Please go to www.greylynn2030.co.nz for the latest information.

Also this site will no longer be able to take comments. We would appreciate your comments very much though on the new web site.

Ooooby stands for Out of our Own Backyard

Ooooby is…
- a movement of food growers and locavores with a common goal of food independence.
- a place where you can learn from, connect and exchange with local growers and eaters.
- a social enterprise which pours all its profits back into local food projects.

On further investigation I see that Ooooby is very much in keeping with the Transition town movement.  Pete Russell who runs it is doing some great things on Waiheke.

We city dwellers can learn more about growing our own food as Ooooby is about to run a gardening course here in the room belonging to Garnet Station cafe.

Edibles and Flowers in the Kitchen Garden
Coastal and Shelter Plantings
Garden Design 1 and 2
Plant Selection for your Garden
Planting for year round Interest
These are the topics every Wednesday morning and evening at Garnet Station in Grey Lynn starting 18 February
Each session separate $15 each
Call 021 431 098 for bookings – Gill Warren

Further information will be provided closer to the time. Please mark the date in your calendar.

Event: Auckland City Council Go By Bike Breakfast
Date: 18 February, 6.30am
Location: Viaduct Harbour
What’s happening: Come down to our exciting new venue – the Viaduct Harbour (Eastern Viaduct)!
Web: www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/whatson/events/gobybike/default.asp

Event: Kids Bike Ride
Date: 19 February, 5.30pm
Location: Western Springs Park
What’s happening: The Kids Bike Ride is a fun evening for kids, promoting cycle safety during National Bike Wise Week.  There will be live music, obstacle courses and special bike activities with great prizes to be won.

The Sustainable Living Centre  is screening Geoff Lawtons DVD “Establishing a food forest”.

It starts with a 20 minute Permaculture Classroom as Geoff explains the patterns of a Food Forest and the essential principles of “time-stacking” your garden with the right mix of support species that feed and protect your fledgling fruit trees into maturity. We then join Geoff in the field as he puts the theory into action, planting the seeds and watching the system grow.

It will be a great chance for people to meet and network as well as gaining an idea of setting up a thriving food system.

The project has been started by Mandy McMullen and Jacqui Watson. Mandy, is a landscape architect, and intends to design a plan that might gain sponsorship from various funding sources, which would pay for
soil testing and structures that need to be put in place, such as a fence and a compost bin. A local businessman has offered to do any building required at a reduced rate.
There are a few locals already involved  largely from Wilton Street who are keen on the project and have good skills to donate to it.

Presently it still looks like a empty section but Ponsonby News spoke to the Mandy and Jacqui who said the plot has already undergone a
transformation with a major weed problem tackled and almost overcome. They’ve hand cleared the site of jasmine that was growing right up into the trees. Although pretty, jasmine is very hard to eradicate
completely and will require ongoing control.

Some kind person has offered them a couple of goats to get rid of it, but that’s an option requiring careful consideration! Might be a bit upsetting for people having a tipple at Gypsy Tea Rooms….

The plan is that members of the community will pull together to create a resource that we can all enjoy. Part of their vision is to have a relaxation area as well, where they might have street barbeques, or neighbourhood celebrations at festival times.

If you are interested in this please contact Alice on 3764623 or alice@angelfood.co.nz

Seed exchanges are springing up around New Zealand, the Te Kakano Trust is based in Wanaka and has achieved a lot since it was formed in September 2008. Their aim is to ‘ establish a community-based native plant nursery specialising in propagating plants of local origin for the restoration of habitats in the Upper Clutha Basin”.

Here in Grey Lynn many of us have gardens that once successful can be very productive. Please bring any seedlings that you don’t need to our monthly meeting. There is sure to be somebody who will be happy to receive them.

For more information – http://www.earthhour.org/

What can we do for Earth Hour in our community? – any ideas for how we can get all of Grey Lynn, Ponsonby and Westmere to turn out the lights for an hour on 28^th March?

The good folk in Pt Chev are on to it, if you would rather not stay at home on your own in your dark house.

Coyle Park 8 – 9.30pm Saturday, March 28th – join us to watch the lights go out.

Earth hour 2009 is from 8.30-9.30 on March 28th. To acknowledge the need to take action on Climate Change, people all over the world are encouraged to turn out the lights for one hour… We understand the Sky Tower will go dark, and hope to also see other lights go out. We will meet at the Coyle Park playground. Torches (preferably rechargable!) may be needed to safely navigate the park. Don’t forget to turn out your own lights before you leave home.

www.ecomatters.org.nz

Workshops & Seminars Timetable – Feb and March

Urban Chooks
Fresh eggs and garden pest control in one!
Wed 11 February     6.30-8.30pm     $10
Barbara Stumbles – Registered and Homeopathic Vet, Urban Chook Enthusiast
The sound of chickens in the backyard was commonplace up until the 50s and 60s. Chickens are a valuable addition to a productive backyard – they can still be kept in the suburbs but there are a few council by-laws you will need to know. Barbara will discuss what a chicken needs to be happy and healthy from housing and shelter to diet.

Home Winemaking
Get creative with your summer harvest
Thurs 19 February    6.30-8.30pm $10
Al Christ – President of the Manukau Wine and Apiarists Club
Turn that pile of overripe feijoas or plums into something much more satisfying – a crisp wine that will satisfy even the most discerning tastebuds! Al will give a step by step demonstration of the basic winemaking process and describe the typical kit needed to get started.

MODULAR PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE  (12 modules in total)
The Built Environment (Module 3, PDC)
Saturday 21 February    8.45am-5pm  $80 (pre-payment required)
NB: Shared lunch optional, bring a plate
Finn Mackesy – Co-chairperson, Permaculture in NZ; Gary Marshall – Landscape Architect, DJ Scott Associates Ltd
This module covers: Principles of building ecology; passive solar design and active systems (storage and heat pumps); orientation and layout; ambient temperatures and insulation; materials (local earth, straw, timber etc); on-site re-use/recycling of ‘wastes’ (compost toilets, greywater systems etc); on-site energy supplies (micro-hydro, wind, solar etc).

Build a Hybrid Adobe Garden Seat
Saturday 28 February     10am-3pm     $30
Grant Steven - Organics Tutor, Northland Polytechnic
Grant Steven, who bought us ‘organoponico’ raised vege gardens, will be showing us ‘hybrid adobe’ techniques to build a new visitors bench seat for the community garden. Hybrid adobe is a lightweight but strong building material which incorporates clay and paper pulp in the mix. We will also be constructing a simple Kanuka shade structure as part of the seating.

March 2009

EcoDay 2009 Sunday 8 March 2009

Renewable Energy Workshop Exciting innovations in DIY energy production, Saturday 7 March, 10 – 30am – 12.30pm, $10 Presented by Michael Lawley, Renewable Energy Engineer, EcoInnovation

Bring Back Butterflies Workshop How to attract native butterflies to your garden, Wednesay 18 March, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, $10  Presented by Angela Gibbons, Native Butterfly Breeder

Edible Garden Culture (8 part series)

Part 1: Edible Garden Planning & Practice

Saturday 28 March, 10:30am – 12:30pm, $20

This is the first workshop of a new 8 part edible gardening series for 2009.  Richard Main is an enthusiastic and experienced environmental educator and co-founder of the Unitec Hortecology Sanctuary.  In this mainly hands-on practical workshop, participants will be introduced to ideas around working with nature, propagation techniques, planting and an abundant summer harvest.

War On Weeds

The War On Weeds programme is delivered by WeedFree Trust on behalf of Keep Waitakere Beautiful Trust, and runs throughout the month of March every year.

Click here for more information.

EcoDay – FREE COMMUNITY EVENT!
Sunday 8 March    10-4pm    Held at Olympic Park, New Lynn.
The Sustainable Living Centre will be open all day and there will also be tours of the Trusts EcoHouse. Eco stalls and exhibitions, organic food and drinks, kids zone, music, workshops and seminars, vehicle emissions testing, tours of sustainable homes and gardens. See www.ecoday.org.nz for more info.

Grandmothers are known for many virtues, not the least of which is their ability to knit spectacular socks. Perhaps even more admirable, however, is the older generation’s ability to make the most of limited resources.

With just that talent in mind, Oxfam recently recruited a team of what it calls Green Grannies to offer advice to the UK public about everything from how to darn socks to how to make delicious food from leftovers. Part of Good Ideas Unltd, Oxfam’s new lifestyles campaign, the service aims not only to help UK consumers save cash, but also to encourage recycling and help tackle climate change, which it notes has a particularly hard impact on the world’s poorest populations. To disseminate the grannies’ advice, Oxfam has launched a YouTube channel—a recent clip describes how to stay warm at night without running the heat, for example—and will soon debut its ‘Ask a Granny’ service on the Oxfam website.

Green Granny Barbara Walmsley explains: “I have always made the most of what I have—it just comes naturally to me. Every granny has her own tricks for saving money, and I’m really glad to have the chance to share them with younger people. Its great to be involved with a campaign which is helping people living in poverty now, and which will also help take care of the world for my grandchildren’s generation.”

“Waste not, want not” is a maxim that works well both from an economic and an environmental perspective, and it’s also one that comes naturally to older generations. Where else could consumers benefit from some elderly advice….?

Website: www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/goodideasvideo
Contact: rmarsh@oxfam.org.uk