This process seems very superficial. The report is also very hard to read on line (e.g. white text, pale green background). More consultation is required, along with more serious commitment to action (not just more reports). Major changes to the hydrology of Bayside (e.g. excessive storm water drains) and excessive housing development are impacting on the sustainability of the remnant areas of natural environment (e.g. Long Hollow, Bay Rd Heathland, George St Reserve) and on the sustainability of older trees (e.g. street trees, larger trees in older suburbs). In principle this initiative (the BESF) is good but it needs to be much more detailed and resourced for action. Because of its generally higher elevation above sea level and existing storm water infrastructure, in broad terms Bayside is unlikely to suffer the level of impact from climate change that will occur further south (e.g. Aspendale, Edithvale etc). However Bayside is still losing indigenous species (local extinction) at a significant rate.

Feedback on sustainability doc To whom it may concern. I was not sure how to best provide my feedback so I have listed the relevant page number where appropriate as well as general suggestions at the bottom. I have arranged my feedback as they relate back to the themes proposed in the document Biodiversity Would love to see the local nursery also supply some fruit and vegetable plants if only to get people through the door. Also I would love to see the nursery run workshops on how to propagate natives, how to use natives to attract bees, native bee keeping, bush tucker and medicinal plants. Environmental citizenship The document acknowledges that residents of bayside need to undergo a mental shift away from over consumption and a tendency to act as custodians of the Earth. This is best achieved via a three prong approach 1. Education 2. Opportunity 3. Council regulation Education The document refers to the many workshops the council offers in educating its constituents about sustainability. However, in the 6 years I have lived in bayside I have seen very little advertising around such events. As well as council newsletters and website advertising bayside council needs to improve its social media presence, this is especially important to reach the younger bayside residents which are most likely to have the biggest impact on environmental sustainability. Kingston council have done an amazing job in regards to this and I’m sure would happy to mentor bayside council in how to maximise their social media potential. A bayside sustainability event during the Melbourne sustainable living festival during would be another way to educate constituents through workshops but also inviting sustainable businesses the opportunity to have stall so people can make informed decisions around the products they purchase. Opportunity Once people are educated it’s important to offer opportunity to use this knowledge to empower them. Ways in which bayside could achieve this include: Repair café (possible in conjunction with bayside men’s shed) Repair cafes focus on repairing things rather than replacing. Patrons can bring in any broken item from home and together with specialists such as electricians, carpenters etc. they begin fixing. It reduces waste by preventing unnecessary consumption but also builds social capital by giving residents an opportunity to learn new skills. We could use a model similar to the one used to set up the repair café in Albury http://repaircafe.org/en/locations/repair-cafe-albury-wodonga/ Lending Library Lending library could pair with bayside men’s shed for power tools or turn the small hall next to Beaumaris book library into storage for a lending library. This could be used for lots of items that people only need now and then e.g.: - Power tools - Reusable party supplies (glassware, bunting, serviettes, decorations, cutlery, crockery) - Gardening tools - Sewing machines - Projectors and screens - Electrical appliances Council regulations - Council run events such as the Sandy food and wine festival and farmers markets etc. must use ecofriendly disposable products such as bamboo cutlery or sugar-cane fibre disposable plates or they get charged a surcharge. Also food trucks should need to encourage people BYO wine tasting glasses, coffee cups, cutlery etc. by offering a discount on food for people who do this. Perhaps also set up a rinse station for people who BYO at such events. Also to encourage recycling at such events by running a cash for cans initiative and/or investing in a large amount of worm lover worm bins (these are on wheels) to have at such events or some other way of collecting compost. - Allow people to plant out their nature strip Sustainable buildings Buildings such as kinders, libraries and playhouses consume the majority of their electricity throughout the day and so it makes sense to install solar panels on such buildings. Sustainable businesses Again it would be great if council could encourage small businesses to offer a small discount to people who BYO coffee cups. Most businesses rent and so aren’t interested in investing in solar panels, perhaps the council could offer grants to land lords for this purpose. Sustainable procurement The council should share their knowledge. It takes a lot of time to research the sustainable credentials of products. By having a council “product” of the week that explains why council has chosen this product would be useful information for all constituents. Once again the councils facebook page would be an excellent medium to promote this. Sustainable water Encourage new builds or extensions to include a water tank by allowing them to build closer to the front boundary if the increased space in the backyard will be used for a water tank Waste management Our top waste and recycling issue in Bayside is usable items going to landfill. This could be improved by; decriminalising people picking up hard rubbish from the nature strip, when councils allow for on call hard rubbish pick-ups, they have to inform a local charity e.g. the salvos before they pick up the rubbish to see if there is anything they could sell on. Council should only allow one hard rubbish pick a year. Bayside makes it too easy for people to throw things away. Local tips must set up a recycle shop like the one in Frankston (Frankston Regional Recycling and Recovery Centre at Harold Rd, Skye), possibly with a repair café their or an upcycle centre Another top priority area is compost/ food waste. Could we not set up at parks that have bbq areas those compost bins which are pipes with holes just big enough for worms in them that are dug right into the ground only the top cap exposed for people to put food waste into? Also what about those special dog poo composters at popular dog parks/ beaches (http://gaiam.innovations.com.au/p/home-outdoor/garden-outdoor/doggie-dooley?Affiliate=ADGA&gclid=CjwKEAiAkb-zBRC2upezwuyguQ4SJADZG08vrWweBGxhnKKWCAZmmJiLyz37pZ3jt7DYf138Th0tlRoC1Kzw_wcB) Disposable nappies are also a huge problem, especially in Australia where we have such good weather to dry modern cloth nappies, I think the Casey run program http://www.casey.vic.gov.au/environment-waste/waste-education/cloth-nappies should be implemented by all councils. There should also be increased education into reusable women’s sanitary products. I’m really loving that you can now recycle soft plastics such as biscuit packets, but the collection points are too few and far between. All large meeting places that are council owned e.g. Kinders should have one of the soft plastics collection bins. Zero carbon Unfortunately in the foreseeable future we are going to participate in many activities which are carbon positive, so to achieve carbon neutrality we need to encourage carbon negative activity most effectively achieved through planting trees and gardens. These behaviours could be enhanced by having more community run gardens, encouraging nature strip plantings, running additional workshops on gardening. Also council could change building restrictions to allow people to build closer to the front boundary on the proviso that it allowed for a larger garden, as many people just end up paving their front yard for parking.

Firstly thanks for Megan for her thoughtful and useful comments. Some additional thoughts for what can be done in Bayside. We need to foster a green culture. It is too easy for our residents to ignore the environment. As Megan mentioned education and opportunity and very important. At the moment most residents would think nothing of jumping into their cars (often large SUVs) to drive a relatively short distance. Often just to the local shops, train station or taking their kids to school. This is just pure laziness. If we could education our residents to think before hopping into their cars it would save green house gases, ease congestion on our roads and be good for their health! How about a 'think before your drive' type of campaign? I fully agree too that when booking hard rubbish collections our residents should be asked about donate to a charity instead. Finally how about a 'no idling' rule like in British Columbia in Canada. For some reason our residents feel the need to sit in their cars with their engines running. There is absolutely no reason for this! Switch off your engines if you are waiting. If it is hot get out of your car and stand under a tree! I love the idea of repair cafes. So much goes into landfill that in other countries would be highly valued. We are all way too lazy and items are way too cheap. Thanks.

This is an excellent resource: http://www.toolsofchange.com/en/programs/environmental-promoters/

I enjoy walking along Beach Road or the beachfront from Beaumaris to Black Rock regularly. It never ceases to amaze me how much rubbish is dropped along the pathways. I take a plastic bag every time I walk and fill it up with the rubbish ,dropping it in the bins at the end of my walk. Even straight after the "clean up Australia" effort there was rubbish everywhere. Having visited Japan recently it was incredible to see how clear of rubbish the whole country is. We should be encouraged to pick up rubbish every time we go for a walk. "Most liveable city " you have to be joking !!!!