Sustainable Living
We are all capable of making changes to respond positively to issues presented by climate change, to live more sustainably, and to reduce our impact on the environment we rely on for our health and wellbeing.
Below is a list of resources to help you identify actions you can take in your own home and community. Each action we take makes a difference.
To find out what City of Prospect is doing to reduce our environmental impact you can review our Environmental Action Plan 2018-2022. To see how we are working to reduce the impacts of climate change in our region through our partnership with Resilient East for a climate ready eastern Adelaide, visit the Resilient East website.
Resilient East is a regional climate initiative in eastern Adelaide. It is about making sure the eastern region remains a vibrant, desirable and productive place to live, work and visit, and that our businesses, communities and environments can respond positively to the challenges and opportunities presented by a changing climate.
City of Prospect is a proud partner of Resilient East, working together with our community to ensure our City is climate ready.
Resilient East has identified the vulnerabilities, risk and level of adaptive capacity across the eastern region and has developed a Climate Change Adaptation Plan and Action Plan with input from government, business and community organisations.
The Adaptation Plan offers a range of regional and local adaptation pathways, which can help communities, businesses and the natural environment adapt, thrive and prosper. The Action Plan sets out our priorities for the region over the coming years. It will help implement the Adaptation Plan, and guide the actions we will take together to ensure regional benefits.
Who is involved?
Our partnership includes Campbelltown City Council, the Cities of Adelaide, Burnside, Norwood Payneham and St Peters, Prospect, Tea Tree Gully, Unley, the Town of Walkerville, Green Adelaide and the Government of South Australia.
Resilient East regularly works with people, agencies and organisations from all levels of government, NGOs, community groups, individuals and the private sector.
Our goals
Our goal is to improve the resilience of communities, assets and infrastructure, local economies and natural environments so our region can cope with the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
Resilient East aims to:
- build the adaptive capacity of our community;
- create meaningful action;
- overcome barriers to adaptation;
- facilitate opportunities;
- support practical and relevant adaptation measures; and
- improve collaborative approaches, including sharing knowledge and experience, and, reducing risks and costs associated with climate change and adaptation initiatives
Please click on other initiatives as provided in the content below:
Climate change is emerging as a vital issue for our community, with recent scientific research observations showing that societies and ecosystems are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change.
Identified impacts for eastern Adelaide include:
- More frequent, long-running and intense heatwaves. The number of days over 40oC is projected to double by 2050. The frequency and duration of heatwaves is projected to increase.
- Less rain overall but more intense storms and flooding. Average rainfall is projected to decrease by 2050. The greatest decline is projected for Spring rainfall. In addition, the intensity of heavy rainfall events is projected to increase by at least 10% by 2050.
- More frequent and extreme fire danger days. The number of extreme fire risk days is projected to increase by 200% in 2090.
- Increasing temperatures. Average temperatures are projected to increase across all seasons by between 1.5oC and 2.0oC by 2050.
Resources:
- How hot is your house and street? View our Urban Heat Maps
- Climate Ready Communities: A guide to getting started (Red Cross)
- 52 Climate Actions
- Looking after yourself, family and friends during a heatwave, tips and information from SA Health
- Heatwave Forecast Service, Bureau of Meteorology
Reducing your waste is one of the biggest things you can do to live more sustainably. You can reduce waste by: making less waste in the first place, reusing things or recycling. All of these things help to keep waste out of landfill. Remember, if you can’t reuse your waste, it’s important to get rid of it in the right way.
Resources:
- Visit our Waste Disposal and Recycling pages for information about our kerbside collection program.
- Planet Ark’s Australasian Recycling Label
- Share Waste – Give your organic waste a second change
- Eco Bums Cloth Nappy Library
- Electronic Recycling Australia’s Unplug n’ Drop eWaste recycling.
Sourcing local, sustainably-grown meats and in season produce is great for our health and wellbeing. Growing your own or buying from local producers can reduce your carbon footprint. It also means it’s easier to get fresh food, and helps our local economy.
Resources:
Establishing a natural habitat garden is a great way to support our unique plants and animals. Many local plants are great choices for landscaping and can be used in any style of garden. Wildlife friendly gardens provide stepping stones for native birds and other animals to move safely across our highly urbanised landscape.
Resources for creating native gardens:
- Adelaide Gardens – a planting guide
- Creating a wildlife friendly garden booklet
- Native Plant Selector, produced by Landscape SA
- Botanic Gardens of South Australia’s Plant Selector
- List of native plant nurseries in Adelaide and beyond
- Information on planting on verges in the City of Prospect
Resources for native animals:
- Fact sheets on creating wildlife habitat for individual species
- Butterflies and moths: Butterfly Conservation SA’s website has ID charts and other information. They also publish two books – Attracting butterflies to your garden, what to grow and conserve in the Adelaide region and Caterpillars, Moths and their plants – both of which can be borrowed through the SA Libraries Network. They feature photos of the butterflies/moths as well as photos of what they look like as caterpillars.
- Frogs: Frogwatch SA is a citizen science project to track frog locations in South Australia. Visit their website or download the app to learn more about our local frogs and listen to their calls.
- Birds: Birds SA is a good place to start and the Aussie Backyard Bird Count run by Birdlife Australia has produced an app that can be used year-round and has a useful bird ID tool to help you identify what birds are in your garden.
- Other animals: the SA Museum’s app ‘Field Guide to South Australian Fauna’ is available for free from the Apple or GooglePlay
Capturing rainwater to reuse inside and outside your home and reducing the amount of water you use in your house and garden are some of the simplest ways to reduce your impact on the earth.
Resources:
- SA Water’s Guide to using water efficiently in your home
- Using water in your garden – tips from SA Water
- Rainwater tanks - choosing the right size tank to your home
- Rainwater harvesting: keeping it clean – Renew Magazine
- Raingardens - how to build and a guide to plant selection and placement
- Reducing hard surfaces outside the home - tips, information and links
- Water Section from Your Home, Australia’s Guide to environmentally sustainable homes
Save money and help the environment by using energy sustainably around your home.
Resources:
- Jon Dee’s 10 Step Guide to Reducing Your Energy Bills
- Free energy advice – the Energy Advisory Service
- Negotiate a better energy deal – Energy Made Easy website
- Prospect Library has Home Energy Toolkits available to borrow. The toolkits contain easy-to-use devices to help you find out how energy is used in your home and what you can do to make savings.
Sustainable design includes optimising solar access, maximising energy efficiency, conserving water and choosing environmentally friendly building products. Building or retrofitting a home using sustainable design principles can save energy, water and money – while remaining comfortable all year round.
Resources:
- Adelaide Sustainable Building Network is a great local resource for sustainable building ideas and contacts.
- Sustainable House Open Day, an annual event that allows you to visit sustainable homes and learn from the people who designed them, built them and live in them.
- InSite Water Tool - design solutions to manage stormwater runoff on small-scale development sites
- Your Home, Australia’s guide to environmentally sustainable homes
- Renters Guide to Sustainable Living
Transport accounts for 37% of the community’s carbon emissions in the City of Prospect. As you upgrade your vehicles, consider purchasing a hybrid or electric car. Replacing short car trips by cycling or walking instead is better for the environment and better for you.
Resources:
- Explore Prospect by foot, taking in our public art
- Walking inspiration from Walking SA
- Heart Foundation Walking – create a personal walking plan or connect to a local walking group
- Explore Prospect by bike using our 2 cycling maps. The two maps take the cyclist (novice to the experienced) along a journey of local history, public art, and recreational opportunities within the City.
- Find safe riding routes on Cycle Instead
- Cyclist Road Rules and Safety
- Way2Go Bike Ed – bicycle education program for primary school students
- Australian Electric Vehicle Association South Australia Branch
- Electric Vehicle Council’s Recharge Station Map
- State Government’s Electric Vehicle Action Plan