THE BYRON SHIRE
The
Volume 23 #27 Tuesday, December 9, 2008 Mullumbimby 02 6684 1777 Byron Bay 02 6685 5222 Fax 02 6684 1719 editor@echo.net.au adcopy@echo.net.au www.echo.net.au 22,700 copies every week
Gathering A new regular feature showcasing our thriving arts community Pages 18-19
U N B R I D L E D PA R A G R A P H O LO G Y
Taking sustainability to the streets
Call to save iconic species Some of the area’s iconic and less well-known threatened species are the focus of a new biodiversity conservation project in the Brunswick Valley. The project is funded by the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. At least 75 of the numerous species of flora and fauna found in the catchment are listed as threatened, and their long-term survival in the Brunswick catchment lies in the hands of private landholders. Species in the highly modified and less wellreserved lowlands and floodplains are particularly at risk. Most species are rainforest-dependent or associated with rainforest habitat and many have close links to the ancient Gondwanan flora and fauna that covered much
From left, Jane, Sharon, Djuaan and Bawoo in the back garden of their Stuart Street house, selected for an Eco-Home Makeover along with that of New City Road family Mike and Tanya with two year old Quinn. The first sustainability workshop carries on in the background. Story & photo Lou Beaumont
The North Coast Climate Action Group’s Sustainable Streets initiative has selected the home that will undergo an Eco-Home Makeover. Sharon Gibson and Jane Beattie of Stuart Street, Mullumbimby, were chosen for the sustainability makeover, financially made possible with a grant from NRMA. A second Mullumbimby household, home to Mike Clark and Tanya Langlois in New City Road, will also receive assistance from the NCCAG to improve their level of sustainability. The two households were selected by the Sustainable Streets Committee because they were already will-
ing and able owner occupiers that needed some help to go the extra mile. If everyone on the planet lived like the average Australian, we would need 3.7 planets to sustain us. If everyone lived like Sharon and Jane we would need two planets. Jane and Sharon have dedicated the majority of their suburban land to mature edible gardens, a chook pen and large compost heaps. All the fruit and vegetables they consume are grown in their garden, and they eat eggs from their chickens and honey from their bees – they even compost their dogs’ poo. Waste from the kitchen and chicken pen is recycled in the garden, thus creating a closed system.
Jane told The Echo, ‘We were already committed to the principles of ecological sustainability and we wanted to be an urban sustainable model but we can always do more, which is why we applied for this project.’ Sharon adds, ‘We were living further out of town previously, struggling on larger land and driving many kilometres to and from home. Ironically we are now finding it easier to live more sustainably. We have found it is more than possible in an urban environment.’ Mike and Tanya had also done much of the work themselves, installing solar panels through the Beyond Building Neighbourhood Soar Scheme and doing home and gar-
The Spotted-tailed Quoll in action.
den renovations to their 1950s home with sustainability in mind. Mike Clark told The Echo, ‘We had done a lot already but we are looking forward to going further with it. We will be getting solar hot water, a rainwater tank and we’ll take a closer look at our general energy consumption and expand our vegetable garden.’ Sustainable Streets project manager Nina Bishop said, ‘It is great to see the enthusiasm in the residents. I would love to see all Stuart Street houses calculate their eco-footprints and eventually have the inspiration flow over into other local areas.’ Calculating your eco-footprint is essential if you are to ascertain the
of the Australian continent 30 million years ago. The rainforest fruitdoves, Alberts Lyrebird, Koala and Grey-headed Flying-fox are familiar to many residents while the Pouched Frog, Stephen’s Banded Snake, Bushhen and White-eared Monarch are not as well-known. Forests of the Brunswick catchment are home to one of very few NSW occurrences of the Giant Ironwood, important wild populations of the Davidsons Plum, Durobby and the Spiny Gardenia at its southern limit. The upper reaches still support a population of the Spotted-tailed Quoll and Marbled Frogmouths survive in rainforest gullies. But the landscape is now characterised by shrinking stands of old
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