
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Big Trip Around Australia

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Like your parks & got some time to spare?
Start of email from People & Parks Foundation:
Victorian People & Parks Foundation Volunteer Help Needed
Field Day Volunteering
If you would like to assist out in the field, we have the following events running. You don’t need any specific experience, just a happy disposition an interest in conservation and wiliness to pitch in.
This is a great opportunity if you wish to gain experience in community environmental work. A free Working with Children Certificate can be obtained for volunteers.
Please let me know which of the following days you are available:
WED OCTOBER 7 GREEN CONNECTIONS School group Royal Park (9:15am – 3:00pm)
WED OCTOBER 14 GREEN CONNECTIONS School group Blackburn Lake Sanctuary (9:15am – 3:00pm)
WED OCTOBER 21 RETREAT ASSISTANCE Corporate Volunteers Caitlin’s Retreat, Eltham (9:15am – 3:00pm)
FRI OCTOBER 23 GREEN CONNECTIONS Corporate Volunteers Albert Park (9:15am – 3:00pm)
WED OCTOBER 28 GREEN CONNECTIONS School group TBC (Eastern Suburbs) (9:15am – 3:00pm)
WED NOVEMBER 4 GREEN CONNECTIONS School group Blackburn Lake Sanctuary (9:15am – 3:00pm)
WED NOVEMBER 11 SEA SEARCH School group Ricketts Point, Beaumaris (1:30pm to 4:30pm)
THUR NOVEMBER 12 RETREAT ASSISTANCE Corporate Volunteers Caitlin’s Retreat, Eltham (2pm – 4pm)
TUE NOVEMBER 17 GREEN CONNECTIONS Corporate Volunteers Werribee (9:15am – 3:00pm)
* Green Connections days consist of working in the environment with revegetation, planting, clear up etc
* Sea Search days consist of intertidal marine monitoring
* Retreat Assistance days are held at our retreat centre for special needs children and involve activities to improve the property
Email greenconnection@peopleandparks.org if interested
Friends of Caitlin's Retreat Volunteers
We are starting a Friends of Caitlin's Retreat for those that are interested in helping out on the Eltham property. Roles can include hands on assistance in the grounds, permaculture gardening, helping create programs for special needs children, networking with the local community and many other activities. The group will meet once a month at the Retreat Centre in Eltham. It is envisaged that this will be a working bee day for those that can participate and a general meeting. You can just attend the meeting, it is not necessary to assist in the working bee.
We are deciding whether the meeting will be held on a weekday or a weekend. If you are interested in being involved specifically in the Friends of Caitlin's Retreat please let me know your preference by emailing volunteer@peopleandparks.org
Office Volunteers
Do you have a day or two spare and would like to volunteer? We have the following skilled activities that require volunteer assistance.
Event Calendar Creator Volunteer needed for 1 day to conduct internet research and put together forward calendar of environmental events that People & Parks Foundation can participate in.
Park Database Creator Volunteer needed for 2 days compile information on Victorian parks and community groups including maps, photos and contact details for future volunteer projects.
Graphic Design Brochure Volunteer needed for 1 day to create brochures for volunteering days.
Writer / Marketing Volunteer needed for 1 -2 days to write copy for corporate and school volunteering programs.
Survey writer Volunteer needed for 1 day to write survey questions for volunteer groups
eLearning Creator Volunteer needed for 2 days to create induction PowerPoint for volunteers. Option to evaluate interactive elearning opportunities if interested
Data preparation We are transferring to a new CRM system(salesforce) and would like 1 days assistance in preparing and cleaning our data for this
If you are interested in any of the above activities, our preference is for volunteers to help on one or more of the following weekday dates during business hours.
October 9, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 22, 26, 27, 29 or November 6, 9, 10, 13, 20, 27. Email volunteer@peopleandparks.org if interested.
** Please note that we have attempted to have volunteers work remotely, however, with a small staff we have found this difficult to manage this successfully and projects have become drawn out. We realise that this is not ideal for volunteers and I have therefore set the above dates aside to work with volunteers directly on projects in our offices.
Current Volunteers
Thank you for to those volunteers who have been helping us out already. We are working through some of the projects that people have started for us and this assistance has been very useful for us.
Next Volunteer Meeting
Our next group volunteer meeting is at 5:30pm on Wednesday 28th October at Level 10, 535 Bourke St. This is a great opportunity for you to meet other volunteers and to find out about the work People & Parks Foundation will be undertaking. Please RSVP to volunteer@peopleandparks.org if you are attending so that I can ensure there are enough biscuits!
End email quote from People and Parks Foundation
I hope that you can find something interesting in there!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Ad hoc planting
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Get your Trashbag
Trash bags! I love these bags for many reasons and one of them is because by buying, you would know that the money goes to the people who have laboured over it, and it would help support the communities throughout the Asia Pacific region who are using recycled materials to make these fantastic useable (and some of them very flashy) bags. The bags grew out a very important problem in the Asia Pacific region which was the rising amount of garbage. This is just one of the many bags that they have on offer on their website or at some of the retail outlets. The company has very strong ethics with the bags all being made using fair trade practices (ensuring amongst other things fair pricing, fair pay, prompt payment, gender equality, safe & healthy working conditions) and an active role in environmental sustainability. Something that we can get behind and support. Thanks to Amber for pointing Trash bags my way!
Friday, September 18, 2009
save your seeds
Here are the details.
Introduction to Seed Saving Workshop
This is a rare opportunity to learn everything you need to know about seed saving from two of Australia's best...
Jude & Michel Fanton, Seed Savers' Network, Byron Bay - www.seedsavers.net
WHEN: Sunday 20 September 2009, 10am to 3pm
WHERE: Randwick Community Organic Garden
Northern End Paine Reserve Cnr Rainbow & Botany St Kingsford (enter via Botany St)
BOOKINGS: essential as numbers are limited.
Contact Emma Daniell on 9371 1602 or mobile 0402 287 393 or emmadan13@gmail.
COST: $60 - please pay cash or cheque upon admission at the workshop.
You will learn about:
seed identification & collection
seed gleaning and storing
germination testing & isolation
and much more
WHAT TO BRING:
a plate of food to share for lunch (morning and afternoon tea provided)
BYO hat, water, gloves and secateurs (optional).
ORGANISED BY:
Randwick Community Organic Garden (RCOG) - www.rcog.org.
Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network (ACFCGN) Sydney - www.communitygarden
Monday, August 31, 2009
A win for Fairtrade and Cadbury Australia
"(Today) Cadbury Australia and Fairtrade Labelling Australia & New Zealand have announced plans for our Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate to achieve Fairtrade Certification by Easter of 2010. This move will more than triple the amounts of Fairtrade product sold throughout Australia and is part of Cadbury's ongoing global commitment to Fairtrade. Consumers in Britain and Ireland are now able to buy Cadbury Dairy Milk Fairtrade Certified chocolate in store and today's announcement coincides with confirmation of similar plans for Cadbury Dairy Milk in New Zealand and Canada.This groundbreaking move means cocoa farmers and communities can look forward to a better and brighter future as Fairtrade cocoa sales increase in Ghana and new Fairtrade opportunities open up for cocoa growers across South East Asia and the Pacific.I have personally been privileged enough to visit Ghana and see first hand how we are working with the local farmers to help their communities provide a sustainable living so I am extremely proud of this milestone.The uniqueness of the Fairtrade system will provide them with a fair price for their produce, increased funds to grow their businesses and a better deal for their families through the Fairtrade 'social' premium - which delivers additional investment in schools, healthcare and other much needed infrastructure within their communities. "Fairtrade Certification enables Australians who buy Cadbury Dairy Milk to make a real difference for cocoa farmers with every purchase." Steve Knapp, Fairtrade Executive Director.Our Managing Director, Mark Callaghan, had this to say "Cadbury has a long tradition of being pioneers in sustainable chocolate production and using Fairtrade Certified cocoa for our Cadbury Dairy Milk products is another example of this commitment."So, by Easter next year you will be able to purchase a block of Cadbury Dairy Milk, knowing at the same time that you are supporting Fairtrade.I have attached a fact sheet on some of the more commonly asked questions around Fairtrade although I am sure you are well conversed on the subject. For more information on Fairtrade Certification please go to http://www.fairtrade.com.au/ Kind regards, Danielle Danielle Johnson Community Program Coordinator Cadbury ANZ "
Great news for chocolate lovers, and even better news for those who farm cocoa.
Friday, August 21, 2009
All power to you...What is the best source of power
Monday, August 17, 2009
Monday night rush - Dinner in a hurry - Sausage and Chickpea casserole
Friday, August 14, 2009
New Curtains for an old cupboard
I have a mountain of well made, well loved and handed down hand embroidered tableclothes that I couldn't have enough tea parties to even start getting through (and in reality, I probably wouldn't use them with my three boys around!), so I came up with this idea of the "changable curtain". I have use that plastic covered spring curtain wire (I am not sure of the name of it - it's about 4mm wide) and put that across with hooks. Then I simply hung a couple of tableclothes over. When they get dirty-ish or every week or so, I will just give them a wash.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Green Cleaning Day
- everything else seems really complicated and I would need a different bottle for everyroom & every surface
- everything is artificially fragranced and after years of not using it, I really notice the fragrances in other people's homes & find it quite irritating
- it is unneccessary having so many bottles, and those bottles add up to so much wastage...
- having kids with asthma & ezcema, things with chemicals & fragrances may make things worse for them
- I don't want to be putting unneccessary chemicals down the plughole when there are other choices
- dust all the surfaces with my damp cut up nappy with a few drops of cedar essential oil & orange essential oil (to ward off the beasties - moths, beetles, bugs - & make the room smell fresh & happy)
- whip around with the HEPA vaccuum
- and then follow with the microfibre mop that only water with it.
I use the vinegar & borax to clean the toilet, spray the vinegar wherever I see any mould, and use the bicarbonate soda to make a paste with water for cleaning kitchen benches & sinks & oven & stoves. The bathroom I use the microfibre bathroom cloth that I have with water I find that works a treat.
Simple, but easy, and it works, every 7 days.
I think that if I, the housecleaner hater, can do it...then...



