That's a Good Idea
That's a Good Idea!TAGI

"That's a Good Idea!" was Centroc’s flagship sustainability project.  It recognised that there were (and continue to be) significant knowledge gaps throughout the region in terms of sustainable ideas and practice. Particularly, there are gaps in relation to the hands on practice of sustainability within councils and composting both in agriculture and home gardens, althjough this is now rapidly changing.

That's a Good Idea! investigated good ideas and programs that were happening around the region and worked to make those ideas and programs available to other councils.

Tha'ts a Good Idea! focused on three areas to build sustainable practice in the Centroc region:

THe final report for this project has been completed and the work completed in this program has been praised by the NSW Environmental Trust who funded this program.

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Sustainability Forum

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The Centroc Sustainability Forum is drawn from the talented environmental, sustainability
and other council staff from around the region.  This forumgreenskillsFeb11_resized
discusses sustainability issues that face our councils and communities. Centroc also coordinates training and capacity building for these staff. Centroc has also organised guest speakers on issues of relevance and interest to our members. The Forum is currently Chaired by Joel Little of Bathurst Regional Council.

The Sustainability Forum meets 6 times a year and the meeting dates can be found on the Regional Environmental Calendar.  The Forum has themed meetings and in 2011 we will be discussing the following issues Sustainable Buildings and Renewable Energy; Sustainable Procurement; Community Engagement focusing on Energy Efficiency; Quadruple Bottom Line Project Assessment; Training on Sustainable Office Skills; Building In Council Sustainability with a focus on change management.

Presentations from these forums that are of broader council and community interest will be uploaded below:

Orange City Council - Stormwater Harvesting

For the contact details of the sustainability forum or if you are interested in presenting to this group please contact Rachael Young on 0448 264 496.

 

Excellence in the Environment Awards

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Rachael Young and Bernard Proctor at the LGSA AwardsCentroc’s Sustainability Programs Manager, Rachael Young was awarded the inaugural Louise Petchell Memorial Award for Individual Sustainability, at the Local Government and Shires Association Excellence in the Environment Awards in Sydney.


This is a highly prestigious award for individual achievement up to and including 2009-2010 in recognition of their contribution to the cause of environmental improvement and sustainability. Louise Petchell was the highly respected Sustainability Unit Manger from Penrith City Council who worked tirelessly to ensure that Penrith and its community moved towards a sustainable future. Louise was a quietly spoken but determined advocate of sustainability and received awards in recognition of her efforts. Louise died unexpectedly and tragically last year. This award is sponsored by the LGSA.

The Award was presented to Rachael yesterday by Louise’s husband Bernard Proctor who also sat on the Award’s assessment committee. When presenting the award yesterday it was announced that Rachael “… provides the ‘glue’ that binds all of the sustainability teams together. She binds them with her knowledge, support and sense of quiet purpose. Rachael manages to find some positive in all the organisations involved. As Louise Patchell would say ‘you always look for some positive no matter how small and build on that’.”

“I am very honoured and proud to be the first recipient of this Award. I was lucky enough to have met Louise a couple of times through my work with Centroc and Louise was always generous with her time and expertise. To be considered in the same league as Louise is very humbling” said Rachael Young, Sustainability Programs Manager.

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Live Issues

Water

As part of the Federal Government's commitment to the regions and a promise before the NSW State election in March 2011, Centroc is seeking funding for the first steps in feasibility for the infrastructure components of the Centroc Water Security Study (the Study).

Centroc has been successful in accessing funding for a water security study. The Study has been developed in response to the worst drought on record in the region and local communities seeking a higher level of water security. From the advice within this Study, Centroc will work on ways to improve water security in the region including seeking funding for appropriate infrastructure solutions.

This Study is the first of its kind in the nation as it considers a regional approach to water security as a result of climate change for urban communities in the context of other water users such as irrigators, the environment and industry such as mining.

In November 2009 the Centroc Board unanmiously adopted the Study including emergency infrastructure such as the pipelines to Lake Cargelligo and between Orange and the Macquarie River

The Study has won four awards including national recognition as one of the 6 best engineering projects in Australia.

All Central NSW Council's members form part of the Murray Darling basin and have been experiencing the exigencies associated with the combination of over allocation of water and the worst drought on record. The Study provides advice on the way forward for water secutiry in the region to 2059 includng giving consideration to climate change. This new advice will have impacts on strategic work including funding. Therefore assistance will be sought from other levels of government.

The Study provides advice regarding policy and infrastructure augmentation in Central NSW to improve water security for the communities served by 17 member local government authorities. For a copy of the summary brochure, click here.

For a copy of the options paper, click here. 

Centroc is progressing work in understanding the carbon impact of the Study with a view to its amelioration. This work is being funded through the Strengthening Basin Communities Program, part of the Federal National Water Initiative.

Members are also collaborating on projects to reduce water consumption and deliver best practice in water management across the region.

Centroc seeks support from the State and Federal governments to assure an adequate level of water security as advised in this important regional strategy.

Link to the NSW Office of Water website www.water.nsw.gov.au

Upcoming Training Events

Thu Feb 23
Centroc Board Meeting

Events Calendar

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Atmospheric CO2 data

 

Did you know that atmospheric CO2 was 364 parts per million (ppm) during the Earth Summit in June 1992? In the past decade, atmospheric CO2 has been rising about 1.9 ppm per year. This is the fastest rate since scientists started using high-precision instruments to take CO2 measurements directly from the Earth's atmosphere.

To find out what Centroc is doing about Climate Change, click here.