Posted in Events, Movements, Seeking by ecoApril on January 17th, 2012
| 19 February , 2012 |
| 11:00 am | to | 3:00 pm |
Photo from the 2011 Repair Workshop by Fernando De Sousa
A free, friendly workshop to repair (or reimagine) broken household items will be staged for this year’s Sustainable Living Festival at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Collaborative Fix it! repair sessions are hosted by community members who believe there are better options than sending broken objects on a one-way ticket to landfill. Fix it! was founded by locals April Seymore, Renae Crosthwaite and Chandra Sundareswaran with the support of Sustainability Victoria and Metropolitan Waste Management Group. The friends want to share skills and build public confidence for repairing items that otherwise literally go to waste.
“We hear so much about our current ‘throw away society’ and we want to change that thought process,” said April. “Part of the Fix it! philosophy is to inspire participants to host fixing get-togethers in future. So while we will repair items at the Festival at no charge, we will also demonstrate how repair is achievable, affordable and help everyone feel capable. Helping people hem their garment or gain the self-assurance to repair a basic electrical item could make a huge difference to the amount and types of things that are clogging up landfill, dumped on nature strips, or donated broken to Op Shops who don’t have repair capacity.”
Recent repair, creating and upcycling events in Melbourne have met with enormous success. Artists and technicians at the July 2011 Repair Workshops rescued 3 tonnes from landfill, and this year’s Mini Maker Faire® sold out tickets almost immediately. Repair novices and gurus alike are welcome to drop into the festival workshop to sample repair projects. To BYO project, register your lamp, clothing, or woodworking repair request via email. Or simply share your fixing photos or questions with the Fix it! team via Facebook (Fix It Community) or Twitter (@FixItMelbourne).
There will be three themed Fix it! areas: Stitches—focusing on textiles; Switches—examining electrical appliances; and Splinters—woodworking with hand tools.
Get Involved: Fix it! is looking for skilled volunteers (Fixers) to assist in each of the focus areas at the Sustainable Living Festival. If you can lend a hand in the stitches, switches or splinters areas contact the team at fixitmelbourne@gmail.com.
The Sustainable Living Festival runs from 11-26 February, with Fix it! held from 11.00 am – 3.00 pm on Sunday the 19th at Federation Square in the city.
For further information and photo opportunities email fixitmelbourne@gmail.com
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Posted in Events by EcoCentre on January 13th, 2012
| 23 January , 2012 |
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Join us for a FREE Film & Discussion Night. Monday 23 January 2012, 7pm @Port Phillip EcoCentre
The urban sprawl of Melbourne is reaching further and further, taking habitat for wildlife and prime land for growing food. It makes us more and more dependant on cars and doesn’t provide a space for a thriving neighbourhoods and engaged communities. With growing Australian population we all need a space to live but why instead of being more resourceful are Australian houses are getting bigger and bigger?
How do we deal with all these tensions? What is our outlook for the problem for the upcoming years?
Before solving all these issues let’s step back and watch a documentary: ‘The End of Suburbia’ (2004, Gregory Greene) that provides us with the historical background on how suburbs came to being in the USA and what are the challenges that face these places and their habitants.
After the screening join us for a snack and fun activities during which we will explore alternatives to a typical suburbian urban sprawl. Share your experience about the challenges of current housing realm.
Address: 55A Blessington St, St Kilda
Contact us:
To get the gist of what we will be talking about see this amazing short animation An Urban Sprawl Thinking Piece: http://vimeo.com/8001833
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Posted in Events, Models, Movements by Kate Archdeacon on January 11th, 2012
| 17 February , 2012 10:00 am | to | 20 February , 2012 3:00 pm |
An Earthship is a radically sustainable home made of recycled materials.
This three day Earthship Biotecture Seminar will be led by Earthship creator Michael Reynolds and cover a wide range of Earthship topics both pragmatic and philosophical.
Guest appearance and presentation by Martin Freney, PhD Candidate School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design University of Adelaide. Martin Freney will present scientific data to substantiate Earthship performance. Attendees achieve credit toward the Australian Earthship Biotecture Academy.
February 17th, 18, 19th, – 2012 Village Roadshow Theatrette @ State Library of Victoria
Tickets: http://earthship.com/australia
Limited seating available. Advance purchase recommended.
15 Student discount tickets available – $300 each.
Friday February 17th
- 10:00am – 12:00pm History of Earthships discussion/presentation of how and why they evolved.
- 2:00pm – 5:00pm Solar/Thermal dynamics: discussion/presentation of how the Earthships heat and cool themselves and how this is integrated with the structure and climate.
Saturday February 18th
- 10:00am – 12:00pm Custom Earthships: discussion/presentation on custom Earthships and how to design them.
- 2:00pm – 5:00pm Earthship Systems: discussion/presentation of specific details of the Earthship Systems independent power, water, sewage and food production.
Sunday February 19th
- 10:00am – 12:30pm Earthship Disaster Relief projects around the world discussion/presentation of how Earthships are evolved by? these projects.
- 1:00pm – 3:00pm Types of Earthships – discussion/presentation of the various types of Earthships and how to get started on your own.
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Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 10th, 2012
Photo by abbybatchelder via flickr CC
Cityfood Growers have a checklist on their blog to help those of us who still don’t have the perfect veggie garden(!) reassess what we want and plan for a better year.
Author Peter Kearney says “January is a great time to get your thinking into planning your food garden for the coming year. In my experience, good planning makes a huge difference to your success. It helps to open your awareness to new knowledge, as you have more an idea of what’s coming, rather than stumbling along. [...] I know that is a lot of questions to work with, but they are all important when you do your plan. I work with these questions each year as I plan my own food gardens.”
The post includes a series of topic areas with several questions to answer in each area. Go through to the Cityfood Grower’s Organic Gardening blog for the full set of questions – not even half of them are included here:
Recap on last year – Be as objective as possible with yourself.
- What crops grew well and crops that did not grow so well?
- Were you being pragmatic enough with your time, i.e. did you hang onto to crops that didn’t produce much and took up a lot of your time and space?
Your garden space
- Can you now manage a bigger food garden, if so design the layout of your new garden and use the right principles for layout?
- Can you improve the design of your existing garden, for example more efficient use of space, better sun and drainage?
Soil fertility
- What is the state of your soil and is it appropriate for the crops you want to grow?
- Are you making compost and if so, are your methods producing enough and of good quality?
- Are you timing your compost making to fit your maximum planting time?
Planting plan
- For your vegetable/herb garden, have you developed a rotation plan for your beds, leave some space for perennials such as herbs?
- Have you chosen the predominant crops for each of your vegetable garden beds and worked out the month of planting using the ideal months?
- Have you chosen companion plants and space filler now that you have chosen your predominant crops for your beds?
Garden management
- Is your garden easy to manage in its current layout and design, if not think about how to make it easier to work with and at the same time generating higher quality soil?
- Are you overusing mulch and could you use more living crops for mulching such as green manure and edible companions?
Pests and diseases
- For your vegetable garden, are you using companion planting to reduce pests?
- Is soil quality your primary pest and disease reduction strategy, if not then make it so?
Your well being
- Have you developed an awareness of how you want to feel in your food garden, as your feelings have a big impact on how the garden grows?
- Will you create space in your busy day to sit in your garden to observe and contemplate?
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Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on January 9th, 2012
A Maker Faire is about celebrating learning and doing – not the finished and perfect end product. It’s a place to share what we’re learning with others, and celebrate the fun and freedom of being an amateur. Featuring both established and emerging local “makers,” the Melbourne Mini Maker Faire is a family-friendly celebration coming to Australasia for the first time on Saturday, January 14th, 2012. It will feature rockets and robots, DIY science and technology, urban farming and sustainability, alternative energy, bicycles, unique hand-made crafts, and educational workshops and installations. Access to the Faire is limited so get in touch before you show up to make sure you can get in!
Want to get involved? Apply to be a Maker on Saturday through the website.
Mini Maker Faires such as this have started to sprout up around the United States, Canada, Europe and now Australia. Maker Faire started back in 2005 as a spin-off of Make Magazine. The Melbourne Mini Maker Faire will follow the big Maker Faire model of celebrating do-it-yourself creativity and tinkering, but will be smaller in scale and – although predominantly showcasing the wonders of the local Melbourne Maker community – will include exhibitors from around Australia and beyond.
Saturday, January 14th, 2012, 10 am to 4pm, Hawthorn
See the Maker Faire Melbourne website for additional information and to register your interest in attending.
Photo from Robots and Dinosaurs (Makers).
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on December 28th, 2011
Given the reputation of the Netherlands as a cyclist’s paradise, you might think that its extensive cycling infrastructure came down from heaven itself, or was perhaps created by the wave of a magic wand. Not so. It was the result of a lot of hard work, including massive street protests and very deliberate political decision-making.
The video [click through below] offers vital historical perspective on the way the Netherlands ended up turning away from the autocentric development that arose with postwar prosperity, and chose to go down the cycle path. It lists several key factors, including public outrage over the amount of space given to automobiles; huge protests over traffic deaths, especially those of children, which were referred to by protesters as “child murder”; and governmental response to the oil crisis of the 1970s, which prompted efforts to reduce oil dependence without diminishing quality of life.
The Netherlands is often perceived as an exceptional nation in terms of its transportation policies and infrastructure. And yet there is nothing inherently exceptional about the country’s situation. As the narrator says at the end of the film, “The Netherlands’ problems were and are not unique. Their solutions shouldn’t be that either.”
Watch the video. It’s inspiring (“…it seems so simple”) and frustrating (“aaargh…it seems so simple!”) at the same time.
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Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on December 23rd, 2011
How about letting your own two feet take you on a few adventures these holidays? There’s no better way to get the wind in your hair while taking a sticky beak at what’s going on around you.
If you’re heading out of town:
Or, if you’re wandering closer to Melbourne:
Better still, show off your own walks to by creating a walk on www.walkingmaps.com.au!
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Posted in Opinion, Research by Kate Archdeacon on December 22nd, 2011
Photo by El Pei via flickr CC
Australia’s energy future was considered in a seminar series that Grattan Institute ran jointly this year with the Melbourne Energy Institute. Webcasts are available for the final two seminars on the future of solar power and transport.
Grattan’s report Getting the housing we want was launched on November 21 by Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with former Victorian Premier, John Brumby. Transcripts and recordings of the launch are available, as is the report.
Every year Grattan Institute produces its Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister. The list contains books and articles that we found stimulating and a pleasure to read, and that we believe the PM, or indeed any Australian, should read over the break. Watch the launch or download the reading list.
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Posted in Movements, Seeking by EarthwatchAustralia on December 21st, 2011
A new research project Conserving Koala Country has been established by Earthwatch Australia to look into the deteriorating habitat and tree condition in the Otway Ranges, Victoria.
Dr Desley Whisson a Wildlife and Conservation Biologist from Deakin University says, “so far we’ve been tracking the movement of 15 koalas (8 females/7 males) at Cape Otway and observed a high density of koalas in the area of up to 16 koalas per hectare”. In many parts of Australia Koala’s are in decline and at risk of extinction due to disease, land clearing and drought, however the high density of Koalas is posing a potential issue in The Otways. During the recent research trip during mating season the research team made up of Earthwatch volunteers recorded vocalisation of the koalas using a songmeter; a device set to record bellows for 5 minutes every hour. Volunteers recorded the number of bellows and whether it’s a male or female.
“We found a high number of koalas with young so it looks like a successful breeding year. The koalas are occupying very small home ranges where trees are still in good condition. They obviously don’t need to move far to find food or mates. A 3 legged female adult koala was also found, something very unusual to see and particularly for her to have survived to adulthood, ” says Dr Whisson. Volunteers also ventured out at night with a spotlight to search for possums that could also be causing defoliation of trees. They saw lots of koalas but only found possums in one blue gum site. Richard Gilmore Earthwatch Executive Director says “It’s great to be able to be able to support research aimed at protecting the habitat of the iconic koala, and at the same time involve the general public in such a hands-on and interesting way.”
The next team of Earthwatch volunteers will be heading out to do further research on the 18 April.
For more information or to sign up for an Earthwatch expedition call 03 9682 6828, email earth@earthwatch.org.au or visit http://www.earthwatch.org/australia/exped/whisson_booking.html
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Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on December 20th, 2011
Recycled gift carton and photo by Urban Woodswalker via flickr CC
Don’t be naughty this Christmas, buy nice. Rather than doing your Christmas shopping at the local mega-mart, use gift giving and festive meals to exercise your commitment to ethical shopping. Our book makes a perfect Christmas gift, or there’s heaps of other ideas in the guide, at our online shop, and on our favourite gift ideas page. Christmas is an opportunity to shop ethically on a grand scale! This guide covers all the main things you might buy over Christmas, listed under the categories of food, gifts, and decorations.
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