Bendigo's green push hits its stride: What happened this week in local sustainability

Coliban Water confirmed on Thursday that its $4.2 million wetland rehabilitation project along Bendigo Creek — stretching from Rosalind Park south toward the Eaglehawk Road corridor — will enter its active planting phase before the end of August. The authority says 18,000 native plants, including river red gums and common reed, will go into the ground across 3.4 hectares of degraded riparian land. It is the largest single-site revegetation effort the authority has undertaken in the Bendigo region in more than a decade.

The timing matters. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is currently finalising its next five-year water resource plan review, due for submission to the federal government by October 2026. Local waterway condition feeds directly into that assessment. Bendigo Creek is a tributary system that ultimately drains into the Campaspe River, and its health is one metric regulators will scrutinise. Getting the planting done before spring growth — and before migratory bird surveys resume in October — gives the project the best chance of registering measurable biodiversity gains in time to count.

City of Greater Bendigo targets urban heat with new canopy rules

Meanwhile, City of Greater Bendigo planners quietly posted a draft amendment to the municipal planning scheme on Wednesday that would require any commercial development over 500 square metres within the Hargreaves Street and Mitchell Street retail precinct to achieve a minimum 15 per cent canopy cover at ground level within five years of construction completion. The draft, Amendment C261, is open for public comment until August 14.

The proposal comes after the council's own urban heat mapping, completed in March, found surface temperatures in the paved sections of the CBD were running up to 9 degrees Celsius above surrounding residential areas on hot days. Bendigo has recorded 22 days above 35 degrees in the past two summers combined — a figure council officers cited as justification for moving faster than Victoria's general planning provisions currently require. The amendment would apply to new builds and major refurbishments, but not to existing tenancies.

Sustainability Victoria's regional office, which has a presence through the Resource Recovery Infrastructure program in the Loddon Mallee region, has been in discussions with council about co-funding street-tree infrastructure along Bull Street, where summer shade cover is among the lowest of any central Bendigo thoroughfare. No funding agreement has been announced yet.

La Trobe steps up, and what it might mean for jobs

La Trobe University's Bendigo campus published its updated Sustainability Action Plan 2026–2030 this week, committing to a 50 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from its Edwards Road facilities by 2030, measured against a 2019 baseline. The plan flags a feasibility study for rooftop solar across the Health Sciences and Mildura buildings by December this year, with an estimated system size of 480 kilowatts. If approved, it would make the Bendigo campus the largest solar installation on any regional Victorian university campus.

The university employs roughly 900 staff in Bendigo, making it one of the city's top five private-sector employers. Its procurement decisions ripple through local suppliers. The action plan specifically names a preference for engaging Loddon Mallee-based contractors for any capital works associated with the energy transition — a provision that local tradespeople and electricians will want to follow closely over the next six months.

Residents who want to engage with the various processes now open have a few clear avenues. Amendment C261 submissions go to the City of Greater Bendigo planning department at 195 Lyttleton Terrace before August 14 — in person or online through the Engage Bendigo portal. Coliban Water is holding a community walk along the Bendigo Creek revegetation site on Saturday, July 19, starting at the Rosalind Park rotunda at 9 a.m.; no registration is required. La Trobe's sustainability plan is posted on the university's website and the campus sustainability team is accepting written feedback until July 31. Three separate processes, all moving at the same moment — which is unusual enough that people with an interest in where this city is heading should pay attention now rather than after decisions are locked in.