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WEED CONTROL WITHOUT CHEMICALS
THE BEC:
OUR QUARTERLY JOURNAL ONLINE
CAPE BYRON MARINE PARK
INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
JOIN THE BEC
LINKS TO OTHER USEFUL SITES
BEC ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04
Who we are
The
Byron Environment Centre (BEC) is an incorporated body that has continuously
operated as environmental information and resource provider in Byron Shire
since 1989.
It serves as a contact point and meeting place
and gives technical and campaign support to other groups in the area.
Because of Byron's natural beauty, the region is under constant threat
from developers and other commercial interests.
The continuing presence
of the BEC ensures that the environmental values of the area are not forgotten.
For example we are trustees of a segment of the Cumbebin
Wetland Sanctuary just behind the Byron Market site. Rehabilitating
and caring for this wetland remnant is one of the highlights of being
involved with the BEC.
Our aims and objectives
To promote a recognition that all life forms are interconnected;
To create non-sexist forms of organisation and decision-making which are non-competitive, non-hierarchical and reflect a ‘new democracy’ which is process orientated (consultative), co-operative and empowering of all participants;
To promote and support the healing and conservation of the environment along sound ecological guidelines;
To further public awareness and community conscience of environmental issues of local, national and international significance;
To carry out surveys and research in furtherance of the Centre’s objectives;
To print, publish or disseminate any information newspaper, periodical, books or leaflets for the promotion of the Centre’s objectives;
To subscribe to, become a member or co-operate with, establish or support other associations with similar aims and objectives;
To promote and support (objective and) rational initiatives and proposed developments which are able to co-exist with and are sensitive to the natural environment;
To apply, take up and accept grants, subsidies, donations, and gifts of money and all types of property;
To make donations for charitable or socially or environmentally useful purposes;
To acknowledge and support the role that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have played and continue to play as custodians of the land;
To promote and support gender equity, racial equality, non-materialistic and peaceful settlement of disputes, egalitarianism, preservation of diversity and basic ecological systems, conservation of natural resources in the Byron District and elsewhere;
To promote an empathy with nature and all life forms and an understanding of the interconnectedness of all life processes as an essential element in the process of social transformation. Incorporating an ecologically sustainable vision which recognises these principles in relation to the natural environment and their worth, seven generations hence.
The Activities
of the BEC
Projects:
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Binyabutt pocket ashtrays
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Cumbebin Wetland Sanctuary
Fundraising:
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Raffle for funding further projects at the Wetland Sanctuary Wetland Art Exhibition
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Environmental film nights
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Regular market stall at Byron Market.
BEC has Representatives
working on:
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Yelgun festival site proposal
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Low cost housing
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Solid and liquid waste management
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Arakwal native title
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Planning and submissions on strategic planning policy
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Highway Coalition
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Northern Rivers community partnership
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Sandhills Estate
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Local Exchange Trading System
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BEC Volunteer coordination
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Belongil Estuary
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Monitoring of bat nest boxes to reduce mosquitoes
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Stormwater - Binyabutts
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Bush Regeneration
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Wetland Sanctuary Boardwalk
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Water management
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Sewage issues
Grants application for:
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Administration and Wetland Sanctuary Boardwalk
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Wetland Educational tours
We currently
occupy two spaces
The Kiosk
in Railway Park is our public face in Byron Bay and Binyabutt HQ.
Our Campaign office, resource centre, and library is located upstairs in the Santos Building, Mullumbimby main street.
Railway Park Kiosk
The
Byron Environment Centre
information kiosk in Railway park provides a space for local groups who need a public contact and meeting
point. The space is also HQ for the Binyabutt project.
The original
structure was provided by The East Coast Blues
and Roots Festival, at the behest of longtime Byron resident Paul McCarthy,
and their input into this community facility is gratefully acknowledged.
Also gratefully acknowledged are Danza Vidler, loving Arakwal artist
of the Kiosk murals and the BEC volunteers who built the panels.
The Byron Environment Centre manages the renovated facility on behalf of the community, as a community facility for community activities only. The following is the [draft] interim management plan under which the kiosk operates:
Governing
Ethics
The kiosk is provided as a community resource, to be occupied by BEC
and/or any other community group volunteers who wish to conduct community
activities (defined below).
The kiosk is owned by the community of Byron Shire. It is not to be used for personal or corporate profit by any group (including the BEC), but may be used for community fundraising purposes.
Proposed
Community Activities
The kiosk is suitable for the following types of activities:
-
Environmental and social education campaigns (e.g. water-reduction and stormwater-improvement education). Dissemination of information through personal presence and permanent notice-board.
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Fundraising for community activities, by any bona fide (nonprofit, non-religious and nonpolitical) community group. It is not intended that any group should conduct constant or long-term fundraising at the Kiosk.
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Encouragement and cultivation of Railway Park Arts Scene, including buskers and performance arts.
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Community Access
Any bona
fide independent community group, i.e. one based in Byron Shire and
operating on a non-profit, non-religious and non-political basis, can use
the Kiosk for dispensing (or 
collecting) information for the community,
fundraising for community purposes or performance arts.
There will be
no charge for use of the Kiosk by community groups, but all groups are
asked to keep the Kiosk neat and tidy, and may be asked to contribute
to maintenance costs if thisbecomes necessary.
To avoid
misuse and/or conflicts between group operations at the Community Kiosk,
the BEC will manage the kiosk and limit the distribution of keys to
responsible community representatives. The BEC can be contacted on 6684
2272 for inquiries or bookings for the Kiosk.
BEC contact details are:
-
PO. BOX 782, BYRON BAY, 2481, AUSTRALIA.
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PHONE/FAX (02) 6684 2272
Disclaimer
Views expressed by individual contributors to this web site, or published on linked web sites, are not necessarily those of the Byron Environment Centre Inc or its members. Links to other web sites are provided in the interest of more widely disseminating views and information about issues of environmental concern and do not necessarily imply BEC support for, or agreement with a particular organisation or point of view.
Information on this web site about climate change and sustainability has been sourced from our own resources, from respected scientific research organisations, from government departments, and from other reputable environmental organisations.