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

Permi8 at Anna's

It took three attempts, but July's Permi8 gathering saw the group finally make it to Anna and Mark's new place.

They have moved from a surburban block with an older home, to which they made some impressive sustainability improvements, to six acres backing on to a reserve with a larger, more recently built home. Yet it's surprisingly just three or so kilometres from the CBD of Albury as the crow flies. 

Anna was itching to have the collective permi8 'brains trust' check their place out and provide any ideas as to how they might proceed with what could be an enormous project. Or series of projects!

Despite the wintery weather (it was July afterall), we had a lovely time wandering around and checking it all out. Their land includes a small orchard, cleared and grazed areas as well as some less impacted and remnant vegetation nearest the reserve. Anna told us what they'd been thinking so far and asked for other people's opinions and ideas. The resulting conversations reminded me (again!) how lucky we are to share in the knowledge, interests and experience of such a wonderful group of people. 

We looked at the established orchard and Anna's new fruit tree plantings and discussed pruning, training, collar rot and fruit flies. I suspect that the day we don't discuss fruit flies at a permi8 gathering is the day no one turns up! They are a real challenge around here. 

As I admitted that yet again the time for preventing peach leaf curl had come and gone at our place, Julie kindly came up with a way for me to remember. I should think that whenever I am struggling with the nocturnal lifestyle that my Tour de France viewing creates each July, I should take it as a reminder that's also the time to be active in preventing peach leaf curl. Extremely good suggestion ...  let's see if I stick to it next year!

Some members identified some seedling eucalypts, grevilleas and native grasses in the farther paddock, while the kids were entertained playing with sticks, the dogs and by the dam. Oh, and wishing they were allowed to climb into the abandoned tree house, which admittedly did look like it would collapse under the weight of even children, but was rather tantalising, even to some of the 'big kids'.

Yes, those dots are people! Pretty impressive spot, huh?

Taking turns to make suggestions, answer questions and share observations

Anna was keen to workshop ideas about Dexter cattle, possibly sheep and/or chooks as part of the mix as well as ways to encourage further native revegetation. 

We moved on to admire their recently built raised, wicking vegetable beds. Having had a good squiz, and acknowledging the weather really wasn't all that great, we continued the conversations inside over a cuppa and the usual, but always impressive, homemade delights everyone had brought along.

Thanks to Anna, Mark and their girls for having us visit, finally. We look forward to seeing (and perhaps contributing to) all your plans as they develop.