State of the environment

Case study: Ten Years of TEN

The Banyule Nillumbik Teacher Environment Network (TEN) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019. The network was established to provide local teachers with environmental education. Maree Sier-Trentin has been a teacher for 20 years and has been involved in TEN for the last 5. TEN has helped Maree develop a robust environmental education program at St Bernadette’s Primary School in Ivanhoe.

Here, grades 3 and 4 classes participate in Clean Up Australia Day, water quality tests and macro invertebrate identification at Darebin Creek. They have also constructed and installed nesting boxes around the school ground to create habitat for local wildlife.

Case study: Change Makers

On 21 March 2019, our annual Change Makers event brought together 100 local environmentally minded residents. We teamed up with professor Tim Flannery to deliver a night that was informative, collaborative and inspiring. Professor Flannery spoke to the audience about big ideas for combating climate change from all over the world, and stuck around to be part of a workshop activity that made new connections across the community.

Participants presented their ideas for local initiatives, big and small, which could be implemented to strengthen our own initiatives. The event was a great success, with all attendees motivated to tackle the critical and challenging problems stemming from climate change.

Case study: Gresswell Forest

Gresswell Forest Nature Conservation Reserve borders Macleod, Watsonia and Bundoora. Salt Creek arises within the reserve and flows through Macleod, Rosanna and Heidelberg before entering the Yarra River. Stormwater from Banyule and Darebin councils enter Salt Creek in Gresswell Forest, and we are working with Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria to develop WSUDs to protect Gresswell Forest and Salt Creek.

Various design treatments have been identified for our drains to stem the flow of stormwater, reduce erosion and remove stormwater pollutants, for example oils, garden fertilisers and sediment. Gresswell Forest is an excellent example of the opportunities that arise with a multi-stakeholder approach to solving stormwater issues.

Case study: National Trust Studley Park Gum

Eucalyptus x studleyensis is a rare, morphologically variable hybrid between the river red gum and the swamp gum, and specimens don’t always display the same characteristics as others. These trees are intermediate between the 2 parents in leaf, bud and fruit, and often show a closer affinity to either parent in 1 or more features.

We are lucky enough to have examples of the Studley Park gum, and 1 example has now been assessed as Significant at the State Level through the National Trust. It lives on public land in Banyule Flats Reserve alongside the Banyule Billabong.

Case study: The advent of WaterMarc

Historically, corporate emissions have been steady at around 15,000 tonnes/year. This figure rose to 21,000 tonnes/year when WaterMarc opened in 2014, and became a call to action.

We are reducing emissions by installing solar power at many of our buildings, and solar hot water at a major consumption sites:

• The Centre Ivanhoe
• Ivanhoe Aquatic Centre
• Olympic Leisure Centre
• WaterMarc.

We have replaced our diesel delivery vans with electric alternatives, and are installing charging stations at key Council sites. We are also introducing planning policies to ensure that all of our new developments - Greensborough Council offices and Ivanhoe Community Learning Hub - are energy efficient.

We continue to upgrade building and street lighting with energy efficient alternatives. Since WaterMarc opened, our emissions have reduced by 7,302 tonnes, or 33%, and we're committed to taking them to net zero.

Case study: Walk to School Month

Approximately 2000 students across Banyule participated in Walk to School events in 2018 with over 20,000 walks recorded for the month. The program's intention is for participating schools to carry this change forward, with ongoing support from Council, to normalise active travel in student's ongoing daily routines.

Case study: household bins

The make up of household bins is:

• 47% garbage
• 27% recyclables
• 21% green waste
• 3% recyclable hard waste
• 2% inert hard waste.

Overall, the amounts of household waste is decreasing. In 2017-18, the average annual household garbage produced was 455kg. In 2018-19, that dropped to 423kg. Similarly, organic waste produced was 219kg per year, and has shrunk to 175kg for 2019.