City hosts initiatives for a greener region

HEY folks, what’s poppin’?

It is that time of year again when we all get to abscond from our wintery hibernation and get out into the spring to soak up the sunshine!

It is also a time to get among the many celebrations and events in our pretty city.

You’ll want to clone yourself to get amongst all the fabulousness going on next month.

As I type this, the city’s Gender Equality Action Plan is being launched to a packed house of legends, all flying the flag for intersectional equality and working towards ensuring everyone has equal opportunity to thrive within their career.

Before I pinch myself at this rate of progress, I’d better mention what else is happening.

Geelong Nature Month

During September and October, the City is hosting Geelong Nature Month to highlight the amazing natural environment we’re lucky to live amongst, and encourage you to get outdoors into local landscapes.

A list of events is available via geelong.link/NatureMonth, it’s well worth seeing what’s on offer.

Highlights include a tree planting day on October 2nd where we’ll be planting 1,000 native plants at the Sparrovale Nubitj Yoorree Wetlands Reserve located at Armstrong Creek.

I’m looking forward to the community walk and talks, the Sparrovale Wetlands tour – hope to spot you there!

Regional Renewable Organics Network kicks off

Coinciding with the huge push from the Victorian Government around circular economy incentives, the Regional Renewable Organics Network project collaboration between Barwon Water, the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire, Golden Plains Shire Council and the Borough of Queenscliffe is now in flight.

The state-of-the-art and sustainable organics processing facility to be operational by mid-2025, when it will receive its first truckloads of organic waste to be transformed into high-value agricultural products and renewable energy.

This collaboration is a big deal for Geelong, and the surrounding smaller councils whom without the input of multiple interested groups, the processing of organics waste would be much more costly, require more travel distance and use of fossil fuels for haulage.

Another boon is that we can all leverage existing Barwon Water expertise and infrastructure to save time and avoid reinventing the wheel.

For more information, and to watch this project progress as we move towards a sustainable future and circular economy, visit the COGG website at https://geelong.link/ucp

Compost Day

You might have spotted my mug on socials promoting our free compost giveaway, where we teamed up with six community gardens (including the Kardinia ward Grovedale Community Garden on Heyers Road) to provide free samples of high quality compost at various spots around the city.

Almost 100 legends came along to grab some free compost as well as educational materials to help us avoid contamination in our green and recycling bins.

This initiative celebrates a huge body of work that goes on at our Anakie green organics processing facility to convert our green waste bin contents into nutrient-rich humus.

If you’re keen to boost your garden’s harvest this season, you can pick up city-made goodness at local outlets listed on geelongaustralia.com.au in Wallington, Moolap, Lara and Torquay.

Aussie Bird Count

Did you know that in 2020, Australians counted over 4.6 million birds?

Did you know that the illustrious bin chicken aka ibis was the 10th most recorded species in Australia?

Did you ever want to be a scientist but couldn’t be bothered studying statistics?

It’s your time to let your inner nerd shine and help collect datasets for scientists studying Australian birds. The city is sponsoring this year’s bird count event.

To get involved, just spend 20 minutes in your favourite outdoor setting and record the birds you see using the Aussie Bird Count app or website.

The count is massively beneficial, providing researchers with valuable data points on bird populations at the same time each year, allowing us to look at emerging trends over time.

Check out aussiebirdcount.org.au for more information and get counting.

There’s also an app for bird identification that might be useful called Merlin Bird ID, which hosts information about many bird species endemic to Australia.

Lastly, if you’re interested in keeping non-bin chickens in your backyard, the council website has plenty of information about keeping hens or ducks, as well as the information on Neighbourhood Amenity Local Law 2014 and how to care for them effectively.

Take it easy, folks.

Peace!

Belinda Moloney

Kardinia Ward, City of Greater Geelong