September 2016

Welcome The days are getting longer and you can start to feel that little bit of warmth in the air. Spring is here – finally, so lets catch up on all the Smart Living news.

National Recycling Week 7-13 November 2016 Every year, Planet Ark's National Recycling Week provides an opportunity for all Australians to focus on recycling, consider what we are already doing well and what areas need more focus.

The campaign aims to educate and stimulate behaviour change by: • Promoting kerbside, • industrial and community recycling initiatives • giving people the tool to minimise waste • manage material resources responsibly at

home, work and school.

Warrnambool City council loves to get on board with National recycling week as it is a great time to talk to the community about the intricacies of recycling. This year council is promoting its newly updated Recycling & Disposal Services Directory 2016.

Most of the readers of this newsletter would be well versed in kerbside recycling, however there still seems to be a lot of confusion about recycling options for items that cannot go into the recycling bin yet are still recyclable.

Opportunities to recycle in Warrnambool are abundant, with heaps of business and organisations providing these opportunities. Sometimes there is a fee involved but often it is free to drop items off.

Where there is a fee this usually covers the cost of handling, treating or transporting the material.

This handy directory is updated every year for National Recycling Week and this year features beautiful illustrations by local artist - Shelley Knoll-Miller. It is set out in alphabetical order and provides the address, phone number, material recycled, whether there is a fee or not and if known what happens to the material. It lists many items from batteries to whitegoods, old clothes and gas cylinders. To get yourself a copy of this must-have booklet drop into council and pick one up or check it out on council's website or email Kate - kmcinnes@warrnambool.vic.gov.au with your address and one will be sent to you. Happy National Recycling Week!

New club in town! Warrnambool Makers Club is a group for explorers, tinkerers, makers and DIY'ers. We are run by members for members and are dedicated to providing facilities, tools and networking for members to achieve their projects, and to work on new shared projects.

Search "Warrnambool Makers Club" on

Facebook to join our online group. We plan to have an inaugural Club meeting soon and begin planning an exciting program of events

and projects.

Contact Murray Dancey on 0418 725 912, or at murraydancey@gmail.com, or on Facebook.

Date here September 2016

CLEANER, GREENER, SMARTER

What’s happening at City Sustainability? There’s always a lot going on in the Sustainability department so we thought we would share with you some of our highlights!

Community Development Fund The Warrnambool City Council’s Community Development Fund once again received a number of submissions from local community groups in the sustainability section. Successful groups will be notified next week and a formal evening recognising the applicants will be held on the 15th September.

It was great to see groups put forward great submissions for projects that will help protect and enhance our environment. We look forward to seeing the results.

Sustain the ‘Bool City Sustainability are currently reviewing the Sustain the ‘Bool program and we want to know what you think. How relevant do you think Sustain the ‘Bool is today? Would you like to see it retained? Rebranded? Shaken up? What type of activities would you like to see in the future? What are your thoughts on the Sustainable Living Festival? Goodness there is so much we want your opinion on!! Send through any thoughts, comments, feedback, grand plans to hsheedy@warrnambool.vic.gov.au

New coastal plants brochure. The Warrnambool City Councils Community Development Fund got to see the fruits of their labour recently. The Australian Plants society Warrnambool and District group applied for funding in 2015/16 to produce a brochure which they hope will inspire more local gardeners to pick suitable native plant species for their home gardens. The group have achieved a fantastic result with the brochure launched by our Mayor, Cr Kylie Gaston last week and now available at the Council Offices, Visitor Centre and local nurseries.

Staff Plant a tree day A small but enthusiastic group of council officers participated in Plant a Tree Day at the BMX track. Around 1000 trees were planted to improve the vegetation at the site.

Green Olympics City Sustainability bought the Olympics to the office by running the Warrnambool City Council GREEN OLYMPICS. Each day saw staff competing on behalf of their directorate in a range of competitions designed to promote easy sustainability. Staff were seen walking or riding to work, wearing recycled or upcycled clothing, sharing their best left over recipes and reducing the amount of paper they print.

Date here September 2016

.

Small steps for bigger, positive change ahead. An intrepid team of local community environmental group representatives headed off up to Melbourne recently and visited the Cardinia Creek Landcare Group at Beaconsfield Reserve. The trip was organised by the Basalt to Bay Landcare Network, to help local groups and council environment staff get a view of what collaborative waterway health improvement programs look like in Melbourne. Hosts for the day were Glenn Brooks-MacMillan from the Cardinia Catchment Landcare Group, and Gavin Brock from Melbourne Water. Over the past year Gavin has been a mentor to Basalt to Bay facilitator Lisette Mill - helping with advice and ideas about how to create support for local groups who want to undertake works to help improve waterway health. The mentoring year and the trip to Cardinia was funded from the International River Prize Award won by The Glenelg Hopkins CMA in 2014. Lisette said "Despite four seasons of winter Melbourne weather, our team of locals were enthusiastic to learn about how Landcare, Parks Victoria, and Melbourne Water work together with the Beaconsfield Reserve Committee of Management on improving Cardinia Creek for the benefit of the whole community.

We asked a lot of questions about how to get Crown Land Managers to support a community environmental vision, and what methods of gaining support work in such an urban setting. We were comforted by the number of common things our projects share with Melbourne – including most of the same weeds! The trip home saw a lot of discussion about what next for the groups that came. It was a positive step to bring people and ideas together and we hope to have a group from Cardinia come and visit this area in the next year”.

Lake Pertobe and Botanic Gardens Masterplans. This weekend council will be releasing a survey on the future of lake Pertobe and the Botanic Gardens. If you would like to have your say on the future of these two iconic Warrnambool locations simply visit: Please share any info via these links: http://www.yoursaywarrnambool.com.au/botanic-gardens-master-plan http://www.yoursaywarrnambool.com.au/lake-pertobe-master-plan

Date here September 2016

.

Hooded Plover breeding season is approaching.

Hooded Plovers are a threatened little shorebird which spends its whole life living on the beach! They breed during Spring and Summer, and lay their highly camouflaged eggs on the dry sand, anywhere from the high tide mark and up into the dunes. It takes 28 days for these tiny eggs to hatch – and takes 35 days for these vulnerable chicks to be able to fly! The chicks must find their own food within hours of hatching, while the parents look out for threats, such as predators, people using the beach, and even dogs. These birds are very secretive, and will try and very quietly, lead you away from the eggs/chicks – they don’t want to make a fuss and draw attention to their vulnerable eggs or chicks!

Warrnambool is lucky to have a number of breeding pairs, but they need your help for the chicks to survive! Simple action such as;

•Walking at the waters’ edge - improves the chance of survival, it reduces the chances of crushing an egg or chick, which are found on the dry sand.

•Not lingering in a nesting area – if you’re in a nesting area for an extended period of time the parents will try and lead you away from the nest, then the eggs will be left exposed and may bake

on the sand, and the chicks (which need to constantly feed), may starve • Put your dog on a leash – this helps the eggs

and chicks from being accidentally crushed or eaten (dogs love to chase things, and what is fun for the dog, is fatal for the flightless chicks)

• Please obey any signs you see on the beach

If you would like to report a Hooded Plover sighting, or get involved, we’re running a couple of information sessions in October and December (dates to be confirmed). If you’re keen to help your local threatened wildlife, you can get more information about these free events by emailing: hoodedplover@birdlife.org.au

Garden Planting Spring is a great time to get outside and get the vegetable patch looking the goods. The conditions are ideal for the following: Artichoke Asparagus Basil Beans Beetroot Bok Choy Broccoli Cabbage Capsicum Carrot Celery Chilli Coriander Celeriac Chicory Cucumber Eggplant Fennel Kale Leek Lettuce Okra Oregano Mustard Greens Pak Choy Parsnip Parsley Potato Pumpkin Radish Rhubarb Rocket Rockmelon Silverbeet Swede Tomato Turnip Watermelon Zucchini

Date here September 2016

.

Warrnambool Birdlife For those interested in birds. Birdlife Warrnambool is a local branch of a national organisation. Bird watching for our group is largely a social activity but we also do bird surveys for a range of stakeholders. Day outings are held on the first Saturday of the month. Two or more extended outings are also planned for each year (eg in the last 12 months we organised birding trips to Tasmania and Lord Howe Island). All are welcome. Further information may be found in our magazine Twitterings downloadable from http://www.birdlife.org.au/locations/birdlife-warrnambool/publications-war or contacting Graham on 55622185 Upcoming events Saturday 6 August 2016 - MOUNT ECCLES NATIONAL PARK

Saturday 3 September 2016 – CAMPERDOWN MOUNTAINS & LAKES

Friday 23 September – Monday 26 September 2016 - CROSS BORDER CAMPOUT (Hamilton are hosting this years)

Saturday 1 October 2016 - PETERBOROUGH AREA

Friday 21October – Monday 24 October 2016 – NELSON CAMPOUT

Saturday 5 November 2016 - “QUAMBY” & FITZROY RIVER ESTUARY

Wednesday 7 December 2016 – CHALLENGE BIRD COUNT & CHRISTMAS BBQ

Friends of Victoria Park Friends of Victoria park is a newly formed community group focusing on Victoria Park in Warrnambool.

This 14ha park near the industrial estate and show grounds is mostly open grassy areas with smaller clumps of native vegetation throughout it. It still contains some remnant native grasses and wildflowers. All the trees in the park were planted by a community group in the early 1980s. Vic park is popular with dog walkers, golfers and kite flyers.

FoVP has received a grant from Landcare Australia to complete a community bird survey of the park and Bird Life Warrnambool have generously agreed to help out. The grant will also allow us to plant approximately 300 native plants to improve habitat for small birds such as the Superb Fairy Wren (which is not currently found in the park).

FoVP is working closely with Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare and the Australian Plants Society Warrnambool and District group. We have a facebook page called "Friends of Victoria Park Warrnambool" and our e-mail is vicparkwarrnambool@gmail.com or contact Laura on 0400 579 155.

Sustainable House Day Sustainable House day explores some of Australia’s

most sustainably progressive homes. Sea Mist, 1A Logans Rd, Warrnambool

112 Bridge Rd, Woodford, 7 Joanna Court, Woodford and

Strawbale House at Nature’s Way Eco Sanctuary will be open on Sunday 11th September from

10 am – 4pm. For more information visit http://sustainablehouseday.com/

Date here September 2016

Contact us If you would like more information on any of the items in the newsletter or if

you wish to be removed from the mailing list please contact Helen Sheedy

(Sustainability Officer) on hsheedy@warrnambool.vic.gov.au or

(03) 5559 4439

Upcoming Sustainability Events:

Workshops at Nature’s Way Eco Sanctuary Nature’s Way Eco Sanctuary will be celebrating their 1st birthday this spring. They will be marking the milestone at the Rosebrook Center with a number of workshops including Backyard Beekeeping, From The Ground Up – Sustainable Veggie growing, Aromatherapy and You, Explore Biomimicry – Designing for Climate and Introduction to Dry Stone Walling.

For more information contact; natureswaysanctuary@gmail.com

Green Drinks Green Drinks is a monthly informal networking

event for anyone interested in, studying or working in the environmental field.

Green Drinks is held at the Last Coach on the first Wednesday of the month from

5.30pm – 7.30pm. Produce Exchange: A produce exchange is held on the first Saturday of the month. This is open to everyone who has produce to share. Simply come along and place your excess food on the communal tables and choose something you would like to exchange. No money changes hands! CWA Hall, 30 Kepler St, Warrnambool Spring dates are: 3rd September, 1st October and 5th November. More info: sonatural2@gmail.com

Fresh Local Markets Market featuring local produce, products and plants. When: 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month. Where: Lake Pertobe – Summer carnival site. Time: 9am – 1pm

World Rivers Day Short Film Session To help focus attention on the health of our waterways, a Short film screening will be held on Saturday September 24, 2016 at Mozart Hall, 2 Gilles Street Warrnambool.

Timed to coincide with World Rivers Day, the series of short films will focus on waterways in our region, responsible fishing and other topics relating to water health and aquatic species.

It will also feature Christian Schultink’s Journey up the Gellibrand that formed part of the Going Upstream project in 2015, linking water usage to the health of the Gellibrand River.

Organising partners include Heytesbury District Landcare Network, Warrnambool CoastCare Landcare Network, Glenelg Hopkins CMA and MAD for the Merri.

For further information, contact Geoff Rollinson 0n 0427 983 755 or by email geoff@heytesburylandcare.org.au