Chippo to be a trial demonstration suburb

On Monday night Sydney City Council resolved: RECOMMENDATION It is resolved that: (A) Myrtle Street and the surrounding areas, Chippendale, be used by the City as a demonstration site to showcase sustainable street technologies and programs; (B) a detailed plan for the site be developed over the next six months, for funding consideration in the 2011/12 budget; (C) the Chief Executive Officer negotiate an agreement with Mr Michael Mobbs under which... Read More

Food box data

Sydney Food Connect has provided data about this months boxes: “Households/week: 247 City Cousins: 32 Price to farmers: 40c/$ Organic or chemical free: 100% Food miles/week: 173km Our market comparison with five other organic and non-organic produce box services this month showed we are on average 14% cheaper!” Julian Lee, co-founder of Sydney Food Connect, is one of five environmentalists named in today’s the(sydney)magazine’s... Read More

Understanding water: the developer and the elder

Here, in her own words, is a story my friend, Fran Bodkin, an elder of the Dharawal people, told me yesterday as we walked back from the opening of the garden for the Asylum Seekers Centre, Redfern, where Fran had advised on plants to provide food, and I’d provided a native stingless bee hive.. “ Okay, It was in the 1960s, the exact year I can’t remember, but it must have been before 1967. His name was Mr. Thomas.  He was into transport.... Read More

New Second Edition of Sustainable House to be reprinted

The publisher of the second edition of my book, Sustainable House, tells me that since it was published in October this year it’s 5,000 copies are almost sold out and they’re reprinting it in January. Thanks again to UNSW Press, Elspeth Menzies my commissioning publisher there, to Jessica Perini for excellent, professional editing, Saima Ali for the new photos, and all involved. May the books be with us, Michael  Read More

Arbolito signs up

Michael, A sign for Arbolito, Beth, Beth's hat, Andres Close up of sign Arbolito, ‘The little tree”, has signed up and is fully ‘out there’. We put a sign up made of a used plastic drink bottle;  we laminated an A4 sign, used duct tape to affix it to the bottle, then placed the bottle over the stake for the tree and . . . voila, a sign. Andres who planted and named it left Oz on Friday for Taiwan on his way back to Ecuador. He... Read More