Sydney’s Total Environment Centre (TEC) has won the National Canon Environmental Grant for its ‘Cool Streets’ project in Chippendale, NSW promoting sustainable living in local communities.
The Canon Environmental Grants program is an annual award supporting five community projects across National, Regional, Grassroots and Youth categories. The winners receive $5000 worth of Canon imaging products of their choice to contribute to their projects.
TEC in association with Michael Mobbs’ ‘Sustainable House’ will use the grant of a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera to produce the film Cool Streets, documenting the installation of a modular, self-assembled pop-up community garden.
Ruth Hessey, Communications Manager of TEC, and writer director of the award winning TEC documentary, Waste Not said the Cool Streets project was designed to showcase the positive impact of cooling urban areas with indigenous vegetation, while increasing awareness about sustainable lifestyles.
‘The grant will allow us to film our experiment and show how the pop-up garden concept can help communities grow food, increase bio-diversity and absorb heat – as well as bringing the local community together,’ said Ms Hessey.
‘Eventually we want the project in Chippendale to generate its own solar power. Hopefully, Cool Streets turns out to be the first chapter in a movement that leads to taking a whole suburb off the grid,’ she said.
‘It was extremely hard for us to choose five winners. The passion and dedication put behind these projects is very inspiring. Canon is committed to supporting local community groups and this program gives us the opportunity to contribute to their success,” said Janet Leslie, Quality, Safety & Environment Manager, Canon Oceania.
The other four winning projects include: Small Farms Network (NSW); Conservation Volunteers Australia (NT/WA); Woppa-burra Land Trust TUMRA committee (QLD); and Stephen Fujiwara from University of Technology Sydney – Terrestrial Ecohydrology Research Group (NSW).
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