Built Environment and Gardens
This award acknowledges the role of design and construction in achieving a long-term sustainable water system. It focuses on completed building developments and gardens (either residential or commercial) that have incorporated water saving features and are achieving water savings. Typically entrants in this category would include property developers, architects, builders, carpenters, owner builders or renovators, landscapers, plant growers, wholesalers and retailers.
Congratulations to our winner, Jerry Coleby-Williams
WINNER – Jerry Coleby-Williams
Century-old timber Queensland home ‘Bellis’ has been retrofitted with sustainability front of mind. Jerry Coleby-Williams has become a suburban pioneer after overhauling his home to minimise its impact on the natural world; incorporating home food production, reducing domestic water use, sewage and storm water pollution and greenhouse gas production. In the period between May 2008 and May 2009, ‘Bellis’ used only 27,000 litres of water, significantly less than that consumed by the average Brisbane home. The site has no hard surfaces, with the driveway and paths porous to capture storm water, generates zero sewage and when many properties around the area were flooded in May 2009, ‘Bellis’ captured almost all of the rain, assisting flood mitigation. Amazingly, since being planted in September 2004 and watered six times to establish, the ornamental front garden hasn’t been watered since. The water wise productive back garden feeds three people using just 350 litres of recycled water per day. To further showcase and communicate the environmental advantages of a sustainable lifestyle at ‘Bellis’, open days are held and its owners regularly give lectures and workshops through the Australian Open Garden Scheme, Greening Australia and many other events including the ABC Gardening Australia Expos. The house is also frequently featured on television and radio segments across Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, with Jerry Coleby-Williams, one of ‘Bellis’ founders, a Queensland presenter on the ABC’s Gardening Australia television program. An interactive blog and website has been created to demonstrate the measures taken around the home and garden to adapt to the Queensland climate. |
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FINALIST – Dugine Native Plant Nursery
Dugine Native Plant Nursery, a small Queensland nursery with only four staff, has proactively addressed the need to preserve potable water and by implementing various initiatives, has reduced its consumption by 100%. With support from the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland (NGIQ) and Department of Primary Industries (DPI), the nursery aimed at becoming as water wise and environmentally friendly as possible. Eight rainwater tanks were installed and connected to feed the nursery irrigation shed and manager’s house. Previously, the nursery relied on delivered potable water and blended it with bore water, but after the installation of the rainwater tanks, potable water is not needed. The nursery now uses a combination of bore and rain water to irrigate To further improve the water efficiency of the nursery, sprinkler heads have been updated, cistern weights installed and the sinks have been connected to bore water to reduce the amount of tank water used. Dugine’s are also constructing a wetland and sediment trap where all their waste water will go before exiting the property. In conjunction with the NGIQ, Dugine actively promote their nursery as an environmentally friendly nursery and hold workshops for other growers to see the benefits of undertaking such initiatives. |
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