You’re invited…

Connecting Communtiy Day- Come one, come all!

In order to say a big THANK YOU to each and every one of you for all your efforts and support towards the Make An Impact Program this year, I’d like to extend to you and your family an invitation to our end of year celebration.

The event to be held on Saturday 12^thNovember, at the Anglesea District and Community House will include:

• A free delicious, 5 course ’ locals lunch’ including:
  • Birregurra Estate Olives
  • Breads
  • Dips
  • Cheeses
  • Award winning wines, provided by Brown Magpie Winery
  • Wood fired pizza; and
  • Delicious deserts (lunch starts at 12:00pm)

There will also be:

• A sensational ‘hands on’ spring cooking demonstration hosted by The Organics Box
• Live entertainment and music
• Free giveaways
• A community sharing table
• Opportunites to meet and connect with fellow community members

And heaps more.

There will also be plenty to do for the children including:

• Free kids dance and play session
• Jumping castle; and
• A children’s pizza making session

(for the schedule of events, please see below).
 
So if you can make it, I’d love to see you there!

Connecting Community Day  

Saturday 12 November 2011,
10am–2pm
Anglesea District and Community House, McMillan St, Anglesea
 

Schedule of events

Time	In the House	Outside
11am	Welcome	Free BBQCommunity Sharing table Coffee and cake stall Jumping castle Meet your fellow community members
11:15am	What’s new at the house talk and tour
11:30	Child care talks
12:00	Kids dance and play session		Birregurra Estate Olives information and tasting session (incl Zeally Bay Sourdough and Apostle Whey Cheeses)
12:30	Anglesea Choir performance		Brown Magpie wine information and tasting sessionChildrens pizza making session
1:00			Sensational Spring cooking demonstration hosted by The Organics Box   Make you own ‘locally sourced’ wood fired pizzaLocal and regional dessert tasting session- incl GORGE chocolates, seasonal berries and icecream, local jam, cream and scones   Live local music
1:30
2:00	Close

And the winners are…

The Organics Box

I just want to thank all those who took part in our end of program survey.
We received some valuable feedback on how to improve the program for next year as well as some very kind words about the events that have been run- thankyou!… and the 2 winners of the $50 Organics box hampers are:

Tracey McNaughton and Sue O’Shannessy- congratulations to you both!

A story from one of our participants…

I love hearing stories from those who have taken part in the Make An Impact program, so this entry I thought I’d include an update sent to me from one of our composting revolution participants, who through the Make an Impact program and Grow it! has just begun her journey in organic gardening…enjoy

Our veggie garden was planted September 15 with seedlings including broccoli, bok choy, silver beet and spring onions.

 
Aside from a few potted herbs and flowers, this is our first real vegetable garden and I have been very excited about the prospect of plucking our own fresh, organic vegetables from our backyard and madly trying to learn as much as possible about growing veggies to give our little seedlings the best shot. So to begin with, I considered the best spot for our patch and chose a corner beside the house which receives lots of morning sun and plenty of afternoon shade during summer.

 
It has only been a little over a month and already I am amazed at how large the veggies have grown and how fast the snails and slugs were to move in! After being away for just 10 days this month, I was shocked when I returned to find the lower leaves of my six, now very large, bok choy seedlings to be completely savaged by slugs and snails.
Determined to stick to organic gardening principles, I plucked off the remaining unwanted veggie patch guests and removed what was left of the eaten leaves. I then placed half-full tins of beer around the bok choy in a bid to attract whatever slugs and snails I couldn’t find away from the seedlings. I also heard that coffee grinds worked well to deter pests from veggies, but after finding only a jar off instant decaf in the back of the pantry, I took my chances and bordered my bok choy seedlings with that instead.

The next morning, I was happy to find the tins I had placed out overnight filled with slugs that had drowned blissfully in a pool of yeasty beer, and only one snail on the seedlings.
I am now considering placing a net over the patch at night until the plants are stronger. During the day, I have noticed young magpies hoping around in the veggie patch eating the slugs and snails, which is a great help!

 
We also have a small pot of strawberries which have just started fruiting. I too will need to place a net over these because our magpie friends enjoy strawberries as well! And I had some climbing bean seedlings and a snow pea seedling which, while I was away, were also attacked by snails so I have soaked and potted some more beans – fingers crossed!
Although it is much harder work and more time-consuming than I imagined, I am really enjoying caring for and watching our little veggie patch grow. I am learning that gardening, especially organic gardening, is a lot more than tossing a few seeds in the ground. It’s about getting the balance right and that sometimes it is very much an experimental journey. Already, I am appreciating organic produce even more as I learn, first-hand, the level of love and care that’s required to produce organic fruit and vegetables. It will certainly make harvesting the veggies all the more worthwhile!
Most of all, I love watching my 19 month-old daughter getting her little hands grubby and picking a fresh, home-grown strawberry every day!

‘Eco-couture’ on the Surf Coast

Erin Ryan on the catwalk wearing sustainable vintage fashion

What a night and what a huge success!  Not only did we raise some valuable funds for the homeless in Peru but those who attended saw some of the best borrowed, second hand and vintage clothing stroll down the catwalk whilst also enjoying a night of great music from DJ Mitch, delicious food from The Red Till and fabulous market stalls from a range of providers including The Mill Markets.

The show of course was not only to showcase fabulous fashion, but to raise awareness around sustainability and our limited resources.
 In Australia, we’ve come so far in understanding where our food comes from and why it’s important to buy local and seasonal,  but most of the time, we don’t think about where our clothes come from.

On average, producing a cotton shirt uses up to 2700 litres of water. Here in Australia, water is such a precious commodity, so that’s 2700 litres of valued resource we waste every time we throw away a shirt because it may be no longer in fashion.

On the night however we were privy enough to have a range of upcoming sustainable designers that are helping create a different way of thinking around these discarded clothes. 

Mother Bean, Simpatico designs, BSfelt and a whole host more, demonstrated how we can take second hand clothing and recreate it into new and funky gear. This process is called upcycling. We learnt that you can refashion or upcycle just about anything in your closet. Jumpers can become skirts, pants can become tops, you can even turn home fabrics like pillowcases into fabulous clothes.

So if you’d like to see some of these fantastic upcycled clothes plus see more images from the night, you can visit local Surf Coast photographer Peter Marshalls website: www.petermarshallphotography.com

You’re invited…

Vintage fashion show, 6th August

We’d like to invite you to attend the Make An Impact Fashion Show, where anything goes and everything old is new again!

The evening will provide you with an opportunity to see (and purchase!) some of the best borrowed, secondhand, vintage and recycled clothing on the Surf Coast stroll down the runway, whilst you enjoy a night of good music, great company and fabulous market stalls.

When: Next Saturday- 6th August

Where: Anglesea Community Hall, 5 McMillan St, Anglesea (map)

Time: 7:30pm-9:30pm

Cost: Gold coin donation (all proceeds going to charity)

** Drinks and canapes provided

Vintage and recycled fashion market coming to Geelong!

Fabulous vintage fashion

Only a few weeks to go until our vintage and recycled fashion show and it’s shaping up to be exciting event! Over the past few months we’ve been collecting some fantastic outfits that you won’t want to miss…

But if you can’t wait until the 6th of August, then there’s another opportunity to grab some fabulous recycled and vintage clothing coming up. On Sunday, 31st July, Take 2 Markets are coming to Geelong!

The Take 2 Market is a premier recycled fashion event that is held at various locations around Melbourne and Geelong. It’s a great way to top up your wardrobe, find something for a special event, have a fun day out with girlfriends or buy a gift (especially for that ‘hard to buy for’ friend!)

The next market in Geelong is on Sunday 31st of July, 10am-3pm at the Geelong West Town Hall.

For more info check out the website! http://www.take2markets.com.au/

Making a MASSIVE impact!

We've planted the equivalent to 294 trees by composting!

As many of you are aware, 20 local participants have been partaking in our compost revolution. 

 

Since we began, we have been tracking just how much waste they have divereted from entering landfill. In the two months since we started, the group has already saved a whooping 650kg of food going to landfill and prevented 11.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide entering our atmosphere! This is equivalent to having taken 2.2 cars off the road, averted the use of one years electricity useage from 1.4 homes, or planting 294 trees!… Just shows, something so simple can have a massive impact! Now just imagine if everyone in our community was to do this…