Environmentality 19 September 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Jaime and Yolande had the pleasure of being joined by two guests in the studio, firstly Jodi for our monthly 'Garden Times' session, followed by Emily Dunstan from Zoos Victoria.

Jodi has just returned from a very exciting trip to Germany where she gathered much inspiration for garden displays and decoration, cooking and more.  Some of what Jodi talked about in regards to her trip included:

• The joys of foraging for wild hazlenuts and blackberries.
• Discovering rare and exciting heirloom apples, pears and grapes.  
• Learning more about regional recipes.
• Visiting Shrebergartens and permaculture gardens. 

Jodi spoke about these interesting topics in detail and we encourage you to listen to the podcast to find out more. We will also post some of her photos on this blog, stay tuned!

Jodi also gave listeners an update on gardening in September and beyond.  Here are some tips:

• Feed strawberry plants with chook manure, blood and bone and /or rock dust.  The first crop always yields the largest, juiciest strawberries.
• Salvias can be cut back by a third.
• Summer herbs and vegetables are ready to be sowed.
• Flowers are also ready to be sowed!
• Pot flowers in beds for attractive displays.  Jodi recommends Sweet Alyssums, Brachyscome, Geraniums, Impatiens, Lobelias, Marigolds, Pansies, Petunias, Plectranthus, Sedums.

Next up, we welcomed Emily Dunstan, General Manager of Community Conservation at Zoos Victoria, to talk about their 'Don't Palm Us Off' campaign.  The production of palm oil is a leading cause of deforestation in South East Asia, threatening the habitat and survival of orang-utans and other endangered species.

Image Courtesy of Zoos Victoria

It is currently very difficult for Australian consumers to tell whether there is palm oil in their food as it is most often labelled as 'vegetable oil'.   The research varies, but a current estimate is that around 50% of packaged food in Australia contains palm oil.   Emily also talked about the fact that palm oil is contained in many cosmetics and cleaning products.

The Don't Palm Us Off campaign is advocating for mandatory labelling of palm oil products in Australia and New Zealand.  Consumers then are able to choose products that are labelled 'certified sustainable palm oil' (CSPO).   To find out more about the campaign and what you can do to help, go to:

http://www.zoo.org.au/get-involved/act-for-wildlife/dont-palm-us-off

The following classic tunes were played:

  Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free (Released)

  Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay (The Very Best of Nina Simone)

  The Beatles - What Goes On (Rubber Soul)

  Elvis - A Little Less Conversation (30 #1 Hits)

Listen to the show!