September Sustainabilty Street Newsletter Out Now

The latest Sustainability Street Newsletter is out now. Click here to download your copy.

The newsletter is full of updates on what our six Sustainability Streets have been up to, including:

• Upcoming Street Dates
  
• Mulgoa's Waste Line Looks Good!


• Get a Smaller Bin and Save $$$!


• Sir John Jamison Circuit Reserve Gets a Facelift
  
• Banool Avenue Garden


• Remember the Waste Shortcut


• Website of the Month: Freecycle


• Hawkesbury EarthCare Fair - Living Green


• Magnetic Places Community Cultural Grants Program


• Complete an Online Survey and Win!

If you would like to be added to the electronic mailing list send a quick email to Carmel Hamilton.

Magical Minibus Tour of Green Homes

Saturday 8 September dawned with an overcast and wet morning - never great for a magical minibus tour! Despite the poor weather early in the day a group of dedicated Sustainability Street participants met in Council's car park to board the minibus for a tour of three green homes as part of Sustainable House Day.

First stop was the St Clair Sustainable House with a tour by the friendly owners, Nevin and Linda. It was amazing to see just how much this couple has managed to do in their standard 1970's brick veneer home. Nevin has focussed on do-it-yourself improvements and has spent a lot of time and effort building and refining various bits and pieces.

The group seemed particularly impressed with his organic vegie patch and moving chook tractor, which was designed so that it would fit directly on top of one of the garden beds. This means he can move the tractor around the yard and over the various garden beds to allow the chooks to do their thing - fertilising the soil and giving it a thorough working over!
Nevin and Linda also have a greenhouse where they can raise the seed that they have collected from their gardens. Further proof of their ingenuity is the use of old cardboard rolls as seed raising pots. Once the seedlings are big enough these can be planted straight into the ground as the cardboard will break up over time! An excellent way to reuse waste products and compost them at the same time! Sadly we had to keep moving along to visit the next sustainble house - this time at Rooty Hill. When we arrived there was already a large number of people gathered round and listening to the owner, Rob, talk about his solar panels - so we joined the group. It's amazing to think that most of the time Rob can generate enough electricity from his solar panels to power his own home, and now that the Federal Government has increased the rebates for installing these panels this technology is becoming more affordable. Rob showed us around his yard and home and pointed out the various items that he has had installed to 'green' up his home - he has the solar panels, a passive heating device called a Sun Lizard, rainwater tanks, solar hot water and more! It was then time to continue on our journey and so we headed out to Richmond for a picnic lunch in the grounds of the Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre. We were all desperate for a sandwich and a drink by this stage - although some of the group seemed more desperate for a caffeine hit than others!

After our leisurely lunch we were lucky enough to have a guided tour of the EarthCare centre with commentary provided by one of our own bus tour participants! Andrew led us around the building, showing off the range of passive solar design principles (north facing, eaves, breezeways, thermal mass) and low energy building materials (strawbale, rammed earth and mudbrick) that were used to construct the building. The building also has a greywater reuse system and composting toilets to ensure that no resource is left untapped!

Once our tour of the building was complete we headed off to the permaculture garden, which is looked after by the Henry Doubleday Research Association. The garden has been designed using traditional permaculture principles, and provides a range of aspects within the garden so that a suitable spot for any plant can be found. It looked great and was a lot of fun to wander around! You can visit the EarthCare Centre yourself on any of its open days throughout the year - they have an EarthCare Fair coming up on Saturday 22 September. Next up we were back on the bus again - trusting our friendly bus driver Peter to take us home after a fun and interesting day.

Thursday Thirteen #1 The Eastern Water Dragon

Thirteen Things about the Eastern Water Dragon

1…. It’s the mascot of Penrith City Council’s Sustainable Penrith Program.

2…. The Eastern Water Dragon is Australia’s largest ‘dragon’ lizard with males measuring around 30cm from their snout to the end of their body and females measuring around 23cm.

3…. Water dragons are semi-aquatic lizards that are at home both in the water and on land. Because of this water dragons like to live close to creeks, rivers and other sources of water – like a garden pond.

4…. Male water dragons get a red patch on their chests when they mature which makes them easy to distinguish.

5…. Male water dragons are territorial and will defend their territory. They can do this by:
- sitting with their red coloured chests out to warn off other water dragons;
- pushing other males off logs;
- lying alongside each other and then turning rapidly to bite their opponent; or
- bobbing their head which communicates to other males that this is their territory.

6…. Water dragons eat insects, frogs, yabbies, water bugs, fruit and berries. They are clever things – they grab the insects out of the air with their mouths and manage to catch other food, like frogs and yabbies, while swimming under water.

7…. Their scientific name is a bit tricky to pronounce – Physignathus lesuerii.

8…. Water dragons can be preyed upon by snakes so they often sleep on branches overhanging the water. If they sense danger they can drop straight into the water - you will often hear the noise of water dragons jumping into water as you walk along a creek or river bank.

9…. Females can lay up to 20 eggs at a time during October through to December with the hatchlings appearing from January through to March.

10…. Water dragons can live for a surprisingly long period of time – 25 to 28 years!

11…. Water dragons have very sharp claws.

12…. Water dragons can remain underwater for up to an hour and can be seen ‘sleeping’ submerged in the water with only their nostrils protruding.

13…. In Chinese mythology the Water Dragon is a symbol of well-being and prosperity.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


thursday thirteen