From the BCCAN Newsletter
With a captive audience at home, BCCAN hosted the first of our seasonal workshops on Sunday August 8th – BCCAN and the Climate Action Plan. With around 20 participants including council officers Benita Russell and Simon Woodland, and Councillor Leticia Laing and Michael Whelan, we were given a comprehensive picture of the efforts Bass Coast Council have made in reducing emissions and tackling climate change since declaring a climate emergency in August 2019, and how our zero emissions target is tracking for 2030.
Benita took us through the dynamic data sets on Bass Coast’s projected emissions and targets – I highly recommend people click on this link to find out more about emissions by sector. Hovering over any of the bubbles gives a detailed breakdown which helps us as a community to understand our role in reducing the emissions in the residential sector.
Leticia and Michael answered many questions put to them on a diverse range of topics such as vegetation and the biolinks project, growing food on verges and council owned land, affordable sustainable housing, community grants specifically targeting climate action projects, and charging stations for EVs.
We heard from our passionate BCCAN members on current projects. Jessica and Aileen gave an update on the Cosy Homes Project, which aims to help our community connect with energy efficient solutions at low or no cost, whilst building awareness of the need for climate action. Maddy and Sharon spoke about the Edible Gardens Open Food Garden Project for early 2022. Gardens showcasing a range of approaches to sustainability are being recruited. The weekend will include a community dinner hosted at BCAL featuring locally grown food.
Mary reported on TRPI’s transport initiative and interest in the Good Car Co., a group who import used EVs from Japan with low mileage through a bulk buy program in communities. TRPI will survey the Bass Coast community to identify how much interest there is in working with the Good Car Co. We will send the link to the survey to our mailing list when it’s ready.
Ed gave an informative report on the Infrastructure Victoria Review on domestic gas supply, asking that Council and individuals make submissions on Engage Victoria, closing August 16. More info here. We also heard about the Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty and will put in a formal submission to Council to endorse the Treaty, which has been signed by Moreland Council, the ACT parliament and internationally by Vancouver, Barcelona and LA amongst others. We heard from Jessica about The West Alberton Forest Protection Campaign, which has a number of our members protesting near Yarram.
If you are interested in further details but missed the Winter Workshop, the recording of the session is here, and the chat is here.