Welcome to the Castlemaine 500 Website!

Castlemaine 500 was 12 months old in July! In 12 months around 350 households from Castlemaine, Chewton and Campbell's Creek have signed up to tackle climate change and reduce their household energy bills.

Take the C500 PLEDGE on climate change and join Castlemaine 500 here.

“I pledge to join the Castlemaine 500 community and take simple actions
to reduce our impact on climate change.”

Your action will help the Mount Alexander community to achieve a
30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2010.

About Castlemaine 500

Castlemaine has built an enviable reputation. Across Castlemaine people from all walks of life are working together to tackle climate change in new and creative ways. Castlemaine 500 is contributing to the great work that is already taking place.

Castlemaine Community Network

Castlemaine 500 is now owned by a local community network.

“To successfully tackle climate change and household behavior change, we need people with a shared passion. We need a space where these people build relationships, share information and tools, support each other and celebrate success. In a network this is done voluntarily, with the kind of give-and-take that emerges when people know and trust each other. Networks like these are powerful: they create knowledge and shape opinion.”
Adapted from Etienne Wenger 2005.

In the beginning… Castlemaine 500 aimed to:

Deliver a behavioural change pilot project to at least 500 residential households in the Castlemaine area using best practice strategies for reducing energy use in the home
Achieve a reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of between 15% and 30% in participating households
Raise community awareness of the relationship between energy use and climate change
Build partnerships with the local community

Twelve months on… Castlemaine 500 has:

Trained a network of “community peers” who have assisted with recruitment, run energy-smart workshops, undertaken home energy assessments & been involved in a Story Based evaluation process.
Staged a diverse range of community events where participants have interacted and learned from each other about ways of tackling climate change at home:

Energy Smart Workshops involving 180 households
Home Energy Assessments involving 100 households
Online Workshops involving 33 households
Community Lead workshops involving 29 households
Community Conference involving 92 households

Started to transfer our approach to 2 other towns within the CVGA region
Built the “capacity” of the local community to lead and develop new initiatives that tackle Climate Change issues
Started the formation of a local Community Network made up of passionate people and groups. This Network will continue the work started by C500 and take the project in a new direction

Who is behind Castlemaine 500?

C500 is funded by the Department of Sustainability and Environment and managed by the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (CVGA). This pilot study will contribute critical information to DSE and the CVGA on methods that improve the effectiveness of approaches to learning-based changes around household energy conservation.

In June 2006, the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance appointed a consortium lead by Third Ecology to deliver and evaluate this behaviour change pilot project (aka Castlemaine 500).

Castlemaine 500 Archives

Newsletters

Media

'Energy Trial Starts' - Castlemaine Mail, 21/7/06
'Energy Trial Underway' - Midland Express, 25/7/06
'Energy Smart Workshop' - Castlemaine Mail, 4/8/06
'Signed Up for a Seachange' - Midland Express, 15/8/06
'Action Plans on Paper for 500' - Midland Express, 5/9/06
'New Year's Resolution', Midland Express, 9/1/07 and Castlemaine Mail 12/1/07
'Staying Cool in Summer' - Midland Express, 9/1/07
'Reduce that energy use by 15%' - Midland Express, 23/1/07
'Energy Smart Workshops' - Castlemaine Mail, 26/1/07
'Take Control of Your Energy Bills' - Midland Express, 6/2/07 and Castlemaine Mail, 9/2/07
'Two Events Not To Be Missed', Castlemaine Mail, 23/2/07 and Midland Express, 20/2/07
'Community Conference' - Castlemaine Mail, 2/3/07 and Midland Express 27/2/07

Cartoons by Simon Kneebone

Disclaimer

The information and recommendations outlined in this WEBSITE is concerned mainly with providing guidance with respect to how a registered Castlemaine 500 household might be able to reduce energy consumption in their homes. The information presented in the WEBSITE is derived from various sources and is understood to be correct and appropriate at the time of preparation. However, the information may not be error free and may not be appropriate for a particular purpose should household circumstances, requirements, priorities or circumstances beyond the control of the Castlemaine 500 Project Team/Third Ecology (climatic patterns, client behaviour and expectations etc) create a different context in which original assumptions and decisions were based. Householders should ensure that they are satisfied with the particular details and appropriateness of all areas of guidance and with respect to any involving the installation of ‘products’, their installation should comply with current Australian Standards, the Building Code of Australia and local authority requirements. The Castlemaine 500 Project Team/Third Ecology accepts no liability whatsoever to any person for injury, loss or damage that may arise in connection with any use or reliance on the information.