We love frogs!
Find out about our next ECO-ART workshop FINDING FROGS on Saturday 8 February 10.30am – 12.30pm with the wonderful local artist Rachel Bunney.
All ages (children must be accompanied by an adult).
For all the details and to book in check out https://events.humanitix.com/finding-frogs
Artwork by Rachel Bunney
We have some wonderful workshops planned this year with local artist Rachel Bunney.
The first one is CICADAS – THE SOUND OF SUMMER on Monday 13 January 2025, 10.30am – 12.30pm.
A ‘Drawing and More’ Workshop with Rachel Bunney for All ages, ADULTS and CHILDREN (children must be accompanied by an adult).
Bookings essential: https://events.humanitix.com/cicadas-the-sound-of-summer
Mini ECO Shop in ECO-ARTS BARN, 2 DANDALOO ST, KARIONG
Wednesday 20 December & Thursday 21 December, 12.30pm – 4.15pm
Looking for some Christmas gifts that are locally made?
Spiral Compost Tool – Stainless Steel
$49 at Kimbriki – our Price $45 (just 3 left!)
The Rolls Royce of Compost mixing tools! Hand made in Sydney.
Aeration/mixing is the KEY to successful composting.
Boomerang Bags $5- $10 – lots to choose from, all unique – great way to wrap a gift!
EARTHCARE games $60-$74 ($5 from every game sold goes to Kariong Eco Garden)
https://www.earthcaregame.org/ Mindfully made on the Central Coast. Ages 6-106.
Summer Solstice/ End of Year Christmas Gathering in the Eco Garden
Thursday 21 December 6pm.
Bring a plate of food to share.
WHAT’S ON JANUARY 2024
Monday 8 January 2024 10.00am to 1 pm
Volunteers return to:
Planting, watering, weeding & having cuppas!
Come and join us 🙂
And for the children this school holiday…
Monday 15 January 2024 10.30am to Noon
Make Recycled Paper
Any age and for the whole family
Children must be accompanied by a grown up
Gold coin donation
Monday 22 January 2024 10.30am to Noon
Screen Print your OWN T-shirt with our logo
Any age and for the whole family
Children must be accompanied by a grown up
Gold coin donation
Monday 29 January 2024 10.00am to 1 pm
Volunteers – all ages – we have kids tools too:
Planting, watering, weeding & having cuppas!
Come and join us 🙂
FOR THE LOVE OF BIRDS workshop with Kaye Pointer
Saturday 12 August 2023 – 10.30 – 11.30am
Find out more and book your tickets:
https://events.humanitix.com/for-the-love-of-birds-2023
FUNDRAISING TRIVIA NIGHT
Saturday 19 August 2023, 6-8pm in Kariong Hall, Dandaloo St, Kariong
Find out more and buy your tickets:
https://events.humanitix.com/2023-trivia-night-supporting-kariong-eco-garden
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.
Stall at Central Coast Kids Day Out – Sunday 7 May at Narara Valley High School
Pop in and lend a hand or say hello as we show the kids wonderful worms or help them make a yarn butterfly or yarn turtle. Buy a Kariong Eco Garden t-shirt or Boomerang Bag or fruit & vege bags. 10am – 3pm. Adults $12 Kids $7 (under 1 year old free) Family $35. All day entertainment. Free rides and shows after entry. Find out more at https://www.cckdo.org/.
Garden Bed Workshop/ Working Bee – Saturday 13 May, 9am – 1pm at KEG – Learn about Hugelkultur, Wicking and Esther Dean Style No-dig garden beds. $5 donation.
Hugelkultur Garden bed benefits include: no/low cost, all-natural materials, carbon storing good water retention. John R (Woy Woy Community Garden volunteer) will teach us how these gardens work and we will set up the first of four in our garden.
Wicking beds have an inbuilt reservoir of water which waters veggies from the bottom up – the way they like it!! They are an easy working height using a lot less water and minimal work to maintain once set up.
Rosie (Founder of Laguna Earth House) will be our teacher on the day and has been growing food organically for 50 years. She now has a local productive veggie garden with raised and wicking beds.
She will demonstrate the simplicity of set up in this hands-on workshop.
Link to book in for the Garden Bed Workshop/ Autumn working bee: https://events.humanitix.com/garden-bed-contruction-workshop-autumn-working-bee
IT’S NEARLY EASTER!
Saturday 1/4/2023 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.
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/beloved-bilbies-1-april-2023
Volunteers working bee will happen concurrently 10am – 1pm
SCHOOL HOLIDAY WORKSHOP
Monday 17/4/2023 ECO ART – Orangutan workshop with Rachel Bunney
10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or 2 for $20 and accompanying adult free. Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/copy-of-orang-utans-and-their-forest-home-a-children-s-eco-art-workshop-with-rachel-bunney-umlb071d
Volunteer working bee will happen concurrently 10am – 1pm
Weekly Volunteer Mondays in the Garden, 10am – 1pm
What’s happening on Mondays in Autumn?
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
COMING UP
For more information please call Lisa 0429 431 889 on Mondays or between 4pm and 8pm on other days.
Our Annual General Meeting is taking place at the Eco Garden on Monday 24 October 2022 at 12noon. Come and join us and bring a plate to share for lunch after the meeting. All positions will be declared vacant. Many hands make light work!
WOYTOPIA is on Sunday 30 October 2022 at Woy Woy South Public School and will be an awesome day. Come and visit our stall or plan ahead to volunteer with us. Call Lisa if you would be happy to help out for an hour or so. Lisa 0429 431 889.
Don’t miss the inaugural Central Coast Edible Garden Trail on 19 & 20 November 2022. Kariong Eco Garden are one of the many places hosting visitors. We will have tours of the garden on Sunday 20/11/22 at 10.20am, 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm.
REPAIR CAFE – the last one for the year in on Sunday 20 November 10am – 1pm in Kariong Hall. Bring your items to be repaired or your bike to be serviced – volunteers help with sewing, tool sharpening, woodwork, jewellery repairs and you make a donation. There is also a SWAP TABLE for items you would like to swap.
On 12 September 2022 Kariong Public School Year 6 students came to Kariong Eco Garden for an ECO Day where they learned from Tracey Howie, Jake Cassar and artists Rachel Bunney and Lisa McArthur-Edwards.
If you are interested in the kinds of things we are doing to promote sustainability come and visit any Monday morning or monthly Saturday working bee. Volunteers always welcome and extra working bee days or meetings can be arranged.
We are also advocating for a Re-use and Repair Centre/ Service on the Central Coast and fully support Central Coast Council’s plans to introduce a Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) collection service.
Did you know there is a Central coast Council in Tasmania? This is their information about a FOGO service they introduced in 2019: http://www.centralcoast.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FOGO-17092019.pdf
OUR SEPTEMBER WORKSHOP:
The Attraction of Birds
Saturday 10 September 2022
1 – 3pm
(following working bee 10am – 12.30pm)
Cost: $10 non-members. $5 active members or supporter members, or young people
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/for-the-love-of-birds
Local birders Kaye and Margaret Pointer will share their love of birds and gardening in a family friendly workshop.
Learn about:
The workshop will include a short gentle walk to see what birds are in the bush behind and around the Eco Garden.
Please wear enclosed shoes and bring a hat and water bottle.
There will be a bird inspired craft activity.
More about Kaye and Margaret:
The love of birds is in the blood. Both Kaye’s and Margaret’s interests started before they walked. They are two of the founding members of Central Coast Branch of Birding NSW (27 years) and are involved in guiding bird outings, and education on the Central Coast. They have participated in many surveys monitoring, or searching for birds including rare and endangered species. They have teamed up with other local birders over more than 20 years in the annual Twitchathon, to fundraise for bird conservation projects. Kaye and Margaret will knock back other activities to go birding in the garden, or across the Central Coast!
The workshop follows the monthly garden working bee from 10am – 12.30pm. Feel free to come early and lend a hand or just enjoy a picnic lunch in the garden.
For more information please call Lisa 0429 431 889.
WORKING BEE at the garden: Saturday 10 September 2022, 10am – 12.30pm
We will be preparing the bush circle for Kariong Public School Year 6 students’ visit and weeding the labyrinth path. BYO hat, water, picnic lunch and stay for the bird workshop if you can. You are welcome to bring something to share for morning tea – it is always a highlight of the working bees.
Community Environment Network: Love Trees Love COSS event /weekend.
Community Day Saturday 17 September 10am – 3pm at Ourimbah campus of university of Newcastle. KEG is having a stall. Volunteers needed; https://cen.org.au/events/cen-event-list/733-love-trees-love-coss
COSS Crawl Sunday 18 September https://cen.org.au/events/cen-event-list/732-coss-crawl-love-trees-love-coss
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/ KEG is having a stall – volunteers needed
Sustainable Future Festival, 10-13 November at Mingara – stay tuned for details.
For more information and to volunteer at one of our stalls, call Lisa 0429 431 889
