Sustainable House Day - Sun 11th Sept 2011

The disappointing news is that The Border Eco-Living Program are not opening any homes in Albury Wodonga for this national event this year due to unforeseen circumstances that occured late in our planning for the event.

The good news is that means we can be visitors at other houses and see what else is on offer regionally!

The Wangaratta Sustainability Network have put together a wonderful mix of offerings for the event. I, for one, will certainly be making the most of the opportunity to take a squiz. They will open four homes in and around Wangaratta, as well as the Wangaratta Eco-Living Centre (a converted community centre dedicated to education around sustainable living in various forms).

 

Regular readers may recognise Mary Anderson's home among the Wang offerings. Also note that those with bikes could easily get to three of the openings very comfortably on two wheels from central Wangaratta (and what a great way to act sustainably, not just 'see' it!). You could make a trip of it and include all five, if you wished.

For more information, visit the national event site (www.sustainablehouseday.com) where you can find the details for more than 300 homes across Australia that will open on Sunday. The Wangaratta Sustainability Network website provides more detail about each of the openings they are co-ordinating, including the key features as well as the full address of each location. Keep an eye out for Saturday's Living Lightly column, too, which will also have details about the Wangaratta event.

Sustainable House Day homes and ancillary events will be on offer across Australia from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 11th of September. Entry to all homes is FREE.

Perhaps we'll see some of you in Wang on Sunday?

Seedy Saturdays

As you may know, the Hume Murray Food Bowl Farmers' Market organisers have created an opportunity for community groups to have a stall at the markets on the Causeway, Wodonga. The spot can be booked for just one market or a couple, by groups and for events that promote sustainable living.

What you may not know is that Seed Savers Albury Wodonga were at the most recent market (August 6th). And, they'll be there again at the next two markets (August 20th and September 3rd).

A band of seedy characters (that's a compliment!) will be there:

• explaining what the group does and why it's relevant 
• offering discount memberships (August special of $15 for the year, which includes dips into the seed bank, workshops and newsletter); and
• selling seeds collected by members.

There was such a good response last market that the seed for the stall needed replenishing. On the Saturday between markets an eager team of about 15 gathered to package up more seeds.

Packing and labelling

Seed packets in their display box ... filling in the gaps to be ready for the market.

If you're planning your spring and summer vegetable plantings (or fruit, herbs or companion plants), perhaps consider including some locally saved, open-pollinated and heirloom varieties in your garden?  What's more, you'll be able to save the seed for future seasons and maybe also put some back into the seed bank for others to share.

For more information about Seed Savers Albury Wodonga send an email to seedsaversalburywodonga@gmail.com.

Joel Salatin visit

More than a week after Joel Salatin's workshop at the National Environment Centre, thoughts about his talk and the myriad of ideas it continues to generate keep popping into my head! Don't take that the wrong way - it's wonderful. Although I'd read, heard and watched quite a lot of Joel's material in the past, it was a treat to hear from him in person, with the opportunity to ask questions and clarify. 

Joel Salatin - passionate and inspiring ... seen here demonstrating the chicken waltz :)

For those who missed it, you may like to check out a local blogger's post about the event here. If you haven't visited The Good Life Down Under blog before, it is fantastic - so do take a look around the whole lot while you're there.

The folks at Milkwood Permaculture and RegenAG put together an extensive list of links and further reading as well as reports on Joel's visit to Jamberoo - see here.

With thanks again to those at the National Environment Centre and North East Catchment Management Authority who discovered an opportunity in Joel's Australian tour schedule and pulled this event together very quickly yet efficiently, just weeks before it happened.

Some of the 150 attendees at the session

Joel Salatin coming to Albury

You might have seen him in the movie "Fresh". You may have read about him and his 'Polyface Farm' in Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Or perhaps you noted his tour last year with RegenAG (which included a presentation that aired on ABC's  Big Ideas). In their words:

"Joel Salatin of PolyFace Farms is a world-leading example of how a small family farm can become an extremely diverse and profitable Local Food producer, and how the benefits of Local Food Systems can create resilience, stability and abundance for both local farmers and the wider community."

- RegenAG website

Now the National Environment Centre at Thurgoona and the North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA) have teamed up to host Joel Salatin in Albury for a one-day workshop on Monday August 8th.

 

Tickets are $38.50 per person for the all-day event, including lunch. 

 

Word is the tickets are selling like hotcakes. More details and the booking form can be found here.