Qld councils emphasise initiatives to celebrate Local Government Week 2009
With the theme ‘Switched on Councils –Powering Queensland Communities into Sustainability’, a significant number of Queensland councils participated in Local Government Week 2009, which ran from 1 to 7 June.
Informative activities and entertaining events were held throughout the many communities, promoting a greater awareness and understanding of councils’ roles and responsibilities in relation to driving sustainable education and practices within our local communities.
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) President, Councillor Paul Bell, said Queensland communities have been hit with flood, droughts and cyclones, in what has been described as one of the worst years for natural disasters in Queensland. It is no coincidence that we are warned of the effects of global warming and the incidence of these natural disasters keeps increasing.
“Queensland communities are very aware of the effects of climate change as we have a strong coastal profile and strong reliance on agriculture, mining and farming industries; so we are very aware and have been extremely conscious of introducing practices which support the reduction of greenhouse emissions and reducing our overall impact on our communities,” Councillor Bell said. “During Local Government Week councils throughout Queensland embraced the opportunity to showcase their commitments to managing water, energy, parks and wildlife and pollution levels, to name a few, and expressed the importance of community participation in sustaining water supplies for the future.”
To celebrate the week and increase awareness of our contribution to preserving our environment, many councils organised various events throughout the State. Gladstone kicked off Local Government Week with its EcoFestival, Mackay Regional Council held a Go Green Primary School Challenge, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council hosted a grand opening of its Materials Recovery Facility.
Local Government Week 2009 also ran a successful Statewide colouring competition for primary school students from Prep to Year 3, a poster competition for Year 4 to Year 7 and a logo competition for 2010 Local Government Week for high school students.
“We received over 1,000 entries in the poster competition alone and the maturity of these children astound me,” Councillor Bell said. “Pictures depict the finest detail of sustainable initiatives already implemented in our communities, such as water tanks, solar systems, energy saving, and recycling.”
Visit www.lgw.lgaq.asn.au to view councils’ week events for 2009. Local Government Week 2009 is coordinated by LGAQ and is sponsored by Freedom Fuels, the Department of Environment and Resource Management, Ergon Energy, Local Government Infrastructure Services (LGIS), Dial Before You Dig, and Local Government FOCUS.
Local Government Week launched in Brisbane
Queensland Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Desley Boyle, officially launched Local Government Week on 2 June at Queen Street Mall, Brisbane.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman hosted the launch which was attended by major sponsors Department of Environment and Resource Management, Freedom Fuels, LGIS, Ergon Energy and Dial Before You Dig.
State winners of the Local Government Week Competitions were awarded their prizes, with an extra bonus for the Heslin family, who also received a $50 fuel voucher from their local fuel supplier, Freedom Fuels.
Students demonstrate how switched on they really are…
Over 3,000 students entered the Local Government Week competitions run from 1 to 7 June this year. While the theme this year was ‘Switched on Councils – Powering Queensland Communities into Sustainability’, the children of Queensland demonstrated how switched on they really were with their entries.
Enya Liddy from Kelvin Grove Primary College Junior School was the winner of the Prep to Year 3 colouring competition. Enya attended the launch of Local Government Week supported not only by her teacher but also her brother, parents and grandparents.
The poster competition was the hardest of all competitions for the judges and Ed Genis’ fine attention to detail ended up winning the major prize. Ed drew a picture of a solar system on the roof of a house and displayed a water tank and a computer turned off in the house; the watering of the garden was done towards evening and the carpooling car was a Green Car. A great effort by Ed, who came all the way from Murgon with his parents to claim his prize.
For the first year, the LGAQ ran a logo competition for high school students. Terry Heslin was the winner, with a great logo drawn freehand for Local Government Week 2010 theme, ‘Building Communities’. The Heslin family is no stranger to the Local Government Week competitions, as Terry and his sister Kayla have received prizes for the last three years. The Heslin family joined Terry at the launch of Local Government Week all the way from Allora. A runnerup prize was given to Haylee Blair from Beerwah State School.
Prizes for environmental art
An artwork masterpiece from Andergrove State School has captured the eye of judges to win the 2009 Mackay Regional Council Go Green Primary School Challenge as part of Local Government Week celebrations. The competition asked classrooms to make a unique and creative piece of art out of recyclable materials, take a photo of it, fill out the online entry form on Council’s website and upload a photo of their entry.
Class 3A from Andergrove State School created a masterpiece titled ‘From the Rainforest to the Reef’ which included a life size papier mâché diver.
Judge Councillor Karen May praised the students for their imagination and creativity.
The students receive $500 in vouchers from Harvey Norman Computers and Sportspower, as well as an exciting morning of environmental and educational activities hosted by Council at the school.
In second place, Alligator Creek State School Preparatory class will receive a Canon All-in-One printer (valued at $300) from Harvey Norman Computers and a $150 voucher from Sportspower for its ‘Dinosaur’ creation.
Judges could not let Class 6B from Andergrove State School’s artwork go unnoticed, opting to give the class a Highly Commended award and a $100 Sportspower voucher.
“The entries were of such high quality and all schools should be proud of their work,” said Councillor May. “Mackay Regional Council is delighted with the response from schools and their participation in the competition for Local Government Week.”
In conjunction with the Go Green School Challenge, many schools also participated in the Department of Environment and Resource Management colouring competition for Local Government Week 2009.
LGAQ climate change responses
