SustainaBundy

The Wheels Go Round: Which Wheels Work Best for you in Bundy?

shine_on — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:23:44 -0700

Due to the consistent rises in petrol prices, I've decided to start substituting other forms of transport.

Bus-ing It
Being a full-time student, a bus fare is now cheaper than the cost of petrol to drive into town. Luckily, my schedule is usually flexible enough to work around the bus schedule, but I know others who do not yet find it practical for their full-time schedule, with most last buses departing at 2-3pm. Working hours are pretty standard here so having buses after 5pm would allow full-time workers to use this form of transport.

Other considerations...
I took the last bus home today but fell asleep just in time to miss my stop! Luckily I woke up at the next stop...but it still took me 20 minutes to walk home with my many bags. Not having a car to dump all my stuff in (like my second home) forces me to plan more carefully what I need for the day.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle!
I would prefer to ride a bicycle, but my place is off Moore Park Road, which feels dangerous for an novice cyclist such as myself, as it is a 80-100km zone, generally narrow, often with no shoulder (i.e. the road is no wider than the outer line) and there is a fair degree of traffic in peak times. Factors like the weather also affect my ability and desire to ride.

Walking It
Walking is relaxing and fun, but it takes more time than the other forms of transport and at night I'm reluctant to walk by myself. From my current home, it takes over 2 hours to walk into the CBD!

The purpose of this blog is to open discussion for our experiences with alternative forms of transport in Bundaberg. What are the pros and cons of our current public transport systems? What would make public transport an option for you? How are you currently being affected by rising petrol prices and how are you planning to deal with further rises?

My longer-term plan is to move closer to town, either in south Bundaberg or somewhere roughly between the CBD and Sugarland. From there, everything is walkable, rideable or bus-able. If we take the bus more, it will become viable for our local bus companies to expand their routes and timetable, right? It would also be useful information for them to receive feedback about their current routes and timetable and to know what further services we, the public want and need.

Survey
Here is a proposed survey: please take the time to complete it and if you feel comfortable, ask your workmates, family and friends, or even people at the bus stop! Please also relate your ideas and suggestions for the future of alternative transport in Bundaberg. Email the results to jacqui@sustainabundy.org or reply to this thread.

Alternative Transport Survey
What form of transport do you mainly use around Bundaberg?
How are you affected by rising petrol prices?
How are you planning to deal with further price rises?
Do you ever take the bus?
If so, why? If not, why not?
Do you ever ride a bicycle?
Would you consider riding a bicycle around town?
If not, why not?
What are the pros and cons of riding around Bundaberg?

At the Bus Stop
Do you find the bus routes and timetable effective for you now?
What area/s do you usually go from/to?
What time do you usually need to go into town?
What time do you usually need to leave town?
How could the bus system be more convenient or useable for you?

SustainaBundy

ORGANIC FARMS?????? AROUND BUNDY???

sunny55jc — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:07:47 -0700

DOES ANYBODY KNOW OF A PLACE TO BUY ORGANIC FRESH VEGIES? LIKE AT A FARM AROUND BUNDY, THAT DOESNT COST TO MUCH MORE THAN OTHER VEGIES?

SustainaBundy

Tomato Picking

shine_on — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:25:20 -0700

A big thank-you to those who volunteered their time and energy picking tomatoes at a local farm on Thursday afternoon- we managed to donate a number of crates to Meals on Wheels, who made us some delicious cake as a thank you. Christian Outreach Centre also unloaded a (very full) car-ful of the delicious, vine-ripened round and egg tomatoes for their food packages- what a treat!

It was a relief to see a few kilos of tomatoes go to good causes. However, most of the thriving crop was destroyed yesterday due to market prices being less than the cost of harvesting, packing and distributing.

Farmers don't need to gamble with their crops. The Community Supported Agriculture system means farmers get paid up-front, which guarantees crop viability and provides shareholders with fresh, local produce. Find out more about CSAs and read about a successful model in South-East Queensland at the Food Connect website. Who is interested in being a shareholder or a host farmer in a Bundaberg CSA? Reply to this thread or email jacqui@sustainabundy.org

SustainaBundy

Free, Local Tomatoes- Need pickers for tomorrow

shine_on — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:11:03 -0700

Tomorrow there will be another short-notice emergency tomato pick at a farm near my place. The farmer will destroy the crop on Friday due to it being unviable. There are the regular round tomatoes, which are ripening on the vine and egg tomatoes as well. I ate an egg tomato like an apple this afternoon and it was lovely and sweet...yum, so good.
So, the tomatoes are plentiful, they are free, and they are very fresh and local. But they are only available tomorrow.
If you want some tomato action, find someone who can come and pick them with me tomorrow. Give me a call between now and then on 0406 081 525. Excess tomatoes will go to whichever charity organisations can take them and I'd appreciate any offers to help distribute them.

SustainaBundy

Permaculture Design Course this October

shine_on — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:20:39 -0700

This is a call to all those interested in becoming certified in Permaculture Design.
Janet Millington, of Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre and Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE) is running the 2-week intensive course at her Permaculture property in Eumundi this October. Janet has offered a substantial group discount for SustainaBundy members and she has only 5 vacancies left!

Details are as follows:

Permaculture Design Course
When: 6th-19th October, 2008 for 13 days (Class days are 8.30 am to 4.30 pm)
At the Bamboo Forest, Eumundi
Cost (including GST): usually $770.00 per person, down to $660.00 per person for our group!
Facilities for self catering campers are available, they include a caravan, tents, an outdoor kitchen and recreation area. Accommodation is $150 pp for the two weeks in the van or $88 for camping.

Sessions will be facilitated by Janet Millington who established the Permaculture Design Site using permaculture principles. Janet has designed properties and taught permaculture courses locally, nationally and internationally during the past 12 years. Janet has a long background in education and community development as well as her Permaculture Diploma. She has recently written a book with Carolyn Nuttall on School Gardens. Janet will be supported by Sonya Wallace who is currently working on Transition Towns and Chris Carroll who will share her skills in planning and urban permaculture with participants.

The course is designed
-To develop an understanding of the ethics and basic principles of Permaculture design and practice and its benefits for a sustainable future.
-To develop the knowledge necessary for Permaculture design and implementation in urban and rural settings and across all climatic zones.
-To explore strategies that will facilitate the production of clean food, create soils and modify weather extremes.
-To develop an appreciation of the effect of individual actions and their effects on the natural environment.
-To unfold the many ways each of us can reduce our footprint on the earth and repair damaged ecosystems.
-To develop skills in teamwork, co-operation and group planning.
-To develop an understanding of the need to obtain information about our physical and social world through observation, library research, interviewing experts, elders and practitioners, and will provide recommendations for further reading.
-To promote responsible human behaviour in the bioregion and to explore the potential for local action that will contribute to the certainty of sustainability.

Students will learn
-Permaculture design strategies of Sector and Zonal Planning.
-Using slope to move water and nutrient.
-Observation of nature and using natural patterns to increase yield.
-Permaculture Principles for both planning for sustainability and for creating a design.
-To design a home food production system.
-To design orchard, food forest and animal systems.
-To modify climate for both the growing and living spaces.
-To create good soils on a variety of difficult, or infertile sites.
-To site a dam and supervise earthworks for the best possible outcomes.
-The benefits of aquaculture and some basic strategies for using an aquatic growing medium.
-To create a design for a permaculture garden on a small suburban block, for a small or a larger acreage, community garden or school playground.
-The potential for sustainability in this bioregion.
-How to start a school garden or local permaculture group.

On successful completion of the course, students will receive the
Permaculture Design Certificate as bestowed by the Permaculture Institute.

So, who's interested? If you'd like more information on accommodation or camping, call 5442 7200 or email miltech@bigpond.com.

To register your interest, reply to this thread or email jacqui@sustainabundy.org by July 4th. First come, first served!

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy solar hot water group buy

ahazelwood — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:22:56 -0700

As mentioned in yesterday's press release, one of the things on tap for SustainaBundy in the coming year is a solar hot water group buy. Alana White has come onboard as coordinator of our renewable technologies bulk buy program. Similar schemes have proven successful elsewhere:

http://www.sustainablemaleny.org/node/34?q=node/70
http://www.sustainablemaleny.org/node/297
http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1455
http://www.breaze.org.au/

A SustainaBundy Management Committee Meeting will take place on July 2 and we'll discuss how to proceed. We need to talk to local suppliers and installers to come up with the best product and program for SustainaBundy members. As with the Sustainable Maleny Project and BREAZE programs, you will need to be a current financial member of SustainaBundy to participate in the SustainaBundy solar hot water group buy. Click here to learn about becoming a financial member.

Please reply to register your interest in participating in the solar hot water group buy program here in the Bundaberg region.

SustainaBundy

Climate Solutions Workshop

ahazelwood — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:04:06 -0700

Start: 2008-08-06 17:30

End: 2008-08-06 20:00

SustainaBundy

From little things big things grow with SustainaBundy

ahazelwood — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:00:22 -0700

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy's First AGM June 16

shine_on — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:34:07 -0700

SustainaBundy's first Annual General Meeting was held on Monday, June 16th at 5.30pm at the School of Arts building.

Agenda
Welcome and Intro
12 Months In Review: 2007/2008 Recap Photo Slideshow
Correspondence
New Business
Discussion: Future Projects
Monthly Meetings
Membership Appeal
Guide/Sticker Appeal
Election

Financial Update (interim)
$2877 in account
[WED Total income: $3300 sponsorships and stalls]
[WED Total expenses: $3107 inc. donations]
Moved: Accept financial report

Monthly Meetings
Benefits to keep using School of Arts- centrally located, cheap, floor level, audio-visual facilities, $11 fee
Network at events rather than having meetings
Guest speakers and regular updates from community groups
Half-hour meeting before events, constitution asks for at least 4 times a year, project meetings separate

Domain Renewals
We own 3 sites, up for renewal on 13 June, have renewed sustainabundy.org, re-register others for $10/year each
Moved: Renew other 2 domains

Future Events
Farm-gate buying scheme (Robert Doyle)
Interest for 4 pigs from SustainaBundy members, 12 animals consigned
This Sunday (22nd June) first open day farm tour as part of purchase price
Feedback sheets on all points of scheme
Will need a point person to coordinate future schemes

Environmental Law Workshop (Ann)
28 June 11am-4pm Kalkie, free
Larissa Waters and other attorney from Environmental Defenders Office
Contact Ann Jarman

Cheese Course (Carol)
Sunday 10th August
Elizabeth Ferconia from Sunshine Coast
Need 20 people to run
TAFE or CWA as venue, $75/person at present, RSL doing fundraising to subsidise cost
Register interest by replying on website by end of July

Multicultural Festival
31st August, Quay St Riverside Parklands
SustainaBundy stall, showcase local produce, selling guides
Volunteer roster will be on website, sign yourself up to help out!

Trailer Share (Dean)
For members, property of SustainaBundy
In SustainaBundy colours and logo for advertising
Also mulcher share for future
Coordinator-Dean

Permablitz
Sustainable backyard blitz using permaculture design (permanent agriculture)
Creating productive, sustainable systems on any size property, inc.small backyards and balconies
Educational workshop as well as working bee
Need certified permaculture designers

Garden Crawl (Suzanne)
Progressive morning tea, lunch etc. in other people's gardens to share ideas
Needs coordinator

Movie Nights
Need coordinator
Rotate DVDs to show, members have a pool of materials
Events require at least 2 people to run, different people can run a night featuring their DVD of interest
Moved: Ann Jarman as Movie Night Coordinator

Garage Sale Parties
Start again in Spring
Need coordinator, another backyard to hold
Organise with neighbours to have neighbourhood parties
Other region garage sale parties, Bargara, North Bundaberg
Benefit of being an SB member

Local Food/Music Fest
Outdoor festival featuring local musical talent and food, summer holidays

Renewable Energy Bulk Buys
Worked well in Maleny, VIC, Brisbane, can achieve 30%+ discount e.g. bulk discount with group of 60
Dealing directly with local dealer
Businesses as well as households
Solar hot water first step, (cheap, immediate returns), solar electricity future project
Moved: Alana White as Renewable Bulk Buy Coordinator

Membership Appeal
Join now and pay $10/indiv, $15/family for membership until end of year
From January 2009 fees will go back to $15/indiv and $25/family
Participate in equipment share, garage sale parties, permablitzes, farm gate buying group, renewable energy bulk buys, etc.
Receive a free SB guide
Will soon have a corporation tier for corporations to join

Guides and Stickers
Buy one for a friend, distribute through your networks! Contact Andi, Dean or Jacqui to arrange

Andi has a regular column in Fraser Coast Naturechain monthly magazine- get info to Andi to see it included on the Bundaberg page!

Elections
Committee Positions:
Jacqui McLucas- President
Carol Sweeney- Treasurer
Jacki Hartman- Secretary

Other Positions:
Dean Hazelwood- Equipment Share Coordinator
Andi Hazelwood- Media Coordinator
Ann Jarman- Movie Night Coordinator
Alana White- Renewable Bulk Buy Coordinator
All positions voted unanimously

Next Meeting: early August, details TBA, featuring Climate Change Solutions Workshop with Alison Rickert (2-hr session)

For more details from the meeting, or to have the minutes emailed directly to you, email Jacqui at jacqui@sustainabundy.org

SustainaBundy

sustainability

ann — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:42:37 -0700

On Monday 9th June, there was an excellent discussion about sustainability on ABC Radio National "Austrailia Talks," If people wish to view the discussion go to: /www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalks/

Ann

SustainaBundy

article roundup

ahazelwood — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:48:55 -0700

Lately a lot of people have been forwarding me some articles that explore many topics we deal with in SustainaBundy, so I thought I'd share them all at once here.

Dirt is the new prozac: the latest permablitz newsletter.

Lifestyle farming: Global food shortages and price rises at the supermarket checkout shouldn't be such a big problem for Robert Doyle and his family. Living on a lifestyle farm on the outskirts of Bundaberg in south-eastern Queensland this family is already cutting the weekly grocery bill by growing much of their own produce. You'd think it would be a full-time job in itself just looking after the farm, but Robert manages to run this operation in addition to his regular job as an economist. (an audio piece about SustainaBundy's favourite pig farmer, Robert Doyle! Click here to listen to the audio)

Tough Economy? Maybe It's Us: Yep, we can whine and complain about the price of gas and blame those "greedy, evil oil company executives" with their ginormous compensation packages and corporate profits. Or we can have the heated political debate of "to drill or not to drill" in the pristine areas of our land. Or—if we dare—we can recognize our personal accountability in it all.

Janine Benyus: 12 sustainable design ideas from nature: In this inspiring TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk about recent developments in biomimicry, Janine Benyus provides heartening examples of ways in which nature is already influencing the products and systems we build. (video)

Farmers' markets: Should you trade in your supermarket trolley for food straight off the farm? We investigate farmers’ markets, which bring food straight from the paddock to your plate.

SustainaBundy

'Going Local' Relocalisation Convergence May 24

shine_on — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:21:39 -0700

On the weekend 24/25 May I attended the Going Local Convergence at New Farm, Brisbane. I got the chance to catch up with our neighbours from the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre and the Sustainable Maleny Project who also attended!

Apart from meeting some great people from as far north as Cairns and as far south as Melbourne, all interested in relocalisation of their regions, I came away with some deeper questions, such as what is truly of value? And, what is the real meaning of security? I encourage everyone to think about these questions. Does it matter how much money you have if you don't have access to fresh food? What if all the money in the world couldn't provide clean air to breathe or fresh water to drink?

Judy Wicks, who runs the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia in the US and co-founded Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) spoke at the convergence and made some profound points: security is belonging, not belongings. She told of her experience living in an Eskimo village for a year, how the locals share everything, so no-one ever feels vulnerable, lonely or fearful, knowing they are taken care of by the entire community. It made me think about how much relationships have broken down in some communities, especially in larger cities, and to consider how to reestablish stronger community relationships. Do you know your neighbours?

Judy also spoke of her concept of "growth" in business; rather than subscribing to a view of success as one of exponential growth in profits and size, Judy spoke of a "deepening" of her business- keeping her one cafe, while exploring educational opportunities in her business, running community events, building genuine relationships with her employees and engaging in a variety of ways in her community, rather than expanding into a chain of generic franchises. Judy has built a successful business that enriches her community, but still makes decisions from her heart. It is possible!

There was also a presentation and discussion on sustainable investment strategies, the idea of investing directly into local business and community initiatives rather than other options like term deposits at a large bank, or the global stock market. Maleny provides examples of this with co-operatives (you can now borrow a DVD about Maleny's Co-ops from the SustainaBundy section at the Bundaberg library!). The co-operative concept usually involves a larger number of investors within the community, with smaller amounts to invest, pooling their financial resources to own shares in a business. It can be more risky in the short term but has more community benefits over the long term. I also think all local businesses should consider how to invest more in their local area, not only financially but with other forms of support as well. What can you contribute to our region?

There were some other fantastic speakers, including Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of ISEC (International Society for Ecology and Culture) and leading anti-globalisation speaker, and Robert Pekin from Food Connect. We did a lot of interactive workshops and discussion about future solutions- my brain hurt afterwards, but it was great to make so many connections!

You can view the notes from the conference at www.climateleadership.net.au

SustainaBundy

WED: Success!

ahazelwood — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:38:34 -0700

We're all holidaying now... but if you'd like to see the photos from our great celebration, check out the links below:

WED Speakers

WED Exhibitors

WED Bands

SustainaBundy

Bundaberg 2008 World Environment Day Celebration

ahazelwood — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:55:21 -0700

World Environment Day 2008 is Thursday, June 5! The theme for this year’s international United Nations celebration is CO2 – Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy.

On Sunday 1 June 2008, SustainaBundy, Bundaberg Landcare, Bundaberg Community Development, the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland Bundaberg Branch, the Hinkler Burnett Greens, the Bundaberg Community Garden Committee and other organisations in the region will celebrate World Environment Day 2008. On offer from 9am to 4pm at the PCYC on Maryborough Street will be outdoor food and product stalls, live entertainment and free workshops and demonstrations, inside we'll have speaker presentations, Q&A sessions and film screenings. Best of all, entry is FREE and the entire event is CARBON NEUTRAL!

Visit the events calendar for all the Bundaberg World Environment Day events and information!

Watch this page for regular W.E.D. updates as they happen!

SustainaBundy

WED Letter to council

ahazelwood — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:34:41 -0700

SustainaBundy

Environmental Law Workshop

ann — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:07:13 -0700

Start: 2008-06-28 11:00

End: 2008-06-28 16:00

SustainaBundy

WPSQ Meeting

susanne — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:11:40 -0700

Start: 2008-06-03 17:30

End: 2008-06-03 19:30

SustainaBundy

Meeting this Wed- volunteers wanted!

ahazelwood — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:42:19 -0700

Just a reminder, this coming Wednesday the 21st at 5:30 in the School of Arts building is the next SustainaBundy meeting! We'll of course be talking about World Environment Day (and actually will be having a WED meeting directly before the SB meeting) as well as the SustainaBundy Annual General Meeting on the 16th of June, where we'll elect our new management committee. Yep, we still need a secretary!

Just to give an idea, here are some of the volunteer jobs that need filling for World Environment Day:

-between now and June 1: WED flyer distribution - let's get this publicised far and wide!

-day before: selling SustainaBundy stickers/guides and promoting WED on May 31 at University Drive waste mgmt. facility for Mulch Madness

Day of:
-setting up tables and chairs
-marking stall locations
-stallholder greeters to help with directing stallholders, setting up and tearing down stalls and tents, etc
-help setting up signage, posters, banners
-programme distributor/collector (to make sure they get recycled or given to other attendees rather than rubbished)
-general "runners" to assist
-manning the SustainaBundy stall - selling stickers/guides, talking about SB, signing up new members
-help with the Local BBQ - cooking and taking money (SustainaBundy will be running a BBQ as a fundraiser on the day, with sausages made by local chef's apprentices using local meat, locally baked bread and locally grown onion. Bundaberg Brewed Drinks and Cooroy Mountain Water will also be available. Thanks to the Bundaberg RSL, Zac's Meats, Kele Bros, the Hot Bread Shop and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks for their participation in this fundraiser and helping us reduce transport emissions for the Local BBQ!)
-clean up crew

If everyone pitches in and does a little something, the day will be a success and we'll all be able to enjoy ourselves! Oh, and all volunteers get a free sausage and drink! So come along to the meeting on Wednesday and get an assignment- see you there!

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy in the community in May

ahazelwood — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:06:01 -0700

SustainaBundy

Bundy Region Kicks the CO2 Habit

ahazelwood — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:59:15 -0700

SustainaBundy

Hinkler/Burnett Greens Meeting

ann — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:50:33 -0700

Start: 2008-05-12 17:30

End: 2008-05-12 19:00

SustainaBundy

Tullamore Farm Mangoes

ange — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:23:13 -0700

SustainaBundy

Farm Gate Buying Group products

ahazelwood — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:29:02 -0700

Following on from the posts by Heinz about the olives and Ange about the mangoes being available to the SustainaBundy Farm Gate Buying Group, I'd like to ask that any producers that are willing to make their products available to us add their information to the directory on the website - this will make it easy for everyone to keep track of! Click here to add a directory listing. Please do the following when you add your listing:

-For title, please list the name of your business - or at the very least your name and product (ie, Askerman Mangoes)
-list "Farm Gate Buying Group" as the focus
-provide the season or months that your product is available and any other important info about your product or how to order it
-enter as much information as you can in the "location" fields so everyone knows where your product originates
-provide your contact info!

Subscribers, please keep in mind that because of the website bug, emailed directory listings will have the "Location" listed several times at the start of the email - please bear with it until the tech team has a chance to fix it!

For future reference, the entire SustainaBundy online directory is available here.

SustainaBundy

Posting to the website and discussion list

ahazelwood — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:37:40 -0700

I just want to send out a quick thank you to everyone that is a part of the SustainaBundy discussion list, we appreciate your subscription and your participation. An email came through last night from Heinz Unger (username Olivenunger) that list members might have mistaken for spam at first glance, so I wanted to clear things up before anyone runs to unsubscribe!

Using the SustainaBundy website can be fairly complicated if you aren't familiar with it, and occasionally bugs do pop up - this is what we saw with Mr Unger's post. When posting a new directory listing, the first field to be filled out is "Title". This has caught us out before, when people have taken that to mean their own title (ie, Mr, Mrs, Miss, etc) as opposed to the title of their content. This is why the subject line of Mr Unger's email was "Mr." I have updated the title on the directory listing to "Bundaberg Region Olive Oil" and will make sure that the description for the "Title" field is more descriptive from now on! Also, the first several lines of the email were the word "Location" over and over again. This is a bug in the software, which the tech team is aware of - hopefully they'll be able to rectify it very soon.

Mr Unger, welcome to the SustainaBundy website and thank you for letting our subscribers know about your local product!

All subscribers, we welcome your participation. There are several ways to jump in! Content posted to the website is simultaneously sent via email to all of the discussion list subscribers. You can simply hit "reply" in your email program to respond to any of these emails - your reply will go to all of the subscribers AND will be posted as a reply on the website. Alternately, if you're reading on the website, nearly all posts have an "add comment" button at the end - you can click it to reply, or if there are already comments, you can click "reply" under any comment to respond to that comment. All comments will be posted to the website and sent to discussion list subscribers.

If you want to post completely new information to the group, you can go to the website (make sure to log in on the upper right) and then you'll see "create group content" in the upper right of the screen- click what type of content you'd like to add and away you go! Alternately, on the main page of the website or when you click on any of the menu items at the top of the page, you'll see links that will allow you to "add new" - click that link to add that type of content.

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any trouble. And in the meantime, if you haven't already, please be sure to introduce yourself by adding a comment to this post!

SustainaBundy

Bundaberg Region Olive Oil

Olivenunger — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:23:00 -0700

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy Farm Gate Buying Group

ahazelwood — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:27:03 -0700

Okay, who wants bacon?? We all know that when we buy direct from our local farmers, we get a better product (quite often for a better price), we minimise transport emissions, we directly support a local business, we strengthen the local economy by keeping our dollars in the community, and we foster good personal relationships with our producers - this is what the "got local?" campaign is all about! There are a number of local producers that deserve our business. Yesterday we met Robert Doyle, a farmer who raises pigs and cattle just 30 kms out of Bundaberg in Pine Creek. He is offering locally grown, hormone free, free/semi free range (not force fed), whole processed pigs with accurate paddock to plate traceability for significantly less than you can buy "generic" pork in the supermarkets!

A lot of us might not have room in the freezer for a whole pig, but would love to take advantage of this great deal, get high quality meat and support a local farmer. This leads me to believe that it's time to start a SustainaBundy Farm Gate Buying Group, to share in opportunities like this one - the Doyles are preparing an order for pickup in Gin Gin in early June, so let's get organised! If you would be willing to coordinate the buying group, or would like to participate in it, please reply or contact us.

The farm gate price for a whole, local, pig (approximately 60kg) is $3.50/kg plus processing costs (which are extremely reasonable). Now compare that to a local supermarket that is advertising specials this week of $16.99/kg for pork loin steaks and $15.93/kg for double smoked leg ham - with no mention of where the meat is from, how far it had to travel, how it's raised or how much the farmer is paid!

We ring Robert on 4157 9916 to place an order; he'll phone the week before the pig goes in; we phone the butcher on the Tuesday of the week it is processed to nominate what we want done with each section, then pick up our goods.

So who's in??

SustainaBundy

Smith's Crossing Working Bee

ahazelwood — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:41:47 -0700

Start: 2008-05-04 09:00

End: 2008-05-04 11:00

SustainaBundy

W.E.D. Library Display

ahazelwood — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:48:19 -0700

Start: 2008-05-12 09:30

End: 2008-05-22 17:00

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy General Meeting

ahazelwood — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:01:21 -0700

Start: 2008-05-21 17:30

End: 2008-05-21 19:30

SustainaBundy

2008 Queensland Landcare Conference

ahazelwood — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:39:16 -0700

Start: 2008-09-21 09:00

End: 2008-09-24 17:00

SustainaBundy

Wildlife Preservation Society Bat Walk

susanne — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:37:44 -0700

Start: 2008-05-04 16:30

End: 2008-05-04 18:30

SustainaBundy

Future Ready Expo

shine_on — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:31:25 -0700

I attended the Future Ready Expo at Kawana Waters on Saturday and learnt a lot! Wearing the SustainaBundy shirt meant I was approached by a few original Bundabergians who wanted to know more about what SustainaBundy's doing. The second-hand, green-and-gold work shirts certainly attract attention!

The morning workshop "Surviving in the Suburbs" looked at solutions for a low-carbon future across many levels- home, food, personal and community. I got a bigger-picture perspective and realised the importance of community in responding to peak oil and climate change- we're all in this together and together we'll get through it better than alone. Anne Wensley also talked about Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how food and shelter are the most basic need- so we need to have those sorted first. Later, I was able to learn more about permaculture principles and low-energy backyard solutions such as solar and cob ovens.

From listening to the presentations of Geoff Lawton I felt a sense of hope. Geoff talked a lot about The Permaculture Research Institute's projects in "developing" countries, where permaculture techniques are used to rehabilitate land and significantly improve the residents' quality of life, by providing clean sources of drinking water and sustainable systems of producing food to prevent starvation. Geoff emphasised that many lives can be improved by sharing this important knowledge - including our own - all we need is people out there doing it!

Geoff also talked about drought-proofing areas of land and water harvesting, which I thought were amazing ideas- I didn't know it was even possible, but permaculture is clever, using knowledge of natural systems. With Australia's escalating water concerns, these solutions are now highly relevant.

All in all, it was inspiring to see many interested and knowledgeable people united to explore solutions to current environmental issues such as peak oil and climate change.

I can't wait to see more at Bundy's World Environment Day Celebration!

SustainaBundy

Bundaberg Organic Gardeners meeting

ahazelwood — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:54:09 -0700

Start: 2008-04-29 19:00

End: 2008-04-29 21:00

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help needed with school garden

ange — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:14:14 -0700

Together with another teacher at the Rosedale SS we are planning on starting a school food garden as well as cleaning up and greening up the garden at the entrance to the school. I would appreciate any advice / plants / materials anyone might have that could help us. If anyone would like to assist with the planning or building any help would also be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
ange

SustainaBundy

Future Ready Expo - Building Better Soil

dino — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:34:59 -0700

The Future Ready Expo at Kawana was quite an eye opener. There was a lot to see and hear. Listening to Roberto Perez (from the Power of Community DVD) was a real treat. We all remember his quote about riding bicycles ;-) Then there was Geoff Lawton. Who hasn't been inspired by the "Greening the Desert" flash animation on the web?

But one of the most intriguing discussions I attended was regarding building soil in a sub tropical climate. As organic gardeners we're always trying to build soil using compost. It helps, but in a tropical and sub-tropical climate we can easily lose our nutrients to torrential downpours leaching it away. So much we read about compost is for more temperate climates in Europe and North America that hearing a new take on it for the tropics was fascinating. Due to the differences in climate in temperate gardens 80 percent of the nutrients are held in the soil. But in a sub-tropical garden this is only 20 percent. The rest is held in the plants themselves..

Having a layer of organic matter, mulch, continually shielding the soil from blasting sun and torrential rain is a natural way of protecting the nutrient levels in the soil. Frances Michaels from Green Harvest gave a great lecture on what we need to do in a sub-tropical environment to build great soil. Remember that soil is alive. Dirt is dead. So having an active layer of mulch, leaves and other vegetable matter, covering the soil promotes this in a sub-tropical garden. Grow plenty of plants that are good to "cut and drop" to provide this nutrient rich mulch layer. Remember, we're trying to create a rain forest in your backyard.

We don't necessarily want to have too many nutrients in the soil. We want a continuous slow decomposition of organic matter into nutrients. With the weather being warm enough for this to happen with out having to pile it high in mounds we don't need to work so hard at composting as those living in more temperate climates. Obviously if we have a no dig garden or raised bed these rules will change but the natural food forest concept at this latitude and rain fall really doesn't need us to work so hard at building compost.

One of the great additions to a backyard permaculture forest are chickens. Originally forest fowl, they have been bred for maximum plumpness and egg producing capacity but are still right at home in a well shaded food forest garden. They turn the mulch while looking for bugs and can reduce bugs and leafy greens to nitrogen rich manure.

So if you are thinking of having a food forest in your backyard, you won't need to think about where your kitchen vege scraps go. Feed them to your chooks under your fruit trees, no compost turn and you have the bonus of fresh free range eggs for breakfast.

Dean

SustainaBundy

SustainaBundy 2008 AGM

ahazelwood — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:52:26 -0700

Start: 2008-06-16 17:30

End: 2008-06-16 19:30

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Permablitz 1. Many thanks.

Carol Sweeney — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:23:33 -0700

Thank you to all those who attended and contributed ideas and energy to create my beautiful new back garden. Also to the washing up committee, much appreciated. Many thanks to Andi for such great promotion of the event and Dean for his practical skills. Fantastic photos also Andi!

Thank you to Camreay Holdings for donating compost for the fruit trees and to Kookabuura Worm Farms for the bags of worm castings that will be so benefical for building up my soil.

Today, I have tested the water feed to the banana circle and it works a treat!
The chickens have laid an egg each and the worm farm is busy.
Who's next? My gloves are ready.

Carol

SustainaBundy

Changing of the SustainaBundy guard

ahazelwood — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:55:45 -0700

With all that that SustainaBundy has accomplished**, it's hard to believe that we've only been in existence for 9 months! People who hear about SustainaBundy for the first time ask two questions: how are you funded, and how do you keep from burning out? And it's true, our efforts are unsustainable without lots of help. We all agreed from the beginning that the roles need to change regularly to give those "in charge" a break and give other people a chance to score their own achievements within the SustainaBundy framework.

Now that we have a number of successful projects and events underway and a larger member base, it's time to shuffle the deck and bring other people to the forefront of Bundaberg's relocalisation efforts. At 5:30pm on the 16th of June at the School of Arts Building, we'll hold SustainaBundy's Annual General Meeting to elect new committee members. Please make a note of it!

As an incorporated association, the positions that must be filled are President, Treasurer and Secretary. Other potential committee member positions can be determined based on interest. Elected positions can only be held by financial members, and only financial members can nominate or vote.

Beginning in August, Dean and I will be taking some time off, visiting my family in the US, perhaps doing some WWOOFing, and making connections in the wider global relocalisation community. As the founders of SustainaBundy, we're happy to hold advisory positions and will remain in regular contact with the committee to help guide the relocalisation efforts. Jacqui, our current secretary, is willing to take on the role of SustainaBundy President, and Carol, our current treasurer, is happy to remain in her position. I thank them both for their enthusiasm!

Please use this forum to discuss who should hold what position, what positions should be created, and ask any questions you may have. If you received this via email you can simply hit reply and your message will be received by all registered users. If you're logged in on the website simply click "add comment" at the bottom of the original post to put in your two cents.

As for committee positions, in addition to the top three I suggest Permablitz coordinator, Movie Night coordinator, Garage Sale Party coordinator, Media coordinator and advisors (and VP if anyone wants it), but there are plenty of possibilities - especially if we want to pursue the subgroups idea - each subgroup will need someone to head it!

As we determine which positions will be created (and have some assurance they'll be filled!) we'll officially open the nominations and begin posting forms to financial members - nominations will close on the 2nd of June, two weeks before the AGM.

If you like what SustainaBundy is on about and you have an understanding of our goals and the reasons for them, we welcome you to put your hand up and help guide the group's future!

**Granted, we've only been incorporated since December 2007 - but we made a lot of headway before that happened. Right from our very first meeting last July, people have been supportive of our relocalisation goals. Just to recap everything we've accomplished since we started and to give ourselves a little pat on the back, here's a short list:

-We've gone from two members last July to 24 financial members, 70 registered website users and hundreds on our contact list
- Produced our pride and joy, The 2008 SustainaBundy Directory and Guide
- Kicked off the "got local?" sticker campaign
- Laid the groundwork for positive relationships within Bundaberg Regional Council
- Been covered several times in the NewsMail, Guardian and Bugle
- Been featured twice on ABC Wide Bay radio (listen for me again Tuesday morning)
- Given several talks at local community group meetings and fostered relationships with many organisations
- Hosted several movie nights and an all day movie fest
- Had two successful garage sale parties to promote "buying second hand first"
- Organised charity tomato picks
- Kicking off the Permablitz project
- Organising World Environment Day for 1st June!

SustainaBundy

Climate Change Leaders Network

ahazelwood — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:40:33 -0700

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Ethos Foundation

ahazelwood — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:26:48 -0700

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MULCH MADNESS!

ahazelwood — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:37:22 -0700

Start: 2008-05-31 09:00

End: 2008-06-01 17:00

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Great Sandy Biosphere

ahazelwood — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:16:08 -0700

Start: 2008-04-10 19:00

End: 2008-04-10 21:00

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TV- Permaculture on Landline, Peak Oil on Insight

shine_on — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:38:18 -0700

A couple of interesting episodes on TV for your information:
Landline, ABC (replay Monday 7th, 11am)
The Food Forest
Segment about a permaculture farm in Gawler, South Australia growing over 150 varieties. Included an introduction to the concept of permaculture and an interview with David Holmgren (featured in the SustainaBundy guide!) talking about his permaculture courses. Was inspiring to see this success story. The transcript should be online in the next few days.

Insight, SBS, (replay Monday 7th, 3.30pm)
Australia: A Car-Dependent Nation
Discussion revolved around how much Australians love their cars. Guests included representatives from an oil company, a car manufacturer and NSW Greens party leader. There was talk about peak oil, emissions, climate change and health effects. Unfortunately, the only solutions discussed were electric/hybrid cars and hydrogen fuel. The Greens leader talked about public transport, but there was no mention of reducing transport and food miles, relocalisation or serious discussion of public transport. I felt like the program was driven by 'popular' opinion, led by industry present, that if we just buy a different car, we won't have to adjust our lifestyle. Regardless of the shortfalls, it was still good to see the topic of peak oil on TV. Read the online discussion here .

SustainaBundy

Going Local Convergence Brisbane

ahazelwood — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:55:42 -0700

I know Beth has said she is planning to attend this three day conference, and Dean and I are hoping to participate as well. If anyone else wants to take part in what looks to be the best convergence of relocalisation minds to take place in the entire country, please register your interest with the Ethos Foundation and let us know ASAP so we can begin planning. This conference will be particularly important to anyone interested in shaping the future of SustainaBundy and the Bundaberg region. Further info below.

This May the Ethos Foundation will host an Australian visit by Judy Wicks, co-founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), now a nation-wide movement across the United States. Starting with her famous White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, Judy has been a pioneer of the relocalisation movement in the US. Her work over many years has been recognised by a host of national and international awards and she has been featured in numerous books, magazine and newspaper articles, and on conference platforms around the world.

Going Local
A highlight of Judy's visit will be a three-day convergence in Brisbane between 23rd-25th May entitled: Going Local: Building Resilient, Sustainable Communities. The aim of this gathering will be to share learnings from the great diversity of local projects that focus on the nexus between resilient communities, vibrant local economies, and environmental sustainability. Ethos is calling for expressions of interest from organisations and individuals involved in such relocalisation initiatives in Eastern Australia. You will find more information about this in the attached PDF (click here) and at www.climateleadership.net.au

How will participants be selected?
There is a limit to the number of people our venue and process can cope with, so if it becomes necessary to select participants this will be done in such a way as to ensure the widest possible representation of regions and project types. People from beyond the greater Brisbane metropolitan area will be given first call on places at Going Local. We are also hoping to offer accommodation in private homes to non-Brisbane participants.

Will there be a cost?
There will, of course, be a registration fee for Going Local. This will be advised when our venue, catering, organising and overhead costs are finalised. We will also be announcing details of work scholarships for Brisbane residents and young people.

Registration of interest closes April 16
If you are interested in being part of Going Local, it is important that you register your interest as early as possible. You can do so by going to the Climate Change Leaders Network website www.climateleadership.net.au and clicking on the Going Local banner or link on the home page.

I look forward to hearing from you before April 16. The first round of places at Going Local will be offered that week and delegate information packages will start going out at the same time.

Ken McLeod
Ethos Programs Development
ken@ ethosfoundation.org
0412 871 789

SustainaBundy

Bundaberg Community Garden meeting

ahazelwood — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:12:23 -0700

Start: 2008-05-01 17:30

End: 2008-05-01 19:00

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Community Garden meeting

ahazelwood — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:54:55 -0700

Start: 2008-04-03 17:30

End: 2008-04-03 18:30

SustainaBundy

Permablitz #1

ahazelwood — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:32:17 -0700

Start: 2008-04-13 09:00

End: 2008-04-13 13:00

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SustainaBundy's Big Weekend

ahazelwood — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:42:21 -0700

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What a Weekend!

ahazelwood — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:21:55 -0700

This is shaping up to be a big weekend! Starting Saturday at 9am at the School of Arts Building on Bourbong Street, it's the SustainaBundy All Day Movie Festival - click here for the schedule and details. Al Gore trained climate presenter Alison Rickert will be on hand after 1pm to talk about climate change in Australia, and from 2:30 to 5pm Christine Sorbello will be available to talk about the Bundaberg Community Garden Project! At the festival we'll also celebrate the release of The 2008 SustainaBundy Directory and Guide - stop by and pick up your copy for just $2 (that's an incredible value!!) That night from 8pm to 9pm, turn off the lights for Earth Hour. Then Sunday is the City to Coast Bike Ride!

Contact us for more information about any of this weekends events, or for details on how you can volunteer to help out during Sunday's bike ride. See you this weekend!

SustainaBundy

Earth Hour

darcie — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:00:42 -0700

Do not forget Earth Hour.
Turn off your lights on Sat March 29 for 1 hour at 8pm.
Encourage your friends and work places to participate. The website is www.earthhour.org.

SustainaBundy