A community at work

Our sister group, South Hobart Sustainable Community, has just launched a ‘carbon reduction fund’, a spin-off from its very successful bulk solar purchase.

Invitations are open now – so if you have a deserving project consider applying now. Deadline for the first round is August 31.

Please download details HERE.

The Australia and New Zealand Biochar Researchers Network delivered a workshop on Monday 28 June – an opportunity to learn basic facts about biochar and its potential applications and benefits.

Biochar can be produced from a wide range of organic materials – wood waste, paper waste, municipal green waste, animal manures and crop residues, to name a few.

(Click on graphic to enlarge.)
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This Sunday, June 27, there will be two in-house demonstrations on home insulation.

Come and see how Clear Comfort window insulation can be cheaply installed on your windows – at 1pm, 136 Waterworks Rd.

Come and see how to retrofit insulation into a weatherboard wall cavity – at 3pm, 195 Waterworks Rd.

Autumn leaves are abundant at the moment. Mixed with manure, watered and left for a few months they turn into great compost. Collecting them up is quickly done with a sack (or a few), a leaf rake and a pair of gloves.

1. Rake up a good pile of leaves and position your rake and sack next to it. Try to smile while you are working (photo on left)
2. Put the rake flat, just inside the mouth of the sack
3. Using your preferred foot, pin the rake handle to the ground
4. Using your non-preferred hand, hold the top of the sack’s mouth open
5. A taut, tiangular opening to the sack will be evident (middle photo)
6. Use your preferred hand, glove on, to sweep the leaves into the sack (photo on right).

Check out the bright new site for Source Wholefoods.

This is a local supplier run by a dedicated and energetic collective.

They are open Wed to Saturday afternoons, French Street (just above the university campus).

Put this number on your fridge – 6268 1184

This morning two women turned up in our driveway with a panic-stricken, injured wallaby and asked how to care for it.

Apart from risk to human safety, Hobart council’s inability to provide traffic calming in this area is causing needless deaths and trauma to numerous wildlife, and community members are frequently called upon to deal with them.

Here is a basic guide on how to care for an injured animal or an orphaned joey taken from the pouch of a dead mother.

Parks & Wildlife have a service number (Ph 1300 135 513), though the dedicated people at Bonorong Wildlife Park are often more contactable, having a 24 hour service: Phone 6268 1184.

How to not be poisoned.

Some fruit and vegetables are sprayed a lot, others not so. Some absorb pesticides, others are more resilient. How the hell do we find out?

Click on Continue Reading below to find out. And thanks to Dorka for finding this list.

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If not us, then who?
If not here, then where?
If not now, then when?

Over the last two years in the middle of winter, thousands of Tasmanians chose to spend a day outside learning more about how to live a sustainable life.

This is a very popular event. It’s on again on June 6th, so put it in your diary now.

Click HERE to see details.

Plugging energy waste in your home can be one of those rare investments that provide a guaranteed financial return.

By way of comparison, this graph (click on it to enlarge) compares your dividend on $10,000 invested in Microsoft shares versus investment in home energy saving retrofit (for a 5 year period.)

What the chart doesn’t show is 1) many energy saving measures cost almost nothing and 2) expenditures in energy saving keep paying back, year after year, for the life of the home. Once they have paid themselves back they effectively become a continuing source of household income. Full story HERE.

Dates for these are as follows: All start at 7.30pm.

102 Waterworks Rd Mon May 3
414a Strickland Ave, Wed May 5
152 Waterworks Wed May 12
14b Livingston Wed May 19
50 Bramble St Thurs May 20
195 Waterworks Rd May 24

Click on image to see details.

Please email us for queries.