Permaculture Out West

Archive for December, 2009

POW will be running a food drying workshop at Braybrook Community Centre on the 16th January (a Saturday), starting at 10am.

We’ve all had it happen where we get a bumper crop, and suddenly there’s more than we can possibly eat or give to friends. By drying the excess, we can enjoy the fruits of our labour over an extended period of time.

Another advantage of food drying is that it preserves quite a lot of the nutrients. By removing the moisture from the food, it naturally extends the natural life from a couple of days to a month or more.

The course will cover:

drying fruit, vegetables and meat

electric food dehydrators

building your own solar food dehydrator

recipes using the dehydrated food, including a very tasty banana and rum dessert.

It’ll cost $5 to attend the course, which covers the costs of running the workshop. To attend, please confirm your interest by filling your name and email in the fields below by Thursday 14th January. This is so we can have sufficient dried food samples and information sheets.

Baby beets, beans, beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chinese greens, cucumber, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, spring onions, parsnip, potatoes, radish, rhubarb crowns, silver beet, sweet corn, zucchini.

Herbs: Cress, nasturtium, parsley

Free training for community groups and

organisations in Maribyrnong

Volunteer West in partnership with Maribyrnong Council is delivering free training for not-for-profit community groups and organisations in the City of Maribyrnong.

All training is free of charge and bookings are essential.  Please book in early to make sure we can assist you!

1. Special event – Inspiration and ideas

Get inspiration and new ideas from this one off special event where local community groups will share their inspirational stories of getting their groups started, how they have learnt from mistakes and what makes a success.  There will be opportunities for you to ask questions and network with like minded groups over tasty refreshments.

2.  Training Workshops

These workshops will provide opportunities for community groups and organisations to develop their skills and knowledge and will be of use to management committees, members, general volunteers and staff.  Community groups and organisations will also benefit from being able to network and learn from each other.

How to attract volunteers

Volunteers are the lifeblood of community organisations. Do you want to recruitment new volunteers to your community group? Would you like to hear about changes in volunteering? This workshop will provide community groups with information, tips and strategies for attracting volunteers.

How to retain volunteers

Would you like to build a volunteer culture to keep volunteers longer? Do you need volunteers to take on leadership roles and join the committee? Learn how to listen to volunteer voices and develop new strategies to bring success to your volunteer programs. This workshop will provide you with information and advice on how to encourage volunteers to stay with you.

Marketing & Promotion

Improve the profile of your community group. Would you like to achieve greater success at attracting attention to your activities and events?  This workshop will provide you with practical tips and tools to help you improve your group’s image and promote yourself more effectively.

Presentation and media

Do you have something to say but can’t get the words out? Would you like to achieve greater success presenting your group to the public? This workshop will offer skills to improve your formal presentation and deal with the media to improve the profile of your group or organisation.

Making the role of President, Secretary and Treasurer easy

Learn how to function more effectively as a committee member? This workshop will cover tips and advice on the requirements of incorporation, writing down procedures and in managing committee roles and responsibilities.

Fundraising that works

Looking for funding for your community project? Fundraising is an essential requirement for most community groups. Gain an understanding of why people give and what you can offer in return for their support. In this workshop you will learn strategies and ideas for raising money.

Workshop Location

Footscray

Maribyrnong City Council

Corner Hyde and Napier Streets
Footscray 3011

For a map of the location of Council Office, parking and public transport links right click on Visiting Council Office

3.  What other help is available?

We can provide individualised one on one information and referral support services. This could be face to face or over the telephone. This help could include providing other training options, resources and contact lists of relevant people and agencies that could be of benefit to your group.

How to get involved?

To book into a workshop contact Volunteer West on 9687 7661 or info@volunteerwest.org.au

I’d like to wish all readers a Happy Christmas and a Joyous New Year.

POW has many things planned next year. We’re running more workshops, with the emphasis on re-discovering some of our lost skills: planning your garden, growing your own food, preserving your own food and cooking your own food.

We’ll be doing more permablitzes as well. POW has a long list of people interested in getting their garden done, and nest year we’ll be aiming to do one a month. And we’ll start writing on dedicated topics such as raising poultry, perennial plants, designing water systems, and alternative transport systems.

So please keep coming back and having a read. We’re all about providing practical solutions to living in surburbs and enjoying life!

The Club of Rome is a global think tank founded in 1968. Its mission is “to act as a global catalyst for change through the identification and analysis of the crucial problems facing humanity and the communication of such problems to the most important public and private decision makers as well as to the general public”.

In 1972, the Club of Rome produced a report, Limits to Growth. The book became the world’s best selling environmental book. In it, a number of scenarios where modelled looking at the consequences of a rapidly growing world population and finite resource supplies

In June 2008, Graham Turner of the CSIRO reviewed the scenarios 30 years on to see if any of the scenarios outlined in Limits to Growth match where the world is now . Contrary to popular belief, the scenarios in Limits to Growth did not predict a global collapse by the end of the 2oth century. The analysis by Graham Turner shows that 30 years of actual data compares well with the “business as usual” scenario or standard run scenario.

Click here for a link to the CSIRO report.

A reminder about our midsummer eve celebrations are on the 21st December at 5pm. THIS MONDAY EVE. The location is Maidstone Community Centre.

Date: Monday 21st December
Time: From 5pm to 10pm
Address:21 Yardley street, Maidstone. Enter MUST BE via Gibb Street gate, as there is another group gathering at the front.

BYO alcohol and drinks. Also, bring a plate to share if you have time. Scott is cooking up a storm in the oven – pizza’s for all! Scott needs to reimbursed for the toppings so bring some cash, he estimates about $5 each.

A folding chair may also come in handy.

We must also take all rubbish with us.

Click here for a map of the location.

Hope to see you there!

We have some long stakes, 4 old steel wheels which could be decorative or somebody may want to grow things through them (not for cycling….not sure if they would be safe) and an old green Wheely bin (240L) which is in need of TLC as it has a leak in it. Perhaps it could be used as a compost bin. Also there is a semicircle of corrugated iron about a metre and a half in height. Please send an email to Ailed@rocketmail.com as soon as possible if you’re interested. The wheels and iron will go out to hard rubbish on monday morning.

Last Sunday, Costa’s Garden Odyssey came to Maidstone Community Garden. POW members plus other community members helped Costa clean up the community garden. A lot of hard work was done by all, and the result was truly inspiring. At the end of the day, a mural painted by all who participated was hung in the garden as the finishing touch. The program will go to air early next year in February.

Mural hanging at Maidstone Community Garden

Some very happy people in front of the mural