Weekly rubbish...

This week we have managed to reduce the waste! Recycling was just below last weeks, weighing in at approx. 1kg and general waste weighed approx. 2.5 kgs. I am still seperating the food scraps into a bin outside and plan to get a proper composte bin set up this weekend.

All in all I think we are doing well on the rubbish front!

I would also like to mention the great tips and information I found on my local city council's website. They have a whole section dedicated to sustainable living and now I know where to go and exchange my shower head (if I need to - I will measure it's water rate soon) for a water saving one so that is on the list this weekend too. I'm still not sure if there is a way of getting energy effecient light globes installed for free or if I have to buy them myself? I remember last year my sister had someone come to her flat and change all her globes at no charge. I believe this was a government initiative, but perhaps it has finished now.

I would like to thank you Lyn for the tip about unplugging the appliances and not just switching them off. I did not realise power can still be leaking so thank you for that one.

Now I have to think about what I will cook for tea tonight. I think it's time for vegetables and lots of them, I'm just not sure what else I will put with the vegies to fill up Ben (thinking sustainably here).... Hmmm I will get back to that.



Weekly Water Use...

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Farm Break

The recent weekend back to the farm was great. Unfortunatley I forgot my camera so no pics this time :( What I can do is give you a run down of what is happening on the farm.

Stud season has begun (breeding horses) so the foal alarms are back ringing whenever the mare lies down - very annoying. The paddocks are flooded with water, we have not had this much rain in five years I think (don't quote me, could be more). And yes it is still freezing, so working outside in the cold and the wet was not that much fun believe me!

Thankfully I had help from my hard working mum and Ben also braved the conditions to help feed the 30 odd horses we have at the moment.

Besides the wet conditions it was great to get back and see the family. I love getting out of the rat race.

BEING WATER WISE

I decided to see if my black bucket would fit in the sink this week so that I could collect the dishwashing water to put on the few plants out the front of the apartment block. To my surprise it fits like a glove!! I use Earth dishwashing detergent so it is safe to use as grey water and now I feel great that the water I use goes on the plants and not just down the drain!

Have a look at that, perfect!

When the water is not hot I pour it on the plants out the front.

Composting & Biodiversity Audit - Ripponlea Estate

COMPOSTING AT HOME

Here is the bin I bought from the eco centre, back home tucked under a tree so that it doesn't annoy anyone in the block. I couldn't get a pic of me and the bin so I put my thumb up instead! I will be collecting my food scraps and putting them in here from now on - not into landfill!

Thumbs up!

RIPPONLEA ESTATE

Last Friday I spent the afternoon walking through the lush gardens of the Ripponlea Estate, enjoying the scenery whilst completing the Biodiversity audit. I have to admit I think I bit off more than I could chew - counting the number of trees was impossible and the sheer size of the gardens made completing the audit quite difficult.

Take a look.....

Welcome

Entering the Estate

It's like stepping into another world. Great place to take your mind off being in the city.

The Estate.

I hope they have a ride-on mower!

Unfortunatley there aren't any signs to tell you the name of the plants.

I found some colour!

It was just me and the pond.

Such a beautiful spot.

Can you see the big fish?

There are steps up the windmill to a platform. Great view.

Largest fernery in the Southern Hemisphere I believe.

Amazing!

I would love to know what this plant is called.

There is potential here, but this vegie patch needs some TLC

View from the Estate stairs.

Too cold for a swim today that's for sure!

Time to pull up a seat! Gin and tonic please Waiter.

Rubbish time again...

Unfortunatley it is not good news this week. The general waste bin was full again and this time weighed in at appoximately 3.5kgs. Food scraps were minimal so I threw them in amongst the struggling ferns and the birds pecked them up. As for the recyclable waste, well there was more of that too, it weighed approximately 1.5kgs.

This week it's time to get serious and start reducing all this waste!

This weeks recycling - mission: to reduce amount of food we buy in packaging!

COMPOSTING

I was strolling through the St Kilda Gardens yesterday and I stumbled upon the Eco Centre. Here the volunteers run classes on sustainability and everything eco. They have a lovely little vegie garden and some great tips about worm farming and composting. I was impressed with their wheelie bin compost systems so I asked if I could buy one. I will post a pic in next few days.

St Kilda Eco centre

Wormfarms on verandah

I love these pots in the St Kilda Gardens so I had to take a photo.

Just across the road from the gardens is this really beautiful house. I wish I lived in here.

Sun Blest

A CERES ly Good Time

Yesterday two uni friends and I made our way to Brunswick to visit the Centre for Education & Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES). The sun was shining, the chooks were clucking and we were enjoying our walk around the gardens. 

Take a look at what we saw... 

Meagan, Frank (Mel's little boy) and myself, ready for some fun at CERES.

The nursery was beautiful! We spent a long time looking at all the amazing plants.

Here is Mel holding one of the cute plant baskets made from recycled wood. I think we all decided that our partners would be making us some of these in the near future! Thanks guys.

Chooks in the nursery. Very willing to eat up all the food scraps and if you're lucky, lay you some yummy eggs as well! If we had the space I would definatley be getting some chooks.

Compost bin. Lots of food scraps, garden vegetation and paper in here! You can't see it in this photo but the bin has an opening at the bottom so that the finished product is easily removed. There are some great tips on the CERES website about composting and if that's not enough just Gooogle composting and you will find all the information you need. Hopefully my neighbours agree to setting up a compost somewhere on our apartment block.

Only part of the large vegie garden at CERES. Filtered stromwater collected from carpark run-off is used to water the garden. One day I would love to have a big vegie garden - perhaps just not as big as this!

We initially thought that these bathtubs were used to collect water, however I read on the CERES website that they are in fact solid compost bins for the farm vegie scraps.

Another view of the garden. It's hard to believe we are only a short trip out of the city.

Something to think about.

It's time to take action!

Interesting plant arrangement. I love the bluestone walls.

Community Gardens. Recycled materials used to build the fences around individual garden plots.

Renewable energy. We saw many solar panels as we were walking around CERES.

Confused at first.

Now I understand.

As you can see CERES is a wonderful place to learn about Sustainable living and what we can all do to reduce our eco-footprints. Although our visit was inspiring I think a guided tour would be very beneficial in order to fully understand the environmental strategies that are in place.

Unfortunately the EcoHouse was not open so we did not get to see inside for tips to use in our own homes. 

Perhaps another visit is on the cards, and another trip to the Cafe - YUM!



WATER USE AT HOME THIS WEEK

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