The annual Queensland Landcare Conference to be held in Caloundra from 15–17 September 2010 with the theme Celebrating 21 years of Landcare, will capture the progress, achievements and future opportunities for one of the strongest community movements in Australia’s history. The first gathering of Queensland landcarers was held in Brisbane in 1990, since that time the landcare and natural resource management sector of Queensland have gathered annually for the Queensland Landcare Conference at different locations around Queensland ranging from Townsville to Roma and including a previous visit to Caloundra in 2000 to debate and discuss changing trends in land management. To find out more visit the conference website.
In any ecological survey, there is a chance that a species occupying a site will not be detected during a survey of that site. Georgia Garrard’s research has investigated detectability issues in the Western (Basalt) Plains grassland community on the northern and western fringes of Melbourne in close proximity to Melbourne’s urban growth boundary, where there is continual pressure for development. Read the rest of this entry »
Edible street verge gardening is something that has been going on for the past 20 years or so in our cities but is now capturing the public imagination such that the number of plantings is rapidly increasing. For advocates of edible landscaping in our cities, this is good news but for local government the practice can be confusing. What has become apparent during the recent upsurge in the popularity of edible footpath planting is that a set of design and planting guidelines are desperately needed. Read more in this Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network article.
The Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges region is one of Australia’s 15 National Biodiversity Hotspots (along with Kangaroo Island). It contains nationally significant vegetation communities and over 90 fauna species and nearly 300 flora species, many listed as threatened at a State or National level and some species or sub-species that are endemic to the region. The region is also home to over one million people residing in both urban and rural areas. The new report ‘Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia’ sets conservation targets and actions at a variety of biological and spatial scales, based on a series of analyses using the best available data. To download the report and associated maps and fact sheets visit Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region South Australia.
The Productivity Commission invites interested parties to register their interest in a newly announced inquiry into Australia’s urban water sector. In undertaking the inquiry, the Commission will identify opportunities for efficiency gains in the structural, institutional, regulatory and other arrangements that govern the sector. Read the rest of this entry »
The Queensland Government has released the South East Queensland Water Strategy – a 50 year blueprint to ensure a sustainable, efficient and secure water supply for the future of the region which includes the major urban centres of Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Read the rest of this entry »
Brisbane City Council is partnering with Green Building Council of Australia on Green Star Communities. Green Star Communities aims to develop a framework and a tool that assists in the assessment of communities against best practice sustainable benchmarks. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Adelaide companies have won funding to help cut greenhouse gas emissions from South Australia’s commercial office buildings. Read the rest of this entry »