A Sustainable Suburb In the Making
Sustainable Chippendale is a community initiative setup to support the Sustainable Streets and Community Plan in Chippendale. If you are passionate about sustainability we'd love you to join us in getting behind this ground breaking project to establish a practical model for sustainable inner city living in Sydney.
It may not be the second coming of Christ but our recent gardening volunteer Jesus Alfonso is a splendid example of a local Chippendale resident who's been inspired by all the wonderful work from the members of Sustainable Chippendale, the council and others dedicated to making our suburb a greener, cooler and more sustainable suburb to live.
Welcome aboard Jesus it's great to have you on our team.
Big thanks to Paul, Hilary, Sean, Ann, Alana and Michael for getting out in the gardens and assembling our beautiful new raised bed gardens that have been generously donated to Chippendale. They were assembled in Shepherd St and we have started planting these out. There are still more to come and more planting do some keep an eye out for the next planting & building events in the coming days and weeks.
If you want to see more of these make sure you like the post on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SustainableChippendale
The last round of plants went into the verges before Christmas! We now have a great variety of herbs, both medicinal and culinary for residence to seek out for cooking, teas and potions in the gardens around chippendale. Here are some to keep and eye out for.
Aloe Vera
Basil
Bergamot - Lemon Scented
Brahmi
Chilli-Aji
Comfrey
Echinacea angustifolia
Elderberry
Blue Ginger - Galangal
Lemon Balm
Lavender-Stoechas
Marshmallow
Peppermint
Mugwort
A group of young South Korean children aged between 8 and 11 came to garden in our road gardens on Thursday 16 January this year when the temperature was over 30 degrees.
The children took compost from the Rose Street compost bins and spread it around fruit trees and herb in Myrtle Street between Rose and City Road.
Then they harvested some finger limes and mint from our road gardens and brought it home to make cold mint and finger lime drinks and also to eat with some yoghurt.
The kids were inspirational. They, along with their two teachers have been in Australia for a month working on farms and gardens gardening for their various hosts. They belong to the WWOOF South Korea - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, drop them a line on their Facebook page WWOOF Korea
Native Bee Hive
We've been meaning to do a post for a while now on the native bee hives we have in Chippendale. Some of you might have noticed a small white box near the garden shed. We also have one in the back yard of the Sustainable House and some lone bee boxes on Myrtle st.
Whilst most of us would associate bees with the sweet honey they produce and the flowers they pollinate, they also play a critical part in our local eco-systems without them we would not have the diversity of flora and fauna that exists today, including you and I.
According to bee expert Dr. Reese "As part of their pollen-collecting duties, bees also pollinate at least 80 percent of the food crops we rely on for sustenance. Without bees, many of these crops would not produce fruit, which means no more food for us. This is why it is crucial for bees to not only survive, but also to thrive"*
So next time you're out wandering amongst the verges, spare some thought for our hard working neighbourhood bees, we cannot 'bee' here without their "efficient foraging activities" *
*via the article writing by Ethan A. Huff
This is a great little video that talks about the rising popularity of the footpath garden and the policies that support them. It also talks to the social, environmental and health benefits that verge gardens bring to those living in the city.
Starting our resident suitability expert Michael Mobbs, our regular social content contributor Russ Grayson and our Glebe gardens neighbour Jock Keene.
Another great session in the verges yesterday. We planted approximately 25 natives on Myrtle st. Big thanks to Myong, Ana, Sue, Alexis, Michael and Jake for braving the weather and helping out. Turns out planting in the rain was a big hit.
We also pruned the pomegranate bush and harvested some green papaya and finger limes on the corner of Myrtle and Pine st. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks as some of the pomegranates may be ready for harvesting.
The bins on Rose and Myrtle were turned and closed off for finishing on Sunday after our gardening session. Please do not place waste in these bins until they are reopened.
When you are using the bins please make sure you do not dump too much of the same types of waste in the bins. Things to avoid overloading the bins:
The ideal way to place your compose waste is to pre-mix your wet vegetable scraps with shredded paper or some pea straw (which you can buy from your local garden shop) . The ratio you are going for is roughly 20:1 (carbon:nitrogen) that's 20 parts shredded paper or pea straw to 1 part food scraps.
Happy composting!!
While the rain turned off all but the hardcore of urban gardeners, for the three of us that braved the weather and hit the verges on Sunday it was an well worth the effort. Big thanks for Anna, Michael and Jake for helping get this second batch of native plants in the in the ground on Myrtle St. We loved gardening in the rain!
The 2nd order of plants are on there way and will be ready for planting between 11am - 2pm on Sunday 10th November.
Meet at Sustainable House at 11am, 58 Myrtle St, Chippendale
Email Michael @ michael@sustainablehouse.com.au to register
Here is what's on our plating list for this session: Austromyrtus dulcis, Prostanthera ovalifolia, Rhagodia nutans Eriostemon myoporoides, Brachyscome multifida & Scaevola albida
