Exciting new developments are popping up on almost a daily basis in the lead up to the Bundaberg 2008 World Environment Day Celebration, as more businesses, organisations and even the Bundaberg Regional Council jump on board with the "CO2 - Kick The Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy" theme.
Bundaberg Region Waste Management and Recycling has really caught a case of "Mulch Madness," as their free mulch day has grown into a weekend-long, region-wide event in support of W.E.D. On Saturday May 31 and Sunday June 1, every waste management facility in the region is offering all the free mulch you can legally carry - for free. Waste and Recycling Services Manager James Stanfield said, "this is getting bigger than Ben Hur!"
Bring your ute, trailer or even semi-trailer along with ropes and tarpaulins to the University Drive Landfill, Qunaba Landfill (Potters Rd Bargara), Meadowvale Landfill, Avondale landfill, South Kolan Transfer Station, Tirroan Landfill (Gin Gin), Childers Landfill, Woodgate Transfer Station, Buxton Transfer Station, Booyal Transfer Station or Cordalba Transfer Station. Mulch will be loaded by machine at University Drive, Qunaba, Meadowvale and Childers. The other facilities will be self load only! Free self load mulch will also be available at the World Environment Day Celebration itself at the PCYC on Sunday June 1.
Properly mulching and composting your garden is excellent for saving water, improving soil and protecting plants, but it also draws carbon from the atmosphere and returns it to the soil while avoiding production of methane, a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon, which is what happens when green waste goes to landfill.
With fuel prices at an all time high, on Sunday June 1 there are plenty of ways to get to W.E.D. that are better than hopping in the petrol hog!
You can catch a bus to the celebration at the PCYC, completely free of charge! Throughout the day Duffy's City Buses will run special bus routes with stops at many schools throughout the region, and with hail-and-ride available anywhere along the routes. Chris Duffy said, "it's a great way to raise awareness of greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage people to use public transport whenever they can." Visit sustainabundy.org or contact Duffy's for the full bus timetable.
You can also join the 10,000 Steps/LeadOn walk to the PCYC from the library, beginning at 9am. Attendees are also encouraged to organise a bike ride or a carpool - remember, four people in a car quadruples it's efficiency. The Mad Cycologists Bundaberg Bicycle Users Group, which conducts social bike rides every Sunday, will take part in the festivities by making the PCYC the destination for their ride on June 1.
While you're at the World Environment Day Celebration, you can visit Allsafe Energy Efficient Products' tent for your chance to win a Solatube 250mm skylight, fully installed in your home, valued at $500. Free light- now that has to be a good thing!
In addition to guest speakers like Ken McLeod from the Ethos Foundation and Alison Rickert from the Australian Conservation Foundation, another presentation has been confirmed for W.E.D. Fiona Waterhouse, CEO of FEX Climate, the carbon and environmental arm of Financial and Energy Exchange Ltd, will talk about the new platform for trading sustainability and cleantech stocks, financial, energy, carbon and environmental commodities and derivatives.
Be sure to bring your old mobile phone to the World Environment Day Celebration – there will be a MobileMuster drop off point so those useless mobiles, like the CDMA phones which ceased working at the end of April, can be recycled instead of going to landfill.
Leading up to the celebration, From May 12 - 22, visit the SustainaBundy display in the Bundaberg Library. There will be information about World Environment Day and a massive selection of books, DVDs and magazines about peak oil, climate change, sustainability and more. After World Environment Day the contents of the display will be donated by SustainaBundy to become a part of the library inventory, available for borrowing by anyone with a library card.
Entry to The Bundaberg 2008 World Environment Day Celebration is free, and so are the workshops, demos, live music, speakers and movies. Local food, drink and other products will be available for purchase. Buying locally reduces transport emissions and keeps dollars in our local economy. This carbon neutral event is sponsored by the Burnett Mary Regional Group, 93.1 Sea FM, Naturechain Magazine, Duffy's Buses, Allsafe Energy Efficient Products and the Bundaberg Bugle. For more information visit www.sustainabundy.org or call 4196 0043.
