Episode 13 – Sharing solar PV energy across multiple strata dwellings
Solshare by Allume Energy is an option for sharing solar energy at strata groups. What are the planning and technical considerations?
Episode 12 – Multi-vehicle EV charging in strata groups and office carparks
Tesla option for EV charging, with solar power supplied by the Strata Corporation, but billed to individual users.
Public Tour of Christie Walk
2023 tours now open for booking The city can save the planet. – Dr Paul Downton – architect and co-founder of Christie Walk eco village According to UN Habitat, cities consume 78 per cent of the world’s energy and produce … Continued
Episode 11 – Innovative solar, storage and sharing
Solutions for apartments There’s a problem for people living in medium and high density apartments as they lift ambition for climate action: Apartment blocks have limited roof space per apartment for solar PV and limited options for sharing stored energy … Continued
Future proof your strata
An opportunity to hear from other strata owners and industry experts on how different energy and waste approaches could potentially provide cost savings or add value to your property.
Building sustainable communities
An online event – Sat 3rd Dec 2022 If you missed the event, you can watch the video here. Speakers from three different South Australian eco-villages: Aldinga Arts eco-village, Christie Walk in inner Adelaide and Millers Corner, Mt. Barker will … Continued
Above and below-ground transport
Planning for a bigger and more vibrant Adelaide You’re invited to a community meeting at the Minor Works Community Centre on 8th Sep 2022, 5:30pm to 7:30pm. (Minor Works Building, 22 Stamford Court, Adelaide – between Sturt and Wright Streets.)
Episode 10 – Time-shifting energy usage
Out of the blue, our electricity retailer replaced our electricity meter with a smart digital meter, enabling billing based on time-of-day usage. So would our Tesla Powerwalls enable us to optimise, to benefit both our billing and the grid?
Vale Effie Best
Vale Dr Effie Deland Best (1931-2022) A scientist, ecologist, and a supporter of the Peace Foundation, Effie was born in 1931 in Adelaide, South Australia. In 1954 she was awarded a Bachelor of Science with Honours and went on to … Continued
Ambassador – Carbon Neutral Adelaide
At tonight’s Carbon Neutral Adelaide Awards event, Christie Walk was made a Carbon Neutral Adelaide Ambassador, an honour given so far to only 3 others of the 200 Carbon Neutral Adelaide Partners. It was given in recognition of 3 decades … Continued
Come and visit Christie Walk
On Sustainable House Day – Sunday October 17th 2021, 10am to 4pm – come and visit Christie Walk. This unique urban community of 27 dwellings includes apartments, standalone strawbale houses, and townhouses. Sustainable design features include: passive solar design photovoltaic … Continued
Episode 9 – Battery storage – adding a second Tesla PowerWall
2021 – Battery options modelling In September 2020 we installed our first battery at Sturt Apartments, Christie Walk. You can read the story of our modelling, battery choices and lessons learned in Episode 7 – Battery storage – Tesla PowerWall 2 … Continued
Episode 8 – We need to talk about shower heads
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How sustainable is your daily shower? Most shower heads at Christie Walk are WELS 3 standard, running at about 9L/minute. They were the best that were readily available when construction of our eco-village was completed in 2006. Older shower heads … Continued
Episode 7 – Battery storage – Tesla Powerwall 2
2020 – Battery options modelling In the middle of all that work on evacuated tubes, we learned that change was imminent in the SA Government Home Battery Scheme. To qualify for the maximum $6k subsidy, applications had to be lodged … Continued
Episode 6 – More evacuated tube solar hot water boosters
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community 2020 This was the crisis year for so many people – bushfires, COVID, job losses – and it also happened to be the year of our most adventurous emissions-reduction planning, carrying out 2 major … Continued
Episode 5 – Finalist – Carbon Neutral Adelaide Awards
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community 2016 to 2019 – Carbon Neutral Adelaide Since 2016 we’d had regular contact with the Carbon Neutral Adelaide team, culminating in our carbon emission inventory for the 2017 year. I’d also attended the Carbon … Continued
Episode 4 – Major PV upgrade
2019 For years we’d been tossing around options for increasing our solar performance without losing our high feed-in tariff (56c/kWh) for the 4.8kW PVs that were installed when the Christie Walk community built the Sturt Apartments in 2006. But by … Continued
Episode 3 – Evacuated tube solar hot water boosters
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community May 2018 We started investigating the retrofit option for our hot water system: installing solar collectors as boosters to our existing heat pump hot water. One company stood out as a solid option: RunOnSun, … Continued
Episode 2 – Doing a carbon inventory
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community November 2017 I received an email inviting me to a meeting with the Carbon Neutral Adelaide team. They were scoping out a number of sites for selection as a possible “Carbon Neutral Showcase Site” … Continued
Episode 1 – In hot water again
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community April 2016 Our apartment building (Sturt Apartments at Christie Walk) was nearly ten years old. It was time to start thinking about sustainability upgrades to reduce our carbon footprint. Lighting was an easy place … Continued
Aiming beyond NetZero at Christie Walk
Adventures with an environment-conscious inner-urban community I’m fortunate to live at Christie Walk in Adelaide. It’s a community of 27 homes and gardens on 2,000m2. It was initiated by Urban Ecology Australia in 1999 as a demonstration project, to promote … Continued
Eco-city dreaming comes true
The facilitator – Jacqui Hunter of Hunter Gatherings – asked us to do some dream-work. That’s normally not so hard, but there we were, standing in an awkward-shaped T-allotment strewn with bits of broken glass and featuring some derelict out-buildings. … Continued
Placemaking utilising civic mapping by Sue Gilbey
This paper is effectively about the smart use of Social capital, bureaucratic organisations understand and use that term frequently. But many would argue that social capital and grass roots ownership of processes are far apart. What I am explaining here … Continued
Urban Ecology Australia Annual General Meeting
All members are welcome to the Urban Ecology Australia Annual General Meeting on Thursday 20th November 2014 at 7pm. Join us for drinks and nibbles in the Christie Walk Community Room.
Michael Mobbs on Sustainable Food Production
More than a decade ago, Michael Mobbs set out to convert his inner city townhouse in Sydney into a model of sustainability. In the intervening years, he’s opened his house to more than 19,000 visitors to demonstrate what’s possible in … Continued
An Influential Global Voice Warns of Runaway Emissions
Few international figures have been as consistent in warning about the threat posed by global warming as economist Fatih Birol, of the International Energy Agency. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Birol explains why the situation is worsening and … Continued
Urban Ecology September newsletter out now..
UEA’s September newsletter is out now. In this issue read about Jack Mundey’s visit to Christie Walk Waste Management at Christie Walk UEA’s Internship program kicks off with University of Adelaide students Adelaide City Councillor David Plumridge’s thoughts on Urban … Continued
Alex Steffen on the shareable future of cities
Alex Steffen: The shareable future of cities Alex Steffen, a long time climate change campaigner, journalist and founder of online magazine www.worldchanging.com recently gave an inspiring talk at www.ted.com which I wanted to share with you here. Steffen explains that … Continued
Is the Australian love affair with the quarter acre block over?
The great Australian dream is a quarter acre block in the suburbs with a hills hoist out the back and space for the kids to play outside. Or is it? The Grattan institute conducted a survey of more than 700 … Continued
Entering the Ecological Age
Peter Head, a Director at the engineering consulting firm ARUP is one of the world’s leaders in sustainable urban development. In his paper ‘Entering the ecological Age’ Peter Head sets out a vision for sustainable cities of the future. He … Continued
FoE’s Radioactive Exposure Tour, May 2011
Friends of the Earth is hosting the annual Radioactive Exposure Tour from May 19−29, 2011. Since the 1980s, these tours have exposed thousands of people first-hand to the realities of ‘radioactive racism’ and to the environmental impacts of the nuclear … Continued
Launch of the Christie Walk educational DVD/CD Resource Pack
UPDATE: The launch has now been booked out. Thanks so much for your interest! Urban Ecology Australia, in association with Change Media and Adelaide Mt Lofty Ranges NRM Board invite you to celebrate the launch of the Christie Walk educational … Continued