Did you visit our wonderful Pop Up Garden at the Newport Folk Festival in early July? The Garden showcased many activities that Transitions Hobsons Bay is involved in. Special thanks goes to Wendy who brought together everyone and organised such a great space and also to those who shared their knowledge in the mini workshops. We hope you all got to meet a special visitor from the proposed Natural History Centre. Leave a comment if you know who it was! |
By Cath Stephensen It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me. We held the Spring Equinox Potluck dinner at my place in Seabrook and it was an absolutely gorgeous event with lots of mixing of friends from a number of spheres in my life, local friends, cycling BUG friends and my lovely THB friends. What I really loved about it was that everyone mixed so well! As a host there was absolutely no need to try and ‘put people together’! A testament to the friendliness and openness I’ve come to expect from the THB community. Some of the things that have been happening since then have included:
Sunday’s session on mulching the garden was held in the Guerrilla Garden behind the Newport Substation. What a great place to talk gardening! If you treat the passing trains with a sense of humour it’s all good, and my attendees were impressed at the way our mulch has turned an inhospitable environment into one now capable of supporting plant growth.
Finally today, I have started a project to experiment with growing moss on vertical surfaces to create an art installation for Hobsons Bay City Council’s ‘Art in Public Places’. Upcoming events…. BayWestBUG has the Summer Solstice firmly in it’s sights with an evening ride planned for the 21st December to celebrate. Lock the date in now and start thinking: Cycle, Party, Picnic, Beach! An Environmental Film Nite and Discussion Bring a plate …with some good healthy food to share and, if you like, BYO a drink The film features a chorus of voices calling for systemic economic change, including Vandana Shiva, David Korten, Michael Shuman, Richard Heinberg, Rob Hopkins, Juliet Schor, Zac Goldsmith, Bill McKibben and Samdhong Rinpoche, the Prime Minister of Tibetʹs government in exile. This film will be followed by a group discussion of the issues raised. "I only found out about this dinner last night, but it sounded so interesting I just had to come", said Leonie (or words like it). There were 7 of us last night, brought together by Mara's recent experiences of indigenous cultures. She went to Arnhem Land for basket weaving with the women of a remote community. And she'd just come back from courses in primitive skills and nature philosophy in Native American traditions in the US. The latter included 3 days and nights sitting still in the bush with no distractions and "no food, cigarettes or toothpaste." We had a stimulating discussion about indigenous connection to country with Mara tantalisingly suggesting that we westerners talk ourselves out of our innate connection to nature. Perhaps it was the people who were there, but a wonderful feeling of community emerged between us. I really hope there'll be more discussions over a meal like this one. I think it worked well to have a theme/topic. For me it was the very best of the Transition experience and it goes without saying the food was delicious! *** PS Leonie took this photo, so she's not in it. PPS Everyone welcome next time. Written by Kate Leslie A group of us got together during the Newport Folk Festival to create our vision of what our transition town can look like. Hosted (and coordinated) by Jason.
It feels so human to be celebrating the solstices and equinoxes. (Perhaps we should celebrate full moons too.) So at the Autumn equinox eight of us* gathered in a festive spirit at Mara's for a potluck dinner. Mara's garden includes a fire pit and she has an interest in primitive skills, including firemaking. So we had an experience of fire-making, learning how much faster it is to strike a match! (Isn't this era extraordinary?) Siting around a fire we ate on our laps. The company was great and the weather mild. As ever with bring-a-plate shared meals, there was an abundance of food. Homemade peach ice-cream never tasted so good. Thanks for hosting Mara. Ahhhh the Good Life! * Dy, Wendy, Rob, Jason, Mara and two of Mara's friends Kevin and Luke and me. Written by Kate Leslie The recent Pot Luck dinner at Kate and Jason's house was an evening full of friends, food and fire.
Having recently joined, and met some of the THB members at a couple of events, and read a few posts on the groupsite and worked together to create the Altona Food Swap, I approached the Pot Luck dinner with curiosity and some nervousness - I don't get out much, and after all, these people are mostly strangers! Anyway, as with each THB event that I have attended, I am always so well reassured that the THBers are very much ‘friends of the earth' who want to work with others to make a strong community, and lighten our footprints, and who are a pretty friendly old bunch! The food... ahh the food... was delicious. The pot luck offerings included an array of dishes fitting into one or more of the following categories; organic, locally grown, vegan, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, locally sourced, home-made, fermented - what a feast! The presence of leafy green salads, root vegies and locally grown avocado signalled the transition between the colder months to the warmer ones. The seasonal transition was also observed first hand, as we were able to sit outside late into the evening. Sitting by a fire was a rare treat for us, sub-urban dwellers, but one that all who were present felt could become a standard part of community celebrations - and a fitting way to spend the spring equinox. The day after the pot luck dinner I noticed some dragonflies and a ladybug in the garden - a signal that True Spring is here, or the time of the insects, as the Boonwurrung sometimes refer to it. A big Thank You to Kate and Jason and all for a lovely evening. Written by Julia Muniandy The Dervaes family comprises a divorced Dad and three adult children. The first thing that struck me about them was their happy, even joyous faces. They clearly love what they do – practicing self sufficiency and voluntary simplicity from an 800 sq.m block in suburban California. Skilled gardeners, they generate a surplus of fruit and vegies to sell to grateful chefs of some local restaurants. But that only starts to describe their days – keeping goats and chickens, washing clothes using a hand wringer, making bio-diesel from waste cooking oil from the same local restaurants.... After the film screening there was a great panel discussion. One of the three articulate panelists was David Holgrem, the co-founder of permaculture. Just one of the things we heard – Transition Banyule is finding its edible garden tours very popular. Small groups visit four small-scale edible gardens and charge $10 with lunch. Hmmm... Would Transition Hobsons Bay people be keen on edible garden tours? Oh, and there was a great turnout from THB. I know Mara, Hope, Ana, Wendy and Rob were there too. Written by Kate Leslie |
tHB AuthorsThe posts on this page are written by varied and sundry THB members. If you want to write a post to the THB news blog, let us know via email or the online contact form. Note that posts from 2010 to mid-2014 have been recreated from our old Groupsite presence. Categories
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