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
John from Woy Woy Garden Teaching us the German style of Hugelkultur gardeningRosie teaching us how to make a wicking bed with upcycled IBC containerLisa and helpers making an Esther Dean style No Dig garden
QUICK PICKLING WORKSHOP WITH VIVIAN
Vivian teaching us Quick Pickling
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
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.
Woy Woy Community Garden Hugelkultur Garden under construction
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.
This is what our new wicking beds will be made of – two halves of a 1000L plastic tank.This is what Rosie’s wicking beds look like.
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.
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.
Tracey Howie taught the Year 6 students about the First Peoples where we live.Kariong PS Year 6 students enjoyed an ECO day which included learning from Jake Cassar.
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.
Local birders Kaye and Margaret Pointer will share their love of birds and gardening in a family friendly workshop.
Learn about:
local birds
how you can make your garden and suburb a great place for birds and wildlife
the benefits of recording and sharing bird observations
their habitats and how you can assist
how to provide safe nesting environments and materials for local birds.
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.
Red Wattle Bird
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.
OTHER LOCAL ECO EVENTS
Community Environment Network: Love Trees Love COSS event /weekend.
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
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!
19/7/22 Permaculture Central Coast Meeting at Kariong Eco Garden
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