Driving Sustainable Message Home

Sustainable Townsville has set itself some ambitious plans, but it is on the right track and deserves to succeed. With the leadership provided by Jenny Hill and Guy Lane, this tropical north Queensland city is well on its way to get the recognition it deserves. Ken Hickson reports on his visit.

By Ken Hickson

It’s people who make a city and people who make it sustainable.

That’s the message I received loud and clear when I visited Townsville for the first time this week and met the people who want to make it a world leading sustainable city.

I flew into Townsville – one hour forty five minutes from Brisbane – with the express purpose of speaking at the very first event, organised by a group of people calling themselves Sustainable Townsville.

Meeting me at the airport was Guy Lane. Now there’s an enterprising, sustainable superman if ever there was one. He runs My Clean Sky, SeaO2 and Funnel Exchange. He is always promoting other businesses and ideas which are on the sustainable, low carbon track. www.seao2.com

There was a Toyota Hybrid Prius waiting to run me around town, economically and sustainably, of course.

First stop was Mary Who? Bookshop in Flinders Street Mall. Not only was manager Sue Cole wanting for some of my books to be delivered, but on hand ready to buy the first one delivered to Townsville was Louise Scarrone, Managing Director of Sprout, the greener grocers. www.sproutonline.net.au

Also waiting was the media. My visit had been given something of a build up by Guy Lane and others, so there was an interview first with Win Television News (Channel 9) and then Townsville Bulletin. Earlier in the day I had talked on air over the telephone to ABC Radio Townsville.

In fact, I know that at least one person had heard me on the radio and as he was there in the book shop. He wanted a chat and he ended up buying the book as well. He’d been in the mining business and was now retired. The subject of climate change, energy and the environment interested him greatly. (If anyone knows his name. please let me know!)

The next person I met was Jenny Hill. Alongside Guy, she’s the champion for Sustainable Townsville. A city councillor (since 1997) and previously deputy mayor, she is chairwoman of the burgeoning organisation. We chatted about plans for Townsville and checked out the venue – Vine 21 – for the first Sustainable event.

Jenny graduated from LaTrobe University with a Bachelor of Science in 1981, before moving to Townsville in 1982. Jenny also completed a Masters in Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University. Previously her employment included mining laboratories, DPI, James Cook University, and the Pathology Department of the Townsville Hospital in Microbiology.

She knows her science and she knows her city. And she knows what needs to be done to make the city move on and upward on the sustainability hit parade.

Here’s a report quoting her on ABC News:

A group promoting environmentally sustainable industries for Townsville says the north Queensland city could become a world leader in the field.

The chairwoman for Sustainable Townsville, Jenny Hill, says she hopes people who attended the group’s first major network event will now promote sustainability issues.

She says when people move to Townsville in the future, they might be attracted by the environmental practices of the city.

“I’d like to see Townsville as being the world leader in sustainable industries and processes, where if you move to this community you know that you’re not impacting on the environment, that the people here, that the processes we have, are not damaging our environment,” she said.

Ms Hill says raising awareness of how Townsville is addressing climate change issues is important to boost the population.

“By promoting Townsville as a smart city, as a sustainable city, we can draw more people into our community and we can show the rest of Australia that hey, you can do things, you can make changes that really don’t impact on your lifestyle,” she said.   

Source: www.abc.net.au

The meeting in question was a popular affair. About 40 people turned up. Ergon Energy was there to lend its support and talk up its initiative, the Network Demand Management programme for energy efficiency in and around the city.

I spoke for about 20 minutes on what’s happening in the world of sustainability, referring to other cities making claims and winning awards for becoming greener, low or zero carbon communities.

Opportunities for businesses to become more sustainable was emphasised and I gave a few good examples from the book and from my research. 

Design and architecture are both important to make our buildings more energy efficient, particularly in the tropics,  and there’s a job to be done to retrofit thousands of buildings around the city (and the nation) which currently accounts for around 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Townsville is already recognised as a leading solar city, but there’s a lot happening for the city to tap into with biofuels, carbon farming, transport – a move to hybrids and electric cars. Interestingly, Townsville already has one of the largest fleets of hybrid taxis in Australia.

Who else did I meet?

On hand was Lisa McDonald of Townsville Enterprise. We discovered that we had met two years’ previous at the Climate Change and Business Conference in Brisbane. www.townsvilleonline.com.au

Frank Dallmeyer of Tropical Energy Solutions introduced himself and bought be a drink. He told me his company identifies, promotes and supplies solutions that are clean, reliable, affordable and suit the tropical environments of Australia and the Pacific Region. www.tropicalenergysolutions.com.au

Two fine chaps from Environmental Asset Services – Tony Nielson and Warren “Wazza” Mathieson – were interesting to talk to and they bought my book!. www.environmentalassets.com.au

Michelle Russell, who had been living and working in the area for many months as line producer for the film “Beneath Hill 60”, was back to see how Townsville was facing up to sustainability. www.beneathhill60.com.au

City Councillor and chairman of the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee for Townsville – Vern Veitch – was there to keep up with what the business community is wanting to do for the city. www.townsville.qld.gov.au

I talked to Peter Kirkham, who’s currently with Watpac – an active developer in the area -  about his ideas for a sustainable eco tourism resort north of the city. www.watpac.com.au

Daniel Post is an enthusiast for LED energy efficient lighting and works with Ecolight Queensland. He’s also an enthusiast for collecting and restoring old furniture. He also managed to get a copy of my book on ebay for an incredibly insulting price! www.ecolightqld.com.au

With some amazing energy saving solutions up his sleeve is Dion Borg of eNerwise. He assured me the world will hear more soon on what this North Queensland business is up to. www.enerwise.com.au

Debra Burden, who I met when she was previously with Prime Carbon, is now a Bank Manager with Westpac. On a visit to her bank office, we discovered not only the indepth knowledge she has of the whole carbon finance/trading business, but what Westpac is doing to be the nation’s most sustainable bank. www.westpac.com.au

John Lyons is a delight. A former Price Waterhouse partner, he is now retired, but cannot keep his mind and his hands off helping business people progress. He also wanted me to visit his 101 year old house which is surprisingly energy efficient, with its high ceilings and wide verandas, as well as wonderful views over the bay. He is also ambassador for Queensland Museum Foundation www.qm.qld.gov.au

He introduced me to John Patteson, a mature gentleman with young ideas and an energetic plan to deal with plastic waste. In time there will be more to report on this.

Ken Bellamy attended the meeting but as I had a visit planned the next day to his VRM Biologik plant, we caught up then. I heard all about his photosynthesis discoveries, his work in carbon farming and Prime Carbon. I learnt so much about him that he features this week as our profile. Also met Teresa Jessup. www.wrm.com.au

With a bit of light relief but with sustainability still in mind, Guy and I visited Katelyn Aslett, a textile and fashion designer, rapidly gaining an international reputation for turning recycled materials and natural fibres (wool) into fashion statements. www.katelynaslett.com

Zingspace came into view as well, meeting Nigel Grier and his team who’ve just moved into a new space. We talked about his landscape and environmental design work, including work with WWF and indigenous communities further north. He’s also a fan of Greenroofs and other sustainable building design practices. www.zingspace.com.au

In a busy schedule of a little more than 24 hours, there wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but I was able to appreciate that Townsville has a lot going for it. Its seaside location – close to many of the attractions of the Great Barrier Reef – its busy port and ever-present military base, all add to its industriousness, as well as its opportunities to become more sustainable.

It is also a city full of enterprising men and women, young and old, who want to see the place not only grow, but to be a very liveable city.

Last port of call before the airport was the James Cook University where we sighted the biosequestration research project which is underway. It was to be officially opened by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on Friday (see separate article). It is good to know the university is in such good hands with Sandra Harding as Vice Chancellor.

I promise you’ll be hearing more of Townsville as it journeys on its road to greater sustainability and gains recognition for its efforts.

Here are some words I expressed after my visit:

Sustainable Townsville has set itself some ambitious plans, but it is on the right track and deserves to succeed.

I was impressed by the level of innovation and enterprise evident from the people and organisations I met in Townsville.

With the leadership provided by Jenny Hill and Guy Lane, and the early support you are getting for Sustainable Townsville, I expect to see it achieve a lot.

There is competition at home and abroad for cities and communities to be ranked as “sustainable”, but Townsville has every chance to do this better than most.

It is important to get Government support and funding for projects that you can undertake.

Not only should you be working with your Council and other locals institutions – the University, Townsville Enterprise – but also highlight the work of some of your leading businesses, like Prime Carbon.

Source: www.abccarbon.com