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Have your say in the future of our town

Sonya — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:32:39 -0800

Eudlo is about to begin work on a Concept Plan for the future. They last did one in 1992 and now it's time to do it agian. The Eudlo Relocalisation Group can make a meaningful contribution to the planning and our views seem to be very much aligned with those of the Town Hall committee. Keeping Eudlo unique, remembering its historic value, not wanting development...

Be part of the future - first meeting will be on Feb 4th (Monday) at 7pm in the Eudlo Town Hall. See you there!

Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre

Meeting outcomes for February

Sonya — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:14:43 -0800

Thanks to everyone who turned up despite the heavy rain. Outcomes from today's meeting;

the bulk buying project will kick off again and we will have a list of items for the next meeting - so start thinking about oil, flour, rice, tahini etc
we've agreed to run a stall at WOEIE and sell plants, produce etc there - look at having a raffle with the prize being a raised garden bed of food and a second prize of a box of produce from our gardens - if we are selling things, we'll need to pay for the site
the seed saving course looks set for May 10 - will chase up holding it at Chevallum rather than Yandina and will advertise it more broadly.
still chasing up cost of Eudlo Hall for a community film night to raise awareness about peak oil, climate change etc.
some members will be attending the Eudlo Concept Plan meeting at the Town Hall tomorrow night (and hopefully find out exactly how much the hall costs, and talk to the WOEIE organisers) and inputting relocalisation ideas and our wish list for the town
will also look into whether we could use the hall as a market place to sell produce
next working bee will probably be at Yukari's and Arnaud's place - they have a creek revegetation seedling planting planned - subject to weather of course - will let members know closer to the date.

Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre

Climate change & Peak oil are not a problem

Sonya — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:43:45 -0800

I don't think climate change and peak oil are a problem... let me explain.

There is so much media, government and public attention focused on the ‘problem’ of climate change and, to a lesser degree peak oil, but aren’t we all looking at this from the wrong angle?

I see the changes in our climate and our impending energy descent as symptoms, not problems.

The problem is much deeper and much more personal.

The problem is the way we – those of us in developed countries – are living our lives.

It’s the way we consume way beyond what we actually need, it’s about the food we throw away, the culture of consumerism we’ve created and have now become enslaved to.

Try telling someone that they don’t need the latest model car, they don’t need a wardrobe full of clothes they don’t wear, that we don’t actually need shopping malls full of useless ‘crap’ and see how far you get.

Somewhere, somehow, we all started believing we had the right to live the high life. Marketers jumped on the bandwagon – or perhaps kicked it all off – and we were on our way. The latest handbags, boxes and boxes of shoes, the latest in-season fashion. Live like a celebrity!

What’s hot and what’s not? Our passion for fashion (not just clothes of course, but the latest model kitchen appliance, the celebrity style overseas get away …) is directly related to what’s hot that’s for sure. And another thing that’s hot is the climate.

Human behaviour – consumerism, land use, deforestation, fossil fuel burning – has now changed the world’s weather patterns – perhaps irreversibly. Warning after warning, each more dire than the one before and appearing in our newspapers, our nightly news programs yet… where is the revolution?

Yet, we continue on our merry way, worshipping the consumerism of today’s life… very few people have really made any serious effort to change the way they live. Our societies make it hard for those of us who would like to seriously change the way we live – you try living without a car on the Sunshine Coast!

We continue to pump out (the problem) carbon emissions in huge amounts (the symptom) despite knowing it is going to cause extinction of species (note to all – WE are a species!), destruction of the environment, major disruptions to food supply and loss of available land…

As for peak oil, do you think an ant cares that we are running out of oil, or a bird, or an elephant?

We care that we are running out of oil because we’ve built ourselves into a corner. A corner built on oil, lives dependant on oil, economies dependant on oil, employment, housing, food, mobility… all dependant on oil.

We’re running out because we’ve consumed what was available at an alarming rate. We’ve wasted oil on frivolous, meaningless things that have done nothing to really improve our lives. We’re less happy and more stressed than our pre-oil ancestors.

Looking at climate change as an environmental problem is taking us off course and away from where we should be focussing. We are losing valuable time and wasting valuable energy if we look at this as an environmental problem.

Because what happens is councils and other organisations, thinking they are doing the right thing – climate change is about the environment right? – employ environmental scientists to get to work fixing the problem.

But then, the poor person put in that position realises the problem is not the environment, the problem is people - social, economic, psychological, planning, infrastructure, systems, systems, systems.

Yes, climate change is about the environment, but climate change is only a symptom, not the problem. Same with peak oil – if we didn’t use (waste?) so much of this precious fuel and if we hadn’t designed our whole lives to revolve around it – it wouldn’t be reaching it’s peak and if it was, we wouldn’t care.

When I worked in the medical field, often patients would be being treated and hospitalised for their symptoms, not the problem. Our health system is a reflection of our current crisis.

Yes we can treat symptoms, we can mask symptoms – but unless we treat the underlying problem – and in this case it’s human behaviour and abuse of earth’s resources – we are only ever going to have a bandaid effect.

Let’s instead bite the bullet and address the real issues 1) consumption – or more to the point overconsumption and 2) a change away from linear globalised systems – resource in waste out – extraordinary transport miles and carbon emissions attached to everything we buy.

Let’s be brave and let's be visionaries
reduce consumption,
produce locally,
build resilient communities
relocalise and
make the transition to our post carbon future with our eyes wide open and looking forward.

Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE)

Permablitz done!

Sonya — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:53:54 -0700

Thanks to everyone who came to today's permablitz working bee at our place.

You really did an amazing job and the garden looks fantastic.

I'm exhausted, but it was worth it.

Tired, but happy,
Sonya and John

Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre

Another Permablitz done

Sonya — Sun, 18 May 2008 16:24:32 -0700

Another big permablitz day yesterday. About nine of us pitched in to help AB and Tam set up a huge compost system, build a chook run, put in a green manure crop to revitalise a vegie patch, feeding and mulching trees, pulling out weeds and setting up another big vegie growing area.

We all enjoyed a great lunch too.

Creating a Sustainable Sunshine Coast - Nambour to Mooloolah

Local Farmers' Markets

Sonya — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:38:39 -0700

Did you know that the Big Pineapple Farmers' Markets are now on every Saturday morning from 7am? Support local food supply chains, shop locally, buy direct from the grower, buy fresh food, support local business people, reduce your carbon emissions, cut down on food miles, and enjoy a true local feast!

The Noosa Farmers' Markets are on every Sunday morning at Noosaville.

Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE)

the Eudlo Co-operative

Sonya — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:08:28 -0700

We are about to start the process of forming a co-operative right here in Eudlo.

Other ideas include;
creating some type of social hub in our town - this need has been raised by new people who are moving here and don't know how to find out what's going on.

starting the EGG group - the Eudlo Grain Growers group - researching and growing grains in our local area.

If you live in or very near Eudlo and would like to be part of these initiatives, please contact eudlogardenofeatin@yahoo.com

Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE)

Markets, co-ops, picnic & grain mills...

Sonya — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:56:48 -0700

Would you visit the Eudlo Markets to buy local produce and meet local people? Would you join the Eudlo Co-operative and reap the benefits of bulk buying organic goods? What about coming to the inaugral Eudlo Spring Picnic in the Park? Fancy yourself as a bit of an inventor and think you could come up with a manually operated grain mill?

These are just a few of the projects we are currently working on. We have markets, co-ops and community social events in the pipeline. All driven and requested by the community in Eudlo. We've also had a burst of new members too. The group is a great place for people new to Eudlo to find out what's on.

If you have been thinking about joining in now is the time - even if you live outside Eudlo, but are interested in how a group like this works, you're welcome to come along and find out.

One of our goals is to have a community owned grain mill to kick off our EGG group - the Eudlo Grain Growers - we need to start planning how and what we can grow grain-wise here on the coast and we also need to learn how to harvest, process, store and distribute the grain.

We meet on the first Sunday of each month at 8.30am in the park opposite the Eudlo Store. All welcome, come along and meet the gang.

contact; raintreeorganics@yahoo.com.au for further information

Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre

School Gardens handbook

Sonya — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:35:58 -0700

Australian permaculture teacher and peak oil activist, Janet Millington has - together with Carolyn Nuttall - released a handbook for school gardens - Outdoor Classrooms.

The book provides; the history of school gardens, how to set them up, permaculture and school gardens, integrating the garden across all curriculum - it also addresses; energy, climate, earth resources, water, permaculture design, and much much more.

The website to take a sneak peek at the book and for orders is here;
http://www.outdoorclassrooms.com.au/main/

Janet has been instrumental in co-writing and co-delivering Australia's first Energy Descent Action Planning course, Australia's first community-driven EDAP and for the Sunshine Coast being recognised as Australia's first Transition Initiative.
www.seac.net.au

Janet is also a very experienced permaculture teacher, having co-taught with Bill Mollison, and is now working with myself (Sonya Wallace) on bringing David Holmgren's text; Pathways and Principles Beyond Sustainability and the work of Richard Heinberg and Rob Hopkins to the fore through energy descent training and workshops in Australia.

Sustainable Maleny Project

Self-Sufficiency & Survival Foods - a new book

Sonya — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:08:13 -0700

How can I be prepared with Self-Sufficiency and Survival Foods?
Isabell Shipard (Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia)
Self-published

An essential manual with practical information on plants, plans and recipes to help us survive in a toxic world, and face other hazards that may threaten our health, security and sanity in the 21st Century.

The timing couldn’t be better for this latest book by popular author, herb expert – and Sunshine Coast local - Isabell Shipard.

Just out it’s already proving popular with many fans pre-ordering it prior to its release.

Switch on the television or the radio, pick up the paper and it’s all the same. Growing global pressures look set to change the way live.

The climate crisis, food shortages, poor quality food, energy depletion, economic collapse, consumerism – we’ve painted ourselves into a tight corner.

Just how secure and safe is your food supply? If you’re dependant on the supermarkets, how long could they keep their doors open and shelves full if the trucks stopped? Would there be panic buying with many missing out?

What about the quality of the food from the supermarkets? Increasing demand to produce more and more food from agricultural land has led to depleted soil, inequitable water distribution, and a heavy reliance on chemicals. Nature has been pushed out of the way to make money, but now Nature is pushing back.

We are a nation of obese people. Empty calories in fast foods just don’t fulfill our body’s needs for nutrition, sugars, enzymes and minerals.

So what can we do…?

Enter Isabell’s latest offering.

A wonderful book packed full of information about not only eating well, but taking responsibility for what we consume. It’s all about building self-reliance and being responsible producers, not just dependent consumers.

The book covers not only what you can eat – and it includes a great section on edible weeds (aren’t weeds just a plant we haven’t found a use for yet?) – it also provides us with a list of emergency supplies – one for a 72-hour period, the other for up to three months.

It covers storing and purifying water, growing your own food at home, how to safely store food and a list of hardy survival foods we should all have in our garden. There is so much in this book it will become a well-used, dog-eared resource for many.

Bush tucker, edible flowers, sprouts – it’s all there so no excuses.

If you really want to give someone you love something useful for Christmas, give them this book.

Available at good book stores or via Isabell’s website; www.herbsarespecial.com.au

Sunshine Coast Relocalisation- Noosa Eumundi and Districts (SCReNE)

Low Carbon Diet

shine_on — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:30:56 -0800

The Low Carbon Diet is a Queensland Government program, consisting of a 30-day challenge for households to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The goal for each participating household is a 2-tonne carbon emission reduction over 1 year.

Participants form EcoTeams, calculate their current carbon footprint and select and commit to actions to reduce their footprint. Go to the website www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au for more information.

Let's have an initial meeting for all those interested in doing the Low Carbon Diet and then we can break up into EcoTeams of 5-10. Call 4196 0043 or email jacqui@sustainabundy.org to register your interest in taking the Low Carbon Diet 30-day Challenge.

SustainaBundy can also participate as a community group in rolling out the program in the Bundaberg region. If you have any ideas or thoughts on this, call 4196 0043.

A lot of SustainaBundy members will already have a small carbon footprint and are taking substantial action to reduce their household's environmental impact. If that sounds like you, use the carbon calculator and write your story here to inspire and educate those households starting the Low Carbon Diet. Here's my story:

I evaluated my household's carbon footprint using the carbon calculator: The yearly result was just over 5.5 tonnes of carbon emissions. I don't know how good this is, but I noticed my electricity use is well below the average, at a total of 710kWh vs. 2730! I also realised that I have cut down my personal car travel by about 80% since I moved to Barolin St., by thinking about where, when and how I travel, by carpooling, walking and taking the bus. The carbon calculator said that saves over 1.3 tonnes of carbon emissions over a year.
Actions I can take to further reduce my household's emissions are: installing solar hot water and solar electricity and buying green power.
I'd like to see a question in the carbon calculator about composting, because that further reduces a household's carbon emissions by reducing methane emissions in landfill.

Transition Town Eudlo - A Relocalisation Group