Achievements so far

Bushcare Training Workshop Bushcare Training workshop

Smart Transport Show Smart Transport Show

Through the e.restore levy, Council has achieved:

  • Protected biodiversity by improving the quality of the bushland reserves at 280 sites and planting 48 000 locally native plants.
  • Helped 49 community groups and 300 volunteers to work in parks and bushland areas.
  • Restored creeks and reduced stormwater impacts to bushland due to the construction of 35 stormwater outlets and by preventing 234 tonnes of rubbish from gross pollutant traps from entering our creeks.
  • Increased community involvement in environmental initiatives such as ‘Sustainability Street’ (projects such as the community garden and sustainability workshops) involving more than 100 volunteers and more than 1 000 participants.
  • Increased environmental education with schools and other community groups, where almost 8 000 school children participated in Council environmental education programs. Council also ran an environmental grant project for schools.
  • Brought sustainability education to more than 4 000 culturally and linguistically diverse people.
  • Monitored the environmental health of our air (station at Mowbray Rd School) and water (through regular testing of six local creeks).
  • Developed industry based ‘cleaner production’ programs and audits with the printing, automotive services and dry cleaning industries (312 businesses improved).
  • Made water savings of 60 million litres (30 Olympic swimming pools) and have developed a Water Savings Action Plan.
  • Organised a ‘cogeneration’ energy system (produces electricity from gas plus heats the pool water) to come online in 2008 at the Willoughby Leisure Centre.
  • Held the Smart Transport Show in Chatswood Mall in 2006 to support new ideas in sustainable transport.
  • Started the Council Cab service to help reduce reliance on private car trips.
  • Reduced Council’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1 385 tonnes (equivalent to taking 460 cars off the road).
  • Supported the Go Get Car sharing scheme in Chatswood.
  • Turned attention to environmental issues by combining the environment and arts in the ‘Environment in Focus’ photo competition and the award-winning ‘Creek Art’ event.
  • Organised (along with Rotary) the free screening for more than 2 500 people of the climate change documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.