Permaculture Out West

Archive for April, 2010

In coming decades the world faces the risk of major regional food crises leading to conflicts and mass refugee movements. This is driven primarily by emerging scarcities of all the primary resources – land, water, oil, fertilizer and R&D – required to produce food, at a time of changing climate. The lecture will outline key factors in emerging global food insecurity and proposes some solutions.

Julian Cribb is an author, journalist, editor and science communicator and principal of Julian Cribb & Associates who provide specialist consultancy in the communication of science, agriculture, mining, energy and the environment. His career includes appointments as newspaper editor, scientific editor for The Australian, public affairs director for CSIRO, member of numerous boards and advisory panels, and president of national professional bodies for agricultural journalism and science communication. His published work includes over 8000 articles, 2500 media releases and eight books. He has received 32 awards for journalism.

“I have known Julian for about 7 years and during that period I have benefited greatly from his experience and wisdom in the area of science communication. Julian has had a significant impact on my thinking and the thinking of many others within the CGIAR. Because of Julian’s collaboration with us, we have developed a new and effective communications effort. Julian is a clear thinker with a very analytical mind. He combines these characteristics with much experience in the area of science communications and a high level of motivation.”

– Dr Per Pinstrup-Andersen, former Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC

“Mr Cribb has been a significant force in promoting science throughout the community for two decades…he is the author of numerous papers and books and has mentored a great many science communicators.”

– Hon. Peter McGauran, former Minister for AFF

Location: Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre (Building 134), grid reference F20, Parkville Campus.

Date: 28th April, 5.30 – 6.30pm

Click here to register

Although up to 70% of processed food contains ingredients derived from GM, labelling loopholes mean almost none of it is labelled.

The Federal Government is reviewing the Food Labelling Standards. Details here:

*             http://www.madge.org.au/foodlabelling.php

*             http://www.madge.org.au/GM-labelling-review-2009.html

The Panel received over 6,000 submissions in the first round. Now as part of the consultation process, they will be holding a meeting in Melbourne on Thursday 29th April.

You can register to attend either the morning or afternoon sessions by following this link:

http://www.foodlabellingreview.gov.au/internet/foodlabelling/publishing.nsf/Content/foodlabelreview_reg_melb

The morning sessions will begin at approx 8.30 am and run for 3 hours.The venue for the meeting and the exact times have not been announced, but will be on the MADGE website and facebook as soon as they are.

You may prefer to join us outside from 8 am onwards where we will ask : “Why are we eating in the dark ?” Bring a blindfold and a food product that MAY contain a GM ingredient. We want to know for sure!

Watching TV tonight? Lateline on ABC at 10.30am is about GM crops, food and patenting – http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/gene-wars/. If you miss this in the evening, it can be watched online on the ABC as well. The ABC is also running a series on food security entitled ‘Hunger Pains: feeding the big Australia’ well worth a look http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/hunger-pains/

Happy Eating

Love

Madge http://www.madge.org.au

Maribyrnong City Council is holding a bulk purchase of water tanks through their Sustainable Suburbs in the West program.

The tanks are:

•             Australian Made

•             Comply with Australian Standards; AS4020 & AS2070

•             Top quality UV Protected food grade polyethylene

•             Full range of colours

•             Large range of round and slimline tanks 650L – 11,000L

•             10-20 year warranties

•             Free Delivery

Come to the water tank bulk purchase information session to find our more about rebates, prices and process.

Where: Maribyrnong City Council: Cnr Napier and Hyde St. Footscray

When: Wednesday 28 April 7-9pm

Contact: Climate Change Officer 9688 0395 or jill.berry@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

A local convenience store in Hawthorn has pledged 100% of their carrotmob profits to go towards making positive and sustainable changes to their business!!! They can be found at 52 Church St and we’ll be mobbing (i.e. rocking up and buying something) them from 10.30 – 1pm on April 17th – put it in your diary.

The owners are keen to try and sell more locally produced food and we will be helping them test this out at the Carrotmob. A sustainability assessment has been conducted and we have identified energy efficiency improvements they can put their carrotmob profit towards.
If you think this sounds great please come along and bring some friends. The bigger the mob the bigger the changes this store can make!

See http://melbourne.carrotmob.org/ for more details.

Iramoo is excited to have received funding to build a NEW EcoLiving Centre and are in the design concept stage for the new Eco-Living Centre at Iramoo Sustainable Community Centre at Victoria University St.Albans and would love to receive some feedback from people regarding what they’d like to see and do at Iramoo.  They can either cut and paste the Survey Monkey website from the at newsletter or visit our website www.iramoo.org to get the information required (and see what else we have to offer).

Hope you can assist and look forward to receiving some feedback.

Iramoo Newsletter

Sustainable Gardening Australia’s monthly e-newsletter is out now. This month, topics are:

Bringing Birds Back To The ‘Burbs

You Spin Me Right Round – Crop Rotation Explained

April in your Patch

Broccolli and Cauliflower – Wonderful Winter Winners!

The Need For Feed – Feeding Famished Flora – Fantastic or Folly?

Larvae Life – Cabbage White Butterfly

Kevin Heinze Garden Centre is having its Autumn Plant Fair, Saturday 17th April from 9am to 3pm
We have thousands of quality plants at great prices, including shrubs, herbs, vegetables, natives, ornamentals, succulents, hanging baskets, trees, rushes and grasses, sensory plants, houseplants and more!
We also have bbq, cakes, garden tools, and great kid’s activities. Come and see the gardens! Plants can be purchased during business hrs. also (8.30am-4.30pm)

39 Wetherby Road, Doncaster, Victoria, AUSTRALIA    Melway Map Reference 47 H2
Telephone (Australia) 03 – 9848 3695         Email: khgc@unite.com.au
http://www.kevinheinzegardencentre.com/

Some of you received a Westlink News Community Update April 2010, dropped into your letter box over the last week.

In it, it announces a new $10 million two and half year study. This study and all that follows is conducted under the Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act, introduced in Victoria in 2009. It is administered by the Minister of Planning, the Honourable Justin Madden (he’s the one that’s been in the news recently over his staff suggesting they fake a community consultation).

Westlink will affect the communities of Seddon, Footscray, West Footscray and Sunshine West. One of the key elements is a road tunnel between the Port of Melbourne and Sunshine Road running under the Maribyrnong River and the communities of Seddon and Footscray. The key reasons for building Westlink are:

• to cater for an additional 350,000 people moving into the west over the next 15 years (i.e. more cars);
• reduce pressure on the Westgate Bridge (i.e. more cars and trucks);
• to improve freight access to the Port of Melbourne (i.e. more trucks)

The newsletter introduces us to a “Social Impact Assessment” team leader Ruth Davies (see here for Ruth’s LinkedIn profile) and to two new advisory groups (you can see why is costs $10 million) to help with the communication with the community, and vitally, to get the community’s input. There’s even talk of 2 way communication. There’s a online community survey (click here and select the Community Survey picture on the right hand side)

Of concern is that there’s not one mention of health issues. There is a link between ultrafine particles (a form of particulate matter prevalent in truck and car exhausts) and the following:

• Individuals with respiratory disease (e.g., Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, acute bronchitis) and cardiovascular disease (e.g., ischemic heart disease) are at greater risk of premature mortality and hospitalisation.
• Individuals with infectious respiratory disease (e.g., pneumonia) are at greater risk of premature mortality and morbidity (e.g., hospitalisation, aggravation of respiratory symptoms). Also, exposure to particulate matter may increase individual susceptibility to respiratory infections.
• Elderly individuals are also at greater risk of premature mortality and hospitalisation for cardiopulmonary causes.
• Children are at greater risk of increased respiratory symptoms and decreased lung function.
• Asthmatic children and adults are at risk of exacerbation of symptoms and increased need for medical attention.

These findings where documented in a federal government literature review of  published studies from around the world- it’s just over 300 pages – click here.

Have a read and start thinking about what the future developments will mean for our communities. We live in safe Labor seats; Labor is the party in power at the state and council level. Go and fill in the online survey, start talking to your neighbours and to your local council member, to your state level representative. We need to make sure that our air, our soil, our environment is not in a worse condition for all of us.

The Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA) and Brimbank City Council  have launched an exciting new competition for Brimbank residents which aims to recognise and reward the great work of Brimbank residents for the most innovative and creative ideas that make a sustainable  home.

Entries will be judged according to a number of categories including:

• Most creative sustainable renovation or retrofit
• Best reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in landfill
• The most innovative & effective water or energy saving invention or design
• Additional prize for an outstanding applicant from a newly arrived community group

For further information and to register see attached flyer and entry form

or visit www.envirogroup.com.au/sustainablesuburbs,

Participants have the opportunity to win great prizes that include:

1st Prize: $1000 EnviroShop Voucher

2nd Prize: City West Water Hamper valued at $400

3rd & 4th Prize: $100 Ladybird Organic voucher and $50 Iramoo nursery voucher

SEE FOR ALL DETAILS http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/22/2852292.htm?site=news

By Brigid Andersen

Updated Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:27am AEDT

Veg Out’s one-acre block now caters for up to 700 families, individuals and community groups. (www.vegout.asn.au)

RELATED STORY: Buy local, sink the export industry: researcher
RELATED STORY: Govt urged to nurture suburban food bowls
RELATED LINK: Follow Hunger Pains on Twitter
If you’re thinking of starting a community garden, gather a big group of people and get ready to work hard, both on and off the land.

That’s the advice of Rob Taylor, president of Veg Out community garden in Melbourne.

Conceived following the closure of St Kilda Bowls Club in 1998, Veg Out’s one-acre block now caters for up to 700 families, individuals and community groups.

It has become a model for community gardens all over Australia.

Mr Taylor says local governments are often opposed to community gardens and it can take a lot of work to get plans for such projects approved.

He says the first step to getting approval for a garden is to get a community group together.

“What they need to do is get a lot of people involved and they need to go and look at other community gardens, have a barbecue, have a beer, get a big group of people together, then start approaching local council and stuff like that,” he said.

“You can just disappear into a mindless morass of bureaucracy. Planning processes just go on for years and years and years.”

He says parklands, vacant blocks and land owned by businesses can all be used to grow fruit and vegetables.

But he warns that a lot of work goes into maintaining a community garden.

“You’ve got to use your garden, it can’t be some abstract concept or a fashion accessory. It’s a garden and you’ve got to grow stuff,” he said.

“Stuff grows for a few months, then it needs to be pulled out and replaced. The soil needs to be built up and garden edges need to be built up and you need to harvest water. It just goes on and on.”

He says understanding the seasonality of produce is key to ensuring a decent harvest.

“Obviously you need to time it so there’s no gap between seasons where you’ve got [no produce] coming out. I mean you won’t be getting any basil in winter, but if you can deal with that trauma you should be alright.”

He says people easily feed themselves from their gardens at Veg Out.

“You look at a city like Melbourne or Sydney – I don’t know if you’re going to grow enough food in community gardens to feed all the people, but what you do is you become like a beacon and we get people all the time. They go: ‘Oh that’s how you grow that. What about the soil? How do I build these raised beds?’,” he said.

“We put in solar power and water tanks and all this stuff and people are always coming down and asking questions or taking photos.”

Mr Taylor says many people are realising the benefits of growing food in the city.

“There’s all kinds of health benefits that aren’t necessarily just about food. There’s social benefits of people getting together and there’s certainly the food benefits,” he said.

Mr Taylor says Veg Out has also been a boon for local community groups, which have reaped about $150,000 from the garden’s fund-raising activities.

“We have all these other events, like Christmas carols, or Carrots by Candlelight we call it,” he said.

“We run a farmers market. We have 50 or 60 stalls, farmers from all over Victoria, once a month and we get thousands of people at that.

“So that gives us an income. And we support all these other groups in the community from schools to lifesaving clubs.”