Author: Jo Muller

NO KEG monthly working bee / workshop day on 2nd Saturday in June.

Instead… we encourage you to support
the Central Coast Harvest Festival – 10 & 11 June 2023

Explore the events and activities of Harvest Festival while you plan your adventure into the hinterland, this comprehensive map will help you plan your day before you set out on your way. Remember reception in the Hinterland can be as patchy as a Country Women’s Association quilt so make sure to take notes and download the program before you join the Harvest Festival Trail.

HAPPY WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY – MONDAY 5 JUNE 2023

What’s happening in the Eco Garden? Scroll to the bottom for upcoming events!

Some of the biggest changes in a long time with the arrival and preparation on our new raised garden beds. We have set up new one new wicking bed (“the garden bed bed”), two new no dig garden beds (60cm high) and four new hugelkultur beds.

If you missed the May Garden Bed workshop you can still come and learn how to make a hugulkultur bed on Mondays 19th and 26th when we set up the last two.

Big thanks to Eco Garden friend Robyn for delivering the new beds from Coast & Country Water Tanks and to all our supporters, bottles and can donors and garden hirers whose donations helped us save the funds to buy them. Thank you!

WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE IS 18 YEARS SINCE OUR COMMUNITY GARDEN WAS APPROVED BY A MOTION OF GOSFORD CITY COUNCIL IN 2005.

OUR MAY GARDEN BED CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP

QUICK PICKLING WORKSHOP WITH VIVIAN

If you missed the Quick Pickling workshop in May, Vivian will be back to teach us on Saturday 9 September. Save the date in your diary now.

Other Dates for your diary

July SCHOOL HOLIDAY craft workshops with Lisa McArthur-Edwards

Woolly Winter Craft on both Wednesdays in the July School holidays – bookings on Humanitix: Wednesday 5 July 2023, 10.30am and Wednesday 12 July 2023, 10.30am

2nd Saturday in July (8/7/23, 10am-1pm) – Tool Maintenance Working Bee – Guest TBC

2nd Saturday in August (12/3/23) – 10am For the Love of Birds with Kaye Pointer. Bookings here. Followed by Working Bee and shared lunch.

2nd Saturday in September (9/9/23, 10am – 1pm) – Working Bee – planting for Spring and Quick Pickling lesson with Vivian

2nd Saturday in October – TBC

2nd Saturday in November (11/11/23, 10am – 1pm) – Kimbriki Eco Garden Guru Peter Rutherford – Topic TBC. Save the date! Bookings will open soon.

Weekly Volunteer Mondays in the Garden, 10am – 1pm

What’s happening on Mondays in Autumn?

• Re-designing our raised garden area in preparation for buying new raised beds.
• Weeding and re-setting the pavers in the Labyrinth path
• Painting the pavers in the Children’s Labyrinth path – rainbow colours!

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY

Sign up to clean up in Kariong – https://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/fundraisers/lisawriley/kariong-commuter-car-park—skate-park-area

Saturday 4/3/23 – Julie is going to clean up the Kangoo Road Car Park again.  Let me know if you are available to help.  BYO gloves, hat, drinking water. Time: 9.30am.

Monday 6/3/23 – Kariong Skate Park and surrounding public land could use some love. 9-10am – before our regular garden volunteer time. BYO gloves, hat, drinking water. Meet at the corner of Mitchell Drive and Langford Drive, Kariong.

OUR MARCH WORKSHOP – Propagation

Saturday 11/3 Propagation workshop with Graeme Ingall – 10am – 11.30am $5/person (free for active members/volunteers), followed by working bee – bookings encouraged – message Lisa on 0429 431 889 or email: kariongecogarden@gmail.com.

Graeme has a wealth of knowledge about propagation and is an active member of the Australia Plant Society – Central Coast District Group (CCDG) where he has been able to indulge in his passion of propagating native plants, sometimes successfully and sometimes with failure – it is called a learning curve.

Currently, Graeme conducts, with others, the propagation of native plants for sale by the CCDG. Also, he is involved in teaching propagation at the Pearl Beach Arboretum.

For those who are interested, Graeme graduated with a Diploma of Agriculture from Wagga Agricultural College (now Charles Stuart University, Wagga Wagga Campus) and TAFE Ourimbah Campus where he gained Certificate II in Bush Regeneration.

Graeme recommends using an old ironing board for potting up, as you can adjust the height to suit. We will have tables to use at the workshop but feel free to BYO an ironing board! We will have posts and soil and Graeme will show how to take cuttings from plants in the eco garden as well as bring other specimens. BYO chop sticks if you have some you don’t mind getting dirty.

For more information or bookings please send your name and number of people to Lisa on 0429 431 889 or email kariongecogarden@gmail.com.

ECO ART WORKSHOPS COMING UP

• Saturday 1/4 ECO ART – Bilby workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or $10/young person for 2 or more and accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.
• Monday 17/4 (in school holidays) ECO ART – Orangutan workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or 2 for $20 and accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.
• Monday 3/7 (in school holidays) ECO ART – Platypus workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or 2 for $20 – accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.

COMING UP

• Aboriginal Cultural Workshop with Tim Selwyn, Girri Girra – or he may come to one of the ECO ART workshops TBC
• Quick Pickling workshop with Vivian 2nd Saturday in May TBC
• No workshop or working bee on 2nd Saturday in June due to long weekend.
• First Aid in the Garden workshop 2nd Saturday in July TBC
• The ever popular Bird workshop with Kaye Pointer – August TBC

For more information please call Lisa 0429 431 889 on Mondays or between 4pm and 8pm on other days.

All donations, no matter how small, are always welcome!

We are with Bendigo Bank and our BSB is 633-000; Account No: 154480586; Account name: Kariong Eco Garden. (Please include your surname and ‘Membership’ or ‘Donation’ in the description)

If you make a deposit please email us to tell us so we can issue you with a receipt. Our email address is kariongecogarden@gmail.com (use SUBJECT: MEMBERSHIP or DONATION)

MEMBERSHIP PAYMENTS CAN ALSO BE MADE AT ANY ECO GARDEN EVENT OR WORKING BEE.

Active Member (Volunteer): $5/year (after volunteering for 10 hours you are entitled to a member discount at any of our ticketed events)

Supporter: $20/year (you are entitled to a member discount at four ticketed events)

Sponsor: $100/year (we can arrange to have a small plaque made to put on a post in the garden)

We had an awesome Permablitz in the Eco Garden on Sunday 19 June and hosted the PCC meeting. We want to say a huge thank you to our friends at Permaculture Central Coast. Join PCC and get involved in future Permablitz’s – as they are fun and a great way to learn.

You can also come along to Kariong Eco Garden any Monday morning or second Saturday of the month, 10am – 1pm to lend a hand in looking after our space.

There are many different jobs – light, heavy, creative and administrative.

Something to suit everyone!

MONTHLY WORKING BEES

This Saturday 9 July is our monthly second Saturday working bee, 10am – 1pm

Weather permitting we will do some track maintenance in the bush kids
kindy bushland include in our Licence area behind the eco garden.

Other jobs in the garden include labelling plants and mural maintenance.

All welcome. Bring protective clothes and shoes, hat and water bottle. Bring food to share if you are able. Tea & coffee provided.

OTHER EVENTS COMING UP

School holiday ECO-ART workshop with Rachel Bunney: Beloved Bilbies Monday 11 July, 10.30am -12.30pm

More information and bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/beloved-bilbies-in-july

OTHER LOCAL ECO EVENTS

Permaculture Central Coast Talk on FROG PONDS at Bateau Bay Community Garden, SUNDAY 17 JULY, 2-4PM. https://permaculturecc.org.au/events/frog-ponds/

Narara Eco Village Experience weekend 30 September – 2 October (3 October optional), https://nararaecovillage.com/narara-ecovillage-experience-weekend-october-2022/

WOYTOPIA – Sustainable Living Festival – Sunday 30 October 2022, 9am-4pm at Woy Woy South PS. https://woytopia.org/

Sustainable Future Festival, 10-13 November at Mingara – stay tuned for details.

Saturday 11 December 2021, 10am – 1pm – working bee

Saturday 11 December 2021, 1.30pm – 3pm – workshop

Ben MacAndrew, from The Wild Pollinator, will take us through information on Australian Native Bees, broadly covering:

1. Biodiversity and resilient ecosystems
2. Role of insect pollinators
3. Identifying native bees – stingless vs solitary
4. Creating native bee habitat; and

ALSO 

you can create your own solitary bee hotel; with materials and instruction provided, in time for Christmas ($5/bee hotel for cost of materials). 

Adult ticket $10, 13-18 year olds $5 and children up to 12 years free.

Current public health rules require all participants to be fully vaccinated.

Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/native-bees-and-creating-a-bee-hotel

PLANS FOR 2022

Thanks to Bendigo Bank we have some big plans for early 2022.

Check back at this website and on our facebook page for event details

• Solar Cooking
• storytelling
• Frogs
• Bush Tucker
• For the Love of Birds
• and the Easter Bilby.

ANNUAL FUNDRAISING TRIVIA NIGHT

Kariong Eco Garden Trivia night is on Saturday 28/8/21 at 6.30pm on ZOOM, to raise money to pay for our public liability and volunteer insurance and the licence fee to use the land.

Here is the link to book in: https://events.humanitix.com/kariongecotrivia

Ron Dilger, the Quiz master (local chiropractor/ podiatrist and founding member of KEG) has prepared 4 rounds of great questions to get us all thinking.

These will be displayed on the screen and you will be asked to record your answers and later mark them! So it is a very trusting trivia night  – just for fun and so we can see each other on the screen at least, if not in person. 

Get into the spirit of our ANIMAL theme by digging out your penguin onesie or a koala mask.  We are also inviting you to donate to our Silent Auction if you have an item or can offer a service you think someone else would like.

The Zoom link will be emailed 2 days, and an hour before the event, to everyone who buys a ticket through Humanitix. Tickets are $10. Thanks to Kariong Progress Association for sharing their Zoom account with us for this event.

Here is the link again to book in: https://events.humanitix.com/kariongecotrivia

You can also renew your membership or become a KEG sponsor through the booking page.  If you don’t like Trivia or would rather donate direct to our website the details are on our website:  https://kariongecogarden.org.auindex.php/support/
(If you donate this way and want to join the trivia you will just need to contact us for the Zoom link. Text Lisa on 0429 431 889 with your email address & say “TRIVIA”)

Please share this event.  Play on your own or make a team with friends if you like. You will be able to message friends privately via the zoom chat so you can still work as a team, from your own homes!

And who knows what treasures may be had through the silent auction. We already have a beautiful quilt donated. Thank you to Colleen!

PS We would have loved to have this evening face to face but who knows when that will be allowed… When things open up we will have a social night at the garden – like our old 4 Seasons nights with music and merriment!

PPS The garden is doing OK, some secret gardeners have been in to plant seedlings. If you are a local out for exercise or you need some mental health time in nature, the garden is there for you. Feel free to water, weed and harvest the native raspberries!