CERES Sustainable Home Workshops: Sept – Nov 2010

CERES, Melbourne’s award-winning Community Environment Park in Brunswick is running a new series of Sustainable Home Workshops Saturday afternoons 1.30pm-3.30pm. They will focus on reducing our environmental impact at home, for example:

• Insulation and Glazing
• Green Cleaning
• Buying Green
• Living your Choices
• Sustainable Design and Renovation

To book a workshop contact CERES Visitor Centre on 9387 2609 or go to www.ceres.org.au

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About The Workshops

Sustainability-Living Your Choices
WITH Ian Culbard
Saturday 4th September (Part 1) & Saturday 2nd October (Part 2) 1.30PM—3.30PM
$45/$35 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Taking a holistic approach to sustainability, this two-part workshop investigates aspects of our lives that have significant impacts on the environment. It will explore the lifestyle choices available to help reduce these- including travel, energy, food, water, waste, building design etc. This workshop aims to empower us to take greater responsibility for our habits and choices. BYO questions.

Draught Proofing and Insulating Your Home
With Maurice Beinat from ecoMaster
Saturday 11th September 2010-1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Want to keep your home comfortable and cut your heating and cooling bill in half? Draught proofing and insulation is the answer. This workshop will help you identify and reduce draughts and establish a balance between draught and ventilation. Discover where draughts can occur; doors, windows, fans, vents, gaps and cracks, chimneys, penetrations and 1001 other places you probably haven’t even thought of.

Green Cleaning
With Katerina Gaita from Easli
Saturday 18th September 2010 – 1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Many household cleaning products are known toxins, some are even carcinogenic! The Victorian Department of Health says disinfectants have no proven benefit in our homes! So when we spray these products all over our homes, are we really cleaning them? Is there an effective alternative? Do ‘eco-friendly’ products really work? Will they kill germs? Are they even eco-friendly? How can we know? Come along to this workshop to find out.

Glazing –101 ways to make your windows more efficient
With Maurice Beinat from ecoMaster
Saturday 25th September 2010-1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Windows are great for letting light into your home, but they can also let out a lot of heat. Efficient windows are a key to keeping your house your house warm in winter and cool in summer. This workshop covers everything you wanted to know about making your windows more thermally efficient; from draught proofing and window coverings to shading and secondary glazing. Covers both retro-fit and new window options.

Buying Green
WITH GAVIN HUGHES
Saturday 9th October 2010-1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Just about everything we buy has an environmental impact. But as consumers we have the power to make more sustainable purchasing choices. This workshop will help you to make informed decisions when purchasing goods and services, to reduce your environmental impact. Covers everything from ‘food miles’ to ‘fair trade’, ‘green-power’ to ‘green-washing’ , ‘jetsetting’ to ‘offsetting’! Aimed at all levels.

Sustainable Building and Renovation
With Paul Adams
Saturday 30th October 2010-1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

This workshop, presented by CERES consultant architect Paul Adams (Modus Architects), covers the basics of Environmentally Sustainable Design and an overview of things to consider when planning a renovation sustainable building project or renovation. The workshop is aimed at non-professionals who are planning or in the process of building or renovating.

Sustainable Lighting and Appliances
with Glenn Newman from EnviroShop
Saturday 27th November 2010-1.30PM—3.30PM
$35/$25 CERES Member/Concession
Location: CERES EcoHouse

Learn how to light your home efficiently, effectively and economically! Find out how to choose and use the most energy efficient appliances. Discover the many low-energy options including LEDs and CFLs available for your particular lighting needs. All this and many more tips and tricks for measuring and reducing your household energy load.

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Presenter Biographies
Ian Culbard
Ian is the Energy Education Coordinator at CERES. He trains adults here and at TAFE in Home Sustainability Assessment. He’s an experienced teacher, trainer, Permaculture Designer and, being an ongoing student in sustainability with a passion for living the choices himself, he’s an ideal blend of inspiration, knowledge and practical solutions.

Katerina Gaita
Katerina Gaita, Director of environmentally friendly cleaning company, EASLI Pty Ltd has been giving green cleaning workshops for over 3 years. Katerina has a passionate and engaging presentation style. She will answer these questions and more as well as demonstrating how to get the best results from eco-friendly cleaning systems in your home.

Maurice Beinat – Chief Technical Officer – ecoMaster Pty Ltd
Maurice is a breath of fresh air; a uniquely qualified individual who ‘tells it how it is’. His knowledge of ‘green home retrofit’ and ‘energy efficiency’ is unsurpassed, based on personal experience of retrofitting thousands of homes. In 2003 he formed ecoMaster with his wife Lyn. He speaks with credibility, integrity, passion and pragmatism.

Glenn Newman- The Enviro Shop
The Enviro Sho, was one of Australia’s first retail stores committed to supplying households and businesses with the tools to live and work in a more environmentally sustainable way. Glenn Newman is one of the many experienced and knowledgeable staff members at Enviroshop. Glenn has previously delivered this popular lighting and appliances workshop as part of the Sustainable Summer@CERES workshop program.

Gavin Hughes
Gavin’s passion for our planet came initially from his travels around it; first as a youngster with a foreign correspondent dad, later as an intrepid backpacker. Surviving this and an early career in finance, Gavin realised there was a distinct lack of sustainable thinking in both business and society and the key was education. Completing a degree in environmental science and gaining extensive practical experience, including as a Sustainable Schools Facilitator has helped Gavin to become a knowledgeable, articulate and passionate sustainability educator.

Paul Adams
Architect & Director Paul Adams has experience in a broad range of building design and master planning projects. Paul worked in a number of architecture practices before establishing Modus Architects in 2004. Paul has worked in various capacities on local government, educational, community and private building and master planning projects as well as single and multiple housing projects. Paul’s exceptional design skills combined with clear articulation and communication with clients, stakeholders, consultants and contractors ensures that projects are well conceived, understood and resolved from inception to completion. Paul has a commitment and proven record in undertaking projects that provide exemplar results in socially and environmentally responsible architecture and master planning.

Sounds like some valuable info available here.