Boonah Sustainability Workshop 3

Creating your own Sustainability Story

…. Thank you BSSB partners, supporters, funders, mentors,

workshop participants

Creating your own Sustainability Story

What we’ll explore today:

• What’s happened for you since the last workshop?

• Local Inspirations

• Create your own sustainable business story

• BSSB Toolkit

• Where to from here?

What’s happened for you since our last workshop?

• New insights and learnings?

• Observations about your business operations and sustainability?

• How were the articles and notes?

• What’s on your mind regarding sustainability?

Local Inspirations

• Who has been an inspiration to you in your life?• What was their gift to you?

• The Green Shed at Tamborine Mountain

• Mt Barney Lodge at Mt Barney

• Rockcote Enterprises – Nerang Design Centre

• Food Connect in Brisbane

• Lillydale Farm Stay at Mt Barney

The Green Shed – Tamborine Mountain

• Local produce market for local people and visitors • Every Sunday 7am – Midday at the local showground• Non profit venture through Tamborine Mountain Local Producers

Association Inc• A service to local small farmers and horticultural produce• High quality, freshly picked, seasonal and mainly organically grown

produce• Began 7 years ago to tap into emerging local and visitor interest in

locally-grown food• Established with a float of $100; minimum turnover each Sunday

$300• Links to Food Connect for regional produce not locally available• Growers receive 85% of their sales dollars & TMLPA receives 15%• Weekly turnover now in the thousands of dollars

Mt Barney Lodge

• Wilderness setting at Mt Barney• Family owned business for two generations• Ecotourism Australia Certified• School groups, conferences, specialist groups, functions,

B&B – a varied offering and diverse markets and guests• Bioregional guests are the foundation – from SEQ and NNSW• Regional leadership in eco tourism and tourism sectors• Passion for place, people and enterprise sustainability

Rockcote Design Centre - Nerang

• Winner of The President’s Award 2006, Urban Development Institute of Australia National Awards for Excellence

• Designed primarily to showcase a range of architectural coatings – core business function

• Commercial and industrial development that is environmentally sustainable – a model of excellence

• Biomimicry – inspiration and function from nature• Radical waste reduction – waste is a resource• Integration – multi-purpose at all levels• Non-compromise – solutions focused• Maximum efficiency with minimum inputs/resources

Rockcote Design Centre - Nerang

• Energy – 80% less energy than comparable-sized centres; energy +’ve

• Rainwater – 100,000 litre capacity onsite• Waste and Water Treatment – All sewage and tradewaste

treated onsite and reused onsite• Recycling Centre – Solid waste sorted and despatched to

recyclers; food waste composted and worm farmed• The Gardens – living paving, living walls, gardens that grow

food for staff and visitors, organic, beauty• The Community – open to the public, site tours, coffee shop,

customers

Food Connect

• Organic, sustainable food for households in Brisbane area• Local farmers, local food, local families• Food box system• Farmers bring their produce to the homestead during the

week• Food Connect team pack the food into boxes and deliver

food to Country Cousins in the city• Subscribers collect their weekly box from Country Cousins• Weekly order of fresh fruit and vegies• Weekly farm letter full of recipes and news• Farm tours and farmer connections• Community links and conviviality

Lillydale Farm Stay

• 4.5 star rating• Multi-award winning• Eco Certified – Advanced Ecotourism• Value-adding to their cattle property• Protecting and conserving indigenous flora and fauna• Protecting and preserving precious natural resources• Education about sustainability and environment• Cultural sensitivity and protocols• Contributing to conservation locally, regionally, state,

nationally and globally

Creating your own Sustainable Story

• We have created a Sustainability Planning Guide for you (it’s a work in progress and your feedback is invited and valued)

• It has a 5 key components: 1. Scanning local landscapes

2. Describing your enterprise’s cultural core3. Creating and wording your overarching vision for sustainability4. Describing where you’re at now in your sustainability journey5. Setting out your sustainability pathway

• It’s designed as a guiding template and also has a real life example

Creating your own Sustainable Story

Let’s get down and get working on your sustainable story- Singly- In pairs- In small groups- From one organisation- A collaboration of organisations

Whatever works for you…

BSSB Toolkit of Resources and Links

This is an electronic tool designed to give you lots of ideas and links to resources and organisations. Use it at your leisure and add to it as you go.

We’ll email it to you and it’s also on the BSSB website: www.bssb.org.au

Where to from here?

It’s up to you where you go from here as an individual business and enterprise as the journey is yours. If you’d like to continue your BSSB involvement here are some options:

• Beaudesert Eco Expo 2009 – display, stand, speaker, sponsor• Mentoring Training and Leadership program – more intensive and

ongoing planning process• BSSB Network and Directory – what would you like to see developed?• Final whole of region workshop in December 2008 that brings

everyone together for networking and strategic thinking

Thank you for coming to these workshops – it’s been such a pleasure for Jan and I to meet and work with you…

“Rather than worry about critical mass,Our work is to foster critical connections”

Meg Wheatley