Strange association

Just got off the phone from my son's paternal grandmother and she is well into her 70's and just played 18 holes of golf, then went shopping and also took the dog for a walk all in the one afternoon.   I nearly fell off my chair!

Zing in 2 spring

There is something to be said for doing all your own home maintenance and strange about how looking after your local environment means you are looking after YOURSELF TOO.  

Speaking of which here are some more little catch-phrases we could use in this campaign. 

Nature needs nurturing by ourselves, using our better nature.    

Got a bee in my bonnet about outdoor rooms but the bonnets are just not flattering to the bees, I'm afraid. 

Looking after trees. Now that is a good deed.

I plan to research how much carbon is sequestered by having large trees on your property.  

Thanks Andrew for your pollination creation

Wow what a lovely picture precedes this.   Done by a man whose varied art works are literally and liberally distributed across Melbourne.   Definitely a man of many talents.  Hopefully from time to time there will be more postings of his art.

I saw a very interesting article by Carolyn Ireland, from the Globe and Mail (24/8/11), entitled The Urban Rethink - Goodbye Gardens - Hello Outdoor Rooms.  This is from a Canadian newspaper.   The Outdoor Room is taking over the world, or one would think from the title.  You can see one of my comments on that site.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/architecture-features/the-urban-rethink-goodbye-gardens-hello-outdoor-rooms/article2141654/

We need to be posting our reactions before the entire globe gets reduced to concrete and potential rubble.

A pollination creation

Thought I would put a painting up I did in acrylics.

Did this about 20 years ago.

Think it tells a story of what this blog is about. Over and out, Andy

Two years till new government ... what then?

We have two years to see what the Gillard government and the Greens can do with their range of environmental measures.

In two years, if there is a change of government the word 'sustainability' will not be so fashionable.  We might need to start talking more personal benefits such as health and budget if we want to raise the benefits of a true blue garden.  Strangely enough, it often goes hand in hand, that promoting sustainability and health and hip pocket go together.   It is all about prevention.

The Liberals will be all about promoting the building up big of outdoor spaces, as this involves more expenditure and is a great boon for industry.  Industry thrives om fashions.   The landscaping industry is a trillion dollar industry, so a lot of people are keen to see the growth of built up outdoors, rather than a few cubic metres of three way (soil) mix and some plants.

So come, two years time, I hope this blog will have had some impact! I truly do.

Trees clean out more than just the air

Thanks go to my friend Alan M for this great shot!!
Regrowth after the Black Saturday
fires - 46 degree celcius
day with winds we won't forget

I drove down past the Otway Ranges, running some workshops (one of the jobs I do) earlier this week, and I have to say our timber and dairy country down that way is really to die for.  With all this rain, it was so lush and idyllic.

On my return I feel so reinvigorated (and my walks weren't very long!) There really is something in the air out that way that cleans you out. Actually, the atmosphere reminded me of a Twin Peaks film, minus the log lady and the owls.

Highly recommended.   The air just isn't like anything we get in the city. Please note that the photo isn't actually a shot of the Otways, but from Kinglake.

Recapping why Gardens vs extensive built structures

Summary of why gardens are golden:

• filtration function - ground-water, storm-water and CO2 sink
• oxygen giving benefits
• soil and environmental health -  gardens protect top-soil and ground water: help avoid compaction, erosion, contamination
• birds, beetles, bees, ants and bees play an important role in  the biosphere
• shade, urban heat island, wind-break benefits
• productive benefits (eggs via chooks, growing vegetables, fruit)
• reduced need for resources from old growth habitats, and reduced waste compared with outdoor structures  
• non C02 intensive, provided lawns and hedges are kept small  (large hedges require oil powered machinery to maintain).
• horticulture therapy - connectedness to nature, the cycle of life and the seasons
• fitness benefits and Vitamin D!
• cost-effectiveness - outdoor structures come at a high price

 These benefits are all potentially lost when extensive outdoor structures are built and substantially replace the garden.

 Tips for building Outdoor Spaces sustainably

•  Build small rather than big.  
• Ask yourself: Is your Outdoor Room going to substantially do away with a garden?  See first half of this blog as to why gardens are vital!
• Opt for permeable surfaces over non-permeables.  
• Don't build if the product is sourced from existing habitats, eg sourced from coupes illegally logged or active waterways
• Think about the economics, before you act.  Are you investing in a fad?   
• Chose plants that attract pollinators.
• Protect, nourish (with compost) and conserve the top-soil (sediment control/erosion/soil biota).      

Not on the tomatoes!

I was having a chat with Nicolle about how it was almost spring and time to get out to do some fertilising. Well, up went the eyebrows! I brought out my two bottles of fertiliser and the finger went up in the air (swish swish). To my usual expectation I got the third degree about a product I had bought and had plenty of faith in. I also got out one with 'Seasol' written on it. After being educated on the impact these products can have on the environment I told her I'll be using the organic one on the vegie beds and only putting the chemical one on the hanging baskets which drain over the deck and concrete.  Signing off, Andrew

to Honourable Joe Ludwig, Minister for Agriculture.

I sent off a generic letter to Hon. Joe Ludwig, the Minister for Agriculture (via one of the many environmental lobbying groups that come in to my Inbox) adding, one heading:   

Let's slow down the promotion of outdoor rooms which substantially replace gardens. 

When you visit those outdoor room sites, you have to ask yourself how much of the timberused is from a non-sustainable source (a stand of trees hundreds or even thousands of years old, habitat and bio-diversity rich (orangutans), which will take untold generations to regenerate). 

In 2007 and 2010 the Labour Govt made election promises to ban illegal timber imports. The Draft legislation before the Parliament includes 5 years jail for those who overstep the ban.

In a letter to Mr Ludwig, we ask him to include an obligation that importers declare information about the nature of their products.  (After all, without knowing more about the timber itself, how can these laws be enforced?)

Lack of legal chain of custody is the main problem.  The only statistics that we could find are from Wikipedia, which are mostly 7 years old.  ( It isn't surprising how difficult it is to get a figure, given that the activity is hidden!)

A joint UK-Indonesian study of the timber industry in Indonesia in 1998 suggested that about 40% of timber throughput was illegal, with a value in excess of $365 million. More recent estimates, comparing legal harvesting against known domestic consumption plus exports, suggest that 88% of logging in the country is illegal in some way. Malaysia is the key transit country for illegal wood products from Indonesia.  Profiting from plunder. How Malaysia Smuggles Endangered Wood,   2004

Source: Wikipedia, visited 1 August, 2011.