Talina Edwards Architecture is a Ballarat-based studio, with a passion for sustainable design, green buildings and healthy homes. We like to help answer your questions, so if you have a query please let us know!
We’ve recently added a “Resources” page to our website, as we often find that we’re recommending links or websites to people for further information. This information will be a permanent page which will be regularly updated. But we wanted to share the news with you first, that it is now live. If you have any additional resources to add – please let us know!
There is so much information out there on green buildings, sustainable living and healthy homes, that it can be overwhelming to know where to start!
We’ve compiled this list of resources to help you, and we’ll continue to update it. Hope you’ll find it useful.
BALLARAT RESOURCES:
Smart Living Centre Ballarat: http://smartlivingballarat.org.au
BREAZE (Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions): http://breaze.org.au
Ballarat Permaculture Guild: ballaratpermacultureguild.org/
Ballarat Environment Network: http://ben.org.au
Ballarat Climate Action 2014: http://ballaratclimateaction2014.blogspot.com.au
Ballarat Green Drinks events: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ballarat-Green-Drinks
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING/ARCHITECTURE REFERENCE BOOKS:
“Your Home” Technical Manual (+free online site): http://www.yourhome.gov.au/index.html
“Sustainable House” by Michael Mobbs http://www.sustainablehouse.com.au
“Warm House, Cool House: Inspirational Designs for Low-Energy Housing” (second edition) by Nick Hollo http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6869.htm
“Grand Designs Australian Handbook” by Peter Maddison https://shop.abc.net.au/products/grand-designs-aust-handbook-pb
“Cradle to Cradle” by Michael Braungart and William McDonaugh http://www.cradletocradle.com
“Greeniology” by Tanya Ha: http://www.tanyaha.com/greeniology.html
MAGAZINES (PRINT & ONLINE):
Green Magazine: http://greenmagazine.com.au/
Sanctuary Magazine: http://www.sanctuarymagazine.org.au/
ReNew Magazine: http://renew.org.au
Owner Builder Magazine: http://www.theownerbuilder.com.au
Pip Permaculture Magazine: https://www.pipmagazine.com.au
GREEN BUILDING WEBSITES – INSPIRATION & IDEAS:
Inhabitat, Design Will Save The World: http://inhabitat.com
Ecological Homes: http://www.ecologicalhomes.com.au/
Sustainable Design Forum: http://www.sustainabledesignforum.com/
Sustainable House Tours: www.sustainablehouseday.com (Second weekend of September each year).
Your Future Home: www.yourfuturehome.com.au
Home style Green: (NZ-based podcast about living in a healthy and sustainable environment, with international content) http://homestylegreen.com
GENERAL SUSTAINABLE LIVING:
Living Greener: http://www.livinggreener.gov.au
Sustainability Victoria: http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
Liveability (Live the way you want, sustainably): http://www.liveability.com.au
“GREEN” Wikipedia http://www.greenlivingpedia.org/Greenlivingpedia
Sustainable Living Festival (Sustainable Living Foundation Australia) http://www.slfestival.org
Sustainable Living Guide: http://sustainablelivingguide.com.au
One Million Women: http://www.1millionwomen.com.au This is a national campaign to inspire 1 million Australian women to take practical action on climate change by cutting 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse pollutant causing global warming. Every woman who joins has a personal goal to cut 1 tonne of CO2 from their daily lives within a year of joining the campaign.
WATER EFFICIENCY:
Save Water: http://www.savewater.com.au
Rainwater Tank Calculations (free online tool): http://tankulator.ata.org.au
Water Efficient Products: www.waterrating.gov.au
CHOICE (independent publisher of consumer information) www.choice.com.au (Generally considers water efficiency in reports and product/appliance rankings)
Saving Water (Dept of Environment and Primary Industries) http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/water/saving-water
Central Highlands Water (Building and Renovating, Sewer location): http://www.chw.net.au/business/building-and-renovating
Central Highlands Water (Building over easement): http://www.chw.net.au/development/build-over-easements
For solar hot water info, see “RENEWABLE ENERGY” category below
SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL SELECTION:
EcoSpecifier (Certified and verified sustainable products database): www.ecospecifier.org
Good Environmental Choice Australia: http://www.geca.org.au/
Forest Stewardship Council Australia: http://www.fscaustralia.org/
Forest Stewardship Council International: http://www.fsc.org/en/
Good Wood Guide: www.goodwoodguide.org.au
EcoBuy (Sustainable procurement advice and support): www.ecobuy.org.au
Greenlist guide (Moreland City Council): www.sustainablesteps.com.au/pdf/Moreland Greenlist 050905v2.0.pdf
Window Energy Rating Scheme (Window Efficiency Rankings): www.wers.net
APPLIANCES (ENERGY EFFICIENT):
Energy Labelling (Appliances) Energy Rating http://www.energyrating.gov.au/
CHOICE (independent publisher of consumer information) www.choice.com.au (Generally considers energy efficiency in reports and product/appliance rankings)
RENEWABLE ENERGY / SOLAR HOT WATER:
Alternative Technology Association: http://www.ata.org.au
Green-Power Government Accredited Renewable Energy http://www.greenpower.gov.au
Office of the Renewable Energy Target (and rebate info for solar electricity and solar hot water) http://www.orer.gov.au/
Solar Hot Water Rebate http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/1378-applying-for-a-solar-hot-water-rebate.asp?intSiteID=4
Solar Hot Water Rebate: www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/1376-solar-hot-water-rebate.asp
BREAZE Energy Solutions: http://breaze.org.au/about-bes
ONLINE CALCULATORS:
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
WWF Australia’s Ecological Footprint Calculator (for individuals): http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/people_and_the_environment/human_footprint/footprint_calculator/
Global footprint network calculator: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/gfn/page/calculators
Carbon neutral carbon calculator: http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/carbon-calculator.html
Centre for Sustainable Economy Ecological Footprint Quiz: http://www.myfootprint.org/
WATER FOOTPRINT
Water footprint calculator: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/YourWaterFootprint
LED LIGHTING CALCULATOR
LED lighting calculator: http://www.ledlightingcalculator.com.au
R-VALUE (INSULATION) CALCULATOR
R-Value Calculator http://rvalue.com.au
WATER TANK CALCULATOR
Rainwater Tank Calculations (free online tool): http://tankulator.ata.org.au
GREEN ROOFS (LIVING ROOFS):
Growing Green Guide: A guide to green roofs, walls and facades in Melbourne and Victoria (free download) http://www.growinggreenguide.org
SUSTAINABLE GARDENING/PERMACULTURE:
Sustainable Gardening Australia: www.sgaonline.org.au
Ballarat Permaculture Guild: http://www.ballaratpermacultureguild.org
Permablitz Ballarat: http://www.permablitz.net/regional-groups/25-permablitz-ballarat-part-of-ballarat-permaculture-guild
Permaculture Australia: http://permacultureaustralia.org.au
Holmgren Design, Permaculture vision and innovation: http://holmgren.com.au
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT:
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Public Transport Victoria: http://ptv.vic.gov.au
BICYCLES
Bicycle Network: https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au
Bicycle Route Maps: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Moreinfoandservices/Bicycles/BicycleMaps/
CAR-SHARE (Melbourne only at this stage – doesn’t seem to be any in Ballarat yet)
Green Car Share: http://www.greensharecar.com.au
Flexicar: http://www.flexicar.com.au
Goget: http://www.goget.com.au
MORE EFFICIENT CARS
Fuel Efficient Cars: http://www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au/
CARBON OFFSET PROGRAMS:
Fifteen Trees (Ballarat-based Tree Planting business): www.fifteentrees.com.au
Greenfleet carbon-offsetting: www.greenfleet.com.au
Climate Friendly carbom-offsetting: www.climatefriendly.com
GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL / CHARITIES / NGO LINKS:
Climate Council: www.climatecouncil.org.au
Climate Action Network Australia: http://www.cana.net.au/
Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.com.au
Australian Conservation Foundation: www.acfonline.org.au
Oxfam Australia: www.oxfam.org.au
Friends Of The Earth: www.foe.org.au
Australian marine conservation society: www.amcs.org.au
Sea Shepherd Australia: http://www.seashepherd.org.au
Amnesty International: www.amnestyinternational.com
Get Up: www.getup.org.au
SUSTAINABILITY & KIDS:
Eco cubby: http://www.eco-cubby.com
“Green Stuff For Kids”, book by Tanya Ha: http://www.tanyaha.com/green-stuff-for-kids.html
USEFUL LINKS FOR YOUR PROJECT:
Climatic Data for your area: www.bom.gov.au/climate/data
DEPI Land Title Register: http://www.land.vic.gov.au
Victoria’s Planning Schemes Online: http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes
“Working with your architect” brochure: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.arbv.vic.gov.au/resource/collection/68DFC359-BAC9-4473-8A61-3AEBA966E77F/Working_With_Your_Architect_Brochure.pdf
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We’ll aim to answer more questions about sustainable design, green buildings and healthy homes, also with reference to our local climate (Regional Ballarat area in central Victoria and Melbourne) in future posts. Don’t forget you can sign up to receive our monthly news (over there on the top right-hand side of this page) so you won’t miss out on our posts!
