Reminder about the Winter Open Gardens Tour

Just a reminder about the local Winter Open Gardens this coming Sunday 12 August. There are 4 very varied local gardens for you to amble around. Please register to receive the addresses and garden notes. It's easy to register, just send a note to whengaf@gmail.com.

Sustainable House Day 2012

Sustainable House Day is an annual national event, aimed at providing an enjoyable, informative day that contributes to local community awareness of sustainable living. And its coming up again!  This year it will be on Sunday September 9th.

On this day each year, homes are opened for free, providing a fantastic opportunity for people who are interested in making their own homes or rental properties greener.  This gives people the chance to take a real-life look inside houses that have been designed, built or fitted out with sustainability in mind and talk to the owners, receiving unbiased advice.  Every year the organisers see greater investment in harvesting water and solar energy as communities realise our resources are finite and likely to become more expensive. By becoming energy efficient today, you’ll be on the front foot to save on energy bills and help the environment now and into the future. 

Would you like to be involved?  Do you have a house which was built to conserve energy, or which demonstrates sustainable living features?  e.g  reverse brick veneer / internal mass, passive solar heating, trombe wall, clever insulating techniques, water storage, permaculture garden,.....  The organisers of SHD would love to hear from you - there is a form to express interest on this page,  or you can contact them by email or phone 0438 988 345. 

They are also keen to hear from people who are available to simply help out on the day.

WH Winter Gardens Tour - Sunday 12 August 2012

Why not shake off that winter hibernation, come out and join fellow garden enthusiasts enjoying some lovely gardens in West Hobart?  See how your neighbours are dealing with the challenges of home fruit and vegie growing, get (and share) some tips, and chat with fellow gardeners.  Maybe go home with some cuttings or plants, and new ideas for your own vegie patch this summer : )

A number of West Hobart gardeners will be “at home” to neighbours on Sunday 12 August 2012. 

The open day is organised by WHEN’s Gardening and Food group (GAF), and is inspired by the highly successful “Gardening with the Bush” Garden Tour which was organised by Sustainable Living Tasmania  some years ago.

The day will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, with some gardens open in the morning, and others in the afternoon.   To respect the privacy of our generous host gardeners, people planning to participate will need to register with GAF.  You will then be given a copy of the day’s schedule, with the garden addresses and opening times.  You then create your own tour, deciding which gardens you will visit on the day.

We are also looking for more gardens to include in the tour.  Are you interested in opening up your garden?

To register as a participant for the Winter Gardens Tour, or to offer your garden for inclusion, please contact Margaret on  62314751 or email Di at whenvnet@gmail.com .

 

West Hobart 's a bit steep!

Here is a terrific set of photos of houses on steep slopes in Hobart, a lot of which are in West Hobart.
http://www.zeit.de/kultur/kunst/2012-06/fs-hobart-steep-housing

I'm not sure of the exact translation of the text, but it is something like:  the 'art' in the photos arises from  the  detail of the Victorian architecture, the symmetrical pairing of the houses, and the correlations between the roof lines etc and the slopes of the streets.....  My favourite is the pair where the cars are colour matched to the houses!  Thanks to the photographer Günther Bayerl.

Burn Brighter This Winter

Many residents will have received a flyer in their letterbox a month or so ago, giving some tips on how to run their woodheater more cleanly.  This is an excellent joint initiative of the DPIWE and Hobart City Council. A lot of people with wood heaters are unaware of how to choose wood and how to adjust the air intakes on the heater to get the best value out of their firewood.  Did you know that if you burn the wood more efficiently, you will also reduce the amount of smoke and particulates generated from your chimney?  This of course is a good thing for your neighbours.

There is a public meeting coming up, on Wednesday 18 July, at Mt Stuart Primary School, where people can learn more about the simple steps you can take to reduce the smoke coming out of your chimney.  Also there will be opportunities to ask questions of the various experts and bodies involved in monitoring for wood smoke.  Do you have a neighbour who is a chronic offender?  If so, you may be wondering what to do about it.

Do go along!  It starts at 6.30pm and is scheduled to finish at 8pm.
If you can't make it to the meeting, a contact if you have questions about this issue is:
Kristy Blackburn:    phone 62333947  or email kristy.blackburn@environment.tas.gov.au

Council recognises volunteers

In May the Hobart City Council held its annual volunteer recognition ceremony.  Margaret and Di attended to represent WHEN, and received our certificate from the Lord Mayor Damian Thomas. 

We were impressed by the number and range of active community groups out there.  And that was even with a lot of groups not being represented that evening.

Calling all WH growers and cooks

Hello fellow local food growers,

I'm writing to you from South Hobart Sustainable Community. Our food growers group have long been talking about creating a cookbook, and we are now committed to getting it happening!

Would you like to participate in this project, and make it a Mount Wellington Cookbook? (name still in planning!)
So far, our plan is to collect/collate recipes, particularly for the foods that we grow in abundance in our local area. The zucchini is our current working mascot, because when they're on they're ON, we all have them in abundance, we can't give them away, and we run out of ideas for what to do with them all! Hence the attached draft designs use our beloved zuch example!!

Our current idea is to include recipes that we really use, including preserving ideas, growing hints, and household hints where appropriate. We estimate the books will cost somewhere between $15 and $30 each, depending on the amount of colour we use, and we're investigating grants that could provide a subsidy.

At this stage, your participation might mean:
~ helping to collect recipes and images (photos and/or illustrations),
~ whatever input you'd love to give in the planning stages, and
~ selling/distributing the finished book, so perhaps creating ownership among the local community in the process of production (eg local school community participating in recipes and/or drawings).

We would welcome your consideration and comments.

Warm regards,

Cindy Aulby (email), Ben Terry and Debra Russell

GAF Group - June update

WHEN's Gardens and Food Group sent a big thank you to Miriam Herzfeld and Annie March who have been the enthusiastic coordinators of WHEN-GAF since the group began.  They have helped organise many events and kept the information flowing.  Their contribution to community building is very much appreciated.

Annie and Miriam are stepping down from these roles, but will still be active members.   Margaret Steadman and Ann Hughes will step up into these big shoes – and will be very glad of any other assistance with keeping the group vibrant and active!

Our next event! 

3rd WHEN-GAF Midwinter vegetarian progressive feast – Saturday 30 June

Who would like to be involved?  It’s great fun and very little effort is required from any one household.

We have usually had 4 courses:

·         nibbles and children’s activities

·         soup

·         main course

·         dessert and mulled wine

We are looking for offers of

·         good things to eat – offer a contribution to one of the courses

·         places to meet – would you like to host a course?

·         and, of course, people to come along

The soup and main courses locations have been bagsed - one or two more locations would be good.

Please reply to this email if you would like participate.

Other GAF activities

We plan to continue

·         garden help at Lawrenny Court – Annie March will coordinate this

·         produce exchanges – with overflow donated to Second Bite http://secondbite.org/

·         monthly ‘what to plant’ tasks and tips

There are plenty of other ideas including working bees and communal gardening, workshops, garden tours, links with likeminded groups such as the St John’s Community Orchard and South Hobart garden group.  Please let us know if you have ideas or would like to take a role in organising something.

You can get in touch via:  whengaf@gmail.com

Let's get a car sharing service in West Hobart

Have you heard about car sharing services?       The way this works is:  when enough locals register as interested in using the service, the company locates a car in the neighbourhood.  When you want to use the car, you book it online.  Simple.  You get all the benefits of a car, without the hassle or expense of owning one!

GoGet is an example of a car sharing service. The company says:  With low hourly rates – you can book a car for as little as an hour - you can forget about rego, insurance, petrol, and everything else that goes with owning a car.  For every GoGet car, 9 private cars are taken off our roads, making our cities more liveable. 

Are there any other companies like this we should take a look at?  Let us know!  Check them out, and if you are interested, register your interest.  If enough of us register, we can put West Hobart on the car sharing map!

Ground offered for a Community Garden !!!!

The Wilderness Society at 130 Davey St is one of the few places left in central Hobart with a large productive veggie garden. The Wilderness Society has contacted WHEN to offer this space to be managed autonomously by local citizens who dream of a convenient community gardening space.

Their large backyard is soon to play host to the innovative Hobart Bike Kitchen, so this space will become a real hub for community engagement of all types. The garden is already in good form, has access to ample water, and simply needs creative management and ongoing maintenance.

WHEN's GAF group is considering this project, possibly in conjunction with nearby sister groups.  If you would like to be involved, pls contact us at whenvnet@gmail.com.

Tread Lightly EnviroFest, Botanical Gardens, Sunday 22 April

The fifth Tread Lightly EnviroFest will be on at the Botanical Gardens on Sunday 22 April, 10am to 4pm.  The theme this year is:  Live life with a small footprint.     This will be a great opportunity to learn about simple and easy ways to become more sustainable in your everyday life – at home, at work, at school, out and about in the community.

There will be exhibitors talking about community living, energy efficient choices for the home, sustainable gardens, delicious foods made from home-grown produce, and lots more.  The living area will include areas such as community gardens and waste reduction, including hazardous household waste, while the thinking hub will include a wide variety of speakers on different topics, including a debate on sustainability. The Food for Thought area will once again showcase an amazing array of local produce.

And more!!!   There will also be vegie seedlings available for sale, featuring heirloom vegetables that will grow during the colder months and can be used in cooking during the winter. The plants for sale will be in the glasshouses near the ABC Vegie Patch, and here is a list of seedlings and various plants that are available. 
 

Asparagus	Chinese Broad Leek	Kohl Rabi Purple Vienna
Blackcurrant	Chinese Cabbage Tatsoi Deep Purple	Leek   Carentan
Broccoli Di Ciccio	Chinese Cabbage Wong Bok	Lettuce Australian Yellow
Broccoli Green Sprouting	Chives	Lettuce Gourmet Allstar
Broccoli Romanesco	Comfrey	Miners Lettuce
Brussels Sprouts Long Island Improved	Cornsalad Large Dutch	NZ Spinach
Brussels Sprouts Red Ribs	Cornsalad Verde de Cambrai	NZ Yams
Bunching Onion Evergreen	Eggplant	Onion Gladalan white
Bunching Onion Natsuyo	English Spinach Medina	Perpetual capsicum
Bunching Onion Red Beard	Fig Black Genoa	Pepino
Burdock Takinogawa long	Fragaria vesca Fraises des Bois White strawberries	Persicaria odorata Vietnamese Mint
Cabbage Cabeza Red	Globe archichoke	Raspberry
Cabbage Golden Age	Grape vines	Rosella
Cabbage Red Express	Hops      Pride of Ringwood	Rosemary
Cabbage Sugarloaf	Horse radish	Saffron
Cape Gooseberry	Kale Dwarf Blue Curly	Salsify Black Duplex
Cape Gooseberry Golden Nugget	Kale Lacinato	Salsify Mammoth
Capsicum	Kale Lacinato	Spinach Mountain Red
Cauliflower Snowball Early	Kale Red Russian	Thyme
Cauliflower Violet Sicilian	Kale Siberian	Triple Parsley
Chichory Aries	Kale The Gulag	Ugni molinae Chilean Guava
Chichory Travisio Red	Kale Two Peters

Living Local Feast - 28 April

An inspiring evening and fundraising dinner for Sustainable Living Tasmania is coming up.  Join us for a fabulous evening celebration of Tasmanian food from 6pm on Saturday 28 April.  A three course meal consisting entirely of locally sourced ingredients, entertainment and an auction of gourmet Tassie treats.

Sustainable Living Tasmania is a not-for-profit organisation, which has been working throughout Tasmania for 40 years, and is a strong supporter of WHEN.  SLT's vision is for Tasmania to become a place the rest of the world looks to for inspiration on living happy, healthy and sustainable lives.

On 28 April, we will be cooking up a glorious feast, showcasing the amazing produce that Tassie has to offer and our bar will be stocked with some of Tasmania’s finest beer, wine and non-alcoholic brews.

Venue: Siren’s Restaurant, 6 Victoria Street, Hobart.
Time: 6pm - 9pm
Cost: $45 Full price, $25 Concession (with $10 off if you bring an entrée to contribute)

Tickets can be booked online at http://livinglocalfeast.eventbrite.com , cash or cheque to Sustainable Living Tasmania (1/71 Murray Street, Hobart) or by phone  6234 5566.
Want to contribute?  We are looking for Tasmanian artists and producers to contribute items for our auction and we need volunteers to help in the kitchen and waiting tables. Please contact lissa@slt.org.au if you can assist!  We also need tamarillos if anyone has any please contact lissa.

Successful Launch of Walking West Hobart map 20 March

This week we publicly launched the new Walking West Hobart map in the new Phoenix meeting room at Goulburn St school.  All the "mappers" (the Sustainable Tranport group members who had created the map) were present, together with a number of residents and also children from Goulburn St school and Lansdowne Crescent school.   It was also great to have supporters from neighbouring sustainable living groups and Lissa from Sustainable Living Tasmania there too.  The Hobart City Council, who had funded the printing of the map, were represented by Aldermen Rob Valentine and Leo Foley.

Margaret eloquently welcomed everyone and outlined the reasons for the map and the origins of the idea.

Di gave more detail on some of the learnings of the mappers as the project evolved, the extensive walking we did, and most importantly, how much fun we had!   Rob Valentine officially launched the map obo the Lord Mayor.

 
Then Margaret distributed large bundles of the map to the children for use in classroom exercises.

Then it was time for devonshire tea, fruit and juice, and a buzz of conversations.   Southern Cross interviewed Margaret and we hope there was something in the Mercury the following day.  All in all, a very successful launch, hurrah!

Update from GAF 19 March

March Produce exchange

Apples, plums, lemons, greens, herbs, much conversation and three kinds of chocolate were traded in a well-supported March produce exchange. A highlight was the arrival of the "gournet gatherers" with a crate of jams, sauces and chutneys. If you have excess produce you'd like to donate, or know of any crops in public space that need harvesting, Amanda and Steven would like to hear from / trade with you: gourmetgatherer.blogspot.com

The next produce exchange will be on Saturday 14th April. If you'd like to volunteer to hold the space, bring a blanket, crowd-control, please contact Miriam or Annie. Is 4pm too late once the clocks have gone back?

Where to from here?

Miriam and Annie, after three and a half years, are both ready to lay down the day to day running of GAF. Would anyone - or two - like to volunteer for this role? Any ideas about future directions? Does GAF need to compost down, lie fallow, be pruned, have its roots manured, have a growth spurt? Tell Miriam or Annie what you think.

First showing of Growthbusters - the movie - in Hobart 21 March

This is a new American documentary examining our worship of growth: urban growth, population growth, consumption growth & economic growth.  Bound to be startling, thought provoking....  I haven't seen it, but I'm hoping it has some ideas for solutions!

It's being presented in Hobart on March 21 by the Stable Population Party, who will be putting on drinks and facilitating some discussion of the issues.  It's on at 7.30pm for 8pm, at the State Cinema, North Hobart.  

Some links to see more about it:

http://www.populationparty.org.au/templates/pop/page/page_html_standard.php?secID=207See the trailer, learn more, buy the film, at http://www.growthbusters.org/

Tickets are $20 (plus booking fee) and only available by advance booking through Moshtix

Launch of the Walking West Hobart map - Tues 20 March

Hello all WHEN members and supporters

If you are not already on our email list (let us know through our webadmin address at the bottom of the page if you would like to be added!), you will have missed our note about our launch, so here are the details:

The sustainable transport group of the West Hobart Environment Network has been working for a year to develop and produce a map of West Hobart to encourage local recreation and access to services on foot. The printing has been supported by a grant from Hobart City Council and Alderman Rob Valentine will launch it for us on Tuesday 20 March at Goulburn St Primary School. Students from Goulburn St and Lansdowne Crescent schools will collect class sets for lots of walking explorations of the local area. We have already delivered a map to just about every house in West Hobart - we have certainly done lots of walking! If you haven't got yours please come to the launch and collect one.

We would love to have your support at the launch.

The brief event will begin at 1.30 with signing in at the Forest Rd entrance to the school and the launch at 1.45 pm followed by refreshments.

You can view the map here:

http://westhobartenvnet.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/walking-west-hobart-map-is-now-on.html  

RSVP to steadmanma@gmail.com

Help Build the Southern Region's Vision

The three levels of Government – Federal, State and Local - are coming together to clarify and build on what the people of this region want for their future, and developing a plan to achieve that vision.  

We are building a Regional Economic Development Plan for Tasmania’s southern region that will inform the priorities of all levels of government. This plan will reflect the expectations of our local communities and ensure the regional visions that are built, are based on local needs, opportunities and capabilities.  
You are invited to attend any of eight public sessions in the region, to have your input. The dates, venues and times are listed below.   

Light refreshments will be available at each session. To join the conversations, at any of these venues, please call Business Point on 1 800 44 00 26 , or click on one of the session links below.

---

  COMMUNITY CONVERSATION SESSIONS

Hobart




Tuesday, 27 March, from 5:00 – 8:00pm at the Hobart Town Hall, 50 Macquarie Street, Hobart


Wednesday, 28 March, from 7:30 – 9:00am at the Hobart Town Hall, 50 Macquarie Street, Hobart
________________________________________________________________________


The evening session will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm over finger food to be taken in table groups as we work together. While the exact content of each conversation will vary, we expect that they will typically comprise of four main components:
1. Where we are now – draft Regional Economic Development Plan.
2. Economic success in the region.
3. Opportunities in the region.
4. The regional vision.
The morning session will be held from 7:30am to 9:00am over muffins and coffee to be taken in table groups as we work together, and will comprise two main components:
1. Update from the previous night.
2. Regional priorities.

Celebrate Neighbour Day - March 26

Neighbour Day will be celebrated on Sunday March 26th. It's the chance to catch up with all those people who live around us. We briefly chat with our neighbours when we bump into them at the shop or at the bus stop or while picking up the kids and we say "We must catch up" but never quite make it happen. This is the opportunity to make it happen.

If you go to the website www.neighbourday.org there should be details with posters and invitations available.

It's really just an excuse to tell your neighbours that "your barbie will be alight from lunch time onward, so drop around with your food and drink and we'll sit back and enjoy West Hobart's lifestyle for the afternoon"

Cheers

Paul Turvey

Peak Oil, Local Resilience and Financial Crisis

13 March:          Public Lecture - Peak Oil, Local Resilience and Financial Crisis

Speaker:  Nicole Foss, Co-Editor of The Automatic Earth

Venue:     Stanley Burbury Theatre, University Centre, Sandy Bay campus

Time:       7.00 – 8.30pm

Learn to speak fluent spinach via step-by-step guided lessons

This year the Botanical Gardens are once again running their garden skills programs – cost effective gardening for the home, community or farm. Hands on learning with professional experts.  $15 per person, per session. Bookings are essential, so please confirm your place. Ph 6236 3050

Here’s a calendar through to mid April

February 24

Building the vertical garden; DON’T MISS THIS !
Practically build a simple and cost effective vertical garden structure using recycled materials. This is the ultimate garden for those with limited space, or for the person who just wants something different. Tips and tricks on everything you need to get started.

March 2
Practical pest identification NEW!
Join us for a hands on journey of discovery with our expert entomologist and teacher Laurie Miller, to uncover the fascinating world of pests and predators in the garden. A must for all gardeners!

March 9
Practical hot composting (by demand)
Actually build a free standing hot compost heap and learn the truths about real compost for your own backyard.

March 16
The basics of dry stone walling NEW!
Learn how to create a dry stone wall with our expert onsite. This old world technique can really lift the appearance of a garden or rural property. This session will be a practically applied activity.

March 23
Discover the basic skills of identifying plants.
Our expert horticulturist / botanist will guide you through all you need to know about identifying plants both in the Garden and in the wild. Discover plant names, identifying features and plant keys.

March 30
Practical bee keeping; maintaining a hive 
Special Times / 1pm till 3:30pm cost $20 pp
Understanding bee hive set up maintenance and management. How to get started and what you do to maintain a hive. Participants will investigate real hive on site at the Gardens.

April 20
Building a roof garden; DON’T MISS THIS!
What a fantastic way of using a wasted space! Learn the basics of small scale roof gardens, how
they are made and what you need to create your own successfully at home.

April 27
Maintaining your berry crops in autumn and
winter
All you need to maintain your berry crops to ensure bumper crops for the seasons to come. Autumn
maintenance, pruning and practical requirements.