Melton Sustainable Living Group Inc.

Clay Oven Workshop

2011-08-22T20:14:00.001+10:00

On Saturday, the group held a clay oven workshop at Gavin & Kims place which was well attended by members of the Melton Sustainable Living Group. We had ten willing workers at our disposal, and we managed to occupy them all on various tasks during the day.

So from this:

To this in two hours (plus one day's drying and sand removal)!

So let me step you through what we did during the workshop. However, be warned, there are lots of photos (click to enlarge).

Before everyone turned up at 10am, I received an order at 8am of 1 cubic metre of packing sand, which has a high clay content. Kim and I had to shift this sand from the roadside to the area where we were making the oven. It took me the good part of an hour to do this work alone. After a cuppa and a biscuit, I made this template for the sand dome. It is 50cm high and 85cm wide.

This picture shows how the sand dome was being formed. Four people on a quadrant building up sand.

Here is the sand dome nearly finished. You can just see part of the cardboard template. Don't you just love the smiling helpers!

And from the front angle. The sand dome just touched the front of the door arch.

Now that the sand dome was finished, it was time to get down and dirty. We used a 50% packing sand and 50% clay mixture, and enough water to moisten it. There was quite a bit of aggregate pebbles in the sand as well, and a few handfuls of sugar cane mulch in the clay when we dug it out of the ground. I didn't think it needed any more organic matter.

We started off with two stompers.....

Then there were four. It became contagious. It was great fun with everyone in gumboots (wellingtons to those in the UK) to stop their best shoes from getting caked in the stuff.

Then on to the table where a team of five helpers made clay logs that were about 6 cm wide and various lengths.

Then yet another team put the logs around the sand dome. The dome was covered in wet newspaper so that it would make the sand easier to remove once the clay was touch dry.

The logs are placed like bricks to add rigidity to the form (well as best as can be).

Nearly at the top of the dome. The dome at this stage was just at the edge of the door bricks.

This is the full height of the flue, just so you get a better idea.

Once the dome was finished, we had to join it to the brick door arch. More clay logs!

Then we started to smooth all of the cob logs.

Then we wet our hands and gave it a nice sheen. We also filled any depressions in the clay dome.

As the sun was shining on the clay, we decided to coat it in wet newspaper to slow down the drying, to hopefully avoid some cracking. This was the point that the workshop finished, and Kim served us a lunch of home made pizza to order, then dished up buffet style alfresco. Everyone really enjoyed themselves, and a few people expressed interest at holding another clay oven working bee in about 6 months time. I am certainly up for it, now that the design seams to work okay. Thanks to everyone who turned up and lent a hand.

Anyway, yesterday some larger cracks started to appear, so I consulted my Back Yard Ovens Volume II book that I got from Earth Garden magazine, and it suggested that once the clay sets to a cheese like hardness then you should remove the sand. The reason being is that the clay is trying to shrink, but the sand is getting in the way. So out with the sand.

At one stage I had both shoulders jammed in the door arch trying to get the sand out! I wish someone had taken a picture of that. The sand came out fairly easily once I had undercut the sand dome. Most of it just collapsed and I just scooped it out with my arms. The newspaper layer worked well.

I can't believe how big it is inside. I estimate that with the hot coals pushed up around the edges, we will be able to cook 3 pizzas at a time, and afterwards about 4 loaves of bread.

So next steps are to move the sand that I left on the floor, light a small fire on every night for the next week to help the clay dry out, then on the weekend apply the glass wool insulation, chicken wire and clay/sand/cement render.

Pizza night at our place in about a months time to launch the oven? What do you reckon team?

Current Meeting Information

2011-05-27T19:03:00.001+10:00

"It doesn't cost the Earth to be green."

The members of Melton Sustainable Living Group believe in changing the world by thinking globally, but by acting locally. The MSLG brings sustainable living to Melton Shire ensuring a cleaner, greener and more resilient community for all.

The MSLG meets once a month, every 3^rd Saturday, to exchange ideas, harvests, produce, and discuss sustainable living projects.

The group provides practical knowledge and experience via workshops, about how to lower personal emissions, energy efficiency, growing your own food garden, renewable energy, frugal living, soap making, preserving food, composting, worm-farming, rainwater harvesting and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle).

In addition to monthly meetings, documentary nights are held on the 1^st Wednesday of each month, to educate members and friends about current environmental issues facing our society.

Membership is $20 per year. Newsletters are sent monthly.

If you would like more info about the group and meeting locations, visit us;

web:          meltonsustainablelivinggroup.blogspot.com,

email:   meltonsustainablelivinggroup@gmail.com

or phone:    MSLG Secretary (Kim) on 97473616

Backyard Chickens Workshop 16th April 2011

2011-04-17T07:19:00.002+10:00

Yesterday, my friend Jan and I presented a workshop to the Melton Sustainable Living Group members and friends. The workshop is one of the regular monthly activities the group holds on the 3rd Saturday of each month.

I believe that it was informative and I certainly had a good time presenting it. As requested by one of my readers on The Greening of Gavin, we captured the highlights on video and I placed it on YouTube.

I hope you enjoy all the chicken antics and my presentation!

Gavin Webber
President, MSLG Inc.

DJ Festival 2010

2010-11-07T19:32:00.000+11:00

The group had a stall yesterday at the Djerrawarrah Festival, which is the main event of the year in our town. Our stall had display boards, educational pamphlets, drought tolerant succulents, vegetable seedlings, and buckets and buckets of sheep poo. Everyone who volunteered had a great time telling people about the sort of things they can do at home to grow their own food, save energy and money, and to green up their lifestyles. We even had about 6 people express interest in joining the group, which is a fantastic outcome. Hopefully they will join our merry band of environmentally aware citizens.

Here are some photos and commentary from throughout the day.

David, Jonathan, Caroline, and Amy

David and Renata,

The growing section of the stall

The undercover educational display boards and pamphlets

Gavin holding up the tent, looking friendly in an attempt to entice the crowds in to the display.

Jake manning the displays

Jake, Gavin, Rick and David late in the day.

The raffle prize. We sold 160 tickets and a local lady from Melton West won the prize. I know she will have fun setting up the mini vegetable patch!

The sheep poo. We even met the guy who donated it. We thought they would be a hit. They were not. People did not want to carry the bucket around the festival.

Jiffy pellets that we thought would sell. They did not.

Herbs and succulents.

Tommy Toe tomatoes.

More succulents. They were a big selling item as were the vegetable seedlings.

Gavin showing a local all of the things members do around their homes.

Getting tired by now.

Waiting for the final bell to go home. There was no-one around by this stage.

The pack up crew. David, Jake, Megan and Gavin. Rick is taking the picture.

I would like to thank all volunteers who helped out on the day, but a special thanks goes to our Secretary, Kim, who has worked tirelessly for the last two weeks organising everything and keeping the event on track. Well done to all and thanks for a great day!

Gavin Webber
President.

Soap Making Demo

2010-10-24T12:49:00.000+11:00

On Sunday 23rd of October the group held a Soap making demonstration at Gavin & Kim’s house in Melton West. It was well attended by 12 members who were keen to learn the basics of cold processed soap making.

Here is a slide show of the gathering.

To learn a bit more about how this process works, have a look at this video tutorial made by Gavin & Kim a few months ago.

For the recipe that we used visit this article titled, “Our Soap Recipe”.

For a pictorial guide and a details step by step guide visit this article titled, “Lather Up Folks”.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email us via the address on the side bar to the right.

Sustainable House Day 2010 - Radio Interview 97.9FM

2010-09-07T21:37:00.001+10:00

Here is a radio interview that I gave over the weekend promoting Sustainable House Day. I think you will find it entertaining, and it is formatted as an episode of my normal not-so-weekly podcast over on The Greening of Gavin.

Sustainable House Day will be held across the country this Sunday, 12th of September and for more information about houses open in your area, please visit www.sustainablehouseday.com.

The Melton Sustainable Living Group hopes to see you all there!

Gavin Webber,
President, MSLG Inc.

Sustainable House Day Community Announcement

2010-08-27T19:53:00.000+10:00

The group is proud to present one home in Melton West that will be open to the public on Sunday 12th of September 2010. Visit http://sustainablehouseday.com for the address closer to the date.

I hope you take the time to visit and get some ideas about how to make your own home just that little bit more sustainable. The ideas you take away will most probably save you money as well!

Gavin Webber
President, MSLG Inc

Sustainable House Day 2010

2010-08-04T21:09:00.001+10:00

Home Brewing Workshop

2010-06-24T19:55:00.000+10:00

On Saturday, the Melton Sustainable Living Group hosted a home brew workshop at my house.

Kim filmed the workshop, and I have edited it into three parts. I hope you find the time to watch this educational documentary, courtesy of the MSLG.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three with Q&A session

The next day, I checked the Cider to see their progress. The cider was not bubbling, so I took off the lid to ensure that it was indeed fermenting (which it was), so I screwed the lid back on super tight. This sealed it correctly this time, and the airlock started working ferociously.

And as for the Cider today, well due to the fact that I only put in 500gm of Dextrose, it looks like it has finished fermenting as well. I will check it with the hydrometer and possibly bottle it tomorrow night! I can taste it already.

WAGA - Future Vision for Western Region

2010-05-29T16:05:00.001+10:00

I attended the 3rd ACF GreenHome Community workshop on Tuesday night. It was a great evening, with many passionate people from Caroline Springs, Melton West, Melton South, Altona, Werribee, and Bacchus March all who want to make a difference to our local communities.

Terry White from Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action gave an inspiring presentation about some of the bigger actions that are possible in the Western region of Melbourne.

I filmed the entire presentation and managed to cut it into two parts and place them on YouTube. Terry's presentation was very inspirational, and well worth watching.

Please put your hands together for Terry!

Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action - Part 1

Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action - Part 2

Solar PV in the local news

2010-05-13T22:12:00.000+10:00

David appeared in the Melton Express Telegraph this week hugging his solar PV system!

You can read the article titled "On the path to solar rebates" promoting the latest bulk Solar PV buying scheme for the Melton Shire residence.

Well done David, for promoting the benefits of Sustainable Living!

David has the Power!

2010-05-09T22:21:00.000+10:00

Kim and I visited David on Saturday afternoon. David is now the proud owner of a 1 kW solar PV system after a very, very long wait. Here is a shot from the road.

Another view of the system from the backyard.

Of course, I couldn't miss a photo of the proud owner himself!

Look for David and his solar PV system in this weeks edition of the Express Telegraph promoting the Melton Shires bulk PV scheme with EnviroGroup.

Gavin.

GreenHome Workshops

2010-04-18T22:14:00.000+10:00

You’re invited to four FREE workshops

You’ll be able to:
• learn from energy & gardening experts
• meet your neighbours
• tackle climate change and sustainability in new and creative ways with your community.

The Australian Conservation Foundation GreenHome program will help you reduce your environmental impact and take practical steps to save water and energy, produce less waste and grow local food.

Tuesday 11th May
Greening your home - part 1: Becoming energy efficient
Learn more about energy efficiency, workshop ideas and hear from energy experts.

Tuesday 18th May
Greening your home - part 2:
Gardening towards a sustainable future
Special guest: Vasili Kanidiadis – presenter of Vasili’s Garden SBS.
Hear form Vasili and other gardening guru’s about having a water efficient veggie patch, composting and
worm farming.

Tuesday 25th May
Community actions for tackling climate change - part 1
Hear from inspiring speakers and tackle climate change in new and creative ways with your community.

Tuesday 1st June
Community actions for tackling climate change - part 2
Network with your friends and neighbours and discover how your actions can make your neighbourhood a happier, healthier and more sustainable place to live.

All sessions run from 6.30 – 9.15pm

Come to all four workshops for your chance to win a worm farm, compost bin and great energy prizes

Where:
Caroline Springs Civic Centre & Library
193-201 Caroline Springs Blvd (Corner of Lake St)
Caroline Springs. Melways Ref. 356 G10
Light refreshments will be provided at each workshop.

Cost: FREE

Book online at www.acfonline.org.au/carolinesprings or call
Australian Conservation Foundation on 1800 223 669

RSVP by Friday 7th May as places are limited

Please forward to anyone else that may be interested.

Everyone attending will receive a free GreenHome guide and other giveaways.
For more information and ideas on sustainable living visit
www.acfonline.org.au/greenhome

P.S. Gavin will be in attendance at all four workshops as part of his GreenHome Community Leaders commitment.

Local Community Resilience

2010-03-10T21:09:00.000+11:00

Being resilient is about being able to withstand a shock to the normal way of life. Recently there has been a shock in the form of the Global Financial Crisis, however I believe that it was tame compared to what is about to come in the next decade.

Two big issues come immediately to mind. Climate Change and Peak Oil.

You have probably heard about the concept of Climate Change, and we are already feeling the effects of extreme weather events in our part of the world. Doesn't it seem strange that we are getting more and more '1 in 100 year events' closer together and they are becoming more like 1 in 10 year events? Not strange, but normal according the climatologists. Climate change means more extreme weather, not just getting a bit warmer. Of course the climate changes over time and has many times before in Earth's history, but not in a matter of years or decades, we are talking centuries for these events to occur naturally. You can't take millions of years of trapped sunshine in the form of coal, gas and oil and release it in the space of fifty years or so without some repercussions.

This leads me to the other big issue. Peak Oil is a term that many might not be familiar with. Don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security. There was a time when Climate Change suffered the same lack of media coverage.

Peak Oil is not about “running out of oil” – we'll never run out of oil. There will always be oil left in the ground because either it's too hard to reach or it takes too much energy to extract. Ponder on a fact that the economists conveniently gloss over – regardless of how much money you can make selling oil, once it takes an oil barrel's worth of energy to extract a barrel of oil, the exploration, the drilling and the pumping will grind to a halt.

Peak Oil is about the end of cheap and plentiful oil, the recognition that the ever increasing volumes of oil being pumped into our economies will peak and then inexorably decline. It’s about understanding how our industrial way of life is absolutely dependent on this ever-increasing supply of cheap oil. To learn more about Peak Oil please read a this previous post titled "Peak Oil Primer".

So why did I start out talking about local community resilience? Well the two big issues have a lot to do about community resilience, because when they take effect, the outside inputs that supply our town will begin to slow down, and we have to depend upon each other more and more just to get by.

Let me pose this question. Do you know your neighbours, or at least 10 others in your community? If you don't it might be a good idea to reach out to others where you live, because soon enough we are going to need each other more than over.

Local resilience begins when like minded people actually care and look out for each other. People work better in communities, and have done so throughout all of history. So join a local club to build that community spirit and start to talk about the two big issues that I have articulated in this post. We have the power to change the way we do things, before the change gets forced upon us!

“Because the best protection isn't owning 30 guns; it's having 30 people who care about you. Since those 30 have other people who care about them, you actually have 300 people who are looking out for each other, including you. The second best protection isn't a big stash of stuff others want to steal; it's sharing what you have and owning little of value.”

- Charles Hugh Smith

Walk Against Warming

2009-12-06T09:51:00.001+11:00

Community Announcement. My family and I will be there, will you?

WALK AGAINST WARMING

12pm – 12/12/09 - State Library, Melbourne

This year, we’re sending a safe climate message to the world. Are you in?

This December, our world leaders are gathering to decide how much they’re prepared to do about climate change.

Join thousands of Victorian individuals and families concerned about climate change at this year’s Walk Against Warming, and help us form a massive human sign on Princes Bridge – a sign so big they’ll get our safe climate message all the way over in Copenhagen.

The Walk Against Warming is Australia’s biggest day of community action on climate change. Similar Walks will be happening across the country, and across the globe as communities everywhere come together to tell their leaders they want action for a safe climate.

If you’ve ever replaced an old light globe with an energy efficient one, taken public transport instead of driving, switched to Green Power, or worried about the kind of world you’re going to leave to your kids, then the 2009 Walk Against Warming is for you!

So get your community, family, kids, friends and everyone else you know all together... and get them to Walk Against Warming on December 12!

Help us make Melbourne's Walk Against Warming HUGE...

RSVP right now: www.waw.org.au To get involved contact: victoria@envict.org.au

Spread the word - please forward this link far and wide if you live in the Greater Melbourne area.

Irrigation, and preparing for the summer heat in the veggie garden

2009-11-21T23:10:00.000+11:00

The group got together for our monthly meeting this afternoon, and we had a great time learning about how Michael keeps his garden green during the summer months even with the scorching temperatures we have here in Melton. He has a fantastic irrigation system set up that is all fed by rainwater and the bi-weekly mains water we are allowed whilst on water restrictions.

Just last Saturday his garden featured on Vasili’s Garden which airs on the community Channel 31. It used to be shown on SBS.

Here is the write up about what Vasili thought about Michael’s garden; and here is the 25 minute episode which was very entertaining and the entire family got involved.

Here are some photos taken by Kim during the workshop.

Some of the members listening intently to Michael,

The proud gardener!	Green everywhere.
The runner bean bed.	The broad beans are still going.

How to stop birds from digging up you cucumbers and keep the soil moist at the same time.

Sunflowers against the west wall. They were about 5 foot high.

More ways to keep the birds from digging up your plants.

And finally a way to keep the cabbage moths off of your cabbages any time of the year. A simple frame with mosquito netting. It hides the shape of the plants, and stops the moths from laying eggs on the leaves.

His irrigation set up was all set up to work from low pressure rainwater that was gravity feed from smaller tanks set higher up on the property that he filled from his main tank. His garden is an inspiration to anyone who wants to grow food in a dry area, as the west of Melbourne has now become, and all the member took away a swag of ideas on how to implement this type of garden into their own veggie patch.

From all the member, a big thank you to Michael and Carolyn for letting us into their home and showing us around there green oasis. You were great hosts.

Guess what? It is now raining for the first time in a month! There will be full tanks for everyone tomorrow!

Fun at the DJ Festival

2009-11-09T19:58:00.000+11:00

All I can say is that I believe that our stand at the DJ festival was a success and fun to boot. Not only did we get the message out into the community that we exist, met many like minded people from other environmental groups in our shire, we made $121 for the group by selling plants grown by Michael, Jan and Gavin, chicken and duck eggs donated by Jan, and T-Shirts and hats for members provided by Kim. I must say the the Sunflower plants were the biggest seller of the day followed by the salad gardens and the multitude of heirloom tomatoes.

It was a great day, and it was good to see that many members and volunteers were able to man the stand throughout the day. Here are some photos of the event taken early in the morning.

Setting up at the start of the day

The first shift. Left to right; Amanda, Amy & David

Inside the marquee as you move from left to right; The Gardening Panel.

Green Cleaning and Energy efficiency panels

Poultry and Preserving & Baking panels

Finally the Waste and Water panels.

There were free ReNew and G magazines, lots of informational booklets and even a renters guide to going green. We gave away about 40% of the booklets, so there was quite an interest in what we were doing. We had 10 people who were interested in further information about the next meeting, which I thought was fantastic.

All in all, a great event. Many thanks to all who contributed to make it as successful as it was. Special thanks to Iramoo for the loan of the display boards; Sustainability Victoria, Environment Victoria, Iramoo, Melbourne Water, and the ATA for all the educational material; and to Kim for all the hard work on the pictures and laminating.

See you all at the next meeting as it will be very informative. It is a workshop at Michael Howard’s house and we will be learning how Michael prepares his veggie patch for the scorching summer ahead and how to still have a productive patch.

For details of the groups activities and when meetings are held, please call Kim on 03 97473616 for further information.

Warm regards,

Gavin Webber, President

Djerriwarrah Festival

2009-10-31T17:00:00.001+11:00

November 7th, our Sustainable Living Group has a stand at the annual DJ festival. We will be located in the Environmental Hub which I believe will be on the grassed area near the Honey Shack across High Street from the Community Hall. We will be there from 0900 - 1700.

The stall will be manned by willing volunteers (members & friends) who are more than willing to share their own sustainable living journeys with anyone who pays us a visit. We will also be selling some vegetable seedlings with all proceeds going back into the group.

We will have educational displays and many donated handouts about the following themes;

Growing your own food
Water saving (rain water harvesting/grey water use)
Renewable energy
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Urban poultry
Energy conservation,
and much more!

Come along, drop by and you will learn to save money and preserve the environment. You may even want to join our group! New members are always welcome.

Warm regards,

Gavin Webber
President

Local Cheese Making Courses

2009-10-07T19:50:00.001+11:00

Hi Members and Friends,

Great news for those who expressed interest in cheese making courses. There will be two courses held at the Melton South Community Centre in November 2009. Here are the details from the Melton Shire Learning Directory Term 4:

Cheese Making - Basic Class
Make your choice of either Wensleydale, Feta, Haloumi, Parmesan or Cheddar. You can then add your own spices and flavours to personalise you cheese.
Date: Sunday 8 November 2009 from 10.00am - 3.00pm
Cost: $55.00 includes lunch
Contact:    Melton South Community Centre

Cheese Making - Mould Course
Choose from Brie, Camembert, Blue Vein or Stilton. These soft cheeses have the addition of either white or blue mould and have a slightly different preparation technique.
Date:    Sunday 15 November 2009 from 10.00am - 3.00pm
Cost:    $65.00 includes lunch
Contact: Melton South Community Centre

To book call the community centre direct during business hours.

Melton South Community Centre Inc
26 Exford Rd, Melton South
97478576

Be quick as these courses fill up fast. I have previously attended both courses and found them fun and stimulating. As most of the members know, I went on to make many cheeses and it is now one of my main hobbies.

To read about the cheese making courses I attended, have a read of "Homemade Feta, or Gromit I Found the Cheese!" which describes my experiance at the basic cheese course, and "Stilton, or I Got The Stinky Blues!", which describes the mould course. Like I said, I had a ball and the instructors were knowledgable and helpful during both days.

I hope that you find the time to give it a go. Artisan cheese making was a skill that until a few years ago that was nearly dead in this country. There has been a big resurgence of late to relearn these disappearing arts, so lets help revive it further. Wouldn't it be great to have a MSLG meeting next year just to sample home made produce and cheese? You can't get much more sustainable by making your own cheese, other than owning your own cow or goat that is!

Gavin

350.org - 24th October 2009

2009-10-06T21:45:00.002+11:00

As discussed at the last meeting, here is some more information about campaigns in our local area. Click on the links for more information.

The Big Picture hosted by BREAZE in Ballarat.

ATA's 350 Photo Challenge. Danni, and I have already submitted photos to this campaign.

and finally, on Friday 23rd October, MGC Pedal Powered Launch Party. They are powering the event using Future Spark to generate enough electricity into the grid to power the show. Comedian Rod Quantock will MC the entertainment and perform his show, “Bugger the Polar Bears, this is serious” starting at 7pm. I wrote about Rod Quantocks show on a post called "Rod Quantock's Guide to Climate Change".

As for our own campaign, I am all ears, but we will need to act fast! Post ideas for a local Melton event via comments so that we can organise something quickly, or if we can't organise quickly enough then I can contact the Melbourne Girls College for tickets to the show on Friday, and contact BREAZE regarding attendance at the Big Picture. Car pooling where we can of course to get to these events if that is what we choose to do.

For an explanation of what all the hullabaloo is all about, click the graph above for a simple explanation of the science of climate change and what the number 350 is all about!

I have dual posted this at both the Melton Sustainable Living Group site and The Greening of Gavin in the hope to capture the hearts and souls of concerned Melton Locals.

Gavin

An Eye on Climate Change

2009-09-23T22:16:00.000+10:00

I recently received an email from Rodney Dekker, a local Melton resident who is married to Desrae, one of the friends of the MSLG. He is a freelance photo journalist focused on climate change storytelling.

He has travelled to Bangladesh and made a story board for Oxfam about the effects of a cyclone that occurred in 2007 that killed tens of thousands of people in low laying areas of the country. Here is a video of what he saw. It is quite powerful and eye opening.

Eyewitness Climate Change: Bangladesh from Oxfam Australia on Vimeo.

The images he took are a timely reminder of why the up-coming negotiations at Copenhagen in December are so important, and this may be the last chance we have to set realistic targets that reverse or at least stabilise the climate before the human race creates climate chaos by our own negligence. I for one feel ashamed that our country has the dubious honour of over taking the USA as the worst polluters per capita in the world. Australia will be and has been the first developed nation that is already seeing the impact of this global inaction. This needs to change big time. We need to campaign harder to avert this disaster. Oxfam Australia have a petition and letter to send to the Climate Change Minister, Hon Penny Wong about strengthening Australia’s Green House Gas targets. Here is the link to demanding stronger climate change action. I urge anyone who cares about future generations to send this urgent message to our elected officials.

Rodney has offered to do a slide show for us at one of the meetings. I think we should take him up on his offer in December and invite as many guest and friends as we can.

You can see more of his work at www.rodneydekker.com

Regards,

Gavin

President

Sustainable House Day

2009-09-09T21:47:00.000+10:00

Don't forget that Sunday 13th September is Sustainable House Day. If anyone is interested in visiting a few homes in our area have a look at the link for details.

http://www.sustainablehouseday.com/

If a few members want to get together and have a look at a few within a 100km radius of Melton, let me know, we may be able to organise a quick excursion. Happy to give the Hybrid a flog for the day! Email me at my normal address if interested.

Gav

AGM August 2009

2009-08-27T16:15:00.002+10:00

Meeting Tomorrow 30th July

2009-07-29T21:48:00.001+10:00

Fellow Members and interested locals,

The next meeting of the Melton Sustainable Living Group Inc. will be held on Thursday 30th July from 7-9pm at the Melton Community Hall, Meeting room 4.

We will start off with a short presentation about "Saving money through energy efficiency".

I also would like to spend some time as a group brainstorming/thinking/talking about a project that will benefit the community and promote Sustainable Living in the shire. Now that we are a little larger in size, I believe it is time to kick off a project that will help keep us and other like minded people engaged for the longer term.

Also, please feel free to pass this email to anyone who you think would be interested in attending.

Hope to see you all there.

Regards,

Gavin
President

Fun at CERES Community Environment Park

2009-07-19T21:16:00.000+10:00

Well, what a great day out we had on Saturday! Only a few members came along, but we had a great time at CERES this weekend.

There was Gavin, Michael, David, Kim and Ben and Liam. Kim was taking the photos. We spent about 3 hours walking around the Community Environment Park, and it was great fun. Here are a few photos of our visit.

Renewable energy galore!

Now that is what I call a bakery. Ben sampled a croissant and said it was yummy!

This is where the Cafe gets most of its food from.

Fresh organic fruit. The labels even had the food miles listed on them.

Organic Free Range chickens of the ISA Brown variety. They had so much land to run around in. About 2 acres I reckon.

The cob oven was pretty cool. It even had its own herbs growing on top of it.

With wonderful mosaics. Kim wanted to give it a go. There were mosaics all over the park and it added a lot of colour to a winters day.

Michael and Gavin checking out the greywater pond after it had been filtered by reed beds. The water was used to irrigate the Village Green.

The propagating tables were to die for. Such a large area to grow seedlings in and so well organised.

And of course what would an Environment Park be without a Yurt. It looked very cozy.

The mud brick house was well constructed, however it was put together using concrete mortar which kind of defeated the purpose.

There were so many community garden plots that we lost count. Mind you, we looked at every single one to check out what was growing and if our veggie patches were on par!

We learnt that you can grow garlic in any sized spot.

Early broccoli under netting so the cabbage moths don’t get to them. Beautifully grown, and pest free.

Some exquisite photography by Kim in the other grey water pond. The Egret looked very much at home. I love the reflection in the water.

The Sustainable House with Zero Emissions Vehicle (Electric Car) in the driveway. This retrofitted house was state of the art about 10 years ago when it was first fitted out.

The waterwheel had a 200 litre header tank that was filled by a massive windmill. The water was acting like a big battery that made sure that the waterwheel kept the generator supplying electricity. I think that I could rig up something around the pool to generate base load for the house at night.

There is a massive solar PV farm. Unfortunately the meters that tell you exactly how much energy they are generating were broken. Such a shame as I would have loved to know whether CERES was a net exporter.

This small wind turbine was spinning so fast, but difficult to see. It was so quite as well. Perfect for a residential area. I believe that it was producing about 400w.

And the recycling areas were very comprehensive. Michael noted that one of the bins was a worm farm and you simply throw your organic waste straight to the worms!

And finally we ended up at the nursery in which all the plants were edible. There was not one ornamental in sight.

Well that is the end of the tour. For those who missed it, I encourage you to take the time to visit this wonderful park.

I felt like I was amongst likeminded people who really cared about the planet.

Gavin

President.

Evening Meeting – 2 July 2009

2009-06-28T16:01:00.001+10:00

This fortnight we have an evening meeting on Thursday, 2nd July, at the Melton Community Hall, meeting room 4, from 7-9pm. The meeting will start dead on 7.00pm as we have a full programme, so please be a little early. The hall will be open from 6.30pm onwards. I have invited the team at ecoMaster to come along and present to us, and they have kindly accepted.

Listed below is what they intend on covering in two presentations;

The most effective presentation would be about the Fed. Govt program which starts on 1st July. Our group will be the first ever group in Australia to be presented with the Home Sustainability Assessments and the Green Loans program.

We will cover:

LYN:
what is a home sustainability assessment and how does that work with a 'green loan'

what is the purpose of the green loans scheme

potential benefits

the 'mechanics' of the scheme
eligibility for the loans e.g. must you be a homeowner or is it open to the landlords of rental properties

restrictions on the amounts of loans

options in finance choices

are loans secured through mortgages of some sort

interest rates

What is the role of the Home Sustainability Assessor

what is the fee for assessing a home, how much and who pays for it

Are there benefits to having a Home Assessment done as opposed to a homeowner deciding themselves on what they want done and borrowing for that purpose

How long does it take to do an assessment

Who receives copies of the Assessment

The independence of the Assessor

This should be approximately 30mins followed by 15 min question time.

MAURICE:

Will address the following matters in regard to technology and factors which influence the selection or choices:

draught proofing

fireplaces and chimneys

window glazing

floor,wall and roof insulation

water systems including size of rainwater tanks, types of tanks e.g. steel v plastic, when grey water systems are viable
sources of energy - e.g. when solar power is suitable

outdoor blinds

use of vegetation to reduce heat

This should be approximately 30mins followed by 15 min question time.

I do believe that it will be one informative night and I hope you can all attend, and please feel free to bring along any friends or family who are interested.

Kind regards,

Gavin Webber,

President,

Melton Sustainable Living Group Inc.

Kev's Patch

2009-06-20T17:59:00.000+10:00

If Barack Obama can have a veggie patch, why can't Kevin Rudd! It took a lot of campaigning by many concerned citizens who voiced their opinion at EatTheView.org. They made such an impact that Michelle Obama actually turned over the first sod in the garden herself. Many American families are following suit and have begun to plant 'Recession Gardens'. The First Lady even appeared on Oprah to tout the benefits of growing your own organic vegetables. Now that the President of the USA and family has an organic supply of yummy vegetables in the Whitehouse's yard, there should be no reason why our Kev can't rip up some of the lawn at the Lodge (the official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia), and put in a veggie patch just like the one that Peter Cundall made at the Royal Botanical Garden in Hobart. After all, the upkeep of the Lodge is paid for by Australian taxpayers dollars, so technically it belongs to all Australians. Just look at all that potential veggie patch space in the photo below!

In fact it was Peter, whilst visiting the Lodge as a finalist for 2009 Australian of the year, who actually suggested it to Kevin and Teresa over a cuppa. They were apparently interested, as our PM was raised on a farm in Queensland. Apparently Peter and his mate Mike Plane have been on the campaign trail for over a year, but they haven't had much luck.

Here is where we proud Australians and any International visitors come into the picture. Fellow concerned citizens and I have started a campaign and have created a dedicated website. Have a visit to Kev’s Patch! I believe it will be the start of something really big.

So this is what I ask of you, if you are game. Send the PM a little message at his official web site, just like Darren and I have. If you really want to, you can mention our blogs! Now that reminds me of a dream I once had.

Here is my letter to our Prime Minister. I hope you have a go as well. You can use mine as a basic template if you like. I don't mind at all.

Organic Veggie Garden at the Lodge - Kev's Patch

Dear Mr Prime Minister Rudd,

My friend Darren Collins and I are very impressed with the way that Barack Obama and his family planted an organic vegetable garden in the Whitehouse grounds, and were wondering if you would consider planting a similar garden at the Lodge.

We believe that by setting an example, other Australians would follow your example and begin to grow their own wholesome veggies, and therefore begin to learn how to provide for themselves in a small way. I have also read that Peter Cundall has offered to help you in this endeavour and has even persuaded some organic veggie gardeners to maintain it for you. I believe that this is an offer too good to refuse!

Please consider this proposal, as I believe it will give hope and offer inspiration to many ordinary Australians.

Regards,

Gavin
greeningofgavin.blogspot.com

So what do you think? Do you think it is a worthwhile campaign. Let us both know via a comment. While you are writing your comment, have a look at this you tube video from the US campaign to fire you up!

This Lawn is Your Lawn

Regards,

Gavin Webber

President

Next Meeting - Rain Water Harvesting

2009-06-02T22:03:00.001+10:00

This weekends meeting will be held on Saturday, 6th June from 1400-1600. For prospective members or interested people, please drop me an email at the groups email address listed in the sidebar for the address details.

This workshops focus is on how to better utilise rainwater, and how to effectively capture it from your roof. David Suttie will be giving us the grand tour and explaining how he went about constructing his system.

Should be a great afternoon, so come along and see a real working system in action. Maybe it will even rain for us!

Kind Regards,

Gavin Webber, President.

Next Meeting - Organic Food Gardening

2009-05-19T14:49:00.002+10:00

Don’t forget that our next meeting will be held this Saturday, 23rd May from 1400-1600. For prospective members or interested people, please drop me an email me at the groups email address listed in the sidebar for the address details.

We will be focusing on growing your own food. In these troubled times, there is no better time to start your own veggie patch or patio garden, and reap the rewards of the sound investment of your own food security.

We will be getting our hands dirty, and everyone will get a small something to take home with them after the workshop.

I am looking forward to the afternoon. Also, members please remember to send all apologies to David by Thursday.

Kind regards,

Gavin Webber, President.

We Are A Legal Entity!

2009-05-11T20:23:00.001+10:00

I received this in the mail today. It is our Certificate of Incorporation!

This means that we can now be taken seriously (not that we haven’t been to date) and can apply for grants from various government bodies and institutions, which I am in the process of investigating and acting upon. This will benefit any projects we deem appropriate for the group.

Gavin

Media Release

2009-05-08T20:08:00.000+10:00

Local Sustainability group open for new members

Melton Sustainable Living Group was recently formed to raise community awareness about the actions that individuals and business can take to lower their personal carbon footprint and to build local sustainability in water, energy, waste, transport and food production.

Last night (May 7th) the group held a community meeting at the Melton Community Hall and attracted more than 18 Melton Shire residents, who are keen to learn more about the simple actions that they could make to green up their lifestyle. Among the group were members of the Alternative Technology Association, people interested in community gardens and several people who are involved in Sustainability in their professional lives.

Commenting after the meeting, Melton Sustainable Living Group President Gavin Webber said: “The evening was a big success. It was great to share with other local like minded people ideas we all have for making our lives, and the lives of our families better - saving money and saving the planet. Most people want to take positive action in their own lives, we just need to work out how we do it. We plan to hold more public meetings to inform ourselves and others about how we can live sustainably and help the family budget.”

“New members are warmly encouraged to join and have their say as to what the group should focus on. There is interest in the group on installing solar panels and solar hot water, energy conservation, growing your own vegetables, retrofitting your house to save energy and lower your power bills,” Mr. Webber said.

Melton Shire residents interested in being involved can look at the groups’ web-site on www.meltonsustainablelivinggroup.blogspot.com or contact the group via email: meltonsustainablelivinggroup@gmail.com. “We would warmly welcome anyone who has similar interests,” Mr. Webber added.

The next meeting for potential new members of the group will be held on Saturday, 23^rd May, 2-4pm. For details, contact the group via email.

For media enquiries contact:

Gavin Webber

President

Melton Sustainable Living Group

Short, but High Impact

2009-05-08T16:32:00.001+10:00

I came across this video on a fellow green bloggers website. It is short, to the point, and has a big impact (well it did for me).

This is why I do what I do!

Don’t forget that the next meeting is tomorrow at 2-4pm being held at Teresa & David’s house. Contact me via meltonsustainablelivinggroup@gmail.com for the address details if you don’t have them.

Gavin

Awareness Meeting

2009-05-02T17:29:00.001+10:00

Don’t forget the MSLG Awareness meeting being held on the 7th May 2009. Please refer to the poster below for details. Click to enlarge.

There will be two presentations, one by Gavin about his journey towards a sustainable lifestyle, and one from another group, who will hopefully talk about why and how they formed their group and what projects they have done. It should make for an interesting evening. How to see you, and any prospective members there.

Don’t forget to try and put up a few flyers on community notice boards during the weekend. Thanks!

Committee Elections

2009-05-02T13:49:00.000+10:00

Last Sunday, at the MSLG 2nd meeting, our initial elections took place. Here are the results of the election for the 5 available officers in accordance with our association rules;

President	Gavin Webber
Treasurer	David Suttie
Secretary	David Hamilton
Ordinary Member (media)	Kim Webber
Ordinary Member	(vacant)

Congratulations to all those who volunteered and were elected. It will be a busy year for all members!

The vacant post is available for nomination at the next meeting.

Solar Suburbs Scheme

2009-04-22T11:00:00.000+10:00

I received this email from our local council. It is a great way to get a small Solar PV system at a bargain rate as low as $1600 for a 1kW system! I wish this deal was around when I purchased my system.

Melton Council is currently participating in a solar panel bulk purchasing scheme - The 'Solar Suburbs' scheme.

This scheme has been led by Brimbank City Council and other participating western region councils include Hume, Moorabool, Wyndham and Moonee Valley.

The scheme represents an opportunity for residents of Melton to take advantage of the $8000.00 Federal Government Solar Rebate (which finishes on June 30th), benefit from the reduced costs associated with bulk purchasing of products, save on future electricity bills and do something positive for the environment. Although the current solar rebate will be replaced with another subsidy scheme after June 30th, the new subsidy will likely be of lower value.

A commercial provider, Clear Solar, has been selected from a list of companies who responded to a call for expressions of interest. Selection was made by a panel of two independent experts.

Melton Council's participation in the scheme is limited to promotion and facilitation so further information should be sought from the provider, Clear Solar. All contracts are between Clear Solar and the purchaser.

For more information click on the link below to access the Clear Solar website, which contains detailed information about the scheme, or contact Clear Solar on the phone numbers below.

The Clear Solar website will also provide updated information about 2 planned information evenings in Melton and a 'signup' day.

http://www.clearsolar.com.au/New/temp_ch/solar_programs.php

Malcolm Bish - 0402 413 564

Matt Jones - 0425 236 600

Regards,

Bernadette Power
Environmental Planning and Sustainability Officer

Shire of Melton

Growing Your Way to Freedom

2009-04-21T21:14:00.000+10:00

People often ask me why I grow my own food. I simply reply that it gives me freedom. I can eat fresh, wholesome food straight from the garden, in the sound knowledge that it did not come from far away, or was raised using pesticides,herbicides or fossil fuels. I am providing food for my family’s needs. What could be more sustainable than that?

Here is a good example. The Dervaes family who live in Pasadena, CA in the USA that have achieved amazing things on the same sized suburban block that many Australians own. Theirs is a 809 square metre block and just about every single scrap of land is used to grow food. It is a very inspiring story.

And a longer video about the family and their Path to Freedom;

Did you notice they they didn’t have any rainwater tanks? Somehow I think that if any of us went to this extreme, we would have to have a 50,000 litre tank squirreled away somewhere!

Anyway, sorry about the mass of date changes for the next meeting. I will be so happy when we get a committee together and set regular meeting dates. Oh well, early days.

Greenlivingpedia

2009-04-09T19:45:00.001+10:00

I have just discovered a wonderful source of information. It is Greenlivingpedia, and is written in the style of Wikipedia.

Have a look at this link, http://www.greenlivingpedia.org/Australian_climate_action_groups#Victoria. I think you will all be pleasantly surprised!

Don’t forget that the next meeting is at Gavin’s house at 1500 on Saturday the 18th of April. I will write up the agenda over the weekend. I expect the official part of the meeting to go for about 2 hours as we have a fair bit to get through.

See you there.

Peak Oil Primer

2009-04-01T22:32:00.000+11:00

I am assuming that most of the members are aware of Climate Change and the possible effects it will have upon us all if we don’t act soon to avert the crisis. So if anyone wants me to cover it off in a post, let me know.

I will dedicate this post to explaining Peak Oil and what it means to us on a local level. Peak Oil is basically the end of cheap oil. The worlds oil fields get to a point that it takes more than one barrel of oil to extract one barrel of oil, therefore the field goes into decline. When all the oil fields in the world reach this point then we reach the plateau that is know as Peak Oil. The graph below shows Australia’s oil production and demand predicted out to 2030. As you can see, our oil fields in this country have now clearly peaked.

After that event, which the International Energy Agency has determined happened in 2007, oil demand outstrips supply and oil gets expensive. We have seen that happen already, and it was one of the catalysts of the Global Financial Crisis. Colin Campbell who founded ASPO, predicted the GFC back in 2005. Have a look at this video to get a better understanding.

So if oil becomes scarce, which it will again as the economy picks up, what does it effect? Well, I wrote a post not long ago about Peak Oil and what it means to our food supply. Have a look at “Nine Meals from Anarchy”. Our transportation systems will slow down dramatically and so will our dependence on someone else providing our food.

So what can we as a group do about Peak Oil? Well as it states in our vision statement, we can build resilience in our local community so that the people in it have all the tools at their disposal to help themselves. One great way of building resilience is to teach people how to grow their own food. We have quite a few members who to that already, so we will have no shortage of keen and willing gardeners that will be able to help with reskilling.

Permablitz is a great way of changing someone's backyard from a boring old backyard to a food forest in one day. Have a look at this video to see what you think.

I am sure we can do something like this if the willing home owner provides most of the materials! I think we could put this form of working bee to good measure around the town. I wonder if the shire would let us have a small community plot to try out first. I suppose we won’t know if we don’t ask.

Hopefully you now have a fair idea what I am talking about know when I mention Peak Oil. A better movie is “The End of Suburbia” which explains it a lot better than I can. We will have a viewing at our next meeting. I am not trying to be a doomsdayer, just prepared for the inevitable.

Our Purpose

2009-04-01T17:12:00.000+11:00

Welcome to the web presence of the Melton Sustainable Living Group. We are a newly formed group in the shire of Melton, Victoria, Australia, who care about our local community. Here are our vision and mission statements.

Vision

The members of Melton Sustainable Living Group believe in changing the world by thinking globally, but by acting locally. MSLG will bring sustainable living to Melton ensuring a cleaner, greener and more resilient community for all.

Mission

MSLG will foster positive change by serving the community with communication and education of sustainable living methods in an urban and suburban environment. MSLG will provide practical knowledge about how to lower personal emissions, energy efficiency,
growing your own food garden, renewable energy, frugal living, rainwater harvesting and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle).
In essence this is a process of relocalising all essential elements that our community needs to sustain itself and thrive. It builds local resilience in the face of the potentially damaging effects of Peak Oil while reducing the community's carbon footprint. In this way,
we can address both Peak Oil and Climate Change.