Paw Paws harvested from Myrtle Street this week

Paw Paw tree with fruit ready for harvesting Using a long, extendable pruner this week we harvested about a dozen green paw paws from the tree on the corner of Myrtle and Pine. Five households have them and three of us have made green paw paw salad (I used the recipe in Stephanie Alexander’s ‘bible’).  With nuts, lime juice, chilli, fish sauce, and more it’s... Read More

Chippo is part of Clean Up Australia Day

A new local to Chippo, Thais, has started a Clean Up Australia Day Chippendale site and would love help on the day and in promoting the event. To visit Thais’ site  and contact to get involved, go to: www.cleanupaustraliaday.org… It’s great to have new blood and ideas – thanks, Thais, May the clean streets be with us, Michael  Read More

How to repel stink bugs from citrus

Auntie Fran, an elder from the Dharawal people (aka Frances Bodkin, author of Encyclopaedia Botanica, etc), walked with me around the gardens here yesterday then emailed me today about the stink bugs on the fingerlime tree: “The Stink beetles on the citrus, one sure way of getting rid of them is to hang an empty plastic bottle in their viciinity.    When the sun shines... Read More

Trees in the middle of the road

Richards Ave, Surry Hills, Sydney NSW Free air con, walk away -Trees in the road One of Earth’s finest arborists, John Lennon, advised us well with his rhetorical question, “Why don’t we do it in the road?” Trees in the middle of the road provide free air conditioning. Which road would you rather walk in, live in and pay the electricity bills in – a... Read More

New painted compost bin – tra la!

New painted compost bin Some frogs are on top of the leaves, some under them - look closely . . . A local artist who doesn’t wish to be named has donated paints and materials and her skills to paint a new Aerobin donated by the manufacturer.  Read More

Sustainable and unsustainable streets

A flooded street For some reading about recent thinking about how our climate is changing, this is a useful article: www.economist.com… The photo above is from that article. It shows an unsustainable street, and it seems how we live here in Chippo, and Australia generally, is partly the reason there are streets like those.  Hopefully, the work being done to trial sustainable... Read More

Mayor Moore’s letter about making Chippendale sustainable

Final Letter On January 2011 Mayor Clover Moore MP wrote to let us know in Chippendale about the plan to make the suburb sustainable.  The Mayor’s letter is in this blog, above. May the sustainable streets be with us, Michael  Read More

Biolytix into liquidation

I’ve received an email from a contact in the wastewater industry with this advisory note from WA Health about Biolytix going into liquidation: ‘ Approval for Biolytix aerobic treatment units withdrawn by Department of Health, Western Australia As of 19 January 2011, Queensland-based company Biolytix Water Australia Pty Ltd has gone into liquidation. In Western... Read More

Stratas going green – web page

There’s a handy web page dedicated to units wishing to go green – here: greenstrata.com… And there’s a case study there of a rooftop garden in some units in Shepherd Street, Chippendale, here: greenstrata.com… To contact the person running the web page, Christine Byrne:  chris@greenstrata.com.au Enjoy, Michael  Read More

Cat kills ringtail possum today

Today, Saturday, about 830 am, Brian, from two doors down, rang my front door bell and in his hands was a ringtail possum. “My cat’s bitten it and it needs a vet but I’ve got to go to work,” he said, very upset. I rang WIRES but it was too early for them and the recorded message said I could take it to a vet most of whom cared for injured native animals free... Read More