Family Bonding Day

Today was a huge family bonding day, although we didn’t all spend it together. Megan and Grace went up to Sydney with the Peterborough school for the Rotary Club of Turramurra and Pathfinders Jumbo Flight. Qantas donated the use of a jumbo jet, pilots and cabin crew donated their time, and Rotarian volunteers provided ground… Continue reading Family Bonding Day

Sustainable Illawarra Super Challenge

We have signed up for the [Sustainable Illawarra Super Challenge](http://www.sustainableillawarra.com.au/The-SuperChallenge.html), and Monday night was the official launch of the programme. The idea is for 120 households across the Illawarra to spend the next 12 months moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainable Illawarra provides participants with information, workshops, guidance and resources (as well as some… Continue reading Sustainable Illawarra Super Challenge

Mint Pesto Recipe

Here’s one I haven’t tried yet, but I do have a lot of mint and parsley at the moment so maybe I will soon. ###Ingredients – 1 cup chopped mint leaves – 1 cup chopped parsley – 1 clove garlic – 1/4 cup olive oil – 1/4 cup vegetable oil ###Directions In a food processor,… Continue reading Mint Pesto Recipe

Wicking Beds

**NOTE:** I have moved this post to my other blog, [Green-Change.com](http://green-change.com), as it fits in better with that blog’s theme of suburban sustainability. For futher updates check out [Wicking Beds – Water Efficient Gardening](http://green-change.com/2009/05/01/wicking-beds-water-efficient-gardening/). A wicking garden bed uses a waterproof container or layer below the soil surface to form an underground reservoir of water.… Continue reading Wicking Beds

Magic In The Garden

What I love most about this photo is that Sarah actually disappeared into her bedroom to get dressed for gardening, and this is what she came out in. Click to embiggen.

Soil Blockers

**Note:** Updated and expanded versions of the information in this post are available at my other site, [Green-Change.com](http://green-change.com): – [Soil Blockers](http://green-change.com/2010/03/25/soil-blockers/) – [Soil Block Recipes](http://green-change.com/2010/03/26/soil-blocker-recipes/) (including my own recipe) – [Soil Blocker Resources](http://green-change.com/) (coming soon) I recently bought a [soil blocker from Peddler’s Wagon](http://www.peddlerswagon.com/p-107-soil-block-maker-4-blocks.aspx) with some birthday money. It was way cheaper to get it… Continue reading Soil Blockers

The Chicken Ark

An updated version of this post is available over on my suburban green living blog, Green Change: [Chicken Ark Plans](http://green-change.com/2008/11/17/chicken-ark-plans) When thinking about a coop for our chickens to live in, we wanted something practical, non-permanent, and space-efficient. Looking around the net, the [‘chicken ark’ or ‘chicken tractor’](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tractor) concept seemed the best for our needs.… Continue reading The Chicken Ark