Green Earth Homes Local Community Times article: page 3, June 2011 by Sandra Smith
Nominations for the Sunshine Coast’s annual Living Smart Glossies environmental awards have closed and the winners will be announced at a prestigious ceremony at Caloundra’s Event Centre on June 17.
The Glossies awards recognise and celebrate the environmental achievements and innovations of local businesses and individuals.
Nathan Staal, a Buderim builder and nominee in the 2011 Glossies awards says it’s easy being green.
“The more people who build sustainably, the better the Sunshine Coast Environment will be for us now and our future generations,” he says.
Sustainable building practices that can be easily adopted by builders and renovators incorporate passive solar design, effective insulation, energy efficient lighting, solar power, and the use of chemical-free paints and recycled timber.
Nathan Staal is the managing director of Green Earth Homes, a family-run company that specializes in sustainable renovations, extensions and new lifestyle builds.
“We are passionate about sustainable building, promoting recycled and reclaimed products, solar passive design and energy efficient technologies and resources for all projects” he explains.
Recent environmentally-friendly projects by Green Earth Homes include the installation of interior bamboo flooring and a deck made from ModWood, a timber-style recycled product, the construction of a set of stairs and pergola area using recycled red iron bark, and a passive solar-designed studio using reclaimed timber.
A carpenter by trade , Nathan was raised on the sunshine Coast and he has over 27 years’ experience in the building industry. He established Green Earth Homes in Melbourne in 2007 and relocated to Buderim on the Sunshine Coast in 2010.
“We are pleased to be building beautiful, sustainable homes in our fantastic South-East Queensland environment and we want to do more of it,” he says. “Our goal is for the Sunshine Coast community to be aware of their sustainable building options, for them to be informed and for the sustainable building service to be readily available to them, but where it doesn’t cost them the earth.”
The glossies, hosted by the Sunshine Coast Council, are named after the ionic Glossy Black Cockatoo, a vulnerable local bird species. Environment Portfolio Councilor Keryn Jones said the Glossies are a great way to recognise those who are building to create a more sustainable Sunshine Coast.
“Because sustainability comes in many forms, it’s not just those who are really green that can win; engineers, innovators, educators and inventors stand an equally good chance,” Cr Jones said.
“The great thing is your motives don’t really matter, because by nature sustainable achievements benefit other areas. For example if you design a building, which utilises solar, recycled materials and water tanks for the primary reason of saving money, you are still benefiting the environment so, it’s a win-win.”
Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki will be the keynote speaker at the Glossies award ceremony, where we will share his views on sustainability practices and the interconnectedness of the climate to human achievements, as well as covering a number of exciting scientific developments.
www.greenearthhomes.com.au
www.livingsmartawards.net.au
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