Building Sustainability At Marys Mount

Project Objectives For Building A More Sustainable and Liveable Marys Mount 

• Protect the residents of Marys Mount from the increasing climate impacts, in particular heat, cold, flooding and drought
• More sustainable, affordable and low energy requirement housing that lower capital cost and running cost
• Housing development to take advantage of landscape resources to improve sustainability, eg bodies of water
• Encourages more social activity    
• Grow our part of our local economy that conributes towards direct community directly and indirectly to community sustainability
• Build the reputation of Goulburn-Mulwaree as a "Sustainable Community to attract more investment in a sustainability
• Build on the good work of the Council in the provision of recreational areas and facilities
• Set aside areas for the use of our First Nations People 
• Gain international recognition for the remedial work and new development at Marys Mount

 
Projects In progress in Marys Mount in Addition to Continued Development 

•  Regeneration of Council land behind Warrigal and over the creek (from there)

Remediation Projects:- (Building Gardens/Veggie Patches, Reducing Urban Heat, Energy Consumption and Bills)

• cool around the house, that will help cool the streets
• reduce the cost of building garden by reducing the effort trhough templates and working together
• assistance in building a vegetable patch
• reduce the cost of plants by entering into bulk arrangements with local retailers
• install water tanks - where possible
• cool the vacant Council land in middle of the extensive and the sparsely vegetated Marys Mount development by planting more. Preferably this would be to a “masterplan” that included provision for biodiversity as a fundamental part of new developments at MM, and indeed elsewhere.

HIgh Level Project Plan For Pilot As Per the Methdology Used By One Panet Living (draft)

Other Assistance

• It is anticipated that assistance will be available (a cost might be involved), from the organisation "Sustain" that is based in Victoria but is already working with a number of NSW Rural Councils, see  https://tools.sustain.org.au/
• Other relevant members of OSGM's Network partners.

Approach

• This project is being defined using the One Planet Living Framework, that includes the use of a formal project management methodolgy. See this link for the draft OPL plan Marys Mount Project.
• The householder to pay for the remediation work as they will receive the benefits, unless they qualify as in need, pilot excepted.
• Conduct pilot on a number of representative house in respect of size and building materials:-
  • scope current emissions
  • define emissions reduction program 

​Objectives

• To reduce household emissions and energy bills
• To reduce carbon and methane missions
• To reduce organic waste

Method

• Run a pilot of 6 volunteer houses that have not had insulation added or other thermal improvment since they were built 
• Undetake:-
  • a survey of the houses to identify thermal issues
  • undertake a household carbon emissions assessment
• track emissions post improvements to the thermal charatcteristics.
• track other intiatives to reduce household carbon emissions 
• Track utility bills 

Proposed Competition - as part of the larger house thermability and garden improvement project identify the following 

• house with the lowest carbon emissions 
• house with most reduced carbon emissions 
• house that has reduced its organic rubbish the most
• most sustainable garden
• most productive vegetable patch

Publicity

• ABC Gardening Show
• Get Craig Rechaussel involved to document the project progress
• Goulburn Post
• OSGM Website
• Face Book

Funding (more work required to produce some figures) 

• Dept of Regional NSW
• NSW Decarb Hub
• Sale of compost from the Johnson-Su bioreactor
• Eco/Agri tours
• Sale of garden layout templates
• Fees from businesses signed-up to Our Sustainable Goulburn Mulwaree
• Sale of house thermal assessment services
• Sale of membership of OSGM as that will entitle members to a higher discount on the purchase of goods and services

​