Doing the Maths of Blitz
You’ve heard of the Win-Win. Well how about the WIN to the power of WIN times WIN, fried in a wholesome batter of extra WIN.
When you’re blitzing you’re learning by doing, while getting ideas for your own garden, participating in free workshops, while meeting good people, while helping to reduce food miles and water use, reducing deforestation and salinity, beautifying underused spaces, sharing resources, eating great food, and preparing the way for ever more healthier, tastier food, while building community networks and urban resilience. And what does all this cost you? Nothing. And if you come to three or so we can help organise one at your house. Try doing the maths on that. It broke my calculator.
This weekend is overflowing with blitzes! So come along to one… This newsletter has also got some fantastic news from the world of blitz and friends, plus rumours and insinuations, reader feedback, and some very provocative recipes for hard times.
~~~ Upcoming Blitzes ~~~
Blitz 66: Nth Fitzroy May 16 10am-4pm
All are welcome at a permablitz in Nth Fitzroy to help Patrick, Elise and Tim clear and cover some lawn before adding a few no-dig vegie gardens, planting some fruit trees, building a compost bay and greenhouse, re-commissioning a worm farm and more. …
Blitz 67: Carlton Couryard May 17 from 10:30am
Help turn a concrete courtyard into a mini food producing haven! We will be filling out garden beds and planting out the winter veggies, cutting back some vines and constructing shade sails. Plus some workshops on dealing with pests and companion…
Remember to RSVP. Also this Sunday: Future Canvas Blitz at the Docklands
~~~ Upcoming Courses ~~~
“Fantastic, potentially life changing”
Book now for the fantastic two day Intro to Urban Permaculture course running over two Saturdays: 13th and 20th June at the Port Philip Ecocentre in St Kilda. A must!
Thurs 21 May The Backyard Ecosystem: Organic Pest Control and Adventures in the Microcosmos (Fitzroy) 6:30-8:30pm
Other upcoming courses, TBC in Fitzroy:
4th June Beginners’ Guide to Home Organic Food Production
18 June Beginners’ Guide to Compost and Worms
9 July Drought Proofing Your Food Garden
23 July Beginners’ Guide to Chickens
6 August The Backyard Ecosystem: Organic Pest Control and Adventures in the Microcosmos
(Email us if you’re interested…)
~~~ Paul and Claire in The Age ~~~
Our Paul from the permablitz network and Very Edible Gardens and his partner Claire were featured in a full colour article in The Age today:
“It’s a typical suburban backyard – about 70 square metres – but Paul Fogarty, 27, a landscaper of edible gardens, and his partner, stockbroker’s assistant Claire Moore, 30, have transformed their Altona garden into a productive jungle. ”
~~~ The City that Ended Hunger ~~~
An inspiring read from Frances Moore Lappé about Brazil’s fourth largest city, Belo Horizonte where hunger has gone down and healthy eating has gone up thanks to some “frustratingly easy” programs…
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1573/1/
~~~ Compost time ~~~
We’ve just celebrated Compost Week. What you missed the party? Don’t despair. Check out this great article about the City of San Francisco turning restaurant waste into high quality compost which local farmers can’t get enough of. Locally in the City of Yarra, a new program called Compost Mates, seeks to link home composters with restaurants and cafes.
A couple of new pages on the Very Edlble Gardens website have info on how to best compost and take care of worms.
~~~ Blitzing Edinbugh ~~~
Greig in Edinburg writes:
“Thought you’d like this. We [the Edinburgh Community Backgreen Association] pinched the name Blitz for our workshops this year.”
http://ecba.org.uk/backgreen-blitz-home.aspx
They are turning traditional communal spaces back into food production with a big burst of blitz energy. Brilliant!
~~~ Reader feedback ~~~
“I so enjoyed the permablitz in Dandenong that just coming to those is a great learning experience and I really can wait my turn or learn enough to do it myself.”
…
“I have been on my second blitz at Smith’s Gully. Great. I think that you will have me blitzing till my knees give out completely!”
–Marie, age 69
“I am so excited about what you all do. In my darkest climate change moments I read your lovely emails and feel positive and hopeful again. You have sustained me through some dark times. Keep up the magnificent work. I have been telling everyone I know about your group.”
–Katie
Thank you both and all the other readers and participants who write — it means so much to hear from you!
~~~ Rumour mill ~~~
We’ve heard a rumour that a certain prime minister is going to following in the footsteps of a certain US president and turning his lawn into lunch, with the help of a certain famous elder statesman of the vegie patch.
~~~ Blitzing the YouTube ~~~
A short presentation at a gathering called the Sustainable Cities Roundtable by yours truly was videoed and uploaded. Check it out here.
~~~ Forest Edge Permaculture ~~~
Permablitz organisers and super wonderful designers and educators Cam Wilson and Jessie Price (and their one year old son Yarrow) have got a fantastic new website up. Check it out: www.forestedgepermaculture.com
~~~ A new way to fund raise ~~~
A reader Rebeka sends us this project she’s involved with for offering alternatives to chocolate drives for school fundraisers: home vegie and herb growing kits.
http://www.livingfundraisers.com.au/
~~~ Raton au Vin ~~~
“The problem is the solution” is one of the attitudinal principles of permaculture. One of Bill Mollison’s most quoted quotes was to someone with a slug problem: “You haven’t got an excess of slugs, you’ve got a duck deficiency.” Likewise, when asked by someone with a kikuyu grass problem he replied, “You haven’t got an excess of kikuyu, you’ve got a zebra deficiency.”
In the spirit of this, in a recent email exchange on a permaculture mailing list, the problem of rats in the garden led to a discussion about eating them. A ABC Science Show last year dealt with the topic:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2332514.htm#transcript
And for those wanting to see how to do it, here’s a video by macho survivalist Cody Lundin entitled “Disaster Survival: How to Catch and Eat a Rat”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J0RZVqbHGM
“Whoa,” you say, “that is disgusting. Do I have to eat rats to be part of the permaculture movement?” Hmm… let us consider that.
~~~
Well maybe we’ll let beginners off the hook. There might even be some straight up crackers and dip at at the next permablitzes, but who knows.
Hope to see you at one soon,
Adam @ PB decentral
PS. Look out for some of us on prime time some time in the next couple of weeks… hitting the big time.
