Your help is needed to select our environment competition winners. For more detail on the 30 projects,   click below for the link BPG website.

Our way to help work out the favourites: As BPG Members, you have 1000 BPG dollars (Family members collectively have $1500) to spend on your favourite project or projects. 'Splash the BPG cash' as you wish. Add comments if you like. (No names will be recorded.) The 'indicative costs' are purely a guide. You may wish to support a project and say that more or less money should be spent on it. The actual prize is the use of $1000 on one or more worthwhile projects in 2009. This may be matched with other funds. Please return this by Jan 19 2009 as an email, hand in, post to or ring Don Yates, 9379 9479 10 Thompson Rd, Success Hill 6054

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Weekend Wagtales #57 Thursday, Dec 18 2008

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! and remember to book immediately for the Gourmet Extravaganza!

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Field trip to see a remarkable reclamation of salt land   
Sunday 16 November 2008. AURIA Tree Project - Special Open Day   
Come and be inspired with the remarkable success of tree planter  
David Kennett in his AURIA Project in Dowerin.    
David has been growing trees since 2001 in this arid, saline country  
without any chemical weed control, fertilizers, pest control or watering.   
Through his unorthodox planting methods, 
he has achieved an extraordinary tree survival rate of nearly 100%, 
demonstrating that against all odds, trees can grow well in low rainfall,   
salt affected areas such as the Eastern Wheat Belt.     
Planting deeply, planting in summer and complex companion planting are part 
of this unusual success story.

If you are interested in seeing the AURIA Project for yourself, 
why not join us on a bus trip to the wheat belt?    
We are hiring a bus, on Sunday 16 November - leaving Perth at 9am, 
arriving in Dowerin around 12noon.
   
Farm visit with show and tell for 2 hours, then return to Perth around 5pm. BYO lunch.  
Cost: depending on participants, will be around $30 (to cover bus hire).    
This is a great opportunity to visit the AURIA Project 
and see how we can do things differently and do it right.   
Carbon emissions of this trip will be offset through sponsoring trees at AURIA.   
Giz Watson will be MC on the trip.     
RSVP to June by 12 November, ph 9383 7753, e-mail june_lowe@hotmail.com       
*Visit http://www.auria.net.au/ for more information about the 'The AURIA Project' 
(AURIA is AUSTRALIA with 'SALT' removed: AUSTRALIA).

There are 2 by-elections  
North Ward - 9 month vacancy  East Ward - 3 year vacancy    
Nominations for the North Ward (so far) is only John Cox.  He is an ex-Mayor    
Nominations for the East Ward (so far) is John Sutherland  
He is an ex-councillor, voted out last year.  
Don Yates (me!) is nominating for the East Ward  
with a mix of commonsense development 
and environment sustainability.  
(See my website www.donyates.info)    
OK, it would be great if another BPG Member   
considered standing for the North Ward.    
Closing date for nominations is Tuesday this week, Nov 11
    
There is a team willing to support you, 
with handbill printing, handouts etc etc.   
The vote is by postal voting over 3 weeks  
with the last day/counting day on December 18.    
Commitment is about 9 months (Jan - Sept)  
with 2 meetings a month on the 3rd and 4th Tuesday evenings.
  (Only 1 meeting in January, next elections Oct 2009)    
If you want to discuss it more, call Don 9379 9479 or email
  
      

At the July 2008 Council meeting, it was resolved
that the draft Street Tree Master Plan
   and the Recommended Tree Species be advertised
   for a period of three months to seek community feedback.
(Closing date in about 4 weeks, around Nov 7)
The draft Street Tree Master Plan and the Recommended Tree Species
are intended to provide the Town's staff and resident's with information
  and guidance on streetscape planning in the Town.
To view an electronic copy of the draft Street Tree Master Plan, please refer to
the Town of Bassendean Web Page at www.bassendean.wa.gov.au click on
"Information & Feedback" then click "For Public Comment".   
Council has previously adopted a set of criteria in determining the style
of streetscapes and tree selection criteria that were taken into consideration
when selecting the recommended tree species, which were as follows:
"Boulevard" style streetscapes
Biodiversity Corridors
Historical, cultural or natural association   
Form and scale
Impact on utility services
Drought tolerance
Performance record
Response to pruning
Planting tolerance in paved areas
Resistance to pest and diseases
Verge widths  
Long lived
Limb shear     
Should you have any questions please call the Town on 9377 8000
during officer hours and the Customer Service Officer will forward
your call to the Environmental Officer Mr Brendan Nock assist with your enquiry.

Landmark New Report Says Emerging Green Economy
Could Create Tens of Millions of New "Green Jobs"

Though the report is generally optimistic about the creation of new jobs to address climate change,
it also warns that many of these new jobs can be "dirty, dangerous and difficult". Sectors of concern,
especially but not exclusively in developing economies, include agriculture and recycling
where all too often low pay, insecure employment contracts and exposure to health hazardous
materials needs to change fast.

Green jobs reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors,
ultimately to levels that are sustainable. The report focuses on "green jobs" in agriculture,
industry, services and administration that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment.
It also calls for measures to ensure that they constitute "decent work" that helps reduce poverty
while protecting the environment.

Among other key findings in the report:

- The global market for environmental products and services
is projected to double from US$1,370 billion (1.37 trillion) per year at present
to US$2,740 billion (2.74 trillion) by 2020, according to a study cited in the report.

- Half of this market is in energy efficiency and the balance in sustainable transport,
water supply, sanitation and waste management.
In Germany for example, environmental technology is to grow fourfold
to 16 per cent of industrial output by 2030, with employment
in this sector surpassing that in the country's big machine tool and
automotive industries.

- Sectors that will be particularly important in terms of their environmental,
economic and employment impact are energy supply, in particular renewable energy,
buildings and construction, transportation,basic industries, agriculture and forestry.

- Clean technologies are already the third largest sector for venture capital
after information and biotechnology in the United States, while green venture capital
in China more than doubled to 19 per cent of total investment in recent years.

- 2.3 million people have in recent years found new jobs in the renewable
energy sector alone, and the potential for job growth in the sector is huge.
Employment in alternative energies may rise to 2.1 million in wind and
6.3 million in solar power by 2030.

- In agriculture, 12 million could be employed in biomass for energy and related industries.
In a country like Venezuela, an ethanol blend of 10 per cent in fuels might provide one million jobs
in the sugar cane sector by 2012.

- A worldwide transition to energy-efficient buildings would create millions of jobs,
as well as "greening" existing employment for many of the estimated 111 million people
already working in the construction sector.

- Investments in improved energy efficiency in buildings could generate an additional 2-3.5 million green jobs
in Europe and the United States alone, with the potential much higher in developing countries.

- Recycling and waste management employs an estimated 10 million in China and 500,000 in Brazil today.
This sector is expected to grow rapidly in many countries in the face of escalating commodity prices.

The report provides examples of massive green jobs creation, throughout the world, such as:
600,000 people in China who are already employed in solar thermal making and installing products such as
solar water heaters; in Nigeria, a bio fuels industry based on cassava and sugar cane crops
might sustain an industry employing 200,000 people; India could generate 900,000 jobs by 2025
in biomass gasification of which 300,000 would be in the manufacturing of stoves
and 600,000 in areas such as processing into briquettes and pellets
and the fuel supply chain; and in South Africa, 25,000 previously unemployed people
are now employed in conservation as part of the 'Working for Water' initiative.

For more information on the green job initiative:

www.ilo.org/integration/greenjobs/index.htm

Weekend WAGTALES # 037
  Thursday July 31  2008

National Tree Day Tree planting - 2008

Despite the rain, there was an excellent turn out
and some 2700 trees or thereabouts were planted over the 4 days,
2 days at Ashfield Flats, 1 day at Bindaring Park and another
at the Bassendean Arboretum with a quantity of banksia
and dieback resistant jarrah seedlings.

The final count and locations for the numbered tree groups
will be available shortly on the BPG website.
Yes, we all enjoyed the sausage sizzle with the help of Maggie and Lisa.
The BPG website will be updated in the next few days
with all the pictures we have received!

Next projects

As part of the rest of the year, BPG will be considering projects
like a coffee table book with lots of pictures and stories,
possible presentations from invited speakers,
a celebration social event and
collection and propagation of seeds for the 2009 planting program.

If you have ideas of what you might like BPG to do,
send your ideas to Don by email or call 08 9379 9479.

Next monthly meeting - NEW TIME
Monthly meetings will still be held on the second Wednesday of the month
at the New Library, 46 Old Perth Rd,
but there is a NEW START TIME 7pm
with a max meeting length of 2 hours.

(Next date: Wednesday Aug 13 2008)

 
To be taken off this list or ideas ... email Don

Weekend WAGTALES # 036
  Thursday July 24  2008

National Tree Day Tree planting - 2008
Weather forecast: showers & windy

Let's hope we see you bright and early 9am, this Sunday, July 27.
Ashfield Flats, South end of West Road, Bassendean
opposite the Sandy Beach Reserve.

It is our last planting day for the year and wraps up
some 2400 trees planted this season, including
special dieback resistant Jarrahs & Banksias at the
Bassendean Arboretum last Sunday.

Bring mozi repellent, gum boots and leave your shovels at home.
We have a number of Hamilton Tree Planters that do an excellent job,
with virtually no air gaps around the roots of the trees.

Weather permitting, stay for a hot coffee or tea with a sausage sizzle.
There is a small safety induction before the action starts,
and we will be issuing name tags so to make for a friendly morning.
See our website for numbers and locations

 
To be taken off this list ... email Don