Outcomes of Planning Meeting 2025
Key takeaways from our group's planning meeting on Sunday 19th January, 2025.
Here are some key takeaways from the group’s planning meeting on Sunday 19th January, 2025.
Combining Multiple Concerns into a Common purpose
We started by briefly sharing our major concerns as we plan our group’s direction for 2025. Everyone had a different focus. The main ones were:
inundation in the coastal suburbs with sea level rise including how it affects the sewerage systems.
Some homes in the area are already uninsurable, with many insurance companies refusing to cover.
In Newport, they are still taking away mangroves for housing development.
It was felt there were inconsistent messages about climate change and what developments were approved.
the build environment: why, where, and how we build where we do.
need more habitat and mangrove conservation.
need to protect biodiversity
need widespread electrification
encouraging people to make many small practical changes in their everyday lives.
how a car dependent culture is maintaining the status quo,
looming urban heat crisis and the urban heat island effect
poor communication between governments at all levels and the public.
That we came up with such a range of concerns in less than 15 minutes reflects the complex, interlinked problems we face. Culture change was mentioned several times. There was discussion about the difficulties with communication between government and the public.
Our Common Purpose
We are clearly not a single-issue group, nor a group where one person gets to decide and everyone follows. There is no formal structure. To hold such a group together, working in the same direction, we need a common purpose that is broad enough to encompass our diversity of views and concerns while specific enough to find and maintain a direction. That common purpose is what makes each of us continue to turn up and be part of this group.
Here is the suggestion for our shared purpose. This will be revisited regularly and can be adapted if necessary.
How might our communities be inspired to take action to prepare for many changes needed in the short and long term to manage the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, and in the process create a more sustainable future?
What might that future look like? What can we, as a community group, do to help this happen?
Looked at this way, the diversity of our ages, backgrounds, and interests is something that will enable us to combine our ideas and skills to come up with innovative and effective projects. We can’t solve complex problems with simple or linear solutions.
Our Network and Collaboration
Our network continues to grow and we will do many events in collaboration with
, , The Wendon Way Bushcare Group, and others. Together, we can do much more than any of us can do alone.What’s Next?
We agreed to sponsor a garden cart plus hoses and fittings for the Wendon Way Bushcare Group.
The Calendar is on our Substack and will be updated as we go https://acfcommunitybrisbanenorthside.substack.com/p/start-here-and-event-calendar
The core group will move to short monthly zoom meetings, supplemented by email as appropriate. No group business will take up time at open meetings.
Monthly meetings/events, open to all, at the library will be topic-based. For example, a presentation and discussion on a particular topic.
February 16th event topic will be on Urban Heat related to Extreme Heat Awareness Day on 5th February.
February 9th - the next Wendon Way Bushcare Working Bee. Several of us will be going.
We may resume casual coffees if the demand is there.
A more comprehensive version of this report is in the core team’s workspace.