Michael Green

Writer and producer

The biggest catch

In Culture, Environment, The Big Issue on

Every year, fishermen and worshippers flood a faraway island in Bangladesh. Photographer Rodney Dekker went there to record traditions that may soon go under.

Most of the year, Dublar Char is nearly uninhabited. The remote island lies at the southern end of the Sundarbans, a vast tidal mangrove forest on the Bay of Bengal. Then, from mid-October to mid-February, thousands of fishermen sweep in from around Bangladesh. Hindu pilgrims come in their thousands too, for Rash Mela, an annual three-day festival with a 200-year history.

Last year, photographer Rodney Dekker joined the influx. “There were fishing boats everywhere. They are all connected and people walk over each boat to get to the land,” he says. The fishermen dry their catch on the broad beach, then bag and ship the fish to markets in the capital, Dhaka.

With the festival on, the island was vibrant. “There was dancing and singing, and people were worshipping clustered around a little temple,” Dekker says. “There was lots of energy and atmosphere.”

Situated in the fertile Ganges Delta, Bangladesh is one of the poorest, most densely populated and lowest-lying countries on earth. Exposed to rising sea levels, melting Himalayan glaciers and increased cyclone frequency, the country’s people are critically vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A Bangladeshi rights organisation, Equity and Justice Rights Group, estimates that 30 million people on the southern coastline are already facing its consequences.

That’s the reason for Dekker’s journey. “Dublar Island will be one of the first places in Bangladesh to be affected by sea level rise and this culture will be lost as a result,” he says.

The 34-year-old photographer is a former environmental scientist. In Australia, he has shot series on droughts, floods and bushfires. “My photographic interests come from my interest in environmental problems,” he says. “Part of what I’m trying to do is to show people what is happening in the world as a result of climate change.”

In November 2007, Dublar Island was lashed by Cyclone Sidr. Development organisation Save the Children estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people died in the storm. “It was the most severe cyclone on record in the Bay of Bengal,” Dekker says. “Cyclones are becoming more intense and frequent and the timing is different now. One of the fishermen I interviewed and photographed on Dublar Island was wondering why cyclones are coming in winter. He doesn’t know.”

The fisherman’s prospects aren’t good. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that 22 million people in Bangladesh will become climate refugees by 2050.

But it’s industrialised countries, including Australia, who are responsible for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions. “The poorer countries are the ones who will feel the effects [of climate change] the most, and we’re the cause of it,” Dekker says.

Rodney Dekker travelled to Bangladesh with the help of a grant from the SEARCH Foundation. You can view an eyewitness account of his journey on the Oxfam website.

Close encounters: why medium-density living is the way of the future

In Architecture and building, Environment, The Age on

With a fast-growing population, we need more homes on the block. Michael Green finds out what makes medium density housing work.

Melbourne’s got density on the mind. The state government’s high-profile plans, Melbourne 2030 and Melbourne @ 5 Million, both aim for a more compact city. And even though our suburban boundaries continue to spread, haphazard change is underway.

Medium density housing grew seven-fold in the decade following the 1990s recession, according to planning expert Michael Buxton, and it’s been booming ever since.

Medium density means more homes in less space. It means townhouses, units and flats, where each home is attached to the place next door. Traditional suburbs have about 8 to 15 dwellings per hectare, whereas medium density ranges from 20 to 80. High density – residential development above about four levels – is yet more again.

“People said we wouldn’t embrace apartment living, but we have,” says Dr Buxton, from RMIT’s Environment and Planning unit. “There’s no doubt that Melbourne will continue to intensify its development. The real issue is what form it will take.”

So when it comes to medium density housing, what separates the good, the bad and the inconvenient?

DESIGN

Clare McAllister, from McAllister Alcock Architects, says that with careful design, flats can offer comfort as well as convenience. “If you get it right, a compact dwelling can feel a lot more spacious than its footprint would suggest.”

Ms McAllister is the jury chair for the Australian Institute of Architects award for multi-residential development in Victoria. Among other criteria, the panel considers the level of ‘amenity’ each dwelling affords: “the things that improve the quality of day-to-day living,” she says.

Those things include adequate storage and well-resolved layouts. “You’ve got to look for plans that have no wasted space and no tortuous little access ways,” she says. The design should allow for privacy without inducing claustrophobia, and outdoor spaces must be usable.

Environmentally sustainable design has also become an important yardstick. Ms McAllister evaluates passive solar design techniques, such as good orientation (to catch sun in winter and block it out in summer) as well as insulation and cross-ventilation. “We look for projects where the developer has taken that extra step [in eco-design] without being forced by legislation,” Ms McAllister says.

The jury also mulls over what each development adds to the local community. In the inner city, that might mean cutting edge architecture, or in leafy suburbs, generous gardens. “Often, there’s a lot of angst when you put something new into a neighbourhood, but if it’s well-designed it can make a positive contribution,” Ms McAllister says. “Good medium density housing does give something back.”

PLANNING

Shrewd building design isn’t all that’s needed for urban consolidation to work. As with all real estate, location is crucial. In this case, according to Dr Buxton, it’s all about proximity to public transport. “Increasing density on sites far from public transport isn’t doing any good, because it just leads to increased car use.” Well-located developments also link into existing infrastructure such as schools, healthcare facilities and parks.

Dr Buxton says medium density development in the inner- and middle-ring suburbs is in demand for the access it gives to activities. “Its popularity is related to the perceived social advantages, where people can walk to public transport, shopping and cafes.”

But he says it’s not enough for developments to sponge off the existing range of activities in the area. “We should be aiming for a mix of uses – residential, as well as retail and other employment-generating uses – even in individual developments.”

Other planning measures, such as height limits on development, can improve environmental performance. Dr Buxton says that medium density homes cause the least CO2 emissions, thanks to their modest size, shared walls and low heating and cooling needs. In contrast, high-rise apartment buildings fare the worst. “They tend to be very poor performers, because of the glass construction. They also have lifts, and big foyers and other spaces that have to be heated.”

VALUE

Adrian Jones, President of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, says medium density units are popular with the younger generations and with retiring baby boomers. Despite the recession, interest remains strong. Mr Jones expects prices will continue to rise in the long term. “There’s keen demand for units because they’re more attractively priced. It’s a good entry-level way to get into the market.”

He says prices range from about $200,000 for a one-bedroom flat in a middle suburb, up to about $550,000 for a well-appointed two-bedroom apartment with a lock-up garage and small garden.

“People look for a little extra amenity space,” he says, “a pocket-handkerchief garden, or at least a balcony. They also want a garage or a car space. Anything without a car space is a disaster.”

Mr Jones says that while some buyers are wary of living too close to their neighbours and of the lack of soundproofing in newer apartments, higher density living is inevitable – and not only to curb urban sprawl. “As our younger generations get more money, a lot of them will want to live in apartments,” he says. “It gives them more flexibility: low maintenance is a great attraction.”

Close to shops, transport, icons

At 30 The Esplanade, architect Michael Bialek knew his firm, SJB Architects, had a unique design opportunity.

“The site occupies a prominent position in an iconic location,” he says. “It’s got some very different neighbours: The Palais and Luna Park opposite, and heritage terrace and the McDonalds car park [either side]. I think the building fits into that chaotic framework and breathes on its own. It pays homage to the things around it without deferring to copying them.”

The striking, voluptuous 12-apartment building won the 2009 South East Design award for outstanding medium density housing development and is nominated for the Australian Institute of Architects’ multiple housing award for Victoria.

The design includes rectangular, terrace-style apartments and curved, irregular residences, as well as a green, fishnet-patterned, glass façade. The penthouse roof gardens boast million-dollar views over the bay and beachside icons.

“We felt that the building should reflect the vibrant character of St Kilda – the interest in art and form-making,” Mr Bialek says. “The graphic [on the building] is a tongue-in-cheek recognition of the fishnets of the fishermen and of the hookers’ stockings.” 

As well as it’s sculptural form, the building has space for two restaurants at ground level. “Once they open, it will be in the European style where you walk past on the street and you won’t even realise what the building is,” Mr Bialek says.

Vegetable Power

In Community development, Environment, The Age on

Joining an organic produce co-op can get you not only cheaper and better vegies but an introduction to like-minded neighbours.

IT’S 7.30am on a Friday. A dozen people, mostly young mothers, crowd a corrugated-iron back garage in Footscray, sorting fruit and vegetables. They’re hunched over two long rows of waxed grocer’s boxes, sharing out lettuce, leeks, beans, beetroot and much more.

The Seddon Organic Collective is holding its first sorting day. The members, and their toddlers, are making friends. The SOC is made up of 25 local residents. From now on, every week, they’ll buy cheap organic produce from the Melbourne Wholesale Market on Footscray Road, split it up, and dine in on the benefits.

Ken Johnson, the clean-cut president, is puzzling over paperwork, trying to tally the boxes, the money and the orders. He believes organic produce is both healthier and better for the environment. “This is a way to access organic food more cheaply,” he says.

The key to cheap supply is bulk buying from the wholesale market, and for that, the group must be incorporated.

In less than 15 minutes all the boxes are sorted. Each is bursting with more than a dozen kinds of fruit and vegies. While Johnson keeps pondering his lists, the other members chat and sip tea.

Leah Avene is thrilled to be a part of the new co-op. “I’m from Tuvalu, in the Pacific. It’s sinking due to global warming so I made a decision a year ago to try to live more sustainably. The first thing that we did was go vegetarian and start eating organic.”

The 23-year-old journeyed to the wholesale market at 6am to buy the produce from the wholesalers, Biodynamic Marketing. “For $20, it’s amazing value. I used to get a seasonal box from a local place, which cost me $45 a week and it was probably a bit smaller.”Big savings aren’t the only plus. “There’s a real community buzz growing among us, which is really lovely,” she says. “When we established the group it wasn’t just about organic eating. We also wanted to build friendships with like-minded people.”

The Seddon group is following a model begun by the Western Organic Collective in 2001. The WOC, based in Footscray, usually has an extended waiting list.

Long-term member Nick Ray says the group formed out of a desire to buy good organic food cheaply and without too much trouble.

“The quality of the stuff is extreme. None of that wrinkled-up organic produce that some people say isn’t quite up to speed. It’s a feast.”

As well as the weekly veggie box, WOC members buy bread from Pure Bread and run quarterly bulk dry-goods purchases. They also meet socially for “Seasonal Celebrations”. “Once a quarter we have a meal together,” Ray says. “People bring food along, we share news and we often have a theme. We talked about food miles at the last one.”

By 8.15am contented SOC members are leaving the garage, lugging boxes for themselves and others for delivery. The co-op has only just begun and there are still some kinks to iron out — they made three boxes too many today. But already there’s someone on the waiting list. Cheap organic produce is in demand, says Johnson. “It would be great if this model could spread around the city.”

How does it work?

EVERY Friday morning, two people buy the fruit and vegies from the Melbourne Wholesale Market. They drop the produce off at a designated house, where four people sort it, then deliver a box to each house. Voila!

Every member must contribute to the running of the collective. The work is done by roster: sorters must help out for a couple of hours every four to six weeks. Other people take on committee roles or organise the money, rosters and buying.

“It’s not a system that would work for everyone,” warns Nick Ray, from the Western Organic Collective. “You can only forget (to show up) so many times before you’re blacklisted!”

From experience, the collective has found that about 25 members is the right number. Any higher and the quantity of food required becomes too large to manage.

To make sorting and delivery as easy as possible, it’s best if members live close to one another.

First published in The Age, Epicure

From blue to green

In Architecture and building, Environment, The Age on

First published in The Sunday Age, Domain

Eco-worries and generous rebates mean tradespeople are learning important new skills. But what does it mean for householders?

Victorian tradies are leading Australia’s green skills revolution, making up more than half the workers accredited under two leading national training schemes, Green Plumbers and EcoSmart Electricians.

 That puts the state on the front line of a huge practical transformation among Australia’s skilled workers. “Demand for the ‘green collar’ trades is quite extraordinary,” says Tony Arnel, Victoria’s Building and Plumbing Industry Commissioner and Green Building Council of Australia Chair. He estimates that in the last year alone, interest in sustainable plumbing has risen by about one-fifth.

 But this surge in interest doesn’t translate to easier decision-making for consumers. With so many eco choices and products, it’s hard to be sure you’re getting the right advice. Besides, what exactly does a ‘green’ tradie do differently? And what sort of training have they completed? 

Mr Arnel believes that tradespeople play a crucial role in translating sustainability issues into in-the-home solutions. Essentially, they can become environmental advocates. “Tradies are at the coalface. More than anybody else in the domestic sector, they’re in a position to influence the choice of consumers. They play a critical role.”

An expert green tradie will have thorough knowledge of the products available and the most efficient options for the client’s situation.

Plumbers and electricians, in particular, can help existing householders make the most immediate improvements. Their expertise relates directly to water and electricity efficiency, from rainwater tanks and low-flow toilets to solar power and low-energy lighting.

But sustainability is a factor in every household job. Bart Scheen is a manager in the Building Industry Training Centre at Holmesglen TAFE. He says that eco-training is a now a standard part of every apprenticeship course. “When students are working with products they really need to understand the impact of those products on the environment.”

According to Mr Scheen, that includes embodied energy (energy used in making the product) and the leftovers from the job. “There has been a common practice to calculate materials and allow for a 10 percent wastage,” he says. “What we’re trying to get into apprentices is that they have to take much more care in working out the quantities.”

The apprentices are proving enthusiastic about his message. Research group Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) surveyed young tradies last year and found that nearly 90 per cent of respondents were interested in green skills. “Unfortunately they’re being held back by older tradespeople,” says DSF’s Judy Turnbull. “They are really keen to provide green skills and knowledge to their clients but they’re not being encouraged to do so by their employers.”

In the long term, the attitudes of younger tradies will make for a fundamental shift in the building industry. In the meantime, although many established tradespeople aren’t convinced that the public is sufficiently interested in sustainability, others have taken the enviro-plunge and been well rewarded.

“Some ‘early adopters’ have decided it’s a point of difference to provide green painting or building or carpentry,” Ms Turnbull says. “They’ve seen the future and when they’ve added a green bunch of skills they find themselves in great demand.”

To help build eco-awareness among construction workers, DSF will soon launch a new website, Trade Secrets, where green tradies will be able to share their stories, tips and successes. To begin with, the organisation has posted over a dozen videos of different green tradespeople on YouTube.

The current training gap is also concern for the commissioner, Mr Arnel. “There needs to be a lot more work going into the training of tradespeople,” he says. “Also, from a consumer point of view, these green credentials need to be verifiable. If you pick up the phone book and you’ve got green electricians and green plumbers, what does that mean? I describe it as the ‘green veneer’ – basically anybody can use the term. Consumers need to know whether or not there is any substance in a person’s claim.”

He says that the industry training programs like GreenPlumbers, run by the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association, are a good start. “They saw sustainability in buildings becoming a major challenge and opportunity. Now we need to take the next step (in training) because we’ve got to think about the way all the trades operate.”

For plumbers, the next step will be the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre, which is under construction in Brunswick. The centre, jointly funded by the state government and industry bodies and unions, will offer extensive training across all aspects of sustainable plumbing. It scheduled to open next month.

While greenwash – or the green veneer – hasn’t become a severe problem in the construction industry, the state consumer watchdog, Consumer Affairs Victoria, has received over 10 complaints and about 45 enquiries about traders offering to install solar panels and water tanks.

Some dodgy tradespeople are spruiking door-to-door, then demanding large payments up front, while delaying installation. In some cases, the tradies also tried to increase the cost of solar power systems after consumers had signed the contracts. 

“The best way for consumers to protect themselves from itinerant tradespeople is to deal with reputable, registered businesses in their area,” says Consumer Affairs spokesperson Emma Neal.

As with any building work, consumers should ask lots of questions, check with the relevant industry association and do as much research as they can. No matter what your green issue is, there’s a wealth of information on the Internet. It’s also wise to take simple precautions. “Never pay for anything upfront in cash,” Ms Neal recommends. “Ask for a quote and a warranty in writing and ask to see references or ask friends or family if they’ve dealt with the company.” 

Plumbing the heights of a new industry

Warren Perrett’s team of Melbourne plumbers installed an average of three solar hot water systems a day last year. “It keeps them busy,” he says, smiling wryly as he sits in his Ferntree Gully office.  By the look of his desk, lined with rows of documents, it keeps him busy too.

Mr Perrett won the Green Plumber of the Year award from the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association last year.

In 2001, prompted by questions he’d had from a few clients, he took part in the association’s first eco-skills training course. It has transformed his business. “Eight years ago, (green plumbing) was just a thought in someone’s mind,” he says. Now, thanks to an extended drought, tough water restrictions and rising awareness of climate change, water efficiency has become a day-to-day concern for householders.

But with a dazzling array of water products and options, it can be hard for the average consumer to know where to begin.

Mr Perrett’s business, AquaBlock, is a licensed green plumber through the plumbers’ association – all its plumbers complete the association’s full accreditation program. The company offers home audits and pre-building advice, as well as all the usual services. “My job is to try and give the client every bit of information they need to make the right decision,” Mr Perrett says. “It may be slightly more expensive but the end result is going to be cost savings, whether it be water or power or gas.”

“If you’re designing your house, you’d be mad if you didn’t get a green plumber to advise you at the start, because you’ve got to know the pros and cons of what you’re discussing with the builder.”

While the economic downturn means that some people are delaying unnecessary spending, Mr Perrett hopes that extra government rebates and regulations will keep the green trades going strong.

As for his award, Mr Perrett says the Brownlow-style ceremony took him by surprise. “I was a bit flabbergasted, actually. It got shown on Channel Ten with the weather guy, and I looked a bit stunned.”

And though he’s glad that his team’s hard work has been recognised, when the time comes, he’ll be happy to hand over to the next winner. “It’s an acknowledgement that you’re doing the right thing. But at the end of the day, I only want to win it once,” Mr Perrett says. “I want to know that other people are doing it too.”

 

 

Rubbish to riches

In Environment, The Age on

First published in The Age

Tough economic times and eco-awareness are a perfect match. The time is ripe to build it, bake it or fix it. Michael Green reports.

 

SAMUEL Alexander is living the simple life. Last year, he built a rough shelter, two metres by three metres, in the backyard of a Melbourne home. Now he lives in it.

A self-confessed “bookish lawyer”, the 29-year-old doctoral student and building novice constructed his modest hut entirely from materials he found or bought from op shops. “If people put their minds to things like waste and reuse, whole avenues open up that aren’t on offer when you just go to the shop,” he says.

Hut-building might not be for everyone, but with economic doom and gloom here for the duration, what better time for recrafting old goods into new? Cutting your costs goes hammer-in-hand with DIY know-how.

Reuse isn’t only penny-pinching. It was a prominent theme at the recent Sustainable Living Festival, held in Federation Square, where more than 130,000 people showed up.

Speaker Paul Wildman has spent years studying and working with bush mechanics, calling them “our greatest national secret and treasure”. Dr Wildman says bush mechanics are fixers and tinkerers, people with practical skills that “provide joined-up solutions in complex situations”.

The tradition comes from both indigenous cultures and European settlers who had to solve their problems with whatever was available. “Bushies are into reuse, repair and refocus,” he says. Activities need not be limited to plumbing or machinery. It can also mean things like keeping chooks, building a bench or sewing a dress.

Dr Wildman laments that such “hand knowledge” is disappearing over successive generations, thanks to our apparent material plenty and too much focus on the academic side of education. Aside from losing skills, he says we’re also missing out on a way of learning that combines doing and thinking. “Einstein was a bush mechanic. There are half a dozen Nobel Prize winners who were hobby scientists.

“The best thing is for people to do something tonight with their hands. It might be cooking a meal, planting a window pot or fixing something with wire. But actually start bringing those practical things into their lives and celebrating it.”

Just as important, he argues, is sharing your newfound knowledge with family and friends, and encouraging kids to pursue hands-on learning. It’s all a crucial part of the bigger picture. “Reusing and repairing also links into saving the environment and (dealing with) the global economic problem.”

And the world’s current problems might be propelling bush skills back into the mainstream. At the University of Melbourne this summer, architecture students took Trash + Treasure, a one-month intensive course requiring them to transform waste into furniture. Using cast-offs such as scrap metal, soft drink bottles or old plastic garden pots, the students designed and built lights, seats, workbenches and shelters.

Co-ordinator Peter Raisbeck says the time is right for such an innovative course. “We’re focusing more and more on issues of sustainability and what we may need to do as architects in the future,” Dr Raisbeck says. “It’s very important (for the students) to think about these issues … it does get them to radically rethink our consumer culture, by engaging with waste and trash.”

The results were surprising for student Tim Cameron. The 22-year-old had to assess the waste produced by his own lifestyle. “It was shocking, seeing … all the different sorts of waste that you don’t really think about,” he says.

He was also surprised by the inventiveness of his classmates and the pleasure of putting his ideas into practice. “You get to the end of the day and you’re sweating and dirty from all the sawdust. I’ve learnt a lot. It’s got me thinking about how I’ll take on projects in the future.”

Such thrifty reuse of resources fits perfectly for Samuel Alexander, the lawyer-cum-hut builder. He has just edited a collection of writing about voluntary simplicity, the idea that very little is needed in order to live well. “Perhaps there are times when we get richer and it actually decreases our quality of life,” he suggests, citing stress and long working hours as evidence.

As economic troubles force us to reassess our spending habits, he argues that getting by with less can mean more time and energy to pursue what really inspires us.

“Abundance is a state of mind,” he says, “not a quantity of consumer goods.”

Reuse resources

Thanks to the Internet, there’s no need to wait for your dream hammock to materialise in the neighbour’s hard rubbish collection. The step-by-step instructions are all online and you can make it on the cheap.

Try US websites ReadyMade, Instructables or Crafting a Green World. You’ll find everything from reupholstering old dining chairs and repurposing derelict computers, to building Hungarian shelves and crafting a stylish clock using chopsticks and a paper plate.

www.readymade.com, www.instructables.com, www.craftingagreenworld.com

www.slf.org.au, www.simplicitycollective.com