2024 Community Zero Emissions Grants recipients announced

Belconnen Model Aero Club

Sustainable Energy Program Phase 3

Belconnen Model Aero Club will replace their fossil-fuel powered ride-on mower with an electric alternative. The mower will be charged using electricity from their rooftop solar panels. The mower joins a collection of electric tools that the club already owns. The money saved on fuel will pay for activities such as flight training programs. The Club’s Sustainable Energy Program is just one of its socially and environmentally sustainable initiatives. It also helps to rehabilitate the Crace Grasslands Nature Reserve and offers groundskeeping work experience to neurodivergent young adults. The Club hopes that sharing their story will inspire other small organisations to take action on climate change.

SEE Change

Roving Regenerators Collaboration Platform

SEE Change aims to reduce Canberra's ecological footprint, regenerate Canberra’s ecosystem and improve the wellbeing of the whole community. This project will teach people about how to reduce emissions through composting and growing plants. SEE Change will create an online platform that connects workshop facilitators with workshop hosts. They hope to reach lower socioeconomic households, vulnerable person programs, multicultural communities and people who experience mental and physical disabilities. They would also like to work with people seeking to grow food in non-traditional ways, such as gardens in small spaces. SEE Change aims to engage schools and develop ‘learning by doing’ workshops for children of different age groups.

Australian National University - Centre for the Public Awareness of Science

Hands-on Energy Explorers

The Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their Hands-on Energy Explorers project. This is a series of 20 interactive STEM experiences. There will also be a series of free events for youth, families, teachers and the Canberra community. The events will educate people about Canberra's energy transition. Participants will learn how we can cut emissions from fossil fuel gas and transport. They will also learn where further progress is needed. The events will include science shows and hands-on 'tinkering' activities. Content from some of the workshops will be shared with ACT teachers for their own use in class. Information will be collected for research purposes to increase our understanding of Canberrans' attitudes to energy and climate change.

Women's Shed Canberra

Restore, Repurpose, Reuse (RRR) Mobile Women's Shed

Women's Shed Canberra helps women learn practical building skills. This cultivates self-sufficiency and promotes gender equality. The Women’s Shed will deliver workshops from their electric-tool-equipped van. The workshops will include low-emissions techniques for restoration, reuse and repurposing. The mobile workshop allows programs to be delivered across Canberra, meaning more women can attend. This includes women who are younger, disadvantaged, or facing barriers to skills development and employment. The workshops will reduce transport emissions as participants won’t need to travel far. This project aims to increase community resilience to the impacts of climate change while also reducing emissions.