|
As always it's been another very busy month at SCEC culminating in the 36th World Environment Day Festivalon Sunday 7 June. It was another great day and we would like to salute festival coordinator Matt Dinneen for a sterling effort organising this years festival.
On the campaign front there have been two positive developments. In the appeal against Councils decission to refuse development approval for the Noosa on Weybadevelopment, the Planning & Environment Court ruled against the developer in the preliminary stages of the appeal. The case is not over yet but this is an important step in the right direction (see campaign updates for more details). There was also good news with regards to the proposed upgrade of the Steve Irwin Way- Bruce High Way interchange with the Federal Environment Department ruling that the upgrade is a 'controlled action' under the EPBC Act meaning that the proponent will have to meet more stringent environmental assessment standards.
We are also working very hard to raise some much needed cash to replenish our campaign reserves. As part of our World Environment Day Celebrations SCEC is giving you the chance to WIN A 2.0 kW SOLAR SYSTEM (valued at $4,500) in our World Environment Day Raffle along with other fabulous prizes. Raffle tickets are $5.- ea or 3 for $10.- and can be purchased online or by calling the office on 07 5441 5747 (Tue-Fri). If you can help us out by selling tickets please contact the office and we'll send a raffle booklet out to you, or just share the link to our raffle pagewith your friends and family. The person who sells the most tickets will receive a dinner voucher to My Place in Coolum and a bottle of champagne.
The draw for the raffle will take place at a Trivia Night on Friday 17 July 2015. This evening, which is being organised by a fabulous team of SCEC volunteers, promises to be a great night out for greenies and not-so-greenies. If you're into your trivia than make sure you jot this date down in your calendar for an evening of trivial, obscure, inconsequential and even arcane entertainment. Book your tickets online or via the office now and come along and bring your friends family or indeed a table of eight.
Our tax-time donation appeal has already raised $1,572 towards our target of $2,500. If you haven't donated yet please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the appeal and help us achieve our target.
If you'd like to help us out in a different way please take some time to review Sunshine Coast Councils draft Koala Conservation Plan and provide your feedback to Council before June 26. The release of this plan shows Councils commitment to the preservation of this iconic species and it is beholden on us as a community to recognize and contribute to these efforts.
And in a final bit of good news SCEC has just received confirmation from Sunshine Coast Council that it has received a grant under the community events program for a series of environmental events that will run between July this year and June next year. The first major event will be the 2nd Climate Change Relay that will take place in the second half of September. If you'd like to be part of the organising team for this year please email us via[email protected]
Hopefully we'll have just as much good news next months.
The SCEC team
Volunteering with SCEC is a great way to contribute towards the preservation of the natural environment of the Sunshine. We have a growing number of volunteer teams working on climate action, trivia nights and a range of other things. Sign up online- all skills are useful and everyone is welcome.
Help us raise $2,500 towards our campaign reserves before the end of this financial year by making a tax-deductible donation to our tax-time appeal. If you'd like to contribute but don't want to donate online just call our office on 07 5441 5747 (Tue-Fri) to make other arrangements.
WED Festival
The 36th annual WED Festival was another great day out. Where else would you find Billy the Barnacle, Tawny Frogmouth, the largest display of electric vehicles ever assembled in Queensland, hundreds of kids (and adults) turning rubbish into musical instruments, a bite size OSCA (continuous feed composter for small scale commercial purposes manufactured right here on the coast), dozens of community groups and a whole lot more.
A big thank you goes out to all our volunteers, our festival partners (Sunshine Coast Council and the University of the Sunshine Coast), our sponsors (Bendigo Bank, Noosa Council, SEQ Catchments and the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection) and of course to all the people who turned up.
After both the Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa Council refused the initial Northbrook Corporation development application in early 2014, the developer lodged an appealwith the Planning & Environment Court on 07 May 2014. During proceedings, the appellant (Northbrook) submitted an amended development application. Both Councils and the respondents (SCEC being a second co-respondent by election with Friends of Lake Weyba & Noosa Parks Association) took the well-reasoned and strong position that the changes in the amended development application were major not minor. On 3 June this year, the Court subsequently ruled the amendments were indeed major, not minor, as the developer had submitted. A review has been set for 01 July at which time the developer will be required to state their intention. This may be to withdraw the appeal, seek to proceed with the appeal for the court to make a determination on the original application that was refused by both Councils or possibly withdraw the appeal and resubmit a revised development application to be assessed under Councils’ development assessment process. To date, sound planning process and the integrity of local planning schemes has been rightly upheld. We would expect this to continue, however, more will be known after 01 July! We’re aiming to give you a good news story for the next e-bulletin! The efforts Noosa Council and Sunshine Coast Council officers & legal teams and the community are gratefully acknowledged
Finding the right format for Climate Change training has proven to be elusive with so many issues to cover, so many different backgrounds and interests and so little time to deliver training. The team working on the training has decided to split the event over two days held on different weekends with a kit of resources provided to participants to fill in some blanks at home in between. We've been spending time pulling these resources together and belief they will be of great assistance to participants and really empower them to go out with confidence.
Stop Land Clearing on Cape York
Under the Newman Government vegetation clearing laws were wound back to the Jo Bjelke-Peterson era. Labour committed itself to reinstating proper vegetation clearing laws during the election campaign. So far however they have not delivered on their promise with disastrous consequences for old growth forests at Olive Vale at Cape York- as this video shot two weeks ago by The Wilderness Society clearly shows. Join TWS and thousands of others and call on the premier to act now to stop land clearing: [email protected]
"The Dilemma of Watter Quandry"
Jennifer Simpson, an international expert on all things relating to recycled water, has had a short, animated play produced in the United States on Watter Quandry. Simpson is a long time SCEC supporter and we recommend her video which you can watch on YouTube by clicking on the link below:
http://youtu.be/88rDQqXBN2A
SCEC's Book of the Month
"Water Sensitive Cities"
As we have featured Jennifer Simpson's short film in this month's ebulletin, we are proud to also endorse a book in which she is featured- "Water Sensitive Cities." The entire book is worth a read and provides an interesting yet bleak look into the future of the relationships between humans and water specifically in urban environments.
Sunshine Coast Environment Council
http://www.scec-action.org.au/
|