Posted in Agribusiness

Long Term Planning with Liveable Communities in Mind

Long-term community planning is vital for our liveable cities to prosper. Organisations involved in their community’s infrastructure must be able to look ahead and construct plans where anticipated. Change is not only considered but prepared for in advance.

We cannot always know what the future holds, as we have recently discovered through unanticipated change and subsequent adaptation. However, the last few months have not deterred Australians from continuing to practice and strive for the future of the sustainable movement.

New bike paths have already been put into future planning, due to increased demand. Transport Secretary Rodd Staples mentioned in an online webinar in May that future development could incorporate a 40 year plan, in as little as three years.

Urban Mobility Manager of the New Zealand Transport Agency; Ms Kathryn King

But Australia is not the only country adopting this new wave of smarter transport development. Urban Mobility Manager of the New Zealand Transport Agency; Ms Kathryn King, manages the Urban Mobility Programme at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. She is co-author of the Keeping Cities Moving plan and the lead for the Innovating Streets for People Program. Be sure to tune into her presentation in webinar 3 of the Liveable Cities Conference: Webinar Series 2020.

Smarter transportation is just one facet already in motion. Other organisations have their own key plans for a brighter, more sustainable future.

 

CSIRO’s Australian National Outlook 2019 and the Urban Shift

According to CSIRO’s 2019 Report, the future of Australia will include an outlook vision where communities will have equal access to employment all round, more amenities to improve quality of lifestyles, superior health services and education, plus more affordable and better connected cities if their three proposed levers are put into action.

The CSIRO’s plan is to tackle society’s features within urban design, energy, land use, culture and the industry itself, to reach the outlook vision from their report. By accommodating for Australia’s population increase over the next few decades and incorporating their plan for our liveable cities, the ‘Urban Shift’ will be achieved.

    

CSIRO’s Senior Research Scientist in Land and water; Mr Tim Baynes

CSIRO’s Senior Research Scientist in land and water; Mr Tim Baynes is one of our keynote speakers in webinar 2 of our Liveable Cities Conference: Webinar Series 2020 taking place online on Tuesday 16th June from 10:00am – 12:30pm. Tim’s talk will review the approach and outputs of ANO 2019 and, in particular, elements of the ‘Urban Shift’ scenario within that vision.

 

Coreo’s Circular Economy in the Built Environment: Creating Purposeful Places for People and Planet

In 2017, Coreo was founded and created Australia’s first circular economy pilot project. The company’s mission is to catalyst the global transition to a circular economy.

Since their launch, the company has begun several successful projects including:

  • Circular Economy Master Planned Community Strategy
  • The Southern Hemisphere’s Most Circular Airport
  • Economic Analysis & Sectoral Assessment for Queensland
  • Community Resilience Project
  • Circular Economy Innovation Precinct
  • Creating Circular Supply Chains
  • Regional Economic Development Transition to Action
  • The First Step for Retail
  • Co-Create & Incubate
  • The Circular Experiment Goes to Rotorua

You can download the Circular Economy Overview for the Yarrabilba Community, QLD – 2019 to gain further insight to the wonderful work Coreo is doing.

Chief Executive Officer; Ms Ashleigh Morris left, & Chief Operating Officer; Ms Jaine Morris right

Chief Executive Officer; Ms Ashleigh Morris and Chief Operating Officer; Ms Jaine Morris are two more keynote speakers involved in webinar 2 of the Liveable Cities Conference: Webinar Series 2020 and will be sharing their insight on what the circular economy is and how it is creating purposeful places for people and planet, through providing examples of their work in the built environment with Lendlease, Mirvac, the Queensland Investment Corporation, Brisbane City Council and others.

 

Ask Us What We Want

Democracy is also a vital key in unlocking economic, social, and environmental opportunities when it comes to a sustainable future in our liveable cities. People’s opinions within a community matter and just one voice can send a powerful message.

Founder of newDemocracy Foundation, Managing Director of Transfield Holdings, & Prisma Investment; Mr Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM

Managing Director of Transfield Holdings, and Prisma Investment; Mr Luca Belgiorno-Nettis AM is the founder of newDemocracy Foundation. Established in 2004, this non-for-profit research organisation’s sole focus was on political reform. Its research and development notes contributed to the academic enhancement of democracy through their learnings, reflections and discoveries and fostered a culture of persistent innovation and research.

Luca will be the final speaker in webinar 2 on Tuesday and will take us through a presentation that will enlighten viewers with the importance of democracy existing within our communities and how a person’s voice can have an important impact. For a prelude to Luca’s presentation, CLICK HERE

Luca says, “I’m often pleasantly surprised by how differently an issue can be viewed, and how creatively and intelligently a problem can be resolved by giving people the time and resources to answer questions that affect them.” Read Luca’s article on democracy recently published in The Mandarin.

Webinar 2 of the Liveable Cities Conference: Webinar Series 2020 is set to hit the bar. Be sure to register for the event.

REGISTER HERE

Program Details

Sprout Stack: Shipping containers provide farm-free vegies

Shipping containers could bring farming to the heart of the city as hydroponics and mobile phone apps are harnessed for large-scale urban food production.

A Sydney start-up company Sprout Stack has perfected the commercial production of large volumes of leafy greens in shipping containers, producing as much lettuce, herbs or spinach leaves in eight weeks as a hectare of fertile farmland. The containers, filled with towers for growing vegetables, tomatoes and strawberries hydroponically, require only electricity and water.

Sprout Stack founder Francisco Caffarena says the farming containers, which can be leased or bought outright, can be stacked on top of each other in places where land is scarce or unsuitable for growing vegetables, to prod­uce commercial quantities of fresh food all year round.

Start-up: Sprout Stack’s Francisco Caffarena, left, and Michael Harder in one of their growing containers in Sydney. Picture: John FederPicture: John Feder

Start-up: Sprout Stack’s Francisco Caffarena, left, and Michael Harder in one of their growing containers in Sydney. Picture: John FederPicture: John Feder

The container systems uses 95 per cent less water than a vegetable farm with drip irrigation to grow 900 lettuces, requiring just 60-100 litres of water a week for its plants to drink and 60 kilowatt hours of power a day to run its lighting, heating and sensors. All crops grown are pesticide-free because the container’s controlled environment virtually elim­inates pests, disease and bugs, while the production of six cycles of crops a year is not exposed to the vagaries of weather.

Read more.

Wood pellets proposed to replace coal used by thermal power stations

A renewable replacement for black coal burned in thermal power stations could be made by converting Tasmanian plantation wood into a pelletised biomass fuel.

Private equity firm New Forests has started a $5 million feasibility study into a $130 million wood pellet plant for Tasmania’s Tamar Valley.

If approved, New Forests’ hardwood plantation subsidiary, Forico, would supply 100 per cent FSC-certified plantation hardwood and softwood to the bioenergy pellet plant, according to Forico chief executive Bryan Hayes.

Black energy-dense biomass pellets could be used to replace black coal.

Black energy-dense biomass pellets could be used to replace black coal.

“These pellets are able to go into an existing power plant without any modifications whatsoever,” Mr Hayes said.

“These black pellets will directly substitute for thermal coal in existing black coal-fired power plants in Japan.

The proposal involves making an energy-dense black wood pellet from sawmill residues and woodchips milled to less than 5mm in size.

Mr Hayes said if wood particles were exposed to heat and pressure, the cell structure could be broken down.

He said steam could be used to ‘cook’ the wood particles at 200 degrees Celsius under 20 atmospheres of pressure. The material could then be forced through an extrusion plate to form a high density, water-repellent pellet replacement for fossil fuel.

Mr Hayes said the feasibility study would look at the technology needed to manufacture at least 225,000 tonnes of the black biomass pellets a year in Tasmania. The study also would assess the commercial viability of establishing the black pellet plant on a disused woodchip export mill site at Long Reach.

“If it’s not commercially viable it won’t happen,” Mr Hayes said.

Mr Hayes said when the feasibility study was completed in March, New Forests would progress quickly if the project stacked up. He said after applying for environmental approval from the Government, construction could start as early as the middle of 2017.

“We would hope the plant could be constructed and ready for first operation in December 2018,” Mr Hayes said.

Read more.

Pig poo power plant set to boost jobs and energy in northern Victoria

An ambitious plan to turn pig poo and food scraps into power is being developed in northern Victoria.

The power plant, glasshouse and piggery expansion, called Waranga Green Energy, will be built at Stanhope, west of Shepparton. For over five years, it has been the dream of piggery owner John Bourke.

Aerial view of a piggery at Stanhope that will be expanded with a power plant and glasshouse.

Aerial view of a piggery at Stanhope that will be expanded with a power plant and glasshouse.

The project is set to transform the quiet town of Stanhope, providing an additional 30 jobs and estimated $10 million per year for the local economy. The aim of the property is to develop a closed system for power and waste on the farm.

Pig poo and straw from the intensive farming environment will be used, along with other food waste, to create power in an anaerobic digester plant to be built nearby. The plant will be used to power the piggery and provide heat to an expanded and upgraded farm.

Next to the power plant, a 4.6-hectare greenhouse will be built, using power and heat to grow leafy green vegetables, year round, to supply gaps in the seasonal markets.

The goal is to sell up to 20 million lettuces and over 20,000 pigs per year, along with liquid and solid fertiliser (a bi-product from the power plant) to the farm’s customers. The price tag for the Waranga Green Energy and farm project is around $75million which Mr Bourke is planning to raise through superannuation and foreign investment.

He has hired a company to raise the capital needed. An additional $1 million grant has been awarded by the Victorian State Government. Mr Bourke is confident he will get the investment dollars he needs because of the high return from the project.

Construction is set to begin in early 2017 with Mr Bourke expecting the farm to be fully operational and sending food to market within the year.

Read more.