President's Report July 2014 - Cat Dorey

Welcome to our July newsletter. We’ve passed the half-way mark and are heading out of winter! My hands are freezing in my home as I write this, but at least I’ve found some good news to warm my heart, and hopefully yours!

The City of Sydney has adopted the first-ever Green Roofs & Walls policy in Australia, with the aim of increasing the number of high quality green roofs and walls in the city. We already have about 100, 000 square meters of green walls and roofs throughout Sydney.

I walk past one of these each day on the way to work – the 1st on the new Central Park complex on Broadway, near Central, is covered in vertical gardens. I love it – it’s a great change from the concrete and glass of other buildings in the city. There are always people stopping in the street to take a closer look. As well as looking great, these gardens remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, capture and clean rainwater, provide unused space to grow food, provide insulation and noise reduction, clean the air, provide habitat for biodiversity, and reduce city temperatures.

The City of Sydney has published a Green Roofs & Walls booklet with information about the benefits of these gardens to cities, as well as a map listing publicly accessible gardens – 12 green walls and 9 gardens. There’s also a website with more information including technical guides on how to make your own, and a full map of existing roofs and walls. Check it out here: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/green-roofs-and-walls. It’d make a great day out in the city – perhaps you could organise one with your local group.

Living Skills: Fermented Foods: Winter Vegetables - Saturday 19 July

Fermented foods and cultured drinks are alive, bursting with beneficial bacteria and fungi. In our increasingly sterile environment they help to boost body's immune system and relieve symptoms of some medical conditions.

For more details: Living Skills: Fermented Foods: Winter Vegetables, Cultured Drinks July 19th, Waverton

PSN Monthly Meeting - Monday 21 July

Reece Turner - Renewable Enery Campainer, Greenpeace

For more details: PSN Monthly Speaker 21st July - Reece Turner – Renewable Energy Campaigner, Greenpeace

Permabee - Wicking Beds! - Sunday July 27

You are invited to work in Margaret and Chris’s garden in Denistone on the July 27th PSN Permabee project . This Permabee is to help in preparation for the national Sustainable House Day. The garden will be open to the public in September. The main project for the day is the conversion of four metal raised garden beds into wicking beds.

For details and to register: The July permabee Chris & Margaret are making their wicking beds!

Ku-ring-gai Local Group Meeeting - Sunday August 17

PSN Monthly Meeting - Monday 18 August

Pete the Permie - Permaculture Professional & Heritage Fruit-tree Specialist

Sustainable House Day - Sundays 7 and 14 September

Sustainable House Day is an initiative showcasing sustainable houses and/or gardens to the public. It is a great opportunity to visit properties and be inspired by the designs implemented in the quest for sustainability. What's more important, for permaculture practitioners SHD enables them to show permaculture designs to wider audiences by opening permaculture gardens.

If you are interested in opening your garden for 2014 Sustainable House Day (Sep 7 & 14), please go to the SMD website
http://sustainablehouseday.com/

Permaculture Northern Beaches (PNB)

In June our Public meeting was on Aboriginal Heritage and Culture in the Northern beaches presented by Laurie Bimson who is a Guringai descendant, the Aboriginal custodians of this area.

Laurie is on the committee for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Manly Warringah Pittwater Aboriginal Support group, Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation, Guringai Festival Committee and owns and operates Guringai Aboriginal Tours. In August our permatour will be with Laurie visiting areas of special significance in the Guringai area. For bookings go to our website: www.permaculturenorthernbeaches.com.au or contact Dan on dlssld@hotmail.com. Places are limited.

In June we also had our first permabee at the Kimbriki EcoGarden at Ingelside along with an advanced composting workshop. We will be having future workshops at Kimbriki over the next year.

PNB: Want to Cut Down on the Chemicals in your Garden and your Lifestyle?

For more details: PNB: Want to Cut Down on the Chemicals in your Garden and your Lifestyle?

PNB: July Edible Weed Tour **Fully Booked**

For more details: PNB: July Edible Weed Tour **Fully Booked**

Native Bee Community Grant from Warringah Council

PNB have received for the second time a $5000 grant from Warringah Council. We will be holding a primary school art competition on the importance of bees in our lives and their importance for the planet. [Einstein said humans could not survive more than 5 years without bees to pollinate plants.

Two winning schools will receive stingless native bee hives; as will a community garden; and a place of Aboriginal significance in the area. Winners will be announced on the stage at the Brookvale Show in October. We will also be adding to the get Into Permaculture Education kit with a fact sheet on Bush tucker and native bees.

Ku-ring-gai Council Water Smart program plug

For residences of Ku-raing-gai council, you may be interested to hear about the councils Water Smart program offering rebates for tanks and raingardens.

Further info is available on our website atwww.kmc.nsw.gov.au/watersmart.

The next Council hosted workshop is 6-9pm Tues 12 August at Gordon Library. Copies of the notes are available here:Raingarden design workshop notes.

They are promoting a variety of above ground and below ground designs, based on Melbourne Waters concepts. See their websitefor a variety of info sheets. Basically, it looks something like this, with water either infiltrating back into the ground or diverting back to the stormwater system:

Permaculture Sydney North
PO Box 1145 Chatswood NSW 2067
Tel: 1300 887 145