of climate change have often felt so conceptual and futuristic. But recent experiences of flooding, drought and the Black Summer bushfires have begun to bring the issue home to many Australians.

Similar events around the world are making it real for more people every day. We still have the likes of Australian PM ScoMo trying to pander to climate advocates at the recent climate summit with empty promises but more people are now saying that is not enough.

From the School Strike 4 Climate, to young people getting political and

registered to vote in the US, it has been made clear that action on climate change from the US president Jo Biden was required. The pressure young people have brought to bear on the EU to drive the EU Green Deal shows now is the time to keep up that pressure for action at all levels.

That action also needs to include transparent governance, not just from corporations but also from governments. People have to move on from the idea that they are powerless to make change because they are, individually, such a small part of the world.

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Everyone needs to demand that governments work for a better the future, that they do it with integrity, that they take real action, that they move fast. Because if we don’t all own our role in creating the future, if we expect someone else to do it, then we have failed, not only ourselves but our children and their future.

Throughout the last few years The Echo, with other supporters, has been addressing these issues through both our annual Sustainability Supplement and our Planet Watch columns (www.echo.net.au/ planet-watch). In the Planet Watch column we have updated readers on the latest debates around hydrogen and the disturbing concept of the ‘gas-led recovery’.

In the coming pages we explore what the issues are facing us as both a country and a world with no planet B. We look from the macro impacts of what our children and grandchildren will experience as the world warms, to the everyday actions you and others are taking to address climate change in our daily lives.

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2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

The fast fashion detox diet – make a difference Mandy Nolan

I stand in my wardrobe and I look at my clothes. I probably have 100 dresses, maybe 50 T-shirts, ten pairs of jeans, 50 or more shirts, 30 skirts, I have ten cardigans, ten jumpers, and 20 or more coats. I have 37 bras and 75 knickers. I have drawers of leisure wear. I have too much. But most mornings I stand in my towel looking into my excessive array of clothing and I say the words that every marketer wants a consumer like me to say: ‘I have nothing to wear’. It’s bullshit. I have too much to wear. So I do a cull and I take stuff to Vinnies. And then, slowly, I buy more stuff.

That has been the cycle for me, and a lot of us, who mindlessly consume. It’s something I am committed to changing.

Clothing waste is a massive environmental issue.

Fifty-seven per cent of discarded clothes – yep the ones you think you are recycling or ‘donating’ by dropping at a local charity – end up in landfill. Here in Australia we are throwing

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away 6,000kg of clothing every 10 minutes. That’s more than 500 million kilos of unwanted clothing that ends up in landfill every year. And did you know 75 per cent of Australian shoppers throw away whatever they’ve bought within the year they bought it? So, if the average Australian woman buys 27kg of new clothes each year, then throws away 23kg of clothing, and wears 33 per cent – then what the F are we actually doing? We are technically only wearing 1.32kg of what we’ve bought.

Even if we only wear 4kg of what we purchase each year we are still throwing away more than we keep.

Road to happiness?

The culprit is rampant consumerism. The culprit is the sense of longing that capitalism and marketing seeds within us: that we can attain happiness, acceptance, and meaning through expenditure. Through buying stuff we don’t need. The culprit is fast fashion.

You know when you buy a T-shirt for $3 that something is wrong. That’s not actually

‘Your $3 T-shirt just killed your grandchild.’

‘Your $3 T-shirt just killed your grandchild’ so it is time to do your fast fashion detox. Photo credit possible. That T-shirt only costs $3 because a kid made it. Probably a kid from one of the poorest countries in the world like Bangladesh or India. Made in a rural area, in a poorly ventilated factory. A kid who doesn’t go to school because they were making your $3 T-shirt.

Or maybe it’s someone like Seak Hong, a 36-year-old woman from Cambodia who works 13 hours a day, six days a week, and earns about $230 a month to support her father, sister, brother (who has a disability), and her 12-year-old

son. Every $3 T-shirt should have the story on the tag of the person who made it. It would make it very hard to buy $3 T-shirts – or anything that had been made in such appalling and exploitative conditions.

Dressed in blood We don’t see the blood on our clothing. We don’t see the tears. We just see a bargain. We need to start asking for the stories of our clothes.

Then we’d start looking for tags that told the story of well-paid happy people who worked in good conditions.

These would probably cost upwards of $50, not $3.

Ethical and sustainable fashion is more expensive because ethical brands are transparent about their practices. Their workers don’t burn to death, like the workers in the 2012 Dhaka Tazreen fashion factory in Bangladesh where 112 people were killed. That’s the cost of a $3 shirt. People died. And then we threw it away. When I think about the human cost combined with the environmental and climate cost I am appalled – at myself for ever having bought a $3 T-shirt and at governments that sanction this as an okay practice.

We are complicit in the deaths of those factory workers. But we are removed from the true cost of our choice. It is the graceful distance between the true cost of our clothing and what we choose to wear. The social and environmental

cost of a $3 clothing item is immeasurable. It’s our children’s children’s future.

Here’s a marketing slogan for you: ‘Your $3 T-shirt just killed your grandchild’.

Every person can radically change their relationship with textiles and the fashion industry right now. So here is the challenge that I have set myself. No more purchases of unethical brands. I will buy less, and when I do buy something, it needs to be from a supplier that is committed to equity for their workers and sustainability for the planet. I will mend what is ripped and broken.

I will reimagine what is outdated. I will not throw away even 1kg of clothing for the next 12 months.

I challenge you all. You want to do something about the planet? You want to hurt capitalism?

Start your Fast Fashion Detox now.

Sustainability Volume 12, May 2021 25

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

What on Earth can I do about climate change?

Christobel Munson

Australia has the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person of any OECD country. Yes, we need governments and corporations to do more, but none of us are off the hook.

At Zero Emissions Byron (ZEB) our focus is to find activities each of us can do that can actually make a difference to reducing emissions.

How? Well, we bring public awareness to practical actions we can take. To inspire more action, we love to share and celebrate local stories of people pioneering the low-carbon life. And we monitor and track carbon emissions for our Shire.

To get the word out, we hold talks, expos, and forums, webinars, street stalls, and film nights, and put out regular e-newsletters, and post to social media. So in the past year, these are the sorts of activities we’ve organised:

‘Fight for Planet A’ Our Community Engagement coordinator is Sasha

Mainsbridge. Inspired by the ABC TV series Fight for Planet A’, she created a competition called Fight for Planet A & Win! Entrants are invited to share whatever it is they’re doing that reduces their personal emissions.

Winners happily choose from the exceptional prize bank donated from local sustainable businesses, then their stories are featured on the ‘FFPA & WIN’ social media page, and in the ZEB e-newsletter.

The EV revolution ZEB promotes the uptake of electric vehicles. In 2019, we held the Northern Rivers EV Expo & Forum, displaying electric vehicles, e-bikes, electric-outboard motors, plus numerous relevant talks.

In 2020–21, we went online and held eight onehour webinars, featuring Australia’s key players in the EV industry. All now up on YouTube, and available at www.zerobyron.org/ webinars.

This year, come and find us live again – for our second Northern Rivers EV Expo & Forum being held at Habitat

coordinator at replant@ zerobyron.org.

12-step action plan

Sasha and Sebastian out on the street helping people understand the actions they can take to reduce emissions. on Sunday 22 August. (This year, we’ll be offering test drives!) Details at www. zerobyron.org.

Replant Byron Alliance Lowering greenhouse gas emissions is vital – but so is drawing down and sequestering in plants and soil the excess carbon dioxide in the air. ZEB’s Replant Byron Alliance connects revegetation organisations, landholders, and professionals, aiming to amplify carbon sequestration through tree planting.

In essence, the Alliance: tallies tree planting across Byron Shire; calculates the carbon drawdown figures to find out their collective impact; shares success stories, to increase demand for native revegetation and regenerative agriculture; and supports and promotes the work of local regenerators, who are playing a key role in our transition to net zero while also increasing biodiversity, water quality, and soil stability.

Can you play a role in this too? Find out more from Wren McLean, our Alliance

We’ve put together a guide illustrating what anyone can do to reduce their emissions. It covers both changes you can make as well as ways to promote broader climate action and support the change makers.

1. Reduce your electricity use. 2. Go solar and save more than money. 3. Switch to ethical electricity. 4.

Plant trees for our future.

5. Change how you eat and shop. 6. Consider switching to an electric vehicle and flying less. 7. Consume less and reduce waste. 8. Divest from fossil-fuel lenders. 9.

Help stop more fossil-fuel projects. 10. Engage politically. 11. Talk about it more.

12. Stay informed.

Each step is detailed on our website on a downloadable flyer at www.zerobyron. org/what-can-I-do.

new build can either ‘cost the Earth’ and/or cost you a heap in the running costs over the life of the building. We support sustainable building design and energy efficiency for a lighter carbon footprint.

On our new website, check out our Sustainable House Design Checklist. Also listed are useful building resources.

Zero Emissions Byron is an unfunded volunteer group registered as a charity, finding ways to deliver emissions-reduction strategies and projects for Byron Shire. As a not-for-profit community organisation with DGR status, we receive no regular funding and few grants, so we rely heavily on community goodwill and support. Find out more at: www.zerobyron.org.

Build sustainably There is a lot of new building and renovating going on in Byron Shire. The materials you choose in your reno or

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Sustainability

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2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Time to care for country with thoughts and actions Belle Budden Sustainability is a tricky yarn, though a critical discussion.

The three principles of sustainability are often described as economic viability; environmental protection and social equity or profit; and people and planet.

We need to recognise that humans have excessively consumed the planet for profit. We now struggle for solutions to problems human over-consumption has created. Many companies continue to produce often unnecessary products with little or no accountability for their damage to the planet.

Our old people, our ancestors, knew how to live sustainably on the land and did for tens of thousands of years. First Nations people knew that we are not separate from country and that we are part of country.

Country is who we are and takes care of us, so it is our responsibility to care for country.

Country is not ours to profit from, it is our responsibility to protect country.

Sustainability was the

balance of all life: elements, seasons, all species, and the interconnected relationships between them. Our old people understood these relationships and worked to keep these balances.

Our way of life has been destroyed and we have fought as we have watched country be pillaged for profit with no thought of the consequences for this country, planet, the plants, people and other animals that depend on it.

First Nations peoples are resilient, dedicated, and innovative in applying cultural knowledge to innovate sustainable solutions. We continue to generously share cultural knowledge and work tirelessly to fulfil cultural responsibilities to care for country.

Locally, many First Nations organisations, including the Bundjalung of Byron Bay Arakwal Corporation, Arakwal NPWS Rangers, Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council, other Aboriginal corporations and companies, and local Aboriginal landcare groups are working with cultural

Celebrating the strength and beauty of country with this native plant sculpture. Photo Belle Budden knowledge and practice to restore the health and vitality of country. Projects, programs, and initiatives developed with cultural knowledge and practice to care for country are diverse and innovative.

Cultural knowledge Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation and Zion Engagement and Planning are two locally-based Aboriginal-led organisations applying cultural knowledge and frameworks to help manage country sustainably.

Rachael Cavanagh, a Minyungbal Jalgany

(woman), is the Community Programs and Stakeholder Engagement manager at Firesticks Alliance. Firesticks is an Indigenous-led network and aims to re-invigorate the use of cultural burning by facilitating cultural learning pathways to fire and land management.

Rachael points out that ‘culturally we never had a word that described “sustainability” as it was a practice that was entwined in everything we did. For example we only ever used what we needed and there was a use for everything. We cared for country in every aspect.

‘To achieve true sustainability, we need to look at ourselves as individuals and the actions we take daily, from our consumption, to how we treat the environment. As a nation we need to invest in fewer industrial resources and look at more ethically resourced products.

‘I teach my daughters to tread softly and be more conscious. We exercise our cultural right and look after country, as it’s our obligation.

Bringing back traditional land-management practices and passing on that knowledge to the younger generations is paramount for the future,’ Rachael explained.

Building bridges Elle Davidson is a Balangarra woman who is the director, Zion Engagement and Planning, and Aboriginal Planning lecturer, University of Sydney. Describing the vision of her company Zion Engagement she says its key focus is to ‘empower Aboriginal people to care for country, restore community, and revive culture’.

‘I’m grateful that I now help to build bridges

between the two cultures and systems to help us achieve mutually beneficial outcomes that contribute to sustainability beyond environmental sustainability, but thinking also about cultural and social sustainability and the future as a nation.’

Elle believes that ‘if we care for country, she will care for us.

‘I think about our old people and how in tune they were with country, allowing country to lead and us to respond. We are seeing catastrophic events, mental health challenges, and environmental crises. I believe that culture teaches us all we need for living in harmony with country and each other, if we would just listen.’

Sustainability for First Nations people is caring for country. It’s a holistic framework of interconnectedness that is our responsibility. First Nations people have cultural knowledge and practice tested for thousands of years.

We all need to take the learning of First Nations people and make it an integral part of how we move forward into a sustainable future.

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Sustainable classics – electric Kombis!

David Lowe

Alexander Bosin from car conversion company EV Classic started in Germany with a degree in physics, then designed solar systems, then did custom engineering work for Lufthansa, then escaped the corporate world and came to Byron Bay, where he now has a family, and a life revolving around VW Kombis.

Although VW first had the idea of electrifying their iconic vehicles in 1974, it’s only really been since the advent of cheap solar power and relatively lightweight batteries that electric Kombis have been a realistic proposition.

Alex Bosin did one of the first successful conversions in Australia, which has become well known around Byron Bay with its 00 FUEL number plate.

‘That’s my daily driver,’ he said. ‘It’s such a nice car, easy and functional and I trust it. I just jump in, not like the old ones, where something, would always break down!

Alex says he’s always had a passion for Kombis. ‘I loved the freedom. My first camper

van was when I was twenty, and I always went out on the weekend and stayed in my Kombi, having open sliding doors to see the ocean, with a small solar system to run the fridge and have a cold beer.’

‘I still love the style and the unique design, as well as the space. Now I’ve got surfboards and a family, and everything is combined in this car. When I come home, I charge from the solar – what a perfect idea! It’s really how it should be.’

Recycled classics Alex Bosin says converting an old car is far more sustainable than buying a new one. ‘We’ve got so many ICE [internal combustion engine] cars and we cannot replace them straight away with electric cars; there has to be a transition,’ he said.

‘Also, quite a few people are attached to their old cars, like me. I hate this idea of having a car for five years and then throwing it away.

If 40-year-old cars like these are in good condition with no rust, then with conversion you can get another 40 years out of them.

ten years. Then we can put a better battery in. That’s the secret of going with the flow of technology.’

Sharing knowledge

Alexander Bosin from EV Classic (www.evclassic.com.au) shares his passion for electric Kombis. Photo David Lowe ‘That’s proper recycling, not buying a cheap car from somewhere and then throwing it away. Yes it’s a bit more investment at the beginning, but in the long run you get more out of it.

With the electric motor it’s so much better to drive, with constant torque and plenty of acceleration.’

Batteries What about the sustainability of lithium batteries?

‘You hear a lot about this,’ said Alex, ‘and it’s true we often don’t quite know where the battery

components come from, not yet, but everything we use at the moment, like mobiles, has the same batteries.

‘Also we’ve got all the resources here, including lithium. That’s what the government needs to push.

We are on an island here, and we can build up our own sustainable system. We’ve also got plenty of sun.’

‘It comes down to electrifying the car. Once you have an electric motor in there, that can always be used.

What will change will be the batteries. In the designs I do, the batteries will last about

While Alex Bosin specialises in VWs, he’s also part of a network of electric-conversion enthusiasts called EV Alliance who are able to tackle pretty much any type of classic-car conversion, provided the body structure is sound.

‘We try to help out each other, and share IP to bring solutions together,’ he said. ‘We started with safety courses, which is a pretty important part of all this, because some backyard people are now buying wrecked Teslas and thinking they can put parts into Kombis, but they forget they are working with highvoltage batteries, which might be 350 volts or more.

‘If you touch this and you don’t know what you’re doing it will kill you.’

Alex says most of his customers are looking to charge their cars from solar arrays, rather than the grid.

More than EVs ‘What I see more and more is people who have a sentimental attachment to a car and they want to do something for their kids.’

While the nostalgia value remains, converted electric Kombis require far less maintenance than their predecessors, and have newfangled features such as power steering, regenerative braking, quality suspension, and air-conditioning.

‘The technology of the ICE engine is at its end,’ explained Alex. ‘There’s not much more that can be improved, no way to get much cleaner energy out of it.’

Looking to the future, Alex Bosin sees a time when electric-vehicle fleets will help buffer the electricity grid at peak times, by being connected in networks, and controlled by apps. He can see the potential for whole new jobs-rich industries in depressed areas of the Northern Rivers revolving around converting all kinds of machines to run on renewable electric power, not just Kombis.

BEER AS A FORCE FOR GOOD. Our role as an independent, community brewer is something we take to heart.

Not only are we working hard at creating incredible tasting beers, but we’re also striving towards a better future with our Green Feet sustainability program, maintaining our B Corp status and supporting a number of environmental causes via our inGrained Foundation.

Last year we donated over $240,000 supporting groups such as Brunswick Valley Landcare, Clean Coast Collective, Oz Harvest and the Northern Rivers Fire Brigades. Our donations programs are ongoing, and we hope to better our efforts each year.

As a Stone & Wood drinker, you also play a part in this story.

For every litre of beer sold over the bar at our tasting rooms, $1 goes back into the inGrained foundation helping to make all of this possible.

To learn more about our conscious approach to business, visit stoneandwood.com.au

28 Volume 12, May 2021 Sustainability

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THINK TANK!

Looking for ways to save water? Think rainwater tank!

You may also be eligible for a rebate of up to $2,170*. Join the thousands of people locally who have installed a rainwater tank through Rous County Council’s Rainwater Tank Rebate Program.

If you are connected to the town water supply across Ballina, Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley local government areas, rebates are available for installing a rainwater tank, as well as connecting your rainwater tank to internal fixtures like your toilet and washing machine.

Local Lismore resident Andrew L. says, “It is a fantastic way of looking after our environment by reducing pressure on our limited water sources.”

“Connecting our toilets and washing machine to our rainwater tank has helped our household to make better use of water free from the sky!” Says local Lennox Head resident, Anthony.

This year has seen record rainfall across our region.

It is a perfect time to install a tank and harvest rainwater to reduce your footprint on our precious drinking water supply.

For more information visit rous.nsw.gov.au/rainwatertankrebates *Eligibility criteria apply.

Residential Rainwater Tank Rebate Program Rebates of up to $2,170*

Every drop counts E REDUC

Rous County Council, the bulk water supplier to our region, offers rainwater tank rebates in partnership with Ballina Shire Council, Byron Shire Council, Lismore City Council and Richmond Valley Council to assist residents to save water.

Purchase and installation – for at least one outdoor use

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2,000 litres to 4,499 litre capacity tank

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4,500 litres to 8,999 litres capacity tank

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Additional rebates available to connect tank internally

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Toilets

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* Terms and conditions apply. Visit rous.nsw.gov.au rship with

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LOCAL BUSINESSES STRIVE TO BE SUSTAINABLE WATER PARTNERS ,n

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Local businesses in the Northern Rivers are taking direct action to reduce water use by teaming up with regional water supply authority, Rous County Council through their Sustainable Water Partner Program.

Locally, there are many businesses from a variety of industries, including tourism, hospitality, education, retail, and manufacturing, who are partnering with Rous to implement projects that have co-benefits for business operations and water sustainability by reducing demand on our limited drinking water supply.

Southern Cross University (SCU) and Summit Sports and Fitness Centre in Goonellabah have been recognised for their commitment to water efficiency and sustainability, achieving significant water savings through equipment upgrades for their public pools.

This work, led by SCU and Summit Sports and Fitness Centre, deliver water savings in perpetuity, with a potential water saving per year of more than seven Olympic swimming pools.

Ms Danika Head, Director of Property Services at Southern Cross University said, “Our team is ecstatic with the results, and as well as water savings, we have also reduced our risk and maintenance costs.”

“This project has not only resulted in significant water savings but has reduced chemical handling for our staff and improved the health and safety of our operations.”

Matthew George, owner of Summit Sports and Fitness Centre, Goonellabah agrees with the operational and environmental wins of this work.

“We can all play a part to save water. Water is a precious natural resource, every drop counts!” Mr George says.

Other projects locally, include the installation of automated smart-metering across various tourism operators including Reflections Holiday Parks and irrigation upgrades at a local high school.

Water saving projects continue to be identified through water saving investigations in commercial, manufacturing and industrial settings with Norco, Byron Beach Hotel and many others.

Rous County Council General Manager, Phillip Rudd, said, “These projects are positive examples of identifying water saving projects that are financially viable with a strong return on investment for local businesses.” www.echo.net.au

Kirralee Donovan (Rous County Council) and Matthew George (Summit Sports and Fitness Centre) discussing water saving projects.

“The Sustainable Water Partner Program is designed to support businesses with the highest water consumption, to investigate their water use and implement sustainable water savings projects,” Mr Rudd explains.

The aim of the Sustainable Water Partner Program is to support businesses to make changes that will have lasting benefits for the business and broader community – not only saving water but increasing business profitability through lower water and sewer costs.

As part of the program, Rous County Council can offer businesses with an annual water consumption more than 5ML a fully funded Water Saving Plan, as well as rebates of up to $25,000 annually to implement water saving projects.

For more information contact council@rous.nsw.gov.au In partnership with

Sustainability Volume 12, May 2021 29

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Eating vegan is no longer like Mac Vs PC Eve Jeffery

Who loves tofu?

Remember back in the bad old days when you used either a PC or Mac? Those were your choices, and never the twain could meet.

They were so many miles apart in operations that they were like different countries with different languages and appearances, and if you were a person who could operate both it was as if you were a bilingual magician.

So it was too with vegan food – first of all, the ONLY vegan food you could get was something you prepared in your own kitchen or something you ate at an Indian restaurant.

It used to be difficult to be a vegan, but now you can have your veganism and eat ‘meat’ too. Even for hardcore vegans who don’t like tofu or tempeh (yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but they do exist), these days the aisles and fridges of most supermarkets are as tantalising and tempting for vegans as they are for omnivores.

So what has this got to do with sustainability?

Many people who have exhausted their reasons why meat is a must (a healthy diet can be plant-based, and the dairy industry fallacy has been proven), fall back on the only argument left: but what about the poor farmers? And this is where things get very interesting.

‘Faux’ meat farmers Many of the ‘faux’ meat options are made from pea protein derived and extracted in powder from the yellow and green split peas, and or mycoprotein, also known as fungal protein (people, it’s mushrooms),

‘It used to be difficult to be a vegan but now you can have your veganism and eat ‘meat’ too.’

Planet love

This delicious food franchise burger contains a 100 per cent plant-based patty with vegan mayo and cheese, and for many omnivores, if they weren’t told, they wouldn’t know the difference. Photo Tree Faerie and funnily enough, peas and mushies are grown on farms.

And here’s where it gets even MORE interesting.

You can still be a successful farmer and not deal in death, AND, you can save the planet at the same time.

The Our World in Data* website did a carbon footprint comparison for growing one kilo of beef, one kilo of chicken, and one kilo of some plant proteins. The greenhouse gas emissions per kilo of protein for beef:

498.9kg; chicken: 57kg; soy: 19.8kg; and peas: 4.4kg. Yes folks,to grow peas it costs only one per cent of the emissions of growing cows, and no-one gets to die!

Water savers...

If the greenhouse stats don’t curl your toes, maybe water is something you can understand a bit better. The water footprint per kilogram to grow similar food products are as follows: beef: 1,451 litres; chicken: 660 litres; peas: 397 litres; tofu:

149 litres; and potatoes: 59 litres. Gotta love them spuds!

But it’s the land use value that really brings home the tofu in the footprint stakes – it takes 369 square metres (sqm) to grow a kilo of lamb or mutton; beef: 326sqm; chocolate 68sqm; pork 17sqm (you have to feel sorry for pigs who get squashed into such small spaces); poultry 12.22sqm; fish farms: 8.41sqm; tofu 3.52sqm; and rice: a tiny 2.8sqm.

For many omnivores, these are hard starts to swallow, but I would challenge meat and dairy consumers to, just for a moment, put aside their often unreasonable annoyance at plant-based eaters, and take a minute to ponder the fact that you might not love vegans, but do you love the planet?

If, for no other reason, going vegan – even for a few days a week, even one day a week, would make a huge impact in the fight to save the planet. ‘Flesh’ foods made from pea, mushrooms and other plant protein ase on the pathway to a healthier Earth – so, you can have your meat (alive) and eat it too! Who knew? * Our World in Data: www.ourworldindata.org/ environmental-impacts-offood#carbon-footprint-offood-products.

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Sustainability

9

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Ethical investing goes prudential David Lisle

Ethical investing is the idea of using your money to make the world a better place rather than simply chasing the greatest financial return.

It seeks to account for people and planet, not just profit.

Applying your money to ethical endeavours hints at the possibility of accepting lower returns. But ethical investment vehicles now outperform benchmarks.

Ethical investing is mainstream and has become thoroughly embedded in investment markets.

According to Responsible Investment Association Australia, which advocates for capital to pursue socially and environmentally just ends, over a trillion dollars, 37 per cent of all professionally managed money in Australia today, is classed as responsible investment. This is a meteoric rise for what was, until very recently, a niche industry.

Key approaches The mainstreaming of ethical investment has given rise to a small universe of

specialist ethical funds, investor ranking initiatives, new market indices, research firms, shareholder advocacy groups, and much jargon besides.

Ethical investing has many aliases: responsible investment, socially responsible investing, sustainable investing, impact investing, gender lens investing, sustainable finance... Whatever you call it though, there are three main approaches.

Firstly, negative screening excludes investments inconsistent with investor values.

Avoiding, or divesting from, such industries as tobacco, munitions, or fossil-fuel extraction is the new normal.

350.org, founded by environmentalist Bill McKibben, has been leading the charge for fossil-fuel divestment, which has seen $US14 trillion divested in the last decade.

Positive screening of companies or investments, on the other hand, tries to direct money into beneficial projects. Supporting green technologies is a classic example. Targeting specific social goods like affordable housing is less common.

Threatened woodland in the Upper Hunter Valley, where many new coal projects (the equivalent of 10 Adani Carmichael mines) are proposed. Photo David Lisle And engagement such as shareholder activism uses ownership rights to agitate for change, and responsible business practices.

Stranded assets for a liveable world Last year, in response to concern about climate exposure among its clients, the world’s largest fund manager, Blackrock, announced it would place climate change at the centre of its investment strategy and dump its holdings in thermal-coal companies.

This was one in a flurry of such announcements, at once ethical and prudential.

Fossil-fuel reserves worth trillions must become worthless, or ‘stranded’, if our planet is to remain habitable.

The reckoning with climate exposure, as a financial threat, is beginning.

Consumer choice Most Australians are invested in companies via their superannuation accounts, and in recent times there’s been a push for people to be less passive about how their money is

invested. This dynamic, together with the sudden acknowledgement by Australia’s key financial regulators of climate-related financial risk, has led to surging demand for sustainable and ethical investment options.

Yet, there is pushback.

The Business Council of Australia is very wary of union influence over industry super funds. It supports ethical investment but warns that members’ money should not be used for ‘political activism’. This translates roughly as ‘don’t bash big business’.

And last year, when the ANZ bank announced its decision to not accept new thermal-coal customers, and to reduce its climate exposure more generally, David Littleproud, minster for Agriculture, Drought, and Emergency Management was furious. ‘We do not need banks in this country trying to become our society’s moral compass and arbiter’ he thundered. Other cabinet ministers opined that ANZ was playing ‘environmental activist’ and ‘virtue signalling’, and called for a boycott of its business.

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A close associate of ethical investment is ethical consumption. Often associated with fair-trade coffee, dolphin-safe tuna, or shopping locally. It also encompasses activities such as choosing a bank or a super fund Some financial institutions such as Bank Australia, credit unions, and a raft of ethical funds have built brands by using their customers’ money for good, and avoiding using it for bad.

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

‘On track to three degrees of warming’ What sort of world will our children have to adapt to in their retirement?

Dr Willow Hallgren Our planet has warmed by 1.1 degrees, on average, since the Industrial Revolution, and Australia has warmed by 1.4 degrees since 1910 when records of temperature measurements began.

The predictions that scientists made about climate change 30 years ago are now our lived reality. Our climate has become harsher, and we are experiencing more extreme climatic events, which are having unprecedented impacts on the natural world and human society.

Just the beginning Longer, hotter droughts, more extreme heatwaves, an increase in diseases and problem insects, and catastrophic bushfires have already begun. Ancient forests – from tropical and subtropical rainforests in Queensland and northern NSW to ‘Gondwana’ forests in Tasmania – have burned in

mega-bushfires with almost incomprehensible losses to biodiversity. Over three billion vertebrate animals died as a result of the Black Summer bushfires in 2019/20 that burnt an area more than three times the size of Tasmania.

Severe marine heatwaves have caused three major coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef in the last five years, killing 50 per cent of hard corals in shallow waters.

In your lifetime Unfortunately, we have only just begun to experience the severe impacts from climate change; a recent Australian Academy of Science report states that even if all countries that have signed on to the Paris Agreement actually fulfil their current commitments to greenhouse gas reductions, our planet will still warm by three degrees, or more, by the end of this century. That’s only 79 years away. The report also states that ‘limiting climate change to 1.5°C is now virtually impossible’.

How will our children have to live, as senior citizens, with three degrees of global heating?

Retreat, retreat Even with 1.5 degrees of warming, 70–90 per cent of the world’s tropical coral reefs are projected to disappear – and become all but non-existent with only two degrees of warming – along with billions of tourism dollars. At 3°C of global warming, many of Australia’s ecosystems would become unrecognisable.

With one metre of sealevel rise predicted by the end of the century, up to 250,000 Australian properties are at risk of coastal flooding. Within their lifetime, our kids will have to make tough decisions about adapting to the sea-level rise that can no longer be prevented. Should public money be spent on coastal defences to protect development in low-lying areas, given what we know is coming?

Future planning Ultimately, retreat away from the coastline is likely

to be the only feasible longterm strategy. The eventual relocation of people and infrastructure from the most threatened areas must be factored into current and future planning.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Great Dividing Range, populations may have to retreat eastwards from inland heat and desiccation. Large swathes of the already water-stressed interior of Australia could become too hot and dry for human habitation, according to prominent Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann.

Many inland towns face dwindling water supplies owing to declining rainfall trends, and many have already spent huge amounts of money to truck in drinking water during the most recent drought.

However, faced with the prospect of 50-degree-plus summers, some experts say highly urbanised parts of Australia may become unliveable within decades, and in the north of Australia a deadly combination of heat and humidity could

The future effects of climate change include more frequent wildfires, longer periods of drought, and an increase in the number, duration and intensity of tropical storms. Photo NASA, L: Mellimage, center: Montree Hanlue; R: NASA make cities like Darwin uninhabitable for much of the year.

To counteract this supercharged ‘Urban Heat Island effect’, suburban car parks may have to be relocated underground and replaced with trees and greenery, and roads painted to reflect heat, not absorb it. All housing will inevitably be retrofitted with insulation. In particularly vulnerable areas a more substantial retreat from the surface may be necessary, with supermarkets and possibly entire suburbs built underground.

Behavioural and cultural adaptation to the extreme daytime heat could see us retreating indoors and sleeping during the day, and

moving outdoors at night to socialise and exercise, similar to some Mediterranean countries.

Political willpower In their report Aim High, Go Fast: Why Emissions Need To Plummet This Decade the Climate Council proposes a target of a 75 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions (from 2005 levels) by 2030, and for net zero emissions by 2035.

Professor Michael Mann says that the published science indicates that ‘keeping global heating to 1.5°C would require global emissions to be cut in half over the next decade’ and that this is achievable, and is ‘simply a matter of political willpower’.

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The Community That Owns Itself

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Closing conversation with Ella Rose Goninan (Renew Fest director) and Helen McCosker (National Regen Agriculture Day director)

e-Bikes and electric cars Tiny Home Village

Indigenous-led closing ceremony led by Uncle Lewis Walker with Uncle Magpie and dancers

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Miriam Rose Judy Atkinson Ungunmerr-Baumann Emeritus Professor, trauma Senior Australian of the Year, expert, founder We Al-li Dadirri teacher (Fri via zoom)

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Sustainability Volume 12, May 2021 33

12

Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

‘Wai’ on Earth are we polluting?

Kerry Sunderland

When I moved from Byron to ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ eight years ago, I naively thought I was leaving behind polluted freshwater rivers.

I’d grown up swimming in the Murray in the ’70s and ’80s, before salinity, erosion, blue-green algal blooms, and invasive species began to take their toll. But I never drank it. So when my partner and I started roaming the South Island, I was startled when he filled his drink bottle with river water and gulped it down. No boiling. No filtering.

‘As long as we’re upstream from cows,’ he told me, ‘the water is fine to drink’.

This is still true – Aotearoa has the cleanest rivers in the world in its many conservation estates, which equate to roughly a third of all land here – but downstream waterways are now some of the most polluted in the developed world. Today, roughly 60 per cent of the country’s rivers have unacceptable levels of contamination.

While the possible solutions to New Zealand’s

freshwater crisis are complex, the causes are relatively simple and it’s easy to draw parallels with the Murray Darling Basin, where dairy farmers are one of the biggest consumers of its water.

According to one of NZ’s leading freshwater ecologists, Mike Joy, our $15 billion a year dairy industry, which provides a third of the world’s dairy exports, is literally ‘milking the environment for all it’s worth’. The industry’s intensive farming practices, which depend on huge volumes of irrigation, have resulted in the pollution of an astonishing 95–97 per cent of all rivers running through farmland, urban catchments, and non-native forests.

Scientists have praised the NZ government for listening to health experts in its COVID-19 response, but when it comes to setting limits to manage the health of waterways, Joy believes scientific advice seems to be considered ‘negotiable’.

He points to numerous occasions of political interference over the past few decades. On all occasions, this has meant a

weakening of limits in favour of polluters.

There is disagreement about what constitutes acceptable levels of nitrates in our waterways. When the current Labour government announced in its National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater Management a new nitrate limit of 2.4mg/L, there was an outcry from dairy farmers. Yet ecologists and environmentalists say it doesn’t go far enough; Joy says the limit needs to be 1mg/L. When he and Canterbury councillor Lan Pham tested water in the Selwyn River for a recent ABC Foreign Correspondent episode, they found 9.66mg/L. In the Selwyn, this translates into oozy black mats of toxic algae. People can’t swim in it, let alone drink the water.

Water sovereignty And, while the NPS became operative in September last year, regional councils have until 2025 to rewrite their existing water regulations.

In the meantime, the only glimmer of hope for many is the prospect that Māori will

succeed in regaining sovereignty of waterways by forcing the government and local councils to fulfil their Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

Just as the Inuit languages have 50 words for snow and hundreds of other ways to describe it, the relationship between Māori and ‘wai’ (water) is as linguistically complex. In Mountains to the Sea: Solving New Zealand’s Freshwater Crisis, Tina Ngata, who advocates for environmental, indigenous and human rights, gives these examples: ‘waiunu’ refers to drinking water; ‘waipukepuke’ is water that has been whipped by the wind to form peaks; ‘waihuka’ is frothy water; ‘manowai’ is water that has deep, strong undercurrents; ‘waiwhakaika’ refers to the specific ceremonial waters for the embedding of knowledge; ‘waiariki’ refers to healing or curative waters, such as hot springs.

Wai plays a central rol, not only in sustaining life and wellbeing, but also in Māori identity. There’s a saying – ‘Ko wai mātou’ – which means both ‘we are water’

Rakaia River, Canterbury, NZ. Photo Matt-Crawford and ‘who we are’. Sharing the name of their ‘moana’ (ocean) or ‘awa’ (river) is a key component of a person’s ‘pepeha’ (introduction). Wai is also a prefix in many words referring to balance and the interconnectedness of all living things. For example, ‘wairua’ means spirit or soul.

In February, a collective of five Māori groups announced they would be engaging with the NZ Government on reform of the Resource Management Act and other legislation addressing climate change.

Iwi (Māori tribes) have already entered co-government and co-managment arrangements to manage the Waikato River, Lake Taupō, and the Waiapu catchment.

And late last year, Ngai Tahu, Aotearoa’s fourth largest iwi, announced it was

taking legal action against the NZ Government to assert their rights over fresh water in the South Island.

Ngai Tahu says it has tried to engage with successive governments on the issue but has been ignored.

They’re not the only ones feeling ignored. While Joy might have felt hopeful when the Labour Party teamed up with the Green Party to form a coalition government in 2017, today he is feeling pretty cynical. He says there have been multiple attempts to get the Ardern government to do something about regulating water, but nothing has come close to solving the problem.

Joy believes giving Māori more involvement in, and control over, fresh water would be a positive move in the right direction.

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35 Sustainability Volume 12, May 22/4/212021 2:50 pm

Sustainability

14

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Community-owned, social enterprise the obvious energy choice Enova Team Established in 2016 to do something practical about climate change, Enova Community Energy is a social enterprise making an impact.

Enova is approaching its fifth year of operation and the signing on if its 10,000th customer. In 2020, their customers saved 18,425 tonnes of carbon just by being with Enova. Each customer that switches to Enova saves 1.99 tonnes of CO2-emissions every year!

This is because 60 per cent of Enova’s customers already have rooftop solar installed and excess solar forms 50 per cent of Enova’s energy sources. Enova then offsets all of its customers’ energy purchases.

Enova’s community owned profit-for-purpose model is renewables focused. It does not invest in fossil fuels and ensures that 50 per cent of profits are reinvested back into community projects. It also invites new customers to choose from a welcoming credit on their bill or to have that amount donated to a

current charity partner. This model has already donated over $85,000 to Australian not-for-profit organisations.

As a social enterprise, locally operated and Australian owned by 1,600 community shareholders (the majority are based in the Byron Shire), Enova is mandated to innovate projects like solar gardens, community solar, micro-grids and community batteries.

These projects ensure the benefits of renewable energy are locally generated and distributed fairly to those who do not have the funds or a suitable location to invest in their own solar panels and batteries.

COREM partnership Enova Community has partnered with COREM (Community Owned Renewable Energy Mullumbimby) to support other local community organisations to place solar panels on their rooftops via a $1,000 revolving solar fund. Local community halls that have benefited are the Federal Community Hall, Coorabell Hall, and the Mullumbimby Commons.

Microgrid pilot

The Enova Team enjoying their green success.

By installing community solar in collaboration with partners, Enova is building the capacity of these organisations for energy independence and reducing carbon emissions.

The company has also played a pioneering role in the establishment of solar gardens in Australia.

It partnered with North Coast Community Housing (NCCH) to install the first solar garden, that benefits social housing tenants and community organisations; and is the chosen retail partner for the first community-owned solar garden in partnership with Pingala, called Haystacks Solar Garden.

Enova is also innovating the technical side and customer-facing structures of its first microgrid and shared community battery. This will inform how it moves forward and continues to generate real change with community energy that distributes (or shares) locally generated and stored renewable energy.

These projects take energy generation and storage off the one-way grid line and circulate it locally.

While not only being good for our environment they also build local community energy resilience and economic capacity.

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36 Volume 12, May 2021 Sustainability

In partnership with Essential Energy, Enova’s first microgrid is currently being trialled in the Arts and Industry Estate of Byron Bay. More than 20 local businesses have signed up and have had energy monitors installed to assess energy use and needs of the participating businesses.

Shared Community Battery – NSW New South Wales state and federal funding has enabled Enova’s mission to embark upon an initiative to commission and install a 2MWh Tesla battery in a regional NSW location. This project will allow households, whether they have solar or not, to share and trade rooftop solar between themselves.

The shared community battery is a project partnership with Enosi Australia and the University of Newcastle.

Enova will buy and manage the battery, Enosi will provide the platform that will allow Enova’s solar

and non-solar customers involved in the pilot to share with and purchase energy from the battery. The University of Newcastle will be collecting and analysing data from the project.

There’s no other electricity company like Enova in Australia. It was set up to support local communities to generate, store, and share their own energy and to have a community impact by strengthening local economies and taking climate action.

So really, Enova can only achieve what it set out to do in the Australian energy transition to renewable energy, with the help of you, customers, shareholders and supporters. As Enova grows in customer numbers, so can its community impact. The alternative can be to select an energy company that ticks one or two boxes, but that still invests in fossil fuels.

Zero waste events made easy COMPOST WASTE MANAGEMENT

Compostable cups, plates and cutlery are great, as long as they get composted and not sent to landfill.

Mullum Cares will make sure your event waste gets composted locally.

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Reusable is always better than single use. We can organise everything from reusable cups, to cable ties, to serviettes.

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90 percent of event waste is recyclable or compostable. Make sure those bottles and cans live to party another day. Mullum Cares will minimise waste to landfill for your event.

CUSTOM MADE SOLUTIONS Every event is different, Mullum Cares can meet you wherever you are on your zero waste journey. Get in touch early and make zero waste part of your event plan from the very beginning.

MORE INFORMATION Call Sasha today

0422 641 474 mullumcares.com.au

www.echo.net.au

Sustainability

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2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Time to be part of the people’s rooftop revolution!

Charles Boyle It’s official – the International Energy Agency (IEA) has confirmed that Australia has the highest installed solar PV (photovoltaic) capacity per capita in the world: 2.6 million Australian homes now have rooftop solar, up from just 26,000 in 2007.

Small-scale solar electricity production is the quiet revolution happening on Australia’s rooftops, but if you’re one of the 80 per cent of households yet to install a PV system, here’s a quick guide to the basics.

A solar photovoltaic system needs panels, an inverter, and (optional) batteries.

silicon, while the most efficient and durable panels are monocrystalline – the most expensive but the best long-term option.

Second-generation Thin Film Solar Cells are the least expensive; but while cheap and flexible they suffer in high temperatures and have a shorter lifespan of around 20 years.

On the horizon are biohybrid solar cells, aka photo-bioelectrochemical cells, harnessing the power of photosynthesis to generate electricity. Still in development, biohybrid panels are predicted to be 1,000 times more efficient than traditional silicon panels.

Panels

Batteries

First-generation silicon solar panels – basically silicon semi-conductors in glass in a metal frame – have a functional life of 25–30 years, deteriorating at around one per cent per year.

A panel twenty-five years old will still produce at 75 per cent of its original output.

The world’s most popular panels are polycrystalline

Solar electricity needs to be stored for use at night, and there are many battery storage systems on the market. With a lifespan of about ten years, solar batteries are expensive and notoriously unreliable. An independent test of eighteen solar battery systems reviewed by consumer group Choice found only 30

Solar panel cells. Photo Charles Boyle per cent of batteries to be reliable and fault-free. Solar battery storage is a rapidly evolving industry and many companies have already left the industry leaving consumers without warranty.

Going off-grid with a battery system is still not cost-effective, but will change as technology evolves and prices fall.

Inverters The inverter turns the DC power from panels into AC for household use and export to the grid. The most sophisticated element of the solar PV system, it is the

most likely to fail.

Expect an inverter to last ten years, but prices vary depending on requirements.

The standard inverter for a grid-connected residential solar PV system is a string inverter. Grid-connected panels and a battery require a hybrid inverter and an off-grid system needs a specialised battery inverter.

When buying an inverter look for a ten-year warranty.

Off-grid or connected?

The grid is a community resource, and every kilowatt

of exported renewable energy reduces our reliance on coal-fired power stations.

However, successive governments have failed to predict the phenomenal uptake of solar PV and our electricity grid wasn’t designed for solar feed-in. The grid was designed to send electricity in one direction – from the power station to the consumers. While electricity can easily move backwards through the grid, net reverse (upstream) power flows cause voltage spikes that damage infrastructure and consumer equipment and thermal overloading of substation transformers.

To maintain grid stability, infrastructure needs to be modified to cope with increasing solar PV – but who should pay for adapting the old technology? Those who don’t have rooftop solar PV shouldn’t subsidise those who do. In an effort to control customer-generated exports, governments are reducing feed-in tariffs, imposing export quotas and even proposing to charge customers to export to the grid.

An elegant solution to grid overload is the emergence of the Virtual Power Plant (VPP). A VPP is sophisticated cloud-based software system that taps into the existing grid collecting residential PV for sale and distribution, ensuring grid stability. VPPs are dynamic, responsive, and deliver in real time.

Tesla and AGL Energy both operate VPPs in South Australia, encouraging consumers to join their network by offering free or subsidised hybrid PV systems.

The time is now When buying a solar PV system, look for established companies that are likely to be around to honour your warranty when things go wrong. Remember, the better quality your equipment, the longer it will generate renewable energy.

Solar PV has come of age; it’s now efficient, reliable and cost effective.

Don’t hesitate. There’s never been a better time to be part of the solution.

Taking on the climate challenge together.

BUILDING THE SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE THAT DRIVES CHANGE Mullum SEED is a community run not-for-profit with a mission to empower Change Makers working with our Natural Environment and creating more Sustainable Ways to live.

Our projects and partners include: • BeardsOn for Conservation

• Mullumbimbees

• Rainforest 4 Foundation

• Mullum Food Coop

• Byron Shire Chemical Free Landcare

• Mullumbimby Men’s Shed

• Byron Community College

• Renew Fest

• Mullumbimby Community Gardens

• Firesticks Alliance

• Shara Community Gardens

• COREM

• Lennox Community Gardens

• Mullum Cares

• Reforest Now!

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Follow our story. Get involved.

Download our latest Impact report here: mullumseed.org.au/about Meet us this weekend at RENEW FEST!

To support our work please visit zerobyron.org/donate www.echo.net.au

We will be sharing some of our projects and looking to connect with you!

Sustainability Volume 12, May 2021 37

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Where state and federal governments are failing, Eve Jeffery

Local government areas are where we take our cues as to how we can be sustainable. A council that makes it easy to live a sustainable life is worth its weight in compost (see what I did there?).

We are lucky on the Far North Coast that we have local governments who are willing to do their best to keep us on track. We asked five LGAs – Ballina, Byron, Lismore, Richmond Valley, and Tweed – what they were up to in terms of sustainability, and the answers we got are awesome!

Ballina Keith Williams is on Ballina Council and he is also chair of Rous County Council, the governing body for much of our water.

Cr Williams says Ballina has a lot going on. In November 2020 Ballina adopted a climate-emergency declaration and recently adopted a draft climate-change policy, committing to net zero carbon emissions by Ballina Council by 2030. The policy is currently on public

exhibition (https://ballina. nsw.gov.au).

In the past year, more solar has been added to Council buildings and the street lights converted to LEDs. ‘Our first solarpowered street light was installed, and an electric vehicle purchased,’ said Cr Williams.

At the waste management centre new recyclables handling facilities decreased contamination rates and increased volumes of materials being recycled.

Cr Williams says that Council’s Healthy Waterways Program has funded the development and implementation of Coastal Management Plans for Lake Ainsworth, Shaws Bay, and North Creek. ‘The program has also supported strategic land purchases and riparian revegetation projects that have transformed kilometres of creek banks in the shire.’

Our water use The Rous County Council (RCC) areas – Ballina (excluding Wardell); Byron (excluding Mullumbimby); Lismore (excluding Nimbin); and

Brunswick Heads Public School students River and Alankar join in BSC’s Waste Wise Schools program. The fun and interactive learning activities are designed to teach students about the importance of sustainable waste management practices at school and at home.

Richmond Valley (excluding land to the west of Coraki) have a proud history of proactive water-conservation measures. Currently RCC uses less water for a population of 100,000 users than it did 25 years ago for 60,000 users. In December last year RCC committed further significant resources to waterloss prevention and will roll out smart water meters to their network.

Earlier this year RCC adopted a draft Future Water Plan that rejected both a proposed dam in the Channon

CERTIFIED ORGANIC FREE RANGE EGGS

Gorge near Dunoon and a total reliance on groundwater, in favour of an approach that uses groundwater in the short term. The strategy commits RCC to build a pilot plant for developing a purifiedrecycled-water strategy that could be implemented from 2040.

Byron Byron Shire Council recognises the impact its operations have on the environment. Council has reduced our net CO2 emissions by 9,776 tonnes

over the last four years by changing the way they work, switching to renewable energy sources, and through offset arrangements.

Byron is constantly looking into new ways to reduce the carbon footprint through solar and other renewable-energy projects such as bioenergy. By 2025 the Council aspires to be officially ‘carbon neutral’.

This year, Council is supporting the local community to reduce their emissions with the aid of Zero Emissions Byron (ZEB).

There are some exciting new, not-for-profit programs now available for all Byron Shire residents. SunSPoT (www.byron.nsw.gov.au/ Community/Sustainableliving/SunSPoT) is a free online tool that has mapped the rooftops of the Shire. The program will help you understand everything you need to know about solar. The other project is Climate Clever, an app to help households calculate and reduce their carbon footprint.

Byron Shire Council is considering bioenergy as an innovative solution to

our region’s organic-wastemanagement problem. If successful, the Byron Shire Bioenergy Facility will be the first of its kind in Australia.

Bioenergy can be used to convert local organic green waste into renewable energy and a compost product. T The Re-think Tank is a new networking and collaborative event BSC is supporting, to be held regularly throughout the year. The idea is for it to be an open conversation about local solutions to waste problems. It is also a place for community groups and businesses to showcase the work they do.

Lismore Lismore City Council (LCC) Mayor, Vanessa Ekins, believes that on the whole we are not doing enough to be resilient in the face of the changing climate. ‘Our housing needs to be independent of centralised electricity and water systems and within walking distance of the services we need,’ she told The Echo.

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Sustainability

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2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

our local councils are taking the lead to increase. Most households’ water is used in the toilet and laundry. If people offset this use with rain water instead of drinking water we can delay construction of new water infrastructure.’

Cr Ekins says that LCC has identified that over 60 per cent of the Lismore area houses are lived in by one or two people, and that future demand is for smaller homes.

‘Council consulted with the community about where new homes can go and we decided to intensify our villages and urban areas.

We have tried to encourage medium density (units) by reducing water and sewer contributions, but have not had much uptake.’

Cr Ekins says that apart from housing and water, waste is the next big issue.

‘Lismore is attempting to cope with all the waste we generate locally. We have a lot of experience with recycling and our community are well educated on what goes into which bin, but we need to invest more into sorting our waste and processing it into a useable form so other businesses can reuse our paper and plastic. This is a

very exciting opportunity and we are talking with regional councils about a regional approach to waste management, so it isn’t waste but a useful resource.’

Richmond Valley Richmond Valley Council (RVC) has several plates in the air – Council is installing four contactless water drinking stations to help reduce single-use plastics.

Council’s FOGO (Food RVC Ranger Eddie Brown and a local Evans Head dog, Tucka.

Organics and Garden Organics) garden at the Casino Flat Corridor Restoration, is a focus on the upper Library is a great educational waterways of the Richmond and Natural Resource tool for re-using household catchment around bushfire Management immediate organic waste to create nutriaffected areas. response projects (across the tious fresh food and Council The Council also has entire North Coast) to assist has also recently introduced also facilitated a range of the recovery of seventeen modern recycling bins across grants. The Our Country Our nationally significant threatEvans Head.

Knowledge: Bringing Back ened species through priority The ongoing Coraki the Good Fire for the Ngullpest animal and weed Riparian Project hopes to ingah Jugun (Our Country) control; nest box installation; improve the health of this Aboriginal Corporation fire management and animal vital riverbank, which sits at grant will support the work surveys. the confluence of the Wilsons to collect, share and apply and Richmond Rivers and Tweed knowledge of traditional was identified as a high In August 2020, Tweed burning practices in Western priority for restoration.

Shire Council (TSC) adopted Bundjalung country.

Council has successfully its Towards Zero Waste Other grants include applied for up to $140,000 Policy (TZWP), which sets out Bungwalbin Reserves Bushfor the regeneration and Save on petrol and its commitment to working fire Recovery for Wildlife and replanting of riparian areas maintenance. towards eliminating waste.

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with its Climate Change Policy target of net zero council emissions by 2030.

A new two-year program of renewable energy and energy-efficiency works across its facilities is one of many sustainability initiatives being undertaken by the Council.

As part of phase two of its Renewable Energy Action Plan, Council will carry out 10 solar projects worth more than $1 million with the aim of achieving net zero emissions. There are already solar arrays installed at more than 20 Council facilities, saving 1,185 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Phase two will almost triple Council’s current solar capacity to more than 2,200kWp (kilowatts peak).

Looking to the future, Council is securing the Tweed’s water supply by raising the Clarrie Hall Dam wall. Council is undertaking a number of related projects to secure a long-term water supply and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

A $7 million Organics Processing Facility will transform Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

from Council’s kerbside green bin collection into useful compost, reducing the waste going to landfill.

A unique facility on the Tweed Coast will play a key role in the battle against one of the biggest threats posed to koalas – chlamydia.

The Tweed Coast Koala Research Hub, located in Pottsville, will become a temporary home for koalas selected for a chlamydia vaccine research program initiated by the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital and Queensland University of Technology.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) has recognised the concerted efforts of TSC to address climate change. They have awarded them all its climate-change mitigation badges, as well as its climate-change adaptation goal and plan badges, recognising the Council’s efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change on its community. This makes it one of only seven councils in Australia to have been awarded all mitigation badges from the GCoM.

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Sustainability Volume 12, May 2021 39

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Sustainability

2021 – Hints for living a sustainable life

Creating a sustainable future for farming in the Northern Rivers Young Farmers Connect With the age of the average Australian farmer nudging 60, local group Young Farmers Connect (YFC) has formed a network that facilitates opportunities, land sharing, collaboration, education, mentorship and industry support to new, young and aspiring farmers throughout Australia.

The group says ‘It is apparent to young people just how important a healthy, sustainable food culture is to society. We are a generation that has grown up with the challenges of climate change, globalisation and inequality and for many of us agriculture represents an inherently positive response to these challenges’.

Having sprouted and grown in the Northern Rivers in 2015, YFC has inspired a growing national network of chapters with a definitive focus on supporting new entrants into local food economies, sustainable food systems and ecological agriculture. The not-for-profit organisation is committed to cultivating peer-support

networks, building resources and providing educational platforms that encourage a new generation of agrarians to engage in the critically important work of community food security, biodiversity preservation and mitigation against climate change.

Understanding the challenges Within an incredibly challenging economic environment, and with so many additional challenges for young people to access land throughout a rapidly gentrifying Northern Rivers, YFC has set out to ‘understand the barriers and challenges for new farmers and advocate for resources and supportive pathways to mobilise young people into the agricultural sector. When we support our next generation of farmers, we support our environment and the health of our communities’.

YFC Northern Rivers chapter coordinators Venetia Scott and Dani Wolff-Chambers have been working in partnership with

Young people have realised that farming is key to combatting climate change and shaping a liveable world. the Department of Primary Industries, Young Farmer Business Program and the Tweed Shire Council to develop and deliver a program of free and heavily subsidised workshops aimed at providing relevant and accessible programs to support the region’s small-scale farming sector.

With a specially designed program of workshops titled ‘The Business of Regeneration’ the group held a booked-out field day in the Clarence Valley in early April, focusing on ‘value adding’, hosted at The Peach Farm and Solum Farm, to discuss

creating profitability through vertical integration and onfarm partnerships.

Looking forward Upcoming events being run by the group include Holistic Management for Small Scale Farming workshop in Myocum on 11–12 June; Sustainability for Successful Farming in the Tweed on 22 June; and a Small Farms for Success field day in Newrybar on 29 May. The events are open to anyone in the community interested in being involved in the sector.

The group also runs a number of successful

programs including an Education Fund that supports ‘new and young farmers to overcome the financial barriers associated with attending workshops, seminars and conferences that will help our next generation of farmers access information, resources and support to develop best practice in regenerative farming systems and sustainable farm enterprise’. They have also started the Farm Links program which aims to support land-sharing and share-farming opportunities.

The pilot program has been designed to support young farmers to connect with offers from landholders who are interested in developing farming opportunities, in partnership, on their land.

Young Farmers Connect says the success of the local agricultural sector will depend on wide support from a range of local industry and government stakeholders. ‘Land access is not the only issue – it’s a complex problem of housing shortage, affordability, marketplace access and challenges with the capital expense of new

Clifford’s

farming start-ups’ that are creating big hurdles for the region’s new farmers, says Joel Orchard, Principal Coordinator of YFC who has been researching the challenges for new farmers in Australia for the last five years.

‘We will need substantial investment from the public and private sector in alleviating these roadblocks and developing effective pathways into the sector if we want to see a revival and the survival of our local food economies’. YFC is calling on the Northern Rivers local councils and local food system stakeholders to address what YFC sees as critical systemic challenges ‘to provide effective development of the sector and unlock huge potential for growth in the sustainable farming industries’.

To get involved, or register for their upcoming events, head to www.youngfarmersconnect.com

METAL RECYCLING Cliffords shop has 3 purposes • We upcycle all our gloves into a product used to make kids playground equipment.

• We are a collection site for all used oral care products, which we recycle • We are paperless • We use technology to lessen our negative impact on the environment • We use low or no VOC, locally sourced, sustainable materials on our fit out • We have no carbon footprint • We are the only carbon positive dental practice in the world.

You’ll find: Old homewares that have been given a new life. Bathtubs converted into couches, old pots turned into beautiful lights, forks, and taps that are now knobs to hang your coat on at the door!

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1 d urpose Buy rep ycled c and up like old goods s, antique wares, t. r a and

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The yard is the home handyman’s dream!

We’re always happy to take or buy your metals.

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It’s not just a shop or a yard. It’s an experience.

Come on in, take your time and enjoy finding your unique pieces!

Upcycled_steampunk_interiors www.cliffordsmetalrecycling.com.au

Dr Marcus O’Meara B.D.S | Dr Louise Barr, B.D.S Ms Caitlin Wilkie, B Oral H (OHT) | Mrs Rachel Andersson, B Oral H (OHT)

59/1 Porter Street, Byron Bay, NSW 2481 This is a carbon positive practice.

40 Volume 12, May 2021 Sustainability

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42 Volume 12, May 2021 Sustainability

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