Merri Creek Management Committee and Friends of Merri Creek are holding a planting event at the end of Jukes Rd, near Merri Creek this weekend. Much of the creek vegetation has been assisted by regular plantings over the last 50 years to restore a semblance of native habitat along the creek corridor.
You are invited to join this ‘Habitat Heroes’ planting on Sunday 23rd August.
Planting, walks & free BBQ
including Vegetarian and Halal food
Sunday 23rd August,
10am-12.30pm
Eastern end of Jukes Rd Fawkner, (Melway 18 A2)
Featuring planting, Wurundjeri Elder Caring for Country presentation, guided bird watch, self-guided walks to learn about 10 top plants for providing habitat, and BBQ.
These planting events are a lot of fun to do together. Bring kids along to help too.
For enquiries phone Ray or Monica at MCMC on 9380 8199 or 0421 683 926 on the day.
The plantings are Funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the State Government’s Communities for Nature. Supported by Moreland City Council.
This story is a little different from my usual fare. It is about a major Health company – Healthscope – launching a campaign against local residents and Moreland Council for the redevelopment of the John Fawkner private hospital.
If you live in Fawkner, or elsewhere in Moreland, you may have been surprised to see a letter sent to your address in your letterbox from John Fawkner Hospital yesterday or today.
So why would John Fawkner Hospital, located on Moreland Road in Coburg and bordering Brunswick be sending these letters out to distant parts of the municipality like Fawkner?
Perhaps they have done a mailing to every address in the municipality? I don’t know.
So this letter explains that they want to redevelop and expand the site including building a multi-level car park. But their development plans have gone to Moreland Council and twice been rejected. Something fishy is going on here.
The first time the plans were rejected by Council in July 2012 as inappropriate. John Fawkner Hospital appealed the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) but lost. Strange, because usually VCAT decisions predominantly support development proposals. Continue reading →
In recent weeks we have had a burst of activity in carpentry through collaboration with Urban Bush carpenters enabled by a grant from City of Moreland Council Celebrating Place program.
We have had four workshops where people have been able to use carpentry tools to create some useful gardening furniture with assistance of the Urban Bush Carpenters.
At the workshops we created a bench and five wicking planter boxes from old timber pallets. Of equal importance was the process of joining with others to build social community and community resilience.
The planter boxes are located at the Fawkner Community House in CB Smith Reserve, on the nature strip on Jukes Road, and at the Community House new extension at 95 Major Road.
On Saturday we planted summer crops in the new community planter boxes and held a wheel barrow procession through Fawkner streets from one site to another. It was a merry procession with ukelele, singing and various percussion to the enjoyment of the several children as part of the event.
We were joined at the planter box on Jukes Road by Cr Meghan Hopper, Mayor of Moreland, and Federal MP for Wills Kelvin Thomson. Cr Hopper joined in the planting.
The Fawkner Women’s Choir sang two songs as part of the celebrations at Fawkner Community House.
Kelvin Thomson spoke briefly on population and food security saying
The way that we are going in terms of population increase and unsustainable practices means that there are real problems and challenges further on up the road. It is already true that many people around the world don’t have enough to eat on a day to day basis, but this problem is likely to get worse and to be exacerbated by the energy inputs and the amount of carbon required to transport food from where it’s grown to where it’s being consumed.
The message out of all that is that we need to be more self-sufficient and to be able to grow and produce our own food. I think that is a terrific message to be conveying to people here in Fawkner as well as building all manner of living skills as part of that process. I am really delighted to seeing it in action.
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Urban food security
Urban food security is an important issue seldom widely discussed. I did some literature research in this area in early 2014 and wrote the blog article Tackling food security with a growing population, climate change and peak oil. Urban food security was also considered in my literature review conducted earlier this year into Heatwaves, Climate change and Melbourne where I noted:
While there is some concern by government of aggregate impact of climate change on agriculture and food production, little attention has been paid to the fragility of food supply chains and the role urban agriculture could play in urban resilience for urban populations. This has resulted in the upsurge of the Transition towns movement, an increase in suburban farmers markets, backyard permaculture gardening and informal food swaps. Burton et al (2013) detail in a qualitative study the growing interest in urban food security and backyard permaculture utilising two case studies of the Gold Coast and Melbourne as examples. This study provides a window on local communities already responding to climate change by building more resilient communities.
In my travels around the internet I found this site put together by the Australian PV Institute showing the level of installation of solar photovoltaic panel installation by postcode or Local Government area.
In Fawkner there have been about 246 solar PV installations. This amounts to approximately 5.4% of the estimated 4520 dwellings in our suburb with an installed capacity of 571kW.
This is lower than the Moreland average of 6.1%. Moreland Local Government Area (LGA) and is also below other municipal areas in Melbourne’s north. Maribyrnong has 7% solar installation, Moonee Valley is on 6.5%, Darebin is on 6.9%, Banyule on 6.7%, Whittlesea on 9.7%, and Hume on 11%. Continue reading →
Moreland Energy Foundation in conjunction with Moreland City Council are holding a forum for residents, community groups and businesses to discuss and network on environmental sustainability issues, to make a greener Moreland.
It is a chance to catch up with the many groups and individuals across the municipality working on sustainability from many different angles.
The event will also provide an opportunity for ideas and input into the creation of the Moreland Community Climate Action Plan being developed by Moreland Council.
An introductory session will use a 2 minute market process, allowing every person an opportunity in turn to speak uninterrupted and explain what they or their organisation are doing regarding environmental or sustainability activities, or areas they are interested in working in.
When: 9.45am to 1.00pm Saturday 30 November Where: Coburg Town Hall – Concert Hall, 90 Bell St, Coburg (Entry at the back via Urquhart St) Booking: Attendance is free but RSVP at MEFL website is required for Catering purposes
Lunch: Lunch Food provided free after the forum. Continue reading →
Sustainability Fawkner have our regular Food swap on the Saturday 9 November from 10.30am to 12.30pm in CB Smith Reserve. Come along early with your garden produce to swap and stay and join the rest of the festivities for the afternoon.
Moreland Council is particularly active in reducing it’s carbon footprint and achieving carbon neutrality in it’s operations. This still involves purchase of international carbon offset credits.
Waste collection, storage and landfill is one of the big costs, in terms of money and in generating greenhouse gases. If homes and businesses can reduce waste through more recycling and composting, then this is a substantial saving in both council expense, which can then be directed into other amenities, and in reducing carbon pollution from waste management.
To highlight the importance of reducing waste Moreland Council is urging Moreland residents to take the Zero Waste for a Week Challenge this November, to reduce your landfill waste to zero for one week.
“It’s not as hard as it sounds, changing the way you buy goods and produce, composting food scraps and recycling more all make a huge difference. Free workshops will be available throughout November on food waste avoidance and composting to help you cut your waste to zero. For more information or to register call Council on 9240 1111 or go to Zero waste for a Week Challenge” says the Council promotional material.
Registration for the challenge is only open to Moreland Residents but information is open to everyone. Tips and information on how you can achieve Zero Waste, or even substantially minimise your waste is available from Moreland Council – Zero waste for a Week Challenge. The first 150 residents to register will receive a free Waste Wise kit.
Secure Bicycle parking at Fawkner Station installed
Fawkner Station now has a secure bike cage for those who choose to cycle to the station and take the train. The parkiteer security bike parking cage was launched by Moreland Mayor Oscar Yildiz, State Transport Minister Terry Mulder, and Christine Campbell MP for Pascoe Vale on July 1st.
Cr Oscar Yildiz said in the council media release “Moreland residents love their bikes and now they can travel to Fawkner station and have peace of mind that their bike will be secure and undercover,” Cr Yildiz said. “This is a brilliant example of a joint government initiative that will make people’s life easier and more sustainable in their daily commute.” Continue reading →
Moreland City Council has confirmed that the name for the reserve at Jukes Road, Fawkner has now been approved as “Bababi Djinanang” and will be gazetted in the Victoria Government Gazette on Thursday 30 May 2013. Following the gazette notice, both Vicnames and Vicmap will be updated.
Bababi Djinanang means “mother’s foot” in the Wurundjeri language and it forms part of an innovative system of Wurundjeri names for native grasslands along Merri Creek as making up parts of the mother’s body.
Five names were provided by the Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council in 2006, after a request by Friends of Merri Creek to provide appropriate names for sites of cultural and ecological significance.
The names were bestowed by Wurundjeri Elder, Doreen Wandin-Garvey, on 14 August 2006, according to Council meeting minutes: “The remnant grasslands along the Merri Creek reveal glimpses of the land as the Wurundjeri would have known it, making it appropriate that they have Wurundjeri names.” say the minutes (PDF) of the Council meeting 10 October 2012. Continue reading →
City skyline view over Wetlands & drainage basin where Upfield Bikepath meets the Western Ring Road
Extending the Upfield bikepath from Box Forest Road near Gowrie station to the Western Ring Road is a major missing link in Melbourne’s offroad shared bike path network. Christine Campbell (@CCampbellMP), State Labor MP for Pascoe Vale raised the following Notice of Motion in Parliament on 18 April 2013 urging the State Government to kick in funding to complete this major bikepath missing link in Moreland’s north. Continue reading →
Sustainable Fawkner 