If not us, then who?
If not here, then where?
If not now, then when?

Over the last three years in the middle of winter, thousands of Tasmanians chose to spend a day outside learning more about how to live a sustainable life.

This is a very popular event. It’s on again on Sunday, June 5th, so put it in your diary now.

Click HERE to see details.

Some brilliant good news to end the year, and it stems from this community’s successful solar bulk purchase efforts.

EcoTasmania Inc has awarded a $7,000 grant to the Peak Oil working group to conduct education and lobbying on peak oil – an emerging issue of great importance. EcoTasmania Inc is the corporate body that was set up from our community solar initiative to support sustainability projects.

For those wanting to know more about the peak oil issue (you will hear about it soon anyway!) you can read a good primer by clicking here.

And for those who don’t have solar hot water connected yet, the EcoTasmania solar enterprise is still going gangbusters, now set up as a normal business operation. You can contact them by clicking here.

We have the pleasure of announcing funding for three very worthwhile projects in South Hobart area:

• Seeding funds for development of a community orchard
• A project to educate community members on seasonal foods
• A series of home energy saving workshops

The funding has been made available as a result of South Hobart Community’s very successful solar bulk purchase project – which resulted in $1.5 million investment in domestic solar systems in recent times.

Congratulations to the project bidders.

Chris Harries (on behalf of SH carbon fund committee)

Following alerts from a number of local residents (of mains sewage leaks along the valley) Southern Water has been responding.

Dave Graddon met with Southern Water’s Andy Crawford and Kathryn McLeod on September 20 and had a fruitful discussion about ongoing leaks from the sewer main, potential contamination of the rivulet and surrounding environment and the condition of the main.

Continue reading →

This is your invitation to a very timely Saturday workshop on September 18.

Energy prices are due to rocket within 5 years and this will place immense hardships on not only the Tasmanian economy, but on communities and individuals. Simply put: We Are Not Ready!

With this in mind, Waterworks community members are invited to a stimulating workshop to explore this theme – with people from other sustainable communities.

Download flyer HERE.

POSTSCRIPT: The workshop filled to capacity and has resulted in a similar one being held in Launceston next month.

A ‘street wall chalk painting’

When: 25th of July (last Sunday of this month), 1.30pm.
Where: In front of Dorka’s house, 101 Waterworks Road
What: Turn the wall into a colorful space around the theme “the street is there for everyone to share”

Continue reading →

Our local community is part of something much bigger – a rapidly growing worldwide movement. It’s an energetic people’s response to peak oil and climate change, springing up all over the planet.

And throughout Tasmania Transition Communities like ours are emerging all over the place. To give this movement visibility there’s a bright new website – Transition Tasmania.

Check it out now HERE. See what other community groups are doing. You can even join Transition Tasmania as an active participant.

Copenhagen approaches… and it will probably determine the fate of human civilisation.

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October 24 will see a huge global initiative to make people aware of 350 – the most important number on Earth. [350.org]

350 parts per million is the maximum amount of carbon in the atmosphere we must achieve to maintain our ecological balance on Earth. We are already at 390 parts per million.

With people all around the world participating in all sorts of different ways we can reach this target.

Local community member and national theatre director Neil Cameron is planning an arts event so we in Hobart can participate in this world-wide programme. You can join in by simply emailing here: hobart350project@gmail.com to register your name.

Click here to download the details.

Many thanks to Claudia and Jason and family for use of their home for the belated formal launch of our climate project on Sunday (August 30).

We were blessed with a brief break in the continuous wet weather (as NSW sizzles in mid-Summer temperatures, breaking all records for August).

Here is a replica of the little garden signs that participating households will be displaying in their front yards.

This comes with a commitment: to reduce the household’s carbon footprint by 5% minimum per year. We aim to do everything we can to ensure that this commitment can be easily met, and that task will keep us very busy for the coming year!

And thanks too to Nel Smit, a community representative on Tasmania’s Climate Action Council, who launched the project for us on Sunday.

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3.20 pm on a Saturday afternoon. Speeding car, out of control, hits curb, tyre bursts, careens down the wrong-side-of-road on its wheel rim. An all too familiar story.

Blue line follows trajectory, car travelling this way.

Had it been a week day at that time there would have been an entourage of kids walking / cycling home just at that time.

To defend itself against a possible fatal calamity, the community has decided to take action. Keep tuned.

Creating sustainable communities beyond oil dependency
An information / discussion night with local community groups (South Hobart Sustainable Community, West Hobart Environment Network and Waterworks Valley Community).

7pm
Tuesday, 7 April
At 71 Murray Street (above EcoHaven)
All welcome

Continue reading →

G’day all! Just heard a couple of Sydney uni students interviewed about their recent year-long bike-ride around Oz promoting sustainable living.

Their website (Everybody Has Power) is particularly good, especially for younger people and includes Facebook links.

The site includes a set of interesting ‘personal sustainability challenges’. Worth a peek!

Sam at 104