.jpg?template=generic "Black-faced cormorant")
Road works at night on Channel Highway - 9-13 February-letter to residents
Posted 1 February 2021
Thursday 27 June, 2019
Four (approx) Humpback Whales swam up the Derwent to Sandy Bay, and back down staying close to the Eastern shoreline. Photographed here from Sandy Bay, swimming close to Droughty Point. Photograph: Mick Brown.
Humpback whales in Derwent estuary June 2019
Tasmanian STEM Excellence Awards 2018
Local woman Nel Smit is Tasmanian STEM teacher of the year (Secondary) for her work in developing sustainability and alternative energy options with the students at Huonville High School.
Nel's Award
posted 21 Nov. 2018
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Report of Community Meeting October 13 about proposed sale of foreshore land at Taroona Beach to IMAS
Press Release from Jill Hickie, Taroona Community Association
The community meeting was very successful from the Taroona Community Association’s point of view. Over 100 people attended all keenly interested and many concerns raised.
I addressed the group followed by Scott Parkinson the CEO of the new company Ornatas which owns the intellectual property of the lobster research who provided a basic outline of the proposed development of a commercial pilot lobster hatchery which will lease the land being sold to the Uni.
Additional speakers were Jason Purdie from Communications and Neal Denning from infrastructure Services and Development at the Uni.
The meeting agreed that a conservation covenant is good news; they provide protection - however they can be repealed by the Minister upon application at any time. The community feels very unhappy that the Government states it needs the proceeds generated from the sale of the Crown land to fund the development of a new Orange Bellied parrot captive breeding facility - whilst selling beautiful blue gum forest which provides habitat for the nationally endangered swift parrot. This is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. From the community’s perspective both outcomes can be achieved.
The Uni representatives stated they have no interest in the foreshore forested area and would support excision of the southern portion from the Crown title to be given to Kingborough Council to formalise its protection as a reserve. This is the outcome the community seeks from the government.
Overall there was general concern about the transparency of the whole process and dismay in the continued push to sell off public assets for private gain and the commercialisation of the IMAS site with the potential for further intensification of the site impacting on the residential suburb of Taroona.
The meeting galvanised the issues and was considered by many as a necessary and integral step in moving forward on this issue.
There will be more to come on this matter.
Posted 18 October 2018
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Plasticwise Taroona
Plasticwise Taroona has now provided Hill Street with 660 bags!! We've had some wonderful feedback on our bags so far. Apparently on the first day that Hill Street went plastic bag free, they sold over 1300 paper bags, 268 tote bags, 83 jute bags and lent out 55 borrowed bags across all of their stores. Apparently customers have been asking to go through the borrowed bags in stores to choose one that they like! Although I don't think many (if any) have been returned so far, the stores are saying people are coming back with the bags and using them again and again - which is just perfect :)
The deposit system that we developed for Hill Street means that Plasticwise Taroona now has some money to spend on plasticwise projects. We are still a 100% non-profit community organisation, run entirely by volunteers. Some of the money from the Hill Street bag libraries will be spent on maintenance of sewing machines, buying overlocker thread, ink and replacing our screen print - our first screen printed over 1000 labels before falling apart at our last workshop.
But the remainder of the money can be spent on spreading the word in our community! And we have several ideas about how to do that - more news here and on our Facebook page soon.
Added 12 November 2017
Plasticwise Taroona featured in The Mercury
The first bag libraries will be up and running soon! Hill Street Stores want our bags in all of their outlets across Tasmania by 1 November!
Added 26 October 2017
Zayed Future Energy Prize-Tasmanian school team wins acclaim in Abu Dhabi
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A team from Huonville High School, facilitated by Taroona Resident Nel Smit, was announced as the winner of the Oceania Schools division in the Zayed Future Energy Prize in Abu Dhabi on Monday (January 16). Funding from the Zayed Future Energy Prize will be used to raise the renewable energy capacity of the school to 60 per cent, up from its current levels of 2.5 per cent. The school also plans to develop the Zayed Energy Hub, which will function as a laboratory, run on 100 per cent renewable energy to showcase how solar, battery storage, insulation models, pellet heating, LED lighting, and data management can be run on renewable energy.
Congratulations to Nel and the Huonville High School Team |