One of our aims in the New Year was to keep better track of the impact of the changes we’ve made. The importance of this was highlighted when a friend remarked that they had the highest energy usage in their street. I was a bit taken aback that this seemed almost like a point of…
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Everything’s gone to poo !
So after what was more rant and less blog I figure I’d better write a slightly more practical entry. The back yard has become woodwork central with the completion of the first planter box thanks to a bit of help from an old friend and some random hammering from our children. We shall call her, Tank!…
Read MoreBoxing
Ever since reading about guerrilla gardening I’ve been thinking about boxes. Big boxes, little boxes, boxes full of flowers and boxes full of vegies but I’ve had this niggling thought in the back of my head. It’s that voice that says, “yeh cool, more garden space to add to the current amount you struggle to…
Read MoreMaking the Transition
Another weekend, another opportunity to join up with some cool people doing some great stuff! This weekend it was a combined session run by Urban Reforestation (http://www.urbanreforestation.com) and Transition Towns Darebin (www.transitiondarebin.org) . If you haven’t run into transition towns already I strongly recommend you do a little bit of searching in your area because there…
Read MoreI wished you a Merry Christmas
Christmas and decorations have notoriously been a bugbear from me! Each year for some time now I battle with the tree-or-not-to-tree question. I gave away the pine tree concept years ago, but have until 2012 been responsible for the slow death of several native Christmas trees, including my last sacrifice – a Woollamia pine. No…
Read MoreTreading into the New Year
Despite having heard a radio interview which suggested that in fact New Years, with all the disruptions that it brings, is the worst time to make resolutions that are likely to be fulfilled I’m still gonna go ahead and do so. We are now ¼ of the way into our ‘year of treading lightly’ and…
Read MoreTramStop 22
It doesn’t happen often but Thursday I had a day all to myself. The children were at their crèche-day, my wife was earning the money that I was most joyously spending on coffee, ice-cream and beer and even the evening meal was ready since the thought of cooking on a 40 degree day just doesn’t…
Read MoreJoining the Dots
I’ll admit it, I’ve tended towards despairing a bit at the media releases in the lead up to another global conference on limiting climate damage. First there were lots of reports about arctic ice melting, then there were similar discussion about the fact that some people, ‘science be damned’, weren’t going to be changing their…
Read MoreMore Party Time!
We’ve got a great mothers group (and yes I realise that’s a bit odd from one of the fathers, but parents group just doesn’t have the same ring to it!). Not only does it provide a great opportunity for the kids to make friends but it also does two things that I think are absolutely…
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A Life of Treading Lightly 