When you ask Tamlin and Derek MacKenzie why they are attending the Lismore Community Planning Forum in a few weeks time, the answer is simple.
“Because of these guys,” Tamlin says, gesturing to her two young children.
It’s a case of out of the mouths of babes when Derek asks his five-year-old,
“Hey Bodhi, why should we be caretakers?”
“To take care of the world,” Bodhi says with a serious look on his face.
The young family, who live at The Channon, are fed up with waiting for someone else to do something about the state of the planet.
“Energy is not getting any cheaper, the price of petrol is rising, climate change is real – we need to start living within our means ... And I think a lot of Lismore feels that way,” Derek says.
“This is a chance to get together and reach some common ground and develop a bit of an action plan. Things are changing and we can be part of that. A lot of the media that’s out there is negative and quite hopeless, and I think this will give people some hope. We can do things together – we don’t have to wait for the federal government to come and save us.”
The Lismore Community Planning Forum will be a day of creating projects and policy to transition Lismore to a
sustainable economy, with the community
invited to join Lismore City Council and the Department of Industry & Investment to nut out the plan ...
NOW THERE'S A NOVEL IDEA "COMMUNITY CONSULTATION"
Convenor Gordon Fraser-Quick said to his knowledge this is the first time that community, council and state government have worked together on a
whole-of-council area economic development plan.
“The community will develop ideas and projects which they see as needed to achieve a more sustainable future. We will end up with an outline of a Community Economic Development Plan for the city of Lismore and surrounds which will form one of the key governance and policy documents for Council going forwards,” Gordon explained.
“Community ideas and suggested projects will be presented to Council and the State for consideration for funding and action ... Effectively it’s the community defining what they would like the economy of the city to look like into the future.”
Gordon said there are a number of key elements that underpin a workable, sustainable economy including clean water, good food, transport, energy and good governance processes.
In looking at each of these aspects of community life and developing plans to sustainably provide these services, Gordon believes Lismore can be at the forefront of how new economies must operate in the future. And he believes Lismore has the thinkers and the doers needed to achieve it.
“I have faith that we have a depth of knowledge and a commitment to community – if it’s going to work anywhere it’s going to work in Lismore ... We have a reputation, well earned, of a city of innovation and a city willing to try new things,” he said.
“It’s a diverse community, a passionate community, an energetic community and a well-educated community… and a community full of innovative technology and new ideas ... Any transition to a new economy for the world will mean using new and untested technologies as well as proven ones.”
Gordon explained that Lismore has several flagship projects that can be built on but asked people to think deeply in the lead-up to the forum about innovative and achievable ways of moving towards sustainability.
“In terms of transport we have great carpooling and perhaps we can build on that; we already have land-sharing in Lismore – something that could change the way food is produced in urban Australian; and maybe we can encourage a bigger uptake of onsite sewerage management or effluent management,” he said.
“We want to gain the benefit of the experience and wisdom of the community and take advantage of that ... This is not a talk-fest – this is about people thinking of real solutions and preparing plans that will be able to be implemented by council, by state government and by community groups straight away to start our city moving faster towards sustainability. The sky’s the limit.”
Gordon referred to a recent visit to the Northern Rivers by Paul Gilding, author of The Great Disruption, which points out if you do things the same way you’ve always done them, things will stay the same. While he doesn’t deny that it’s a complex problem, change is the only way
forward, says Gordon.
“We’re not talking about becoming lentil-eating cave dwellers but unless we become pre-emptive about changing our lifestyle it will be changed in a way that cannot be managed. We can learn how to manage change by becoming prepared… we can learn how to produce biochar for carbon sequestration, how to grow our own vegies, how to fix a wheelbarrow or a bike ... These are all skills we will need when peak oil and economic collapse occurs… and it’s just around the corner. The logic is patent… in the next 30 years the World Bank is saying there will be an almost 50% increase in the world population and a 350% increase in the economy. Something’s got to give. We have a finite resource base and we have to change the way we extract value from the planet.”
The Lismore Community Planning Forum is on Saturday, August 20, and the entire community is encouraged to come along – old, young, working, unemployed, tradie, hippie, conservative or none of the above. This is your chance to help shape Lismore’s future.
The forum is free and runs from 1-5pm at Lismore City Hall ... SOMEONE FROM LAUNCESTON SHOULD GO AND FIND OUT HOW TO DO THIS KIND OF THING!
To think: anything once living in Lismore has ended up here, in this multi-million dollar complex of climate-controlled greenhouses:
a simmering shed of broken down fruit, vegetables, paper, bread, meat, human hair, tea bags, vacuum cleaner dust… YUM!
To give you an idea of the size of this thing - the sheds occupy an area larger than a football field.
“This facility converts domestic food and garden recyclables into valuable composts and extracts for sale back to the farming community,” says worm farm tour conductor, Leo McLean
Tryton Waste Services:
Tryton Waste Services Pty Ltd is located in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest vermicomposting facility in the Southern Hemisphere. It was constructed during 2000/2001 and officially opened in October 2001.
