Permaculture Out West

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Maribyrnong City Council has committed funding to expand the Braybrook Community Garden. You are invited to attend a design workshop to develop concept plans for the garden expansion. The workshop is hands on, and will be facilitated by Council landscape architects. Please bring pictures of other community gardens or garden ideas to share. Afternoon tea will be provided.

Places are limited, an RSVP is essential to attend this workshop.

Place:
Braybrook Community Centre Hall
107-139 Churchill Ave, Braybrook

Meeting time:
Saturday 25 February, 12.30-4.30pm

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

RSVP:
Thursday 23 February

A tour of Veg Out Community Gardens in St Kilda has been organised on Sunday 19 February for people who would like to participate in designing the Braybrook Community Garden expansion. Limited bus seats are available, you are also welcome to make your own way to the garden. Please contact Jennifer Witheridge if you would like to attend, RSVPs are essential. Please bring your own water and afternoon tea, wear closed toe shoes and dress appropriately for the weather.

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

The last of the community meetings for the expansion of Braybrook Community Garden is to be held this Saturday, 11th Feb, 10:30- 12:30pm at the Braybrook Community Centre.

Maribyrnong City Council needs your input into the future of both the existing community garden and the upcoming expansion.

Please come along with your ideas, big or small. All are welcome!

Place:
Braybrook Community Centre
107-139 Churchill Ave, Braybrook

Meeting time:
Saturday 11 February, 10.30am-12.30pm

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

We’re holding a working group meeting for any POWer Rangers who are interested in helping plan and run POW social events. If you’ve got some great ideas for POW festivities, then please come along.

When:
Monday 27th February @ 7.30pm

Where:
22 Tiernan Street, Footscray

Contact:
Emily Sims
emily@hausofwong.com
0431 318 249.

The next Permaculture Design Certificate course in Freshwater Creek near Geelong, Victoria is being held in April from the 1st to the 15th.

Rick Coleman from Southern Cross Permaculture Institute will be the main tutor and if numbers exceed 15 we will also have Kat Lavers and we will also have 2 very skilled local guest tutors who will be doing a session each.

Bookings are now open and the deposit needs to be paid by the 15th February.

Email Monica on goldenalight@yahoo.com.au or phone 03 5241 7086 or 0439 390 557 for more information. Or visit the Geelong Sustainability website and click on Events.

Free screening of visionary documentary ‘HOME’ the movie as part of the Transition Film Festival; connecting likeminded non-profit community groups and environmentally conscious organisations across the State. This event is being organised by local ES groups as a simultaneous satellite event as part of the State of Sustainability program, developed by the Sustainable Living Festival. It’s being organised to assist groups in bringing together their community to spark discussion on the challenges of sustainability.

Date: Saturday 18th February 2012
Time: 7.00pm
Location: Yarraville Community Centre (Hall), 59 Francis Street, Yarraville.

All welcome. Come along and enjoy the movie. Have coffee and a chat afterwards. Meet your local ES groups. Please BYO a plate of food to share and your own cup.
Hosted by: MOLM, MAWFREG, Permaculture Out West (POW), Newport Organic Collective (NOC) and many other local community groups. (Please contact me if you would like to be there representing your group).

This is a free event but your donation at the door to help cover our costs would be most welcome.
This event is very kindly supported by Yarraville Community Centre and Colleen Hartland MLC.
If possible, RSVPs please to: mawfreg@live.com.au or SMS 0432 857 266.

For more information on this unique cinematic masterpiece, please visit the official ‘HOME’ website.

Here’s the upcoming February and March workshops presented by the My Smart Garden program; a joint initiative between the Hobsons Bay and Moonee Valley City Councils

Design your edible oasis

Saturday 11 February, 10am – 12pm
Seabrook Community Centre
15 Truganina Ave, Seabrook

Using the principles of permaculture, we’ll show you how to design a food garden to give it the best chance of thriving to become an abundant oasis. In this workshop you’ll get a bit of hands-on practice to help you consider sun, shade, water, microclimates and more when planning your garden.

Keep your cool with trees and vines

Tuesday 21 February, 6.30 – 8.30pm
Cooper Street Community Centre
Cnr Cooper and Spencer Sts, Essendon (next to Buckley Park)

The right trees in the right places can make such a difference to the comfort and beauty of your home. And it’s a long term investment so you want to get it right! We’ll help you design your garden to protect your home from winds and summer heat and to make the most of winter sun. We’ll discuss integrating trees with vegie growing, suitable trees and tree care.

Seed saving

Sunday 4 March, 11am – 1pm
Wingate Avenue Community Centre
13A Wingate Ave, Ascot Vale

Come learn how to select and harvest seeds from your vegie garden then how to clean and store the seeds for next season. Feel free to bring along seeds for swapping too.

Winter vegie gardening

Saturday 31 March, 10am – 12 noon
Spotswood Primary School
600 Melbourne Rd (cnr Reed St), Spotswood

Rather than abandoning the garden after your summer vegie harvest, it’s now time to thinking about all the wonderful winter crops you could enjoy. This workshop will guide you through preparing vegie beds, green manure crops and choosing the right crops for the cooler time of year.

All workshops are FREE, register by emailing contactus@mysmartgarden.org.au

Want more free events, gardening advice, prizes and discounts from local nurseries? Join the My Smart Garden program at www.mysmartgarden.org.au

Maribyrnong City Council has committed funding to expand the Braybrook Community Garden. The garden will be a safe and inclusive place to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, learn new skills and meet people. The garden will be designed and built over the next six months. You are invited to attend community meetings to discuss how the garden should be designed and developed.

There are three dates, and all will be held at Braybrook Community Centre.

Place:
Braybrook Community Centre
107-139 Churchill Ave, Braybrook

Meeting times:
Tuesday 24 January, 2-4pm
Thursday 2 February, 6-8pm
Saturday 11 February, 10.30am-12.30pm

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

RSVP:
Tuesday 24 January, 12noon

Although the meetings are open to all, it would be great if people interested professionally could come to the session on Tuesday 24.

Wonderful, responsible tenant wanted for house in Maidstone/West Footscray.

Includes:

• 3 bedroom (or 2 plus study). Californian Bungalow style house. Eat in kitchen. Separate lounge. Sunroom + rear verandah.
• Gas heater and gas hot water.
• 2 A/C-heater units in two bedrooms.
• Tasmanian oak floorboards throughout.
• North facing.
• Vibrant native garden out front. Recently landscaped and planted native garden at back.
• Would prefer a person who is into gardens and plants. Some seasonal garden maintenance will be arranged.
• Near all amenities.

Price on inquiry ($350 p/w range)

Contact 0418 227 963

AVAILABLE MID JANUARY 2012 (earlier negotiable).

The Ethical Consumer Group is currently working on a new project called Local Harvest. It’s a new national initiative aiming to help people find local sources of food and grow their own.

A word from Nick Ray from the Ethical Consumer Group:

“It’s a one-stop -stop website resource for finding ‘good’ food close to you. It will make it easier to find great alternatives outside the supermarket that support growers and encourage more connection with the systems behind our food. I’m passionate about this project because so much of our food is controlled by a small number of large multinational companies, and it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve set up a page about the project at www.localharvest.org.au.

We’re trying to raise awareness about the project and also raise some funds using the Pozible crowd-sourcing initiative. It means that lots of people contribute a little to projects they believe in and together there’s enough to get them rolling. We’ve just 25 days left to reach our goal of $8,500, and have 12% so far.”

Check out the Local Harvest website for more details. To donate to the project, click here.