A murmuration of swallows

If, say, we were gardening in the street and I was to yell, “Huh, look, a murmuration of swallows”, would you know I was using the collective noun for a gathering of swallows, not the sounds they may be making then? And if it were a particularly abundant day in the skies of Chippendale, and, looking up, we espied lots of magpies, and you said, “Crikey, a tiding... Read More

Making apple juice

For three ways to make juice from apples I can think of no better short guide than George Monbiot’s in his column this week – for terrific writing and clear directions read it here: www.monbiot.com… He’s also provided some beaut photos. Enjoy, Michael  Read More

The Unknown Chippendale Artist

Recent sculpture by The Unknown Chippendale Artist For several years small sculptures in surprising places have appeared in Chippendale.  And you can walk past many of them and never see them.  I’ll put some photos up another time of the old ones. This one is new and in a very obvious place; I won’t say where as that would take the fun out of it. This is the biggest... Read More

Composting art

Compost bin with undercoat Graham Chalcroft, an artist with a studio at Addison Road Gardens, has finished the first stage of his art project on one of our compost bins – the undercoat. Watch this space for Graham’s finished work – the compost bin as art; it’s going to be a bright beauty. M  Read More

Talk at Devonshire Cottage, Chatswood, Wed 10 Nov

I’m giving a talk called, ‘Tips for Sustainable Home Design’. It’s on Wednesday 10th November 2010 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM at the ‘Devonshire Street Cottage’. The cottage was built in approximately 1920 and has under gone a major green retrofit.  It is a great example of what can be achieved with buildings of that age and on a small budget.  Also there is a... Read More

Talk at Mona Vale Library this Wed

On Wednesday this week at Mona Vale library I’ll be talking about what worked and what didn’t at the house, how the solar panels are after 14 years, how the site has kept over 1.5 million litres of sewage here. The aim is to explain how my new book  gives a full account of what’s happened living in a sustainable house in the city for the last 14 years. For a warts... Read More

Native Australian raspberries

Native raspberry and suckers, Myrtle St Native raspberry from above Raspberries According to the wonderful Encyclopaedia Botanica by Frances Bodkin (Collins Angus Robertson, 1986) there are three Australian raspberries. Rubus Hillii (Rosaceae), or Wild Raspberry, is a native of NSW, Qld and NT.  The fruit are red, globular berries, 1.2 cm across. Flowers are white or red.  Propagation... Read More

Heat island being measured in Chippendale

Sydney City Council has begun to publish the temperatures of two roads in Chippendale at: - the intersection of Myrtle and Abercrombie, in Myrtle on the southern side about 20 metres from Abercrombie:  this section of road receives direct eastern and western sun, is black, treeless and causes a lot of avoidable heat - in Buckland street across from Levey Street; this section of... Read More

Special tours Sydney’s Sustainable House – Saturday 19 September 2015

Tour Fact Sheet – Sydney’s Sustainable House and Chippendale Road Gardens A house tour in September 2013   Special tours Click here for all Tour enquiries I’m giving a house tour on Saturday 19   September  2015;          cost $15 per person. Start 1130 (arrive by 1125, please), finish 1230.   To celebrate the publication of the second edition of... Read More

The accidents in the street that sustain us

First the restive, urgent, surprising rain this morning as first light fumbled it’s way here, then, later in the day, this lovely email from a Chippo gardener, Paul: ” I want to give names for the compost bins…. Maybe pull name sugestions from a hat? My 1st proposal is Thomas (the bin thats had the highest temp) after Thomas the tank engine because it’s always... Read More