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In this month's edition....
- Join Jane this year for the Plastic Free July challenge
- Plastic Free July online workshops
- The Story Of Plastic - movie screening
- Terrariums - plants in minature
- Climate Action Workshop
- Growing Edible Natives
- Meet the Environmental Sustainability Team from the City of Marion
- Greening Marion - rethinking urban greening
- Bite size bee sessions
- COVID-19 and Climate Change - webinar series
- Taking action in the home: rey
- Home More? Tips for controlling your energy bills
- World Localisation Day
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Join Jane this year for the Plastic Free July challenge
Jane is a champion of plastic-free living and is about to register her 4
th
challenge for Plastic Free July to see if she can swap out some items from her bathroom and further reduce her use of throw-away plastics.
Jane’s advice to others?
Being organised and planning ahead are key to reducing your single-use plastics. With this effort the resulting changes are immediate and lasting.
Jane attended a Living Smart course in 2017 and after learning about the amount of plastic consumption and pollution globally, she felt concerned about the problem of single-use plastics and compelled to do something about it. She signed up to the Plastic Free July challenge to say ‘no’ to the top four single use plastics: plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and plastic straws.
To help her meet the challenge, Jane made a reusable kit of 2 coffee cups, a refillable water bottle and reusable shopping bags, including produce bags. She also started shopping at a local farmers market which doesn’t have pre-packaged produce.
Registering for Plastic Free July also prompted Jane to start composting food scraps at home, which has reduced their landfill bin to a quarter of what it was and recycling bin contents to at least a third less.
You can join her and sign up to the free Plastic free July challenge
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Plastic Free July - online workshops
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Join Folk of all Trades for a workshop on making your own natural cosmetics. They will cover the process, equipment, materials, plus tips and tricks for making two types of deodorant, a dry shampoo, and a pressed face powder.
Join Folk of All Trades live at
1pm (SA time)
on Friday 10 July
for the live watch party, and then straight afterwards at 1:30pm for the live Q&A to ask real-time questions. A recording will be available for two weeks afterwards.
If you have any questions or queries about the workshops please contact Folk of all Trades (not the partnering co-hosts) at folkofalltrades@gmail.com or 0423172386.
This workshop is supported by the City of Onkaparinga but open to anyone to view.
More upcoming online workshops in the Plastic Free July series....
Friday 17 July - Eco Periods and Tea Blends
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FREE movie screening in your own home
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Join the Cities of Marion and Mitcham to learn about the issues of plastic pollution at our virtual screening of The Story of Plastic, followed by a panel discussion on
Thursday 23rd July at 7pm
with local experts sharing their insights on plastic waste issues and solutions.
The Story Of Plastic takes a sweeping look at the human-made crisis of plastic pollution and the worldwide effect it has on the health of our planet and the people who inhabit it. The film features interviews with experts and activists on the front lines of the fight, revealing the disastrous consequences of the flood of plastic smothering ecosystems and the global movement that is rising up in response. The Story Of Plastic is presented by The Story of Stuff Project, a nonprofit dedicated to changing the way that we make, use, and throw away Stuff so that it is more sustainable, healthy, and fair.
The panel discussion will provide an opportunity for you to ask local experts about plastic pollution issues and solutions. Our panel will be hosted by Allison Byrne, Education Officer Waste and Recycling at City of Marion and our panel guests will include:
• Kelly Smith, Co-ordinator, Plastic Free SA
• Matthew Allan, Senior Consultant, Rawtec Resource Management Specialists
• Third panellist TBA
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Terrariums - Plants in minature
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The world of terrariums is limited only by your imagination. From lush green mini worlds to pared back themes of sand and succulents, the terrarium has a vibe to suit any personality or décor.
Join horticulturist Karen Montgomery live via webinar to learn the simple rules of microclimate creation and watch as she demonstrates how to build a terrarium.
When: Saturday 18 July, 10am -11am
Where: Online, live streaming
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Climate Action Workshop
It's time to act!
Start today by choosing actions that inspire you.
Make changes in your own households and communities inspired by 52 Climate Actions.
In these sessions you will:
- Identify climate actions you can take
- Learn how to get going
- See how your actions fit into the big picture of collective change
- Create a network of like-minded individuals, households and families.
Join Keri Chiveralls and Lachlan McKenzie for two 2 hour sessions (including a tea break), over two weeks.
Session #1: Individual and household actions
Wednesday 22 July, 7 - 9 pm
Session #2: Community actions
Wednesday 29 July, 7 - 9 pm
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Image supplied by Green Adelaide
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Join Education Officer Sam Ryan, from
Green Adelaide
for two videos on local edible native plants.
Discover species that you can grow in your own garden, how to care for them and how they can be used.
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Meet the Environmental Sustainability Team from the City of Marion
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Each edition we will profile a different staff member. Today we introduce you to.....
Kathy Daish (Environmental Officer)
What you do in your role: I oversee the ongoing management and improvements of Marion’s environmental risk management system, which sits within the Health Safety Environment (HSE) Framework. I lead the implementation of the environmental priorities in the HSE Plan, which include assisting with identifying environmental risks relating to Council activities, environmental incident reporting and investigation, auditing and delivering environmental inductions and training. Every second month I coordinate the Environmental Risk Management (ERM) Committee. In July 2020 we are looking forward to the ERM committee merging with the WHS Committee to form the HSE Committee.
Something interesting about you
: I love travelling and exploring ‘out of the way’ places. This year’s adventure was going to be a 7 day trek through the magnificent Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra, canoeing, camping and hanging out with the Orangutans. I would have been there now! Initially, it was disappointing to have missed this opportunity but I guess the pandemic has made me stop and reflect on other priorities. I now have more gratitude for the abundance I have right here and all the other things I love, in particular spending time with family, friends and my garden. And as for travelling and exploring, I just spent a wonderful and wet weekend, camping at Deep Creek, boiling the billy, sitting around the campfire, and hanging out with the local marsupials.
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Greening Marion - rethinking urban greening
Thank you for those that attended the Greening Marion workshops on 12 & 19 June. The workshops are part of the
Greening Marion
trial project operating in the suburbs of Marion, Oaklands Park and Park Holme. This project aims to discover all the great work happening to improve greening in these suburbs and bring everyone together to create a collective vision and discuss areas where we all could work together to make all of our work even stronger and more successful.
If you’re interested in know more about the project, visit the
Greening Marion
webpage. You might also like to check out this neat
five minute video
that explains the approach we’ve used and sets the scene.
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Glenthorne Community Update Session
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Join the Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs, members of the Glenthorne Partnership, and Department for Environment and Water and City of Marion staff for an information session and update on the creation of Glenthorne National Park - Ityamaiitpinna Yarta.
This update session will cover:
- An overview of the implementation and revegetation plans for the Glenthorne National Park-Ityamaiitpinna Yarta precinct
- BMX and soccer proposals
Please register today to secure your place as tickets are limited.
When: Thursday 16 July, 6pm - 8pm
Where: Cove Civic Centre, 1 Ragamuffin Drive, Hallett Cove
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Bite Size Bee sessions
Join Sandra from the Adelaide Bee Sanctuary and Mark from City of Charles Sturt as they discuss the fascinating history of the honey bee!
These 30 minute You Tube videos will get you buzzing!
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COVID 19 and Climate Change - Webinar Series
Australian National University
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As countries have taken drastic measures to curb the spread of the virus, comparisons have arisen between the global response to COVID-19 and climate change. Despite their fundamental differences, they are both significant global challenges that require immediate action based upon scientific evidence.
So how and why have our responses differed, and what can we learn from the handling of COVID-19 to apply to our response to climate change?'
Join this new online event series delivered by the Australian National University, COVID-19 and Climate Change, to discuss these questions and more with leading researchers in the area.
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Taking action in the home : declutter, repurpose and recycle
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Did you know we had 540 people register for our '
Declutter and get organise: sustainable solutions for your stuff' webinar in May.
Actions participants are planning to take:
- Think before I buy. Ask the question: do I really need this?
- Stop, focus and notice what is in my house and whether I can repurpose it, donate it or recycle it
- Talk to friends about it and explore the list of organisations to use for recycling
- Sign up to sites to give items away
- Try to access pre-loved items as we settle into our new house
For more tips on decluttering from the presenter, Bridget, visit the facebook page
Be Simply Free
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Home more? Tips for controlling your energy bills
If you're home more at present, your electricity use is likely to be more than usual. It's important to plan now to avoid a nasty surprise when your next bill comes in. If you can, put a little bit of money aside in anticipation for those increased bills.
If your financial circumstances have changed recently then contact your energy retailer – they may be able to offer you flexible payment arrangements or other assistance.
Act now to control your energy use and minimise future bill shock. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Before turning on your heater try and use natural heating by letting the sun into rooms. Adjusting clothing to suit the season is also important, as is closing doors to only heat the rooms being used. Every 1°C higher for heating adds up to 10% to your running costs. We recommend trying to set your heating to 18-21°C.
- Set freezers between -15 to -18°C, fridges between 3 to 5°C, and turn off any unused appliances. Additional fridges and freezers can add significantly to energy bills.
- Turn off lights, and devices such as TVs, computers and printers at the wall.
- Take the shortest shower you can to save both energy and water.
- Use smaller kitchen appliances where possible, such as a microwave instead of the oven
- Make a game of it with your kids. Keep a star chart of all the energy-saving things they do and reward them for helping you to keep energy use and costs down.
Article courtesy of Energy Partners
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World Localisation Day
The webinars are now available to watch online for those of you who could not tune in live.
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