Environmentality 25 July 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Smokey and Jaime had the pleasure of interviewing Jane Ward about sustainable living and the wonderful Urban Bush-Carpenters initiative.

Urban Bush-Carpenters (UBC) comprises a group of individuals who are passionate about carpentry and self reliance, utilising what wooden materials they can find around them.  Once a month UBC holds a free carpentry workshop using found, donated or discarded timber.

The members of Urban Bush-Carpenters themselves are not professional carpenters, rather, volunteers who are learning by doing and sharing this with others.  Their attitude is about 'having a go' and enjoying the process of constructing things.  The types of items made during the workshops include compost bins, planter boxes, worm farms and chook houses.  Basically, useful items for sustainable living and gardening.

The workshops are held on the 3rd Saturday of every month at 10am at Ceres.  If there is a group of people planning on attending, it is probably worth calling UBC to book in.  You can also donate your unwanted wood to Ceres.

There is a UBC website where you can find out more: www.urbanbushcarpenters.org.  Thankyou to Jane for sharing information about Urban Bush-Carpenters.  Environmentality listeners will surely be inspired to get busy with their hammers and saws!

Environmentality July 18 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Environmentality has a new regular horticultural and gardening feature, with Jodi Jackson.  Jodi spoke with Jaime and Smokey about the citrus season, and what people should focus on in their vegetable gardens at this time.

If you recall from several weeks ago, Jodi Jackson also informed Environmentality listeners about the Lemon Tree Project in Melbourne.  The blog site is: www.thelemontreeproject.com.  The Lemon Tree Project is about utilising spaces like nature strips, parks and other areas to plant lemon trees. The community take joint ownership of caring for the trees, and also enjoying the produce!  Jodi is an expert in looking after lemon and citrus trees and shared her knowledge with listeners. 

Image by Yolande Larratt

Melbourne is currently enjoying a good citrus season.  However due to heavy rainfall in recent times, Jodi has explained that there have been signs of water logging.  Citrus plants may be showing signs of stress, especially in heavy clay type soils.  Leaves may be dropping off or changing color.  Springtime weather will help these plants, as the extra sun evaporates excess water.  However in the meantime Jodi has offered some tips to help maintain healthy citrus trees:

•  On your lemon and citrus trees, you may notice strange dots and bumps.  These are most likely the ‘Gall Wasp’.  The wasps leave bumps on the leaves due to their breeding patterns.  People should cut off the affected leaves.  The leaves need to be incinerated with fire, not just put in the compost or bin.  Leaves that are discolored, turning yellow around the central veins for example, indicates a nitrogen deficiency.  People should add manure to the soil eg. chook poo. 
• Curly leaves are a sign of potassium deficiency. Add lime to the soil.
• To promote the overall health of your plant which will be noticeable in a few weeks 1) Sprinkle around citrus tree roots a handful of blood and bone and rock dust (crushed volcanic stone in powder form).  2) Mix 1 tsp iron chelates and 1 tsp epsom salts with seaweed fertilizer in a watering can.  Water this tonic over the foliage and any remaining liquid into the soil.

     Jodi also shared some of her ideas to help us with our veggie patches:

• It is not too late to plant broad beans.  To kick start the process, it is a good idea to soak the broad bean seed overnight before planting.
• Continue to plant vegetables from the brassica family, for example broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, kale, and silverbeet.
•  It is a good time to propagate strawberry plants.  If you have runners (stolons) there will be off shoots / roots that you can separate into distinct plants.
•  If you are plagued by snails and slugs, Jodi has a great idea.  Collect them and feed them to the ducks at your local pond! 

As part of the Hume Environmental Champions Program, the finalists for the Microgrants scheme will be announced on the 30^th of July.   The Lemon Tree Project is amongst the contenders. See www.leaderlocalgrants.com.au and the www.environmentchampions.org websites for more details.

     

      Finally, Jodi is holding a 'Preparing your soil for Spring' workshop 10am-12pm on the 26th of July at the Meadow Heights Community Centre 15-29 Buchan St, Meadow Heights.  This workshop is part of the Hume City Council Environmental Workshops.  Feel free to leave any feedback or questions about the show on this blog.

      

      Listen to the show!

Environmentality 11 July 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

To all the coffee lovers out there, and in Melbourne there are many, have you often wondered whether coffee grounds could serve a useful purpose other than waste?  Smokey and Jaime spoke with Shane Genziuk, founder of the Ground to Ground initiatve, about how we can make better use of coffee grounds, in our gardens.

Shane Genziuk is a self-confessed coffee addict.  Around two years ago, he started to research used coffee grounds, finding that several tonnes are produced in Melbourne's CBD alone every day.   Most of this goes to landfill, contributing to the production of methane gas.  The Ground to Ground initiative was created to make people more aware of the opportunity to recycle or reuse coffee grounds. 

Shane found that coffee grounds can be extremely beneficial in gardening.  Shane has created a wonderful website http://groundtoground.org/ which helps educate people about using coffee grounds in their gardens.  A few helpful pointers for gardeners:

• Coffee grounds have 2% nitrogen by weight, thereby acting like a slow release fertiliser.
• Worms love coffee grounds.  Attracting worms into the soil improves its condition, resulting in healthier plants. 
• You can put coffee grounds into your garden without composting first.  However it is important to dig coffee grounds into the soil.  Otherwise, a crust is formed on the surface, preventing moisture and oxygen getting in to the soil.  
• In the compost, coffee grounds help generate heat and retain water. These are ideal conditions for composting.
• Coffee grounds are sterile, with most of the caffeine having been removed during the coffee brewing process.  There are historical references to coffee grounds being used for animal feed, with people currently reporting success with feeding chickens.  

The important step is to actually obtain the used coffee grounds from cafes that would otherwise go to waste.  This is where you, Environmentality listeners can help.  Simply ask your local cafe owner for their coffee grounds.  Alternatively, the Ground to Ground website features a map detailing the location of Melbourne cafes which are happy to pass on their coffee grounds.

The Ground to Ground initiative is inspiring many people around the world, not just in Melbourne, to take action by reusing this otherwise waste product.  Congratulations to Shane and his team on this initiative.  If you missed the interview, the podcast is now available online to listen to.

Environmentality 4 July 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

Today Smokey and Danielle updated listeners about Sustainability Drinks, followed by an interview with David Walker, Executive Officer of Gould League.

Sustainability Drinks Melbourne takes place on the first Wednesday of every month 6-8pm, with the fantastic combination of a guest speaker talking about sustainability, with the added bonus of, you guessed it, drinks!

Unfortunately this week Smokey and Danielle were extremely upset to be plagued by technical difficulties.  They were unable to speak to Dan Atkins who normally briefs listeners on the monthly program.  Smokey instead provided details of the Sustainability Drinks guest speaker for tonight, Peter Ho, Director of PHOOEY Architects.

PHOOEY Architects incorporate sustainability in their design practice, and are award winning in Australia and overseas.  People may know Peter Ho as a judge on ABC’s New Inventors.  To hear him speak, Sustainability Drinks are held at the Slate Restaurant Bar 9 Goldsbrough Lane Melbourne 3000.
To find out more, visit http://melbournesustainabilitydrinks.com/

The Gould League is a non-profit environmental organisation, started in 1909 by people concerned about the impact of habitat lost.  It commenced with a campaign to encourage children to look after wildlife, especially birdlife.  Today, the Gould League provides training and education programs and sustainability initiatives.

The environmental training programs focused in schools encompasses a range of activities like excursions, workshops and demonstrations.  The topics covered are many, including biodiversity, sustainable urban living, recycling and gardening.  There are various programs for a range of age groups, starting from early childhood.

David Walker explained to listeners that the real focus of the Gould League is in encourage people to change their lifestyles.  It is important to recognise that if one person takes action towards sustainability that it does have an impact!  The Gould League are finding that Primary School aged children are enthusiastic about changing their habits, with around 70% of families changing their habits in some way as a result of the training provided!

Gould League Program - Boys looking for worms

Gould League Program - Planting exercise

One initiative that is proving successful is the multicultural gardens program.  Recently arrived immigrants and refugees are given the opportunity to cultivate the vegetables they are familiar with from their original country of origin.  The people are already used to cultivating these foods, and are simply provided with planning, tools and other support.

There are many opportunities for people to be involved as volunteers, members or simply in providing a donation.  You can find out more on www.gould.org.au.  Thankyou for reading our blog!

Listen to the show!

Environmentality 27 June 2012

Dear Listeners,

It was just like old times, with the original crew Smokey and Jaime joining together to host the show.  They had the pleasure of interviewing Jarrod Sferruzzi from the Australian Student Environmental Network (ASEN).

ASEN is a network of 38 university environmental collectives across Australia.  Individual state networks also link with the collectives.  ASEN utilises a decentralized approach, whereby different networks may chose to be part of the various environmental and social justice campaigns of the network.

Jarrod talked to the presenters about the range of fantastic activities and campaigns run by ASEN.  ASEN publish a magazine whereby submissions are taken from student activities here and overseas.  They also organize fundraising activities and training workshops for students who wish to learn the nuts and blots of environmental activism.

ASEN's annual Student Environment Conference is soon upcoming on the 4^th-8^th of July.   This year, the theme is ‘Students of Sustainability’.  Held in Bendigo, Victoria (Dja Dja Wurrung Country), it will involve 5 days of workshops, plenary activities and sessions on environmental activism.   And its not just limited to students, anyone with an interest in environmental issues are welcome to join! 

Some of the key topics that will be explored in the conference will be climate change, forests in Tasmania and the Olympic Dam agreement.  People who wish to run their own workshops like yoga for example, can also organise them at the event itself. 

You can find out more about ASEN’s campaigns and activities on their website: www.asen.org.au.

Smokey also had the opportunity to share his commentary about Victoria’s desalination plant.  Some of the current issues include high water bill pricing and overcharging, whether there was ever an actual need for the plant in the first place and poor government handling of the issue. Well worth listening to the discussion on the podcast if you missed it. 

Wonthaggi desalination plant in progress, Image by Peter Campbell

Smokey and Jaime ended the show with a quick chat about stray cat management in the Moreland City Council.  There is a proposed option of re-releasing captured strays after neutering.  Research has shown that the numbers of cats are reduced overall through this method due to the territorial dynamics of the cats.  It is  also considered a more humane way to deal with the problem.  Feel free to leave your comments on this issue, the  desalination plant or any other from the show.  Thankyou for visiting our blog!


Listen to the podcast!

Environmentality 20 June 2012

Jaime, Bridget and Danielle spoke with two wonderful guests, Martin Foster, from the Adopt-a-Tree Program, and Daisy Barham from the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

The fantastic Adopt-a -Tree Program in the Moreland Council is about the greening of nature strips and civic land with native ground covers, and edible herbs and vegetables.   Residents and businesses "adopt" the land and take care of it. The community help with monthly weeding and the maintenance of the sites.  The-Adopt-a-Tree program originally started with an article in the local newspaper, and 50 people signed up straight away.

The community were able to get the approval and financial support of the Moreland Council for the initiative.  There are health benefits, in having people physically active in the community.  And as well as the obvious environmental benefits, there are also social benefits through community engagement and the sharing of stories.  Children especially are enjoying the opportunity to be involved.  Now in its second year of operating, the Adopt-A-Tree Program is looking to become incorporated and expand to other councils. 

As part of the program, there is an initiative to connect the Merri Creek and the Moonee Ponds Creek through a natural corridor whereby wildlife are able to pass through.  The community will also be able to walk through the corridor, which will hopefully encourage more people to use their feet rather than car!  Martin has told us that their website is underway, in the meantime you can email him on with any queries about the program: adoptatreeinmoreland@y7mail.com

In the second half of the show the co-presenters spoke with Daisy Barham from the Australian Marine Conservation Society, the only conservation organisation dedicated to oceans in Australia.   The Society promotes conservation of Australia’s waters, the most diverse waters in the world. Their website: www.amcs.org.au, also see www.protectourcoralsea.org.au 

There is some good news on the marine conservation front, which Environmentality listeners may already be aware of.   Last week, the Federal Environment Minister announced the largest network of marine reserves in the world!  The network of marine parks is made up of five zones around Australia, including the Coral Sea.  This network will protect the waters for conservation purposes, like national parks.  Australia is now a world leader in this area, something to be proud of! 

A large focus of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development will also be on oceans.  As Daisy commented, around 30-40 years ago people woke up to the negative impacts of human activity on land through visible impacts such as deforestation.  Now at the Rio Conference there will hopefully be more of a spotlight on the oceans.

The choices we make daily have an impact on marine life and the oceans.  The Australian Marine Conservation Society have developed a wonderful sustainable seafood guide, with 100 species assessed for sustainability. You can find it on this website: www.sustainableseafood.org.au

Next week, the Environmentality team will be speaking to Jarred from Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN) about student environmental activism.  We will also be shortly starting an exciting new regular feature.  Gavin Webber, author of the fabulous www.greeningofgavin.com blog, will be doing some 10 minute reading sessions of his new book to listeners.  Stay tuned!

Listen to the show!

Environmentality 6 June 2012

Dear Environmentality Listeners,

It was an action packed show, with Smokey, Jaime and Danielle interviewing no less than three guests!

First of all, Dan Atkins reminded listeners about Sustainability Drinks, which is held in Melbourne on the first Wednesday of every month.   Started 5 years ago, around 150 people have been attending Sustainability Drinks each month.  Tonight’s guest speaker is Scott Kinnear from Organic Wholefoods.   Organic Wholefoods is a family business of organic wholefoods, promoting health and sustainability.

Dan Atkins has noticed many positive outcomes arising out of guests attending Sustainability Drinks.  Around 50% of people are new guests each month.  Career changes are instigated, business ideas are sparked and friendships are forged!   Held at the Slate Restaurant Bar 6-8pm. See: Http://melbournesustainabilitydrinks.com

The co-presenters then spoke with Damien Harrison, who is the Natural Heritage Officer from the Hume City Council.  Damien works within the Hume’s Environment Department comprising 14 staff.  The team are responsible for the management of natural areas, greenhouse reduction program, sustainable water management, environmental planning and a sustainable education program.

Damien oversaw the development of the Hume City Council’s Natural Heritage Strategy 2011-2015, which is currently a finalist for a United Nations Environment Day award (announced this Friday!).  The Strategy aims to enhance Hume's environment and broadly covers four themes: waterways, wildlife, flora/fauna and geology.  

Damien has certainly been busy in the last few years he has been working with the Hume City Council! Alongside his colleagues, the Hume City Council have undertaken work with the community in planning, land preservation, conservation and education.   Around 60% of the Hume area is still rural, with much of the natural ‘values’ occurring on private land.  There is a service provided to work with landholders to help manage their land, for example in weed management.  Other focus areas include protection and management of parks, wetlands and grasslands.  

A website link: http://www.hume.vic.gov.au/Waste_Environment/Environment

Finally, the Environmentality team enjoyed a quick chat with Helen from CarrotMob.  The CarrotMob Challenge encourages several businesses to improve their environmental performance.  A winner is selected, and then rewarded by a large number of customers spending money at that business. To date, the businesses participating have largely been cafes or food stores.   The CarrotMob is best thought of as the opposite to a boycott!

The current CarrotMob Challenge is currently paired up with the City of Melbourne’s Eco Carlton Program. You can vote online for the most sustainable business out of five Carlton contenders via the website below.  Helen also calls listeners to take action and instigate a Carrotmob Challenge in their own area!   Here is a link to the blog: http://carrotmobmelbourne.wordpress.com/

Listen to the show!