CURRUMBIN ECO-VILLAGE, A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, QUEENSLAND-AUSTRALIA

• Currumbin Ecovillage is an innovative residential community  at 639 Currumbin Creek Road, Currumbin valley, Queensland, Australia.
• It showcases best practices in residential ecological sustainable development. The Ecovillage project has been developed on degraded farmland on the exurban fringe of city of Gold Coast, a major resort city on Queensland’s South East Queensland coast. The developer, Land Matters Currumbin Valley, has rehabilitated the site and is protecting its environmental integrity and biodiversity by preserving 50 percent of the site as an environmental reserve
• It is on a 300-acre (1.2 km2) site comprising 80% bushland, plus open spaces and 141 home sites.The Ecovillage is master planned with many homes architecturally designed. It was established by Chris Walton and his wife Kerry Shepherd. Currumbin Ecovillage lacks adequate public transport. Residents are car-reliant.

OBJECTIVE & PLANNING PROCESS:

A Rigorous approach to the planning & design process was adopted.

The first step was the definition of a vision & objectives specific to development.

The vision adopted was-

1.To create the world best eco-village.

2.To support the vision, the developer & consultant team brainstormed objectives called ‘Desired Environmental Outcomes’.

1.ECOLOGICAL OBJECTIVE:

oEcol.1. Restore, maintain & enhance biodiversity through the protection & enhancement of existing significant habitat.oEcol.2. Minimize initial & continuing consumption of resources & energy through the application of energy efficient design principles , the reduction of private motor vehicle usage, optimizing local food & production opportunities, & the reuse & recycling of water, wastes & other materials.oEcol.3. Minimize impact & change to air, soil & water, thereby ensuring equity for all elements of the natural environment whether living or inanimate.oEcol.4. Promote awareness & understanding of sustainability, including ecological issues & reduced materials consumption.oEcol.5. Minimize impact on global environment by optimizing local ecological food & material production opportunities.

2.SOCIAL OBJECTIVE:

oSoc.1. Respect & honour indigenous & other cultural, historical & spiritual values of the land & its surrounds.

oSoc.2. Enable social equity & diversity, honouring differences & catering for the need of individual through the different stages of life.

oSoc.3. Maximize health, safety & comfort in the built environment to provide enduring quality of life.

oSoc .4. Foster & promote social cohesion within the village community & a deep sense of human connection to and interdependence with the land.

oSoc.5. Utilise aesthetic sensitivity to create a continuing sense of place and beauty.

oSoc.6. Facilitate integration of the village with the boarder local community through the shared achievement of common objectives & the promotion of openness within the village.

3.ECONOMIC OBJECTIVE:

oEcon.1. Promote initial & ongoing ecovillage economic viability through excellence of design.

oEcon.2.  Minimise operational & maintenance costs.

oEcon.3. Minimise obsolescence through enduring component life cycle design.

oEcon.4. Provide for change and re-use at minimal cost/loss.

•Minimise impact and change to air, soil and water.

•Maximise health, safety and comfort in the built environment to provide enduring quality of life.

•Minimise obsolescene through enduring component of life cycle design;

•The use of rain water tank with appropirate treatment satisfies all three of these objectives in these ways.

SUSTAINABILITY.

•Autonomy in water, wastewater and energy; 80% open space and 50% of this as flora / fauna reserves ; negligible vegetation loss and extensive native plant regeneration; edible landscapes, permaculture and waste minimization and recycling.

•A variety of home parcel sizes and prices  contained within each precinct, resulting in neighborhoods of varying ages, socio-economic status and family groups.

•The highest level of sustainable home

regulation achievable.

•Fibre optic cabling fed to all homes for high speed communications.

•Use of on-site, local and sustainable building materials of enduring lifecycle.

•Soft engineering‘ following land contour and natural features.

•Intelligent monitoring system installed to each home offering real time‘ monitoring of resource levels.

Integrated Water Management System Description:

This section describes the integrated water management systems. The Ecovillage

has no municipal water or wastewater connections – probably the first residential

development in Australia to achieve this. The decision not to have these

connections has significantly influenced the site water management strategies.

• All site stormwater is managed by a system of swales, bio retention filters

and ponds so that the development does not change either the water quality

or water quantities of site runoff from pre to post development. Site

stormwater is collected in ponds from where it is available for re-use on

agricultural areas of the development. Coupled with natural vegetation, the

ponds provide a highly aesthetic environment for a residential development.

Integrated Water Management System Description:

•All rainwater falling on house roofs is collected in rain tanks and used to supply all potable water needs to the householder. Each domestic tank will also provide a 5 kL fire-fighting volume and a stormflow attenuation zone.

•The water will be filtered and UV disinfected prior to use. A range of tank sizes has been determined based on house bedroom numbers: approximately 20 kL for a 1-bedroom house to 40 kL for a 3-bedroom house. These tanks will provide 99% of potable water requirements. If the tank runs low then the householder will need to purchase water by tanker. Householders will be encouraged to use water wisely and a comprehensive range of water efficient devices will be required in each house. Ecovision will provide quick access to household water consumption data and allow the Body

•Corporate to restrict supply to individual gardens if use is exceeds parameters set by the Body Corporate.

CONCLUSION:

The conclusions are wide ranging and include the following points.

• A strong process is essential to maintain the direction and integrity of an ecovillage development, in particular when complex inter-related issues

arise;

• Using an integrated water management system it is possible to develop a community that has a very low impact on the environment, on local and regional sources of water, and on local waterways. To achieve this designers must be systems thinkers and capable of detailed design using complex analysis;

• A flexible approach to construction contracts is required, recognising the costs and benefits to both parties (Contractor and Developer) of a

collaborative approach.