NEWS

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:

• 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.

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.

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

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!

We have been repairing one of the raised gardens beds, weeding the labyrinth path, removing some of the vigorous native raspberry, planting silverbeet, onions and beetroot, doing path and drain maintenance. We have some great new workshops planned for the rest of the year. Time for some more planting, cooking and eating!

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We hosted 120 students from Central Coast Sports College who took part in ADAM activities to understand the essential things to make good compost – ALIVENESS, DIVERSITY, AIR & MOISTURE.

PEG Nature Playgroup has visited the ECO garden on several occasions.

We played the EARTHCARE game – see www.earthcaregame.org to check it out.

SUP & Yoga with Tina started Wednesday morning yoga in the garden at 9.30am

Central Coast Quakers meets at the garden every 1st and 3rd Sunday at 10am.

Troubadours meet at the garden every 1st Sunday from 1pm for folk music.

We would love to see you at the 2020 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of Kariong Eco Garden.

• Date: Monday 26 October 2020
• Time: 11:00am
• Venue: Kariong Eco Garden, 2 Dandaloo Street, Kariong 2250

All positions will be declared vacant.  Would you like to join us?

Positions/Responsibilities – current and proposed:

President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Safety
Garden
Bush Kids
Repair Cafe
Boomerang Bags
Eco Office & Library
Media Team – newsletter, website, facebook
Public Officer
Fundraising
Membership
General

Out last monthly volunteer working bee for 2020 will be on Saturday 14/11/2020, 10am – 1pm and the last Repair Cafe and Boomerang Bags will be on Sunday 15/11/2020, also 10am – 1pm.  Let us know if you are interested in a Second Hand stall/ Car Boot Sale on that weekend. 2nd Saturday Working bees and 3rd Sunday Repair Cafe + Boomerang Bags will resume in February 2021.

Weekly garden volunteering will continue on Monday mornings until 21/12/2020 and resume on Monday 18/01/2020 with Muddy Monday 10am – 12noon for children with their grown ups. The garden is available for school holiday activities, small events and parties – book with Lisa on 0429 431 889.

We have a CovidSafe plan and ask that if you are unwell, please stay home and get well soon.  We provide hand sanitiser and eucalyptus spray for tool handles. Please BYO gloves if you would prefer. We ask everyone to maintain 1.5 metre spacing.

Fundraising: please donate any unwanted bottles and cans eligible for 10c refund. You can take them direct to the Envirobank Automated depot at 311 Manns Road, West Gosford and ask them to credit the ‘Kariong Eco Garden’ account. Every little bit helps!

Wishing you all well for late spring and summer.

Troubadours are having Folk music session in the Eco Garden on 1st & 3rd Sundays from 1pm during winter. $3 donation (which they donate to KEG)

Volunteer mornings – on Tuesdays for the time being – 10am – 12noon.  (current limits are 10 people which is not usually an issue – unless we have an event or guest speaker)

Repair Cafe – 3rd Sundays, 10am – 1pm – so Sunday 21/6/20 – in Kariong Progress Hall. See details in What’s On. NSW Health guidelines will be followed re limits on number of people in hall but we will make it work. Volunteers helping to repair your items (not electronics yet but all sorts of things – sewing, jewellery, small household goods, tool maintenance and bicycles.

Boomerang Bags – 3rd Sundays, 10am – 1pm – so Sunday 21/6/20 – in Kariong Progress Hall. Volunteers sewing cloth bags to reduce plastic bag use & pollution.

Weekend working bees in Winter: 2nd Saturdays, 11am – 2pm – so Saturday 13/6/20, soup provided for lunch. Bring something to share if you are able.

Sunday 28/6/20 marks the 15 year Anniversary of our “Conception” ie the day we were created by a Motion of Gosford Council. Shared lunch 12-2pm (subject to NSW Health limits in outdoor spaces)

During the COVID-19 restrictions on movement and gathering, things have been quiet at the Eco Garden.  We have stopped our regular Monday morning volunteer mornings and only visited occasionally to feed the worms and give a little water when needed. The garden has been happily going wild.

Just before the ‘lock-down’ we had started dismantling the compost bays, made of recycled pallettes, along the back fence.  We moved them to their new location next to the water tank outside the Dandaloo St end gate.

In several two-person efforts, Norm Harris and myself worked on the new compost bay, using the pallette timber, corrugated iron and keeping a safe distance (we considered the task our exercise – allowed by two people outside).  Norm finished off the fronts of the compost bays, re-using the old gates.  We owe him a great thanks.

On 4th May we officially announced the Compost Bays open as a timely way to mark the beginning of International Composting Awareness Week.

We have also had regular visits from some locals who have been busy planting seedlings – thanks Nate! And whipper snipping, weeding and fixing our tap – Thanks Jason.  Other weeders I do not know by name but it has been lovely to pop in and see evidence of helpful visitors – and wonderfully, no damage worth mentioning.