HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Building...stone upon stone

Our own small stone of activism,

which might not seem to measure up

to the rugged boulders of heroism we have so admired

is a paltry offering toward the building of an edifice of hope ...

For we can do nothing substantial toward

changing our course on the planet, a destructive one,

without rousing ourselves, individual by individual,

and bringing our small, imperfect stones to the pile.

- Alice Walker,

The Impossible Will Take a Little While:

A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear.

Water: it's a no-brainer

If you click on the pictures below,

they will be enlarged and

you can read their vital message.

If there is one thing

more important to species on this planet

- and that includes human beings -

than food,

IT IS WATER.

Water is shaping up to be the activism issue of 2009.

In Victoria,

three water focussed groups,

Clean Ocean Foundation;

Watershed Victoria;

Plug the Pipe,

have coalesced into the

Victorian Water Forum.

In NSW,

people are beavering away

to establish a nationwide organisation,

The Australian Water Network.

Ordinary people are looking on in amazement

at how governments are managing water.

They wonder how

their communities and their livelihoods will fare.

Insufficient consultation is a glaring deficiency.

We are left to wonder, in some instances, whether

corporations or individual post-politics careers

are influencing decisions -

not communities.

There is no clear indication that

either the Victorian or Australian governments

recognise WATER as part of The Commons.

There is little indication that

decisions are being made on water as a human right.

In Victoria,

activism on water has been a regional affair -

with visits to Melbourne

to rally outside Parliament in Spring Street.

Melbournians have been

installing water tanks and solar panels,

growing their own veges,

and harvesting grey water.

Their is much good will

which the Victorian government is not building on.

In 2009, the Victorian Government

might awaken one day

to find that

the activism of the bush and the surf has come to town.

Belinda and Andrew came to visit on Sunday afternoon.

They brought gifts - a tomato plant and a tomatillo.

How prescient were they!

Because of the move to Home Beautiful, did not have either of these.

There is little space in the garden at HB. It is almost all spoken for.

But dear B and A,

they have been planted in the furthest corner of The Secret Garden.

They have been watered and Charlie Carp'd.

And they brought this book below.

I had never heard of Transition Towns until recently.

Now with Carol, Belinda, and The Book

just maybe I'll become an armchair expert!

Permaculture in Castlemaine

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On 28 November, I was in Castlemaine. I was there for a meeting on water organised by Carol McDonough who provided me with the Cook's Tour prior to the meeting.

Part of the tour was to the headquarters of the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group (MASG).  Mount Alexander is the name of the shire of which Castlemaine is part.  The album above is of the marvellous permaculture garden that is part of MASG's historic premises.  Thank you Carol for a marvellous day.

Food - glorious food.

Click to enlarge

In the United States of America, what we call Ministers in government are called Secretaries.  So imagine if, in the Land of Oz, we had a Ministry of Food.  Coz in the good ol' US of A Nicholas Kristof is asking for a Secretary of Food.  

Kristof cheerfully points out that in the USA only 2 per cent of Americans are engaged in farming.  Yet 100% of Americans eat.  So let's change the name from Agriculture to Food.  

In Oz, we would change the name from the Department of Primary Industry to the Department of Food. 

Makes so much sense to me. 

The Sustainable Renter

This is my galvanised iron washtub full of oregano.

Oregano has been growing in this tub - outdoors in Melbourne - for four years.

Winter sees it die back somewhat but it comes to life in Spring.

This year it went to seed.  I cut it back to the dirt.

And it has come back beautifully to this.

This houshold of next-of-kin independent adults are renters. We have just moved house from one rented property to another. I am into growing my own herbs and vegetables and when moving into an established garden which is all roses and camellias everywhere there are difficulties.

What's the solution? Pots, pots and more pots. We were in situ in our previous property for four years and half-way through that time I decided I would dig up some ground for the stuff that was not best in pots - the broad beans, the silver beet, the cabbages, the caulies and the pumpkin. But we have had to move house in spring and leave much behind - but some has been able to come with me. All the herbs - and some vegies: leeks, schallots, choko, kipfler potatoes - because it was all in pots.

Back in spring I also revitalised my hanging baskets - renewing, replacing and adding pansies, petunias, and alyssum - which was a good idea because the courtyard at the back of the new house as well as the front verandah are just the thing for hanging baskets.

So it is quite clear that thoughtful and determined renters can grow food and flowers - and take them when they go. Water is a major consideration and a lot of the water saving and harvesting methods used by those who own their own homes are not so available to renters. However, help is on the way from the people of Sustainable Gardening Australia. They have published a whole section on water in The Renters Guide to Sustainable Gardening.

Thanks SGA for leading the way.

Now if the Victorian Government made tanks compulsory -

renters could save even more water.

Gardening at Home Beautiful 1

Home Beautiful

(click to enlarge and see more detail)

Here is Home Beautiful. Unlike The Trad Pad, HB comes complete with gardener. At least that is what the real estate agent said. Not untrue - but, when reality arrived, it turned out that the gardener is the mother of the owner who is overseas.

The garden is spoken for - for the most part - except that we are responsible for turning on the watering system. Even signed a clause on the lease owning up to this onerous responsibility. The garden only has a fig tree, a lemon tree, and a nectarine tree in the way of food plants. Not really any space for veges - but, aside from my herbs, I did bring some in pots (kipfler potatoes, leeks, shallots) leaving behind broadbeans, cauliflowers, beetroot, and sugarloaf cabbages.

The back yard is paved and, such garden as there is, is mostly spoken for. There is a small area that is unplanted and I have placed a miscellany of pots there including Herself's succulent collection.

When the plants were unloaded in the removal, the wheelbarrows were placed on the footpath for the time being - but we loved the cottage-y look with the gum tree so left them there. I have added other herbs and plants plus the red toadstool with Aboriginal dot-style frogs and the cute little gnome.

Now Herself thinks I have gone too far and that all this shows that The Mad People live here. She promises to sort it out herself. We shall see what happens.

For me, I hope to get to know the neighbours well enough to ask them to bring their scissors and help themselves - my very own Community Garden on my doorstep!