Green Map And Sydney’s Pyrmont Sustainability Website

Today I had a phone call from a Pyrmont blogger who’d discovered PWF’s report on Australia’s first Community Owned Wind Park. His comments?

“Its not everyday, that you read a story on a great community blog, and you go WOW…Why Did It Take So Long…Wake Up Australia…More of the Same Please.”

Of course I checked his Pyrmont Village website – and I say WOW! Is this a Green Map community project already up and going here? It covers all aspects of community and does a great job putting forward the sustainability, triple bottom line position – just like the fledgling Manningham-Nillumbik Green Map project aims to do!

So Where Are We With The Green Map?

1. Key points from our 2020 Community Conversation:
(i) Value in maintaining the Green Wedge
(ii) Value in small community groups sharing info: successes, dealing with problems
(iii) Basis for including businesses? (See info below on the US Business Alliance For Local Living Economies (BALLE)
(iv) Business has been underrepresented at the two meetings to date
(v) Further discussions have reinforced the feeling that business should definitely be involved – people/planet/profit – if the Green Map project is going ‘anywhere’.
(vi) Deirdre Downie, World Café Facilitator has kindly offered to run another evening for Manningham-Nillumbik businesses to see what benefits they see in a Green Map.
(vii) Need to flesh out clear Vision, Mission, Goals
*Suggestion we employ a facilitator to clarify the direction of Green Map.

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2. Showing the Way?
The following letter from local businessman Stuart Pougher, of Karinya Solar, who read the Green Map article in the Diamond Valley Leader – but who had not attended either Green map meeting – captures the spirit and intent of Green Map, business and community working together for a sustainable future:

Hi,
I’m interested in being part of the Green Map community. Such a simple but none the less productive idea. The time has come for people to realise governments won’t create a better world, change has to happen at a community level.

I’m an Eltham based electrician who installs solar power systems. My aim is to offer energy auditing and retrofitting of light globes/shower heads and supply and installation of such products as
green insulation, weatherstrips, light sensors, passive solar heating and cooling systems. Installing solar panels won’t save the earth but hopefully through my work I can help educate people about living a more sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle. $100 from each solar power system I install is donated to environmental or humanitarian projects. Hopefully by each taking a few small steps together we can have a huge positive impact on this beautiful planet we call home.

Kind regards,
Stuart Pougher
Karinya Solar
stuart@karinyasolar.com.au
Ph: 0438047267

Karinya is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘peaceful home’. While we can’t guarantee we’ll make your home more peaceful Karinya Solar will endeavour to help you reduce your impact on the planet and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
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3. About BALLE

BALLE is a US network of more than 15,000 community-based businesses and non-profit leaders working cooperatively to address people/planet/profit challenges.
BALLE was the starting point for our Green Map project. See http://www.livingeconomies.org/

Judy Wicks, ‘Goddess of Localism’ founder and CEO of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia, cofounder and a director of BALLE and of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, has recently been a guest speaker here in Melbourne and in Brisbane.

Villlage Well, Melbourne consultants who work for “a vibrant community life, a flourishing local economy and a healthy natural environment” in collaboration with the Ethos Foundation, Donkey Wheel Trust, Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES), Victorian Eco Innovation Lab (VEIL) and RMIT hosted:

• Going Local and Making Great Places: A Free Public Lecture with Judy Wicks at
  Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab. Wednesday 21 May 2008
• Workshop with Judy Wicks – Going Local: Creating Sustainable & Resilient Business Networks and Communities, Thursday 22 May 2008 at the 100 Mile Cafe, Melbourne Central.

AND IN BRISBANE

• ‘Building Resilient, Sustainable Communities’ the focus of a Relocalistion Convergence from May 23-25 in Brisbane.

What Is Relocalisation?

“Relocalisation is a strategy to build societies based on the local production of food, energy and goods, and the local development of currency, governance and culture. The main goals of Relocalisation are to increase community energy security, to strengthen local economies, and to dramatically improve environmental conditions and social equity.

The Relocalisation strategy developed in response to the environmental, social, political and economic impacts of global over-reliance on cheap energy. Our dependence on cheap non-renewable fossil fuel energy has produced climate change, the erosion of community, wars for oil-rich land and the instability of the global economic system.”

Heaps of grassroots sustainability activity. Good to share the experiences. This stuff takes time, doesn’t it?