Permaculture is a design system for creating sustainable human environments. It is about designing households and communities that are productive, sustaining and largely self reliant and have minimal impact on the environment. National Permaculture Day 1 May 2011 is a day where a range of Permaculture events occur across Australia.
National Volunteer Week 2011 has the theme Inspiring the Volunteer in You. National Volunteer Week is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provides an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer.
World Migratory Bird Day was initiated in 2006 and is a global awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. On the second weekend each May, people around the world take action and organise public events such as bird festivals, education programmes and birdwatching excursions to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day and to help raise awareness around a specific theme. The theme for 2011 is Land Use Changes from a Bird’s-Eye View – A Unique Perspective on the World’s Changing Environments.
The Wollongong Harvest Festival on Sunday 15 May 2011 is a community festival to celebrate local food production, backyard food growing and sustainable food production and consumption. The 2010 Harvest Festival was a great success, attracting over 1500 local residents.
The theme for International Museum Day 2011 is Museum and Memory. International Museum Day aims to increase public awareness of the role of museums in developing society. Museums preserve memories and tell stories. They have in their collections numerous objects that are fundamental to the memory of the communities we live in. These objects are the expression of our natural and cultural heritage. International Museum Day 2011 will be an opportunity to discover and rediscover your individual and collective memory.
The theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) in 2011 is Forest Biodiversity. In 2011, IDB is part of the International Year of Forests. Designation of IDB 2011 on the theme of forests provides Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and those dealing with forests, the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and increase practical action.
Have you been involved in, or would you like to be involved in, the planning, approval or implementation of a translocation project for threatened flora? The Australian Network for Plant Conservation (ANPC) Translocation of Threatened Plants workshop on 26-27 May 2011 in Melbourne will provide an excellent insight into translocation, which is one of the many tools available to assist in conserving threatened plant species. It involves the deliberate transfer of plants or regenerative plant material from one place to another. The workshop will include case studies of translocation programs, highlighting lessons to be learnt. The workshop also includes a half-day field trip to translocation recipient sites for Diuris fragrantissima, Pimelea spinescens and the Striped Legless Lizard.
The purpose of Information Awareness Month (IAM) is to increase public awareness of information and its place in all aspects of daily life. By focusing attention at a number of events during the month of May on the role that information plays in day to day activities, the value of good information practices and policies are highlighted and promoted. The theme for IAM 2011 is Information overload: Finding the tree in the digital forest. This theme is also connected to the United Nations General Assembly declaration of 2011 as International Year of Forests.
The coincidence of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry and Information Awareness Month offers the opportunity to explore how well our urban communities are using information and knowledge in regard to natural disasters. In early January this year the media carried horrific images and stories of the loss of life and damage caused by flooding in the southern Queensland towns of Toowoomba and Grantham and in the cities of Brisbane and Ipswich. Surprise was expressed at how such severe events could have happened. But the reality is that these floods have their predecessors, as explored in the article Queensland floods: information, history and knowledge.
The draft report from the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Australia’s Urban Water Sector was released on 13 April 2011. Written submissions are invited by Wednesday 18 May 2011. In undertaking the inquiry, the Commission is tasked with identifying opportunities for efficiency gains in the structural, institutional, regulatory and other arrangements that govern the sector. The final report will be prepared after submissions have been received and public hearings held, and will be forwarded to the Government by 31 August 2011.