Permaculture Out West

Archive for March, 2010

SEED SAVING WORKSHOP

AT EDENDALE FARM, ELTHAM

TEACH SEED SAVING

Join Jude and Michel Fanton, founders of the Seed Savers Network

Learn from these world renowned teachers how to teach others to

select, harvest, process and store seeds from their food gardens.

Suitable for teachers / leaders / volunteers  from

school / kitchen gardens, community gardens,  gardening clubs,

local food / seedsaving and permaculture groups

Saturday April 10, 10am-4pm

Bookings and deposit required by April 3

Contact Robyn:  0431 037 810 or rrcurrie2@bigpond.com

$60  Permaculture Melbourne members, $70 Non-members

Morning and afternoon teas provided.

Bring home grown produce or lunch to share.

Plants and Seedsaving books for sale.

Edendale Farm, Gaston Road, Eltham, Melway 22 A1

Very Edible Gardens has some great courses over the coming months. They’re held at the lovely Yarraville Community Centre and may be of interest to the permie POWers living in the West.

The details are:

14 Apr — Beginners’ Guide to Compost and Worms
28 Apr — Drought Proofing Your Garden
12 May– Beginners’ Guide to Chickens
26 May — Know Thy Soil
9 Jun — Meet Your Garden Life (with Organic Pest Control)

All courses run 6:30-8:30pm
Each course costs $30/$25concession, or $120 for all five.
Venue: Yarraville Community Centre.  114 Blackwood St., Yarraville (5 minute walk from Yarraville train station – on the Werribee or Williamstown lines)

We’re also holding the truly tasty ‘Living Food: Wild Fermentation and Raw Foods For Your Health’ workshop on 16 May between 10am-4:30pm. This course costs $120/$95 concession and includes recipe handouts and delicious living foods lunch.

All course details can be found at http://www.veryediblegardens.com/vegucation/upcoming-courses.

The Hobsons Bay Mayor has announced ‘edible gardens’ as one of the topics he wants to pursue this year.  He has had discussions with
all the principals of the local primary school about their ‘edible garden needs’.  Other than that, he is at the stage of collecting
ideas. So if you have suggestions, I’m happy to collate them and send them on (or you can directly yourself – whatever). I’d suggest in the next week is about the right timing…

Cheers,
Kate
transitionhb@gmail.com
http://transitionhb.groupsite.com

GREEN ACTION NEWS: Issue 10, Autumn 2010

In this edition:

*              Two elections. One big opportunity.

*              Victorians score a big win against coal.

*              Civil society resolve stronger than ever.

*              The People’s Parliament rocks Federation Square.

*              40,000 Walk Against Warming.

*              East-African businesses happy to go green.

And much more

Click here to download the Autumn 2010 edition

Farm Manager – Organic agriculture, Mornington Peninsula

Position: Full-time

Salary: Remuneration package will include a base salary, accommodation and incentives for success. Wage bracket will be discussed with applicants.

Description

A unique opportunity for a farm manager or budding farm manager to be a part of a dynamic new company developing an organic farm in Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula.

Colonial Leisure Group is planning to build a microbrewery (subject to council approval) on a 300 hectare property at Cape Schanck. To support the brewery restaurant and the Victorian hotels, an organic farm will be established comprising of animals, fruit and vegetables. The successful applicant will work with CLG, the landowners and land managers to develop a whole farm plan and then manage the implementation of the plan.

Responsibilities & Roles

• Leadership in developing a plan for an organic farm including animal husbandry and crop propagation
• Hands on management over the implementation of the farm plan
• Employing staff as required
• Ongoing day-to-day management and operation of the farm
• Managing organic certification
• Management of sales and market access for produce

The following criteria will be looked at favourably in applicants, however not mandatory. Please address these points in a cover letter.

• Experience working on an organic farm
• Relevant academic studies
• A good network with other farmers or the organic industry
• Strong environmental values
• Management skills
• Computer skills
• A willingness to work hard

About CLG
Colonial Leisure Group (CLG) has interests in a number of hospitality venues across Australia. CLG is a premium operator with a diverse array of hospitality experiences that includes brewing, bars, cafes, bistros, entertainment, on-line wine sales, restaurants and accommodation.

CLG is a committed and focused leader in the hospitality industry through the achievement of business excellence in the supply of food, beverage and other related activities.

www.clg.com.au

Please send your CV and a cover letter addressing the key success criteria to:

Hayley Giachin at farm@clg.com.au

Please address any questions to the above email address.

Join us for some fascinating presentations on environmental topics at our FREE ‘Greening Maribyrnong Conversations’ monthly seminar series.

April – Sustainable Garden Design Workshop
Sunday 18 April, 2.30pm – 4.30pm
Location: Footscray Library, 56 Paisley St Footscray. Melway 42 B4
Presenter: Sustainable Gardening Australia
Registration Form

Learn how you can create an attractive and functional
garden using sustainable design principles. This workshop
covers all elements in a sustainable garden including: organic soil management, creating garden zones, using recycled materials, minimising chemical and fertiliser use, and successful plants for your area.

About the presenters:
Sustainable Gardening Australia is a not-for-profit, non government organisation founded in 2003 to raise awareness of the environmental issues associated with traditional gardening. Sustainable Gardening Australia acts to protect and enhance the Australian environment by advocating for more sustainable gardening practices.

May – Living Simply
Sunday 16 May, 3pm – 5pm
Location: St Nicholas Church Hall, 5 Murray St Yarraville, (around the corner from the Sun Theatre). Melway 42 A8
Presenters: Samuel Alexander and Chris Williams
Registration Form

This presentation is an exploration of the low-consumption way of life known as ‘voluntary simplicity’ or ‘downshifting. How do you challenge the consumerist idea that ‘more is always better? How do you live a life that is inwardly rich and outwardly simple and how do you align the money you spend to your values to get more out of life while spending less. Hear about others who have started their journey towards simplicity. Join us for an interesting and thought provoking discussion.

About the presenters:
Samuel Alexander is the founder of The Life Poets’ Simplicity Collective, a grass-roots ‘network of imaginations’ dedicated to the advancement of the Voluntary Simplicity Movement. He was formerly a lecturer in the Law School at Melbourne University.

Dr Chris Williams, author of Old Land New Landscapes and former Conservation Director at Trust for Nature. Chris is now an independent environmental consultant and is a strong advocate of voluntary simplicity.

June – Cutting-Edge Sustainable Homes
Wednesday 16 June, 6pm -7.30pm
Location: West Footscray Library and Learning Centre, 539 Buckley St West Footscray. Melway 41 J4
Presenters: Michael Day, Editor of Sanctuary Magazine, Alternative Technology Association
Registration Form

Sanctuary is Australia’s only magazine dedicated to sustainable house design. Editor Michael Day will present a photo diary of Australia’s best sustainable homes and reveal the design ideas, materials, construction techniques and sustainable technology used in the building of some of Australia’s best sustainable homes. This Sanctuary seminar will demonstrate that building your home with the environment in mind does not mean compromising on architectural style, comfort or quality.

About the Presenter
Sanctuary co-editor Michael Day has a long background in publishing and environmental activism, and prior to joining the Alternative Technology Association worked with the Australian Conservation Foundation, Sustainable Living Festival and Lonely Planet.

Contact
For more information contact:
Environment Officer
9688 0357
email@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

We need your old car tyres for CERES Van Raay Centre

The landscaping for the Van Ray 2 will be enlisting the services of the CERES Earthship Group in the construction of several terraces from the north side of the Van Ray centre down to the farm paddock. Earthships are buildings constructed from waste materials, predominantly old car tyres which are usually a massive waste problem. 11 million are discarded annually in Australia, most of which end up in landfill.

CERES will be running workshops on the construction of tyre walls and Earthship buildings from May with the eventual aim of building an Earthship dwelling on site. We are calling out for CERES members and friends to bring in their used car tyres and pay the $5 disposal levy to us instead of their tyre supplier in the name of awareness raising and community contribution to the construction of CERES public gardens. All money will go back into the cost of construction of the wall, a “Chookship” and, with the blessing of Moreland Council, the full Earthship dwelling. Plans are afoot to bring Michael Reynolds himself over from the U.S. to build the house as a workshop and kick of an Australian support group for Earthship construction.
For details or to arrange a drop-off, call CERES landscape designer Phillip Smith on 0406142799 or email phillip@ceres.org.au

CURED SAUSAGE MAKING
with Sausages Made Simple
Tuesday 30 March 2010
6.30PM—9.00PM
$99/$88 CERES member/concession
Location: CERES Eco House
Learn the wonderful secrets of sausage making by taking part in this informative and fun workshop run by SAUSAGES MADE SIMPLE. You will learn how to make cured sausages using a traditional Italian method including cured meats, salami, pancetta and capocollo making. The workshop involves hand-on participation. The made sausages are cooked during the course and are available for tasting!!!
For more information or to make a booking please contact Reception on 9387 2609

FROM FARM TO FEAST
with Ray Chang and Matt Danielle
Sunday 28 March 2010
10.00AM—4.00PM
$88/$77 CERES member/concession
Location: CERES Honey Lane Market Garden/CERES Farm Kitchen
In this hands-on workshop you will visit our CERES market garden and learn the basics of organic gardening. Harvest a bounty of seasonal vegetables and herbs from the garden. You will then head into the Farm kitchen and create a seasonal feast with the fresh harvest. At the end of workshop you will sit down and share the rewards from the day’s workshop and taste the glory of growing your own and eating seasonally.

We’re in the process of starting up a local seed savers network.

The Seed Savers’ Network aims are:

• To preserve the biodiversity of traditional, cultivated, non-hybrid useful plant varieties through community involvement.
• To monitor, conserve, maintain and expand the genetic diversity of domesticated plant species and their wild relatives in their habitats.
• To promote the ecologically sustainable use and production of quality seeds in biodiverse, indigenous and natural farming and gardening systems.
• To raise public awareness of the importance of plant diversity.

POW is running a workshop on seed saving on the 24th April. On the day, you’ll be able to register for the new Seed Savers network for the Western Suburbs. Maybe you want to start your own local Seed Savers network closer to you. Information will be available on the day. Either way, put that date in the diary, and see you there! Or, if you can’t attend but want to be kept in the loop, send an email to seedsavers@pow.org.au