Indigenous Plants Providing habitat and forage for local fauna, less garden maintenance and connection to place are common reasons local gardeners opt for Indigenous plants. Enjoying the flavours of edible varieties is another great motivation for growing these often underrated plants. There are thousands of edible plants native to Australia and many grow in Banyule. Some of our favourites include … Read More

J is for Jam A few times a year I walk past a fruit tree (usually a cumquat or plum) growing in a someone’s front yard untouched with fruit laying rotting on the ground. My daughter insists on knocking on the door to ask if we can pick some to make jam. So far not a single person has said … Read More

Lemons Reimagine Citrus Do you have a laden Citrus tree in your yard? Perhaps you’ve seen one in your neighbourhood during a walk and started thinking about how you could make use of the fruit. I have been passing a citrus tree in our street for sometime and am working up the courage to walk up to the owner’s door, … Read More

Meditation “If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” -Dalai Lama While this statement might oversimplify the challenges facing humanity, it does acknowledge the power of meditation to build health and happiness, and with as many variations on meditation techniques as there are people, we might all … Read More

Nappies Choosing to use cloth nappies is a great way to tread more lightly with children. Learn: With Banyule resident Elana at local reusable nappy workshops www.clothnappyworkshopsmelbourne.com.au Banyule City Council runs online information sessions to help you become a familiar and confident Cloth Nappy user. www.banyule.vic.gov.au/…/Reusable-nappy… Attend the workshop and you get two modern cloth nappies sent to you to … Read More

The delight of the “op shop find” feeds the hunter gatherer instinct. Devoting some hours to browsing Banyule’s op shops to renew your wardrobe, find your child’s next Book Week costume, and fill gaps in your kitchen cupboards and book shelves, pays back with a tenth of the footprint of buying anything new. Most of our suburbs have at least … Read More

Plastic Free July Plastic Free July is a grassroots initiative that started in 2011. Deciding to go plastic free for one moth is a wonderful way to experiment with different alternatives to plastic. If you choose to do this during the month of July then you will be joined by thousands of people all over Australia (and millions across the … Read More

    Do you know that Quolls used to live in Banyule? We often think about the animals who we are living alongside. But what about those whom we have already displaced? What is our responsibility to them? The good news is that we can make a difference to the habitat of the animals who are still living here and … Read More

Repair Repair is about more than repairing something that’s broken. It’s about repairing ourselves and the world around us. A couple of years ago I attended a repair café run by Sustainable Watsonia. I went along with some broken earrings and was able to have them glued back together. Rubbish was being rescued from landfill all around me. It was … Read More

Schools When local resident Asha started at a new primary school she noticed that there were some simple changes that could take place to decrease the amount of waste that the school was producing. By engaging in a positive dialogue with the principal, teachers, students and school community, she was able to contribute towards the following: “Here are the changes … Read More