Yarra Ranges Council’s Climate Action Team has been named a finalist in two award categories in the 2023 Cities Power Partnership Climate Awards.
The team was nominated for the Climate Champion Award, recognising teams that consistently work towards initiating, championing and completing climate action projects in Council and the community.
Yarra Ranges was also nominated, in a combined entry with Knox and Maroondah Councils and Your Library (formerly Eastern Regional Libraries) in the Community Choice Award, for the My Energy and Water Saver Kits, which have been extremely popular home testing kits located at local libraries.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, said he was delighted by the dual announcements, and that they reflected fantastic work in the community.
“I’m very proud of our teams at Council for being announced as finalists in the Climate Champion Award, and our joint finalist announcement in the Community Choice Award, with Knox and Maroondah, for the My Energy and Water Saving Kits,” he said.
“From their launch in January 2022, the kits have quickly become overwhelmingly popular.
“By the end of August 2022, 177 people were on the waiting list, with the wait time for new reservations at over 14 months. We added more kits to lessen the shortlist, but our teams continue to see incredible demand for these wonderful kits.
“Borrowers highlighted the following actions after using the kit – adding insulation, being aware of standby power use, knowing their fridge was not at the right temperature, more draught proofing, and better understanding of thermal losses.
“Knowing where to start tackling these issues means that our community members can save money on their bills, and live a bit lighter on the earth.”
Following the June 2021 storms, the Climate Action team has applied a climate adaption and resilience lens to their work, taking on projects to ensure that facilities are fit-for-purpose as community relief centres, and climate-responsible during business-as-usual.
The project, Climate Resilient Upgrades, has required collaboration with teams across Council, industry, academics and other levels of government, with energy resilience solutions linked with community benefit with projects such as microgrid feasibility studies.
Cr Child congratulated the Climate Action Team for their finalist nomination, noting their work towards the goals in Council’s Liveable Climate Plan 2020-20230.
“At Yarra Ranges, we’re extremely aware of the vulnerability of our community to extreme weather events,” he said.
“Our team works to address this by investing in improvements to support resilience outcomes as well as providing emission reduction benefits. We want to ensure our community can get through whatever is ahead, with strong support networks and good community infrastructure that utilises renewable energy that supports their day-to-day needs, as well as providing safe spaces in a disaster.
“The program will upgrade over 20 facilities in the next 18 months, ensuring our community will be well equipped to respond, adapt, and embody Resilience Thinking at all times.”
