Landcare grant

We have a Landcare grant, and we should start the work !-)

As you can see here, we have been granted a Landcare grant. It is supposed to help us design and build a garden with and for the community and particularly children.

As under the license we have with Council, we also have a new space a the back of the space. So we are revisiting the design discussed in our previous permaculture workshop (cf former blog on the Website).
With the help of Narelle Happ (from A Garden For Life), we'll now organise the following workshops - free for members:

• Saturday 16 March 2013 - 10am to 12pm - What is Permaculture / A proposed design for the garden / Listing the details of all the materials and steps. We'll also have a quick lunch and we'll finish mulching the lantana we removed a few weeks ago.

• Saturday 11th of May 2013: Building phase - all day from 11 am.
• Sunday 25th of May 2013: Planting workshop - al day from 11 am.

Any questions?

We need to prepare the soil, and so we have to mulch the Lantana. So if you want to contribute, drop us a line (otford.garden at gmail.com). YES A BIT OF YOUR TIME AND STRENGHT WILL DO A LOT FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

New design- new space

Two weeks ago, the boys cleared more than 25 sq meters of Lantana and other bush. Now we're mulching all this and measuring up everything in order to finalise a nice design including: garden beds, fruits trees, herbs, sitting area, watering, and all this kids friendly.

SO CALL TO EVERY MEMBERS- We need to:

• Finish the mulching (contact Gaetane/Andrew or Adriana/Giles to access the mulcher (run on unleaded and oil))
• Turn the soil

This can be done every friday evening and sunday evening for the coming 3 weeks.

Regarding the design and building of a real garden, save the following dates:

• 16 or 17th of March - Permaculture design workshop (30 min on permaculture and 1h30 on how this will be practically applier to our site)
• Sunday 5th of May - Foundation workshop (building beds and the sitting area)
• Sunday 19th of May - Finishing workshop (painting involved and kids workshops involved)

Clearing up the past, preparing the future

The Working bee last sunday 17 feb was awesome

 

 The boys did an awesome job of cleaning 50 sqaure metre of Lantana and other bush. This patch will be cleaned again, refenced to make sure cant fall at the back...and the soil should be fantastic or at least a bit better than on the other side.

• The girls did an awesome job of saving the last tomatoe plant which were a bit dammaged after the storm.
• The kids did a great job watering
• The crop rocket was great
• and more girls/ladies did an awesome job at looking after babies, kiddies and make sure everybody was happy.

Yeepee: The Landcare Community Garden has been awarded. We'll have fundings to set up nice beds. sitting area, irrigation system, all this kids friendly and made to be 'educative'.

Xmas...time to reflect

Two topics on which to reflect over the Christmas break (and a few tasks - cf newsletter)

0.Water rosters (if away, exchange with a friend or post on the Otford local) -

24: Pauline T
25: Sarah M
26: Natasha
27: Andrea
28: Adriana
29: Samantha
30: Madeleine
31: James
1: Eleanor
2: Lorraine
3: Nicola
4: Phil
5: Esther
6: Donna


1. Here is the design of our future garden, as resulting from our proposal and the workshop with Elemental Permaculture.
We need to put a ring on it....and the best way to do so is prioritise our work, zone by zone.
Knowing that we have a remaining grant including mulch, compost tumblers, another including a greenhouse, and a few funds, access to seeds.
We'll discuss this on Sunday 23 December from 2.30pm. Expected outcome: a list of tasks and a corresponding list of date to achieve the design.
THIS SUNDAY WE LL ALSO PLANT SALADS and BEANS.

2. Our use of the clubhouse and tennis court as we are about to finalise the agreement with Otford Tennis Club, Wollongong Tennis Administration and Wollongong City Council.
A proposal below. Please comment replying by email.
Weekly activities

• Morning Yoga (before the 7.57 am train)
• Mums and Bub Yoga
• Thursday morning parents group
• Evening Art and Craft Workshop
• Garden maintenance (no direct use of the clubhouse and court, but use of the toilet)

By-weekly activities:

• Garden working bee (sunday 3pm)
• 'French classes' - clubhouse - evening
• Drumming circle (time and noise consideration)
• Tight ropes and acrobalance (from June 2013) - tennis court
• 
  

Trimester activities

• Pecha-Kucha
• Brewer club meeting
• Committee meeting

Semester activities

• Festive gardening celebrations

 Merry Xmas ans happy new year.

What a great community party it was

...memories and a few pictures speak better than words (although i dont have all the one of the evening and night).

You can see and download the pictures here.

The fundraiser was a great success and we can now think about proper gears for our garden. We also had an Annual General Meeting to elect a committee, so you also have people to help organise all this:

• President - Electronical communication - Gaetane
• Vice-president - Garden coordination - Adam
• Secretary - Parents group - Bron
• Treasurer - Brew club - Andwoo
• Grants - Lachlan
• Garden - James
• Infrastructure - Marc

and we had a few new members, happy visitors and mery kids cropping their first 'home grown Sebago potatoes!

So a huge thanks to all the volunteers, cooks...and:
the musicians: Bhanglassi, John and Wolf, DJ Robbo
Emma Khourey and Circus WOW
Warren Windsports. A Garden for Life, The Jack of Harts and Jude, Glenbernie Orchards, Plat du Jour, Karen McDougall Yoga, Andrea and Yoga Unite Me, Kellie Bollard Permaculture Books !

So to prepare our green future, get involve this coming saturday in our FREE PERMACULTURE WORKSHOP.

We'll have to drink a few bubble to celebrate this success, a Council grant (SI SI - yes yes) and a new great partnership with the Otford Tennis Club (Thanks Pauline) and the License from the Council !!!!

Garden party raffle: Call to local businesses

Hi local businesses interested in sustainability and community engagement,

The Otford Community and Garden Association organises a garden party on the 24th of November 2011. We'll have a circus workshop, a kid movie, 3 different liveband, a DJ and a gardening workshop.

We would like to raise money to undertake the following activities:

• Installing sustainable structure for permaculture beds 
• Installing a greenhouse
• Creating signage around the garden to educate on foods plants, native plants and permaculture principles
• Developing workshop activities on sustainability, healthy food
• Having a great, safe and engaging community space for Otford and its surrounds.

If you want to get involve, you can donate a prize in the raffle, as the following businesses have already done, or you can also directly support us (great raffles prizes)

• A Garden for life
• Warren adventure
• The vege box
• Karen McDougall Yoga
• Soil co.
• Otford Farm
• Plat du Jour
• Kellie Bollard Books

You can also forward the poster or the information about this event to some of your partner (media release available).

Feel free to contact us.

Otford Association is getting ready to party

On the Saturday 24 November 2012, the association will hold its Annual General Meeting. It means that you, member, will have an opportunity to learn how the association and its (your) budget is managed. We'll also discuss the future and agree on the best strategy. But who wants to spend a summery saturday afternoon sitting down discussing about organisation and budget?....not that many of us. So to make sure you have an opportunity to have your say, but also that we all have a great community time, we have decided to organise a very fun fundraising day, the Otford (End of the Year Fundraising Garden) Party: curry night, live music, kid movie, circus, gardening.
To make this day a successful day, we explain below how you can contribute, just by giving a bit of your time, skills or strength!
This newsletter also gives more details on the next garden working bees, the Pechakucha night and the next brewer club meeting.

Pecha Kucha: sat 27 oct - 6pm

Participants have to prepare an oral presentation on a topic they like, with 20 slides. The challenge is to keep it short and fun, so no more than 20 seconds by slides and slides content which add to the speach (not repeat it). Please bring your presentation (.ppt) on a USB stick or send it here before the 26 at lunch time. The event is open to the public but won't be very interesting to kids. The event will be followed by BYO drinks and BBQ.

 Brewers club

The first batch came back from the 'beershed'. A new batch will be launched on Saturday 3 November. Guys are currently going to a beershed in Kirawee. If any of you has everything to welcome the next batch, email asap here.
It would be great to start thinking about growing hops. It could be even easier with the new night light on the garden.

Arm strength NEEDED

Friday 19, from 7pm, we need arm power to carry wood from 59 station road to the tennis court (via vehicle).
BEFORE Sunday 28 we need a trailer or a ute to go and pick up soil/horse poo
On the Sunday 28 & Sunday 4 November we need PEOPLE to to build our vertical frame for Melon and to build the new herbs beds on the terraces.
Who can help fixing the fences?

Help us to raise money

On the Saturday 24 November, we'll raise money for the association. We have a few people to make delicious curries and dahl. We'll serve sweet crêpes. Who is happy to bake cakes? Which local business is happy to give a price for the raffle. Contact us now here.

Who is interested in 'Landcare' activities?

The creek needs cleaning (removing branches, moving sand to ensure a better flow). We would need gumboots, gloves and a trailer. We could also apply for a Landcare grant. Who is interested?