The Future Ready Expo at Kawana was quite an eye opener. There was a lot to see and hear. Listening to Roberto Perez (from the Power of Community DVD) was a real treat. We all remember his quote about riding bicycles ;-) Then there was Geoff Lawton. Who hasn't been inspired by the "Greening the Desert" flash animation on the web?

But one of the most intriguing discussions I attended was regarding building soil in a sub tropical climate. As organic gardeners we're always trying to build soil using compost. It helps, but in a tropical and sub-tropical climate we can easily lose our nutrients to torrential downpours leaching it away. So much we read about compost is for more temperate climates in Europe and North America that hearing a new take on it for the tropics was fascinating. Due to the differences in climate in temperate gardens 80 percent of the nutrients are held in the soil. But in a sub-tropical garden this is only 20 percent. The rest is held in the plants themselves..

Having a layer of organic matter, mulch, continually shielding the soil from blasting sun and torrential rain is a natural way of protecting the nutrient levels in the soil. Frances Michaels from Green Harvest gave a great lecture on what we need to do in a sub-tropical environment to build great soil. Remember that soil is alive. Dirt is dead. So having an active layer of mulch, leaves and other vegetable matter, covering the soil promotes this in a sub-tropical garden. Grow plenty of plants that are good to "cut and drop" to provide this nutrient rich mulch layer. Remember, we're trying to create a rain forest in your backyard.

We don't necessarily want to have too many nutrients in the soil. We want a continuous slow decomposition of organic matter into nutrients. With the weather being warm enough for this to happen with out having to pile it high in mounds we don't need to work so hard at composting as those living in more temperate climates. Obviously if we have a no dig garden or raised bed these rules will change but the natural food forest concept at this latitude and rain fall really doesn't need us to work so hard at building compost.

One of the great additions to a backyard permaculture forest are chickens. Originally forest fowl, they have been bred for maximum plumpness and egg producing capacity but are still right at home in a well shaded food forest garden. They turn the mulch while looking for bugs and can reduce bugs and leafy greens to nitrogen rich manure.

So if you are thinking of having a food forest in your backyard, you won't need to think about where your kitchen vege scraps go. Feed them to your chooks under your fruit trees, no compost turn and you have the bonus of fresh free range eggs for breakfast.

Dean

Last night was another meeting of the Community Gardeners. We met on site at a potential community garden location just behind the Coronation Hall near the corner of Barolin and Walker Streets. It is council owned land but presently unused. With proximity to the Coronation Hall facilities it has some great potential.

We then traveled over to the St Mary's site near the corner of Maynard and Barolin. Partnering with St Mary's is also an option. The Girl Guides presently meet on site and may also be interested in participating. The site also has access to kitchen and toilet facilities.

Then it was back to the school of arts for a real treat - and shared dinner! - Sue from Gin Gin State Primary School came in with a presentation from the schools garden.

They originally started the idea as a fairly small project but it grew significantly. My description can't do it justice. They had 70 volunteers onsite to help put it all together. Each class has their own vege patch to manage and each year group learns different things about gardening, composting and worms! Some kids have even started wanting to eat broccoli after tasting it grown fresh in their gardens.

It was a good evening filled with positive ideas and enthusiasm.

Dean

A busy day today! We were kindly invited along to sit in on one of the Gin Gin Historical Society's meetings today. With a lot going on this weekend we managed to squeeze it in and take advantage of it when the chance arose. Before the meeting the meeting Andi, Jacqui and I ate lunch at the little cafe Pancake Heaven in the main street.

The meeting went quickly with a lot of day to day discussion which was a good window into the workings of a mature and active community organisation. If you had been keeping track on this site there was some earlier discussion about whether a new farmers market concept would be detrimental to the exisiting Gin Gin and Shalom markets. This was discussed in depth at todays's meeting. One upside of a new market operating during the work week looking to cater mainly to cafes and restaurants is that it would have little overlap with existing markets and would actually provide another outlet for local farmers allowing them even more options to sell their produce and giving the rest of us more places buy local. The current Gin Gin markets actually increased traffic and patronage to the exisitng stores in the main street.

We've been invited back to give a report on how things are looking in another 6 months. 

It is stil early days yet. None of this can go forward until there is a critical mass of farmers willing to change the way they think of selling their produce. It takes a significant leap in thinking to change an entire business practice. The next 6 or 12 months may see some systemic change being forced upon us - continued drought, further increases in fuel prices etc. At least we have started these conversations now.

Dean

I had been meaning to get along to our local Neighbourhood Watch meeting. In our area they are bi-monthly and we moved in just after the August one and had a worm farm to build when the next one was on but I made it a priority to turn up to the one this morning. It was held in a little church hall and there was a full ten people there, including me. Ten people out of 650 homes that are in our local watch area.

It seems that local NHW groups have suffered over the last few years. Some more than others. Previously there had been police liaisons for each group. Not anymore. So few poeple who move to an area are interested in getting involved to know their neighbours!

I think more than anything else NHW has the opportunity to help everyone on a fundamental level. The safety and security of knowing your neighbours and having them keep an eye out for you. You have got something very basic in common, you live next door to one another or across the street. The quality of life in your neighbourhood is something you can have a direct input on yet so few people do these days.

I had a great time and explained to them about SustainaBundy and what we're hoping to achieve. Small things at first. The SustainaBundy garage sale concept was very well received. One lady had seen it in the Guardian and cut it out to make sure she remebered to come along.

I am looking forward to seeing them at the garage sale on the 15th so I can get to know them better.

Dean

We had a good meeting today with Christine Sorbello of the Community Gardens Committee. Christine is also the Community Nutritionist of Bundaberg Community Health. So there is a lot of cross over with the concept of eating locally grown and fresh food. A community garden would give people a great opportunity to see how food is grown and get a better understanding of what it takes to get it to their plate.

Many topics where touched on in the hour plus meeting. Including the Community Garden - of course - and how we could get more community support, a Community Kitchen concept, bike ways, food security, different government sponsored community programs - 10,000 steps. Each topic could quite easily have been an hour in itself. We all became better aware of the big picture and how there is an ever growing number of pieces.

After getting back to the car we decided to go for a side trip through Queens Park behind the hospital as it had been mentioned as a possible site for a community garden. It became clear that facilties are a real necessity for a Community Garden. Toilets, shelter, good visibility were all concerns. Racking our brains for possible perfect sites (hey, why stop at one garden!) we decided to pop into Reds on the corner of Walker and Barolin - next to the big Foodworks. We wanted to check in with the Chef there if he had any interest in discussing further details of the CSA (community supported agriculture) concept. Alas, he wasn't in but we grabbed a cuppa and discussed the garage sale, the guide and future projects we can dedicate more time to once the guide is released.

A good day of brain storming. But with the year winding down a lot of good ideas will need to wait.

Dean 

Presently, SustainaBundy is group of concerned people working for a sustainable Bundaberg region. It is great to have a group of people willing to put in the time and the effort to manifest change. We've grown quickly and are seeing our ideas gain traction within the local community as well as the business community. Our message is striking a chord. And we have only just begun. It is due to our growth and the projects that we want to see happen that we need to incorporate.

By incorporating we be able to attract funding from government grants, open a SustainaBundy bank account. It will also allow us to provide insurance for our members when on official business or activities. In order to be able to incorporate we needed to formalise our management structure and document our goals. With that in mind we convened a meeting before the first movie. Those in attendance became official SustainaBundy members. From there we voted on the management committee and the goals of the group.

We now have an official management committee.

• President - Dean Hazelwood
• Secretary - Jacqui McLucas
• Treasurer - Carol Sweeney
• Vice President - Andi Hazelwood

And our official goals are as follows:

1. Working for a sustainable Bundaberg region by raising community awareness of and preparedness for peak oil and climate change.
2. Promoting and assisting in the Relocalisation of the Bundaberg region.
3. Connecting individuals, organisations, businesses and government bodies that share in our vision for a sustainable Bundaberg region.
4. Promoting and assisting the relocalisation of other communities.

They will be incorporated in to the Model Rules for Queensland Incorporated Associations. For more information on these model rules see the website for the Office of Fair Trading.

If you have any questions please contact me or any member of the committee.

Regards

Dean Hazelwood

President - SustainaBundy

Today we had a good meeting with 5 members present. Covered a lot of ground in a little over 2 hours.

Topics discussed:
Upcoming Movie Night(s) - the 14th showing The Power of Community, and a second scheduled for the 28th (topic to be decided based on feedback and interest)

The guide - progress to date. Andi mentioned this in a previous post. shine_on is making fantastic progress with local businesses. 3 new potential advertisers.

Formal meetings - in order to start formalising the structure of SustainaBundy we need to elect management positions. President, Secretary and Treasure. Any volunteers?

Move to incorporate - paperwork is being drafted for voting on to incorporate SustainaBundy and from there the need to get insurance to cover members and a bank account to take donations and deposits from advertisers. We need to have at least one formal meeting and elect management before we can incorporate.

Wisdom Workshops - plenty of older residents of Bundy have great skills that they may like to share.

Work Shirts - where can they be found. Keep an eye out at local op shops. Screen printing also needs to be investigated. I will follow up with Greg at the Greens meeting as he was mentioned as a good person to talk to. I have also looked around for a local supplier of materials and came across one in Brisbane.

Parents Baby Sitting Club - working with P&F groups in schools to build relationships.

LETS - Katoomba LETS was a very successful cooperative in the Blue Mountains in the early 90's. Defunct since 2000. Not sure how that happened.

Buying Local Produce -
Supporting a local farmers market, farmers need to want it in order for it to happen. Idea of local producers diversifying in order to sell more locally.

Neighbourhood Watch - I called up my local coordinator and volunteered to help and will make it to the next meeting. Have you?

Solar Hot Water versus Solar Electric - there will be an article in the guide on this. Some ideas on saving hot water were discussed. Possiblity of a Solar Hot water drive. Maleny did one earlier this year and had 60 households get 30 percent off a system!

Of course there was plenty more tangental discussions.
If I missed some let me know. If you have extra questions reply to this as well.

Dean 

When doing yard work, whether it be tidying the garage or building a new raised bed with a cubic metre or two of compost, you don't wear your best clothes. You may not even wear your everyday clothes. You may have a shirt or two and some pants that are your yard clothes. They get dirt and grass stains, sweat, tree sap, paint, or anything else and it's no big deal. I have eight old long sleeved green work shirts my dad gave me. They are thread bare in a couple of places but they work great to keep the sun off.

I had been thinking for a while that having a shirt for SustainaBundy members would be neat in order to give us a bit of a team look when out and about. A dark green polo shirt with a small SustainaBundy logo embroidered on the front. Whether it be helping setup a community garden or doing a presentation on organic gardening at a primary school. It would provide a coherent presence for the SustainaBundy team.

But I could not resolve the idea with having to buy new ones and have them professionally done - looking at Australian made cotton shirts and having the embroidering done locally - was going to be expensive. And I felt that the expense could not be justified. After realizing that these shirts are meant to get dirty I realized that old shirts would be good. Old green work shirts like the one I was wearing at the time would work great. There are probably hundreds to be had around town or in at the back of peoples wardrobes. And we could screen print them ourselves.

Andi and shine_on thought the idea had merit so Andi has provided a mock-up of what it might look like. Anything more complicated would probably add a lot of complexity to the task of doing our own screen printing. Any one have any feedback?

Andi and I were lucky enough to be invited to what probably was one of the first meetings of several Bundaberg Chefs to discuss how they can work together to raise the profile of the culinary craft in Bundaberg. After seeing local chefs cooking with local ingredients, at the recent Bundaberg Multi-Cultural Festival, Andi was able to talk to one of them about how much local food they use. Well it turns out that they try to use as much as possible. They take their profession seriously and quality ingredients are a priority. It certainly made me more keen to eat at their establishments. Their enthusiasm for fresh food was infectious.

Today we put forward the idea of trying to grow that interconnectedness. Between farmer, chef and consumers. Right now there doesn't seem to be an appreciation for local food by consumers when choosing where they eat out. Growing that awareness is an important part of SustainaBundy's goals. And Tourism plays a great role in this as well. Eating local delicacies are one of the fun things I enjoy while traveling. But how many places in Bundy advertise local food on the menu to tourists let alone locals?

On the other hand local producers may not be aware that the demand is there and continue to ship their quality food off to Brisbane, only to have it return and be sold back to those restaurants and cafes with a couple of middlemen in Brisbane taking their markup. Not to mention the fuel costs of the round trip as well. And the fact that the produce is now two days older at least by the time it gets to the chef, that's not fresh!

Over the next few days we'll be trying to talk to some local producers about building stronger relationships with local restaurants and cafes. It may well be difficult as it will take a change in current thinking.
Dean

Now that we're kind of settled in Bundaberg I am trying to put together a better menu for our meals. With a full kitchen at my disposal it has been nice to have the option of a fully prepared dinner. Not just a one pot meal or whatever can be done on the BBQ.

Andi passed me a link to http://www.ethical.org.au (click the link "further details") which has a list of brands they recommend for your supermarket shopping. Most are Australian Owned and Operated and source all their content from Australian producers. Next time I went to the supermarket I sought out these brands and read the label carefully. I was pretty happy with what I found. Yes you pay a premium over some of the store brands and that can be an issue when feeding a family. For me it is an excuse to cut back on sweets and soft drink. Never go shopping hungry or with a sugar craving! I also bought a couple of large pots in order to grow some herbs. They were on special and a really good price - but I decided I would not buy cheap foreign pots. But I thought to check the label - designed and made in Australia. Cool!

What was funny though was that a relatively small shop took over an hour because I read the label and weighed the pros and cons for every single thing before I put it in the trolley. But with the effort expended on this trip it should speed up future shops significantly.

That takes care of a lot of standby products like rice and spaghetti, flour, dried fruit etc. I still bought several different items that were fully imported and "premium" brands. But they were to be special treats. To take an ordinary meal over the top. But we still needed fresh fruit and veges. And that's where I prepared a rough menu and created a list to go to the Shalom Markets. The extra cost of buying Australian Made was quickly made up by buying local produce. A two dollar savings on mushrooms. A three dollar savings on tomatoes. Lettuce nearly half the price of the supermarket!

It's a start - if anyone else has any tips let me know!

Dean