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One our POW members made a startling discovery on the weekend….have a look at what’s in the chook’s beak…is that….no, it couldn’t be…
 Who needs cats? Some of that dinosaur ancestry still lurks deep in the brain of the chicken.
On a more serious note, chickens are omnivores. They do eat bugs and insects, and if the opportunity presents itself, other animals. Eating mice is not an unusual occurrence. They peck it death and then usually swallow it whole.
FRESH SAUSAGE MAKING
with Sausages Made Simple
Tuesday 23 March 2010
6.30PM—9.00PM
$99/$88 CERES member/concession
Location: CERES Eco House
Learn the wonderful secrets of sausage making by taking part in this informative and fun workshop run by SAUSAGES MADE SIMPLE. You will learn how to make fresh sausages using a traditional Italian method. Two recipes are presented and allow for hands-on participation. The made sausages are cooked during the course and are available for tasting.
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO HOME ENERGY SAVING
with Trevor Plumridge
Wednesday 17 March 2010
6.00PM—9.00PM
$66/$55 CERES member/concession
Location: CERES ATA Building
This is an introductory workshop for renters and homeowners and includes answers to those tricky questions, like “What is energy?” What am I REALLY using? and “How do I make a positive change to reduce my impact on the planet AND reduce my energy bills?” This workshop covers the basics for doing your own home energy audit and provides tips and techniques for personal and household energy use reduction.
Tackling Climate Change with Behaviour Change
Community Symposium
Thursday 18 March
5-8pm
CERES Education Centre, corner Stewart and Roberts Streets, East Brunswick
CERES is on a campaign to reduce our carbon emissions to zero by 2012. As part of our efforts CERES is holding Tackling Climate Change with Behaviour Change
Find out what works, what doesn’t work. Expert presenters share their experiences of changing behaviour to achieve greater sustainability.
Keynote Speaker Caitlin Scott, Senior Consultant with Sinclair Knight Merz discusses her recent research into sustainability-focused behaviour change. Other speakers cover behaviour change programs including:
Sustainability Street
Castlemaine 500
Transition Towns
Zero Carbon Moreland
The Symposium will conclude with a Q & A Panel and open mike session. It is intended for sustainability focused behaviour change practitioners and anyone else who is interested in engaging individuals in climate change. Also a great opportunity to network, talk to presenters and other participants.
Cost: $15 per head. Refreshments Provided. Bookings essential
Bookings and more information phone 9387 2609 or email david@ceres.org.au
or go to go to www.ceres.org.au/zecbehaviourchange
Growers and Eaters Forum
Monday 19th April 2010
South Gippsland
Presented by Slow Food Melbourne
and community partners
with special guest Carbon for Life founder, Dr Christine Jones
TIME: 9am-5pm
LOCATION: Masonic Hall, Korumburra
COST: $25 Full/$15 Concession – delicious lunch & refreshments incl.
“Eating is an agricultural act.”
– Wendell Berry, farmer, philosopher and writer
Please join us at the 2nd Growers and Eaters forum as we come together to discuss what the connection between farming and eating means for the vitality of our communities.
The purpose of the Eaters and Growers forum is to explore what makes for a truly local food system, to celebrate the farmers who grow our food and to inspire a deeper understanding for those who eat it! In this one-day forum, we will have the opportunity to:
- · hear about Community Supported Agriculture and other alternative models for food production and distribution that not only feed people good food, but strengthen and enliven local communities.
- · explore convivial spaces and community food projects such as community kitchens, farmers markets, community gardens and school gardens.
- · learn about why our lives and livelihoods are dependent on healthy, living soils and hear from people who are changing how we grow, cook and distribute food in Australia.
- · delve into some big questions about food – Are we legislating against a diverse agricultural future? What does it mean to eat locally? How can we create food systems that are Good, Clean and Fair?
Speakers and other details coming soon…
Places are limited. Hope to see you there!
For more details contact Peta Christensen 0411899618 peta@cultivatingcommunity.org.au or
Kelly Donati 0402 081 832 kdonati@internode.on.net
We’re in the process of starting up a local seed savers network.
The Seed Savers’ Network aims are:
- To preserve the biodiversity of traditional, cultivated, non-hybrid useful plant varieties through community involvement.
- To monitor, conserve, maintain and expand the genetic diversity of domesticated plant species and their wild relatives in their habitats.
- To promote the ecologically sustainable use and production of quality seeds in biodiverse, indigenous and natural farming and gardening systems.
- To raise public awareness of the importance of plant diversity.
POW is running a workshop on seed saving on the 24th April. On the day, you’ll be able to register for the new Seed Savers network for the Western Suburbs. Maybe you want to start your own local Seed Savers network closer to you. Information will be available on the day. Either way, put that date in the diary, and see you there! Or, if you can’t attend but want to be kept in the loop, send an email to seedsavers@pow.org.au
On March 21st, there is a big community Harmony Feast at Maidstone Community Centre to celebrate Harmony Day and Multicultural Week. Heaps of free food and entertainment. Permaculture Out West will be running a drinks stall and providing info on who we are and what we do. The drinks are: Iced soy chai, Morroccan Mint, Local Lemonade and Lemon verbena / lemon balm tea, with many of the ingredients being sourced from the garden on the site.
Scott will be doing the prep on the Saturday, so people are needed to run the stall (pouring chilled drinks) from 12 PM until 3PM, plus a bit of set-up and pack-up either side of that. Scott will be running the woodfired oven as well as overseeing the food safety issues. Could people please email Scott their availability during this time and can be scheduled in. Ideally we should have 2-3 people at a time on for about an hour each over the three hour program, giving plenty of time to enjoy the other activities on the day.
POW ordinary meeting
24th February 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Maidstone Community Centre, 21 Yardley St, Maidstone.
Introduction, Apologies and Welcome:
- Present – Debbie, De Chantal, Scott, Nyree, Natalie, Angela (new), Katerina, Phillip
- Apologies – Richard, Delia, Melanie
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PcM related update (report back from PcM meeting – Richard’s email)
- Richard not present and email not accessible.
- ACTION: Kat forward email to people present for comment and post relevant matters on website.
- Someone needs to go to next PcM meeting, but need to know when it is.
- ACTION: Kat email PcM for details of nxt meeting
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Strategic meeting – summary (Nyree and Kat)
- Nyree gave summary of strategic meeting: Nyreee, DeChantal, Melanie, Debbie & Kat met with Jose (De’s husband), who facilitated a process to try and define POW and POW’s role, specifically how our social context (the West) defines who we are and what we do. At this stage the process is incomplete, but we plan to meet again. In the meantime, Nyree and Kat will write up a summary of the meeting so far
- Kat mentioned that one thing that came up was how to get people involved in active roles, so that we can achieve more. Kat wants to make up a notice board that we can have at all workshops, permaplaygroups etc, explaining who we are, what our vision is and how people can get involved.
- Roles we are looking for at the moment: fund raiser, events person
- Angela asked how mailing list worked. Kat explained posting system. Deb mentioned that the website is not designed as a mailing system. This is something to revisit at next exec meeting.
- ACTION: Nyree and Kat write formal summary of strategic meeting.
- ACTION: Kat make up noticeboard
- Natalie mentioned that she came to see if anybody from POW could come to Gaudion reserve to give some expert advice on a community garden. Suggested that we sell our services to advise bodies on gardens and playgroups etc.
- Scott and Debbie agreed to visit site to give quick sketch plan to take to council. If goes ahead, Natalie is welcome to come back to us for a blitz. Date set: Sunday 7th after preserving workshop.
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Brimbank Festival
- POW is not having a stall. We are not in a position to do so at the moment.
- Apologies to Candice. We really appreciate her support of POW and hope to support her another time
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Action Items from Exec Meeting:
- MC newsletter article (nyree) – written, published and they’d like more. Nyree is also to write something for next PIE, but doesn’t know when it is due
- ACTION: kat contact PcM re updates – when next PIE submission
- Mailing list(Kat) – see above
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Project proposal application update – Candice
- Candice not present. Project proposal deferred to next meeting. Allocate time to really discuss process.
- ACTION: put on website that we need a project officer
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Membership Drive & Freebies offered
- Deferred to next meeting as Mel not present
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| Getting more people active in projects and roles
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Maidstone update
- Council will decide at next meeting on Tuesday 16th March. One of our supporters spoke to the mayor at Yarraville station, who said Sarah Carter is in favour of our proposal. Main concern of other councilors is that they will have to invest money in fixing up building. Kat plans to write to councilors pointing out that we do not need building at this stage. It just needs to be made safe ($10,000 by their own estimate). She will also remind them that at this stage we are simply asking for them to give us time to write a proper business plan and look at ways of raising money from sponsors
- ACTION: Kat write to councilors
- ACTION: everybody come to meeting on 16th and email councilors voicing support for project.
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Pipemakers Park update
- Kat met with Srebrenka Kunek, creative director of LMW, who informed her that at this stage, the horticulture subcommittee is not going ahead. However, they would still like some connection with POW
- Kat mentioned possibility off blitz in return for rent of space
- LMW is also in negotiations to revitalize railway stations in West, starting with Yarraville. This would involve cafes and stores on stations and growing food near tracks, which would be available for public to take. Left over produce could be preserved/dried etc and sold in shops on stations. At this stage, it is in planning and there is nothing to decide or do, but worth keeping abreast of.
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Blitzes
- 2 people have emailed who want blitzes – angela is one.
- Angela will be april
- Other person will be offered may.
- Pipemakers blitz june in return for a night’s rent there and then we can see how it goes.
- ACTION: Kat to talk to Srebrenka
- Angela Chiew wants a winter blitz.
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Permaplaygroup update
- De wants to know if we are okay with her doing her master’s research on our group. All agreed.
- 2 play groups happening. One is very structured (run by delia and nick at braybrook). Other is not structured at maidstone – run by de Chantal.
- De and Scott organizing to film playgroup
- Has proven good way of getting community space looked after. Adam Grubb is willing to help advertise in other suburbs.
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Workshops
- Workshops – going well. Budding one was unfortunate that trees weren’t big enough, but people enjoyed themselves.
- ACTION: follow up with mel that preserving workshop
- We need to organize a working bee at maidstone to cover rent here. A Sunday would be good.
- Kat asked whether the work that the permaplaygroup does would be enough?
- Follow this up at next meeting
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Other
- forum on here on Wednesday
- diary date: 21st march 12-3 harmony day and feast. Need volunteers to serve iced teas.
- Kat raised changing meeting time to 6:30. Scott suggested starting at 6 with half hour social event.
- (After meeting via email, it was decided that meetings would start at 6pm, but the first hour would be a talk on a topic of interest. Admin items would then get done in the last 40 mins, with a strict time limit of 5 mins for each update)
- Scott is setting up Maribyrnong community centre and looking for people to be part of it. Setting up nursery there.
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| Close meeting
Next meeting: Wed March 31st. 6pm. Maidstone Community Centre |
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