September campaign to highlight local biodiversity

Orange City Council and Central Tablelands Local Land Services will team up with local organisations in September to host a series of events celebrating the unique threatened species and biodiversity found in the Orange region.

Orange Biodiversity Month will celebrate biodiversity wherever it occurs, in backyards, local parks or on farms - in the daytime and at night.

There’s something for everyone, from the annual citizen science initiative ‘Great Southern Bioblitz’ undertaken across the southern hemisphere to promoting biodiversity in backyards and wildlife spotlighting at night.

Land Services Officer at Central Tablelands Local Land Services, Tim Nalder, said across Australia September is known as Biodiversity Month, a time to celebrate connecting and caring for nature and all its diversity.

“The Orange region contains diverse landscapes and habitat types that support unique biodiversity, including 60 listed threatened species. We hope that through our hosted events we can help Orange locals learn more about the landscape around them.”

Kicking off the month of events on 1 September is ‘Biodiversity in Backyards’ where people can join experts from the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange (ECCO), Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society and Orange City Council at the Orange Botanic Gardens.

Participants will learn how to promote biodiversity in their backyard by creating habitat for native birds, bees and reptiles and can take home some free garden-friendly native plants to start their own habitat haven.

The following weekend, 7-8 September, residents can view temporary 3D chalk art created by local school students on the steps of the Orange Cultural Precinct. This coincides with the new Animal Kin exhibition at Orange Regional Museum.

Orange City Council’s Environment Sustainability Committee Chair, Cr David Mallard wants to see many locals make the most of the month-long campaign to experience the unique Orange environment firsthand.

“We’re really excited to be working with local schools and encourage the wider community to check out the artwork on the steps of the Orange Cultural Precinct and inside the museum,” Cr Mallard said.

“Many of our native animals are only out at night, so the spotlighting events at Hinton Reserve, Gosling Creek and the Botanic Gardens are not to be missed.”

For landholders there is a Natural Capital Field Day near Borenore on 24 September to hear about the opportunities biodiversity presents to local farming enterprises, hosted by the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT), Central Tablelands Landcare and Local Land Services.

Orange Biodiversity Month is brought together by a collaboration of community, industry and government partners including the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, Central Tablelands Landcare, Orange Field Naturalist and Conservation Society and ECCO.

All events are listed on the Central Tablelands Local Land Services website

www.lls.nsw.gov.au/regions/central-tablelands/events

Orange City Council to use renewable energy to power large sites and streetlights

Orange City Council will use 100 per cent renewable energy to power its large sites and streetlights from January 1, 2023.

Through this contract, together with Council’s renewable energy action plan implemented over the last few years, Council will reduce its carbon emissions by 30-40 per cent, which is well on the way to achieving the NSW Government’s target of 50 per cent emissions reductions by 2030.

It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 7000 tonnes of CO2e annually. equivalent to the emissions from electricity use in 1300 homes in a year.

Orange City Council joined 15 councils across Central NSW and the Riverina to secure a joint contract for the supply of electricity through renewable energy until 2030, coordinated by the Central NSW Joint Organisation.

The supplier is Iberdrola Australia, which owns the Bodangora Wind Farm near Wellington and the Flyers Creek Wind Farm being constructed south of Orange.

Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said a focus on renewable energy was a strong theme that emerged during community consultation to develop the latest Community Strategic Plan (CSP) and tied in with the Council’s Climate Change Policy and Plan, adopted in 2021.

“Council has committed to ensuring the use of renewable energy options for Council and community projects,” Cr Hamling said.

“This contract has enabled us to make a significant investment in the Central West’s renewable energy industry.”

Council’s Environmental Sustainability Policy Committee Chair Cr David Mallard said it was an important step for the Council the community and the environment.

“By reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, we will take significant steps towards our carbon emissions reduction targets, while the contract’s fixed rate price will provide financial protection from the volatility of the energy market in years ahead,” Cr Mallard said.

Iberdrola Australia Managing Director and CEO, Ross Rolfe AO, is delighted to be partnering with Councils in the Central NSW and Riverina regions.

“These councils have supported not only our strategy but also the Australian economy’s green energy transition,” Mr Rolfe said.

“Looking ahead, we see many further opportunities to collaborate with our partners to create shared value for our stakeholders in regional NSW.”

Central NSW Joint Organisation Chair and Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty said, the buying power of 16 councils from the Central NSW and Riverina regions was substantial.

“Collectively, the Central NSW region will source around 78 per cent of its electricity for Councils’ large sites and streetlighting from renewable energy under this deal. This is a huge win for the region,” Cr Beatty said.

Orange City Council has 16 large sites, such as the Civic Centre, aquatic centre, airport, water and sewerage treatment plants, which make up about 93 per cent of Council’s electricity usage.

Council staff are working on securing renewable energy contracts to power the remaining smaller sites to use renewable energy across all its operations.

GREEN POWER: Large sites such as the Orange Aquatic Centre will powered by 100 per cent renewable energy from January 1.

New litter bins put the squeeze on waste with smart technology

Smart litter bins have been installed around Lake Forbes as part of an energy efficient waste reduction strategy by Forbes Shire Council.

They all operate on solar power and have smart sensors inside which sense the fill level inside the bin. Once the fill level is over certain level, then the compactor mechanism compacts the waste inside and makes more room for more waste. This can happen until the bin is filled with compacted waste. Due to the compaction mechanism, one 240 litre bin can act as five 240 litre bins because of its holding capacity increases by 5 times.

“This technology is so amazing and will improve waste control in our popular Lake side locations,” says Forbes Shire Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM. “During our peak times the popular areas around our Lake, the bins fill up very quickly and these new bins will see an efficient way of compacting large amounts of waste. It’s great!

“Once the bin is filled up to 70%, then the bin gets an alert and we can send the garbage truck to go and service the bin,” continues Mayor Miller.

The bins have been installed at three locations around Lake Forbes;

• Apex Park

• Lions Park and

• Forbes Aquatic Centre

The funding (approx. $26 K) for this project is provided by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (now the NSW EPA), through the Waste Less Recycle More initiative.

“Waste management and recycling are a very important part of Forbes Shire Council’s sustainability and waste management plan,” continues Mayor Miller. “The aim is to recycle as much material as we can and send as little to landfill as possible, which in-turn reduces the impact on our environment. Forbes is the first Council in the Central West to install solar smart bins such as these.”

The bin contains 55w solar panels which charges a battery and can operate up to four weeks regardless of weather. The 5G technology notifies Council of the status of the bins and if they require emptying.