Albury Botanic Gardens tests renewable technology on journey to become net zero

AlburyCity is working towards achieving its ambitious net zero carbon emissions targets with the  Albury Botanic Gardens being transformed into a pilot site for a new fleet of battery-powered equipment.

During the development of the Towards Albury 2050 Community Strategic Plan, the community expressed a desire to lead the way in emissions reduction. A number of targets were set to be achieved over the coming decades, leading to an ultimate target of net zero emissions by 2050.

The recently developed Environmental Sustainability Framework and Action Plan sets out exactly how AlburyCity and the community can achieve these emissions targets.

Consumption of fuel across the AlburyCity fleet results in Council’s third highest source of carbon emissions. Therefore, one of the key actions in the Environmental Sustainability Framework and Action Plan is to transition to an electric fleet.

The first step in achieving this goal is to identify a team that will pilot ‘becoming net zero’ to drive change within AlburyCity. The Botanic Gardens was identified as that pilot site, which will be used as a test case to determine next steps for rolling out electric fleet across our city.

The new fleet being used at the Botanic Gardens includes a replacement of all minor plant equipment such as leaf blowers, whipper snippers, hedge trimmers, push mowers, chainsaws and more.

It also includes some new major plant equipment such as a utility vehicle to travel around the gardens and a zero-turn mower to maintain turf surfaces.

AlburyCity Mayor Kylie King notes “Our community have consistently told us that they want to protect our beautiful natural environment and lead the way in emissions reduction.

The introduction of this pilot site is an important piece of the puzzle and will help us ensure that equipment is fit for purpose and determine how we can roll out similar initiatives across our city, while encouraging our community to do the same.”

For more information on the Towards Albury 2050 plan and Council’s carbon emissions targets, visit the AlburyCity website.

https://www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au/council/future-planning/albury-2050/our-strategies-2050/an-enhanced-natural-environment-2050

The draft Environmental Sustainability Framework and Action Plan is now on public exhibition for community feedback on the AlburyCity Have your Say website.