Launch of NEEN+

Margaret and Di attended the Tasmanian launch of a new group called NEEN+ this week.  NEEN stands for National Energy Efficiency Network, and is: "a national initiative to promote open learning and collaboration amongst faith-based and not-for-profit community organisations, with the aim of increasing energy efficiency and  establishing a positive energy future for the sector".

It is funded by the Commonwealth Government and sponsored by Catholic EarthCare Australia.  NEEN's goal is to create a learning network amongst small to medium-sized faith-based and NFP groups which are interested in reducing their energy consumption, and through the application of their learnings, achieve a reduction of 10 percent in their energy bills.

Organisations in scope for NEEN include childcare services, aged care, healthcare service providers, and more.  Organisations which join NEEN gain access to a range of information on good ways to improve the energy efficiency of their offices and buildings, and are able to share their challenges and their learnings with similar agencies.  NEEN has published some very good pamphlets, including "Energy Efficiency:  Top 10 Opportunities".  I was most interested in the excellent online "Opportunities Assessment" calculator developed for NEEN, which is based on typical energy usage across the targetted organisational sectors.  NEEN organisations can use the tool to identify areas where they could save energy, and based on a cost/benefit/payback period analysis, obtain a prioritised list of where to take action.

Faith-based and NFPs in West Hobart should take a good look at what NEEN can offer them.  NEEN has a Vic/Tas Coordinator, Michael Hwang (michael.hwang@neen.org.au) who is keen to hear from organisations.  Check out their website :  www.neen.org.au  to learn more.

The joy of working in someone else's garden

The working bee in Eve's Garden was good fun.  More than one of us commented that it is more fun working in someone else's garden than in your own!  Perhaps it is the lack of pressure - you are given one task to do, you can chat to nice people while weeding or digging, and then it is done.  No sense of the rest of the grand task and all the other jobs on the list!  A bit like looking after grandchildren perhaps.

Anyway, it was a lovely afternoon and very interesting to see how a back garden can be made into almost a market garden.  Liz has a number of long, slightly raised beds (the height of a railway sleeper), equipped with drip irrigation, and a family of chooks with personalities.  Her love of growing and her commitment to sustainable, organic gardening was a pleasure to witness.  The plants look really healthy and the soil she has built up over the seasons is gorgeous.

All too soon it was time to stop for tea and cake.