For me, working with the Carrs Park community gardeners to plan and design their garden was one of the most fulfilling projects of 2008. Russ, my partner in crime on this project, has written an article on the official opening, which was attended by the Lord Mayor of Kogarah and held in their amazing new straw bale outdoor classroom! Very excited for everyone involved…

Read the article here

What a great response to the new Australian School Gardens Network web space! There are now over 100 members and it is getting quite active. The site allows you to:

• Post events such as professional development courses, festivals, workshops and conferences
• Discuss relevant issues such as curriculum integration and design
• Share our successes and to learn from others
• Post photos, videos and units of work that will inspire other educators.

If you haven’t joined yet go to http://australianschoolgardensnetwork.ning.com.

Thanks to Growing Communities Brisbane for this wonderful initiative.

Waterkeepers Australia inspires Australians to restore and keep our waterways healthy. The organisation acts like a network of waterway action groups, providing Waterkeeper member programs with the tools, processes, inspiration and profile to help them do their job.

The power of a nationally connected community of Waterkeepers is far greater than individuals or stand alone groups. There are Waterkeeper programs in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

To find out more go to www.waterkeepers.org.au

It’s possible here and now to be 100% food self reliant at a bioregional & local level! Come and learn how…

TUTOR/FACILITATOR: Robina McCurdy (Earthcare Education Aotearoa)

DATES: FRI 2 (eve) – SUN 4 OCTOBER

TIMES: Fri eve 7 – 10pm (beginning with a meal), Sat 9am – 9pm, Sun 9am – 4pm

VENUE: Janet & Mick Millington’s property, EUMUNDI (directions given on registration)

COST: $280 – $180 (Income-related sliding scale)

Includes: Handouts, Tuition, simple accommodation, Friday eve meal, food basics (bring additional food to contribute to combined meals). A deposit of $50 is required by Wed 23 September.

REGISTRATION: Janet Millington: miltech@bigpond.com

WORKSHOP OVERVIEW: This workshop is an interactive, in-depth sharing and practicing of Robina’s tools and strategies in community building, nature connetion, sustainability analysis, conflict resolution and strategic planning – to achieve the goal of community and regional scale food resilience, in these challenging times of resource depletion, economic downturn and societal fragmentation. Robina will also share about successful models of localised food production she has been involved with, in Aotearoa/NZ and in other parts of the world.

LAST YEAR, Living Schools in partnership with Pacific Edge consulted for Kogarah Council on the development of:

• policy directions on community gardening – production of a community gardener’s guide
• a community consultation process to garner ideas from the municipality and recruit a core group of community gardeners
• a two-day participatory design processes to develop concept plans for the proposed community garden.

A report on the consultation and participatory design process (‘Community Garden Development for Kogarah Council’) can be found here.

A recent visit to the site of the community garden disclosed that the project is moving ahead rapidly, with a number of shared community garden beds installed and gardeners and others engaged in constructing a strawbale outdoor classroom.

Those with an interest in such things can find a report (‘Collaboration, participation build something new on something old’) at http://pacific-edge.info.

A photo album of the construction can be viewed here

Are you interested in setting up a food garden at school? Then come and hear from experienced school gardeners and visit their gardens.

Kate Hubmayer (Black Forest Primary School), Deidre Knight (Nazareth Catholic Community), Harry Harrison (Rare Fruit Society) and Karyn Duance (Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Association) share their experience to get you started with food gardening at your school.

• Tour the large and diverse garden at Black Forest Primary School.
• Visit the recently constructed veggie gardens at Nazareth College.
• Discuss garden options with experienced school gardeners siting your garden, materials to use, low budget alternatives.

Saturday 12th September. Start 1.30pm Black Forest Primary School (679 South Rd, Black Forest). Finish 4.15 at Nazareth College (176 Crittenden Rd, Findon).

This is a free event! Nibbles and certificates provided. Bus pickup 1pm and dropoff 4.30 pm at the EDC, Hindmarsh.

Register now, places limited!! Register with Matt Cattanach by phoning (08) 8234 7255 or email matt@kesab.asn.au.

Check out the progress over just two years!

Designing with earth – Contemporary construction with natural materials
Sat 26th (10.00am) – Sun 27th September (4pm) 2009
Organised by Gudhara Holistic Sanctuary, Southern Highlands

Gudhara Holistic Sanctuary Inc. is a not for profit organization running weekend residential workshops and retreats on sustainability, arts and spirituality at various locations in the Southern Highlands south of Sydney.

This two day workshop for Architects and Building Professionals will introduce participants to earth building. You will develop an understanding and appreciation for the use of unfired earth as a building material and tool for design. This will incorporate a brief history of earth construction as well as current design principles and technologies. You will learn how to create healthy and energy efficient earth buildings with climate responsive design.

This workshop has a theoretical component as well as a hands-on section involving construction by participants of an earth based structure. The format will give a deeper understanding of the philosophies and techniques discussed in the teaching sessions. This practical experience will unlock the materials’ secrets, magic qualities and reveal its simple beauty.

Facilitator
Peter Hickson is a builder who specialises in earth building in the Shoalhaven area. Peter has completed over fifty earth projects in the 25 years he has been working in the construction industry. He has been conducting earth building workshops for 9 years, has written many articles and presented papers on earth building. Peter has recently been involved with the research and testing of earth structures with the Design, Architecture and Building Faculty at UTS. He has served for many years on the committee of the Earth Building Association of Australia and is currently President of EBAA.

Registration
Investment – $545 (earlybird $495 by 7 August). Includes materials, workshop notes, organic vegetarian meals and twin share accommodation in a bushland setting. For more information see www.gudhara.org.au or phone (02) 4884 4467.

The California School Gardens Network have developed a wonderful kit of resources that are well worth a look. They cover planning, design, maintenance, resources, curriculum integration and much more. Check them out here.

A new community web space has been established for people passionate about learning in the garden and learnscaping in schools.

Established as a result of last year’s Australian School Gardens Network Gathering in Brisbane, the site is a space where we can all:

• Post events such as professional development courses, festivals, workshops and celebrations
• Discuss relevant issues such as curriculum integration and design
• Share our successes and to learn from others
• Post photos, videos and units of work that will inspire other educators.

There is also the capacity to create groups within the site that can help you to network and communicate within your project team or school community.

To get involved just visit http://australianschoolgardensnetwork.ning.com.