Plastic free mind / Seeking a self-seeder

Plastic free mind I wandered down to the Merri Creek this morning – no matter how long it’s been the creek always welcomes me back from whatever digital diversion that has kept me away. “Where’ve you been,” the muddy water, the yellow wattle flowers and wattlebirds ask. The winter flood had left its usual trove […]
In trees we trust

If in doubt plant a tree Today is National Tree Day, Planet Ark’s Australia-wide tree planting day. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed but trees are suddenly cool again. In the lead-up to National Tree Day Planet Ark have been running a TV ad spruiking woodas the “Ultimate Renewable”. But trees are not just getting a rebrand; […]
A home for Matthew / You complete me Urban Farmer

A home for Matthew Matthew’s journey from Tehran to Melbourne began when his workplace supervisor found a transistor radio in the cab of his truck. To understand the surreal seriousness of Matthew’s situation we need to go back to the time of the Iranian Revolution. In 1979 as Iran lurched from secular society to Islamic […]
If the Murray were a he or she / Matthew

If the Murray were a he or she On Thursday the media was full of the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL). The report warned that… if the world is to combat dangerous climate change then we must urgently revolutionise what we eat, how we grow it and the way we use land. Once […]
Mal and Ben good wood men / Congrats Nicky, welcome Kelly

Mal and Ben good wood men The big cold front rolled in this afternoon. The Bureau says the temperature has dropped from 18C to 12C though they reckon it actually feels like 6.7C. Which seems like as good a moment as any to talk firewood. Agroforesters Mal and Ben came to the Fair […]
Alex Podolinsky – Pattern & Flow / Exciting Dirt

Alex Podolinsky – Pattern and Flow Growing up in 1930’s Germany Alex Podolinsky had a dream about a place with a giant yellow sun. Later as a refugee escaping World War II Alex Podolinsky came to the sunny land he saw in his dream and for the rest of his long life witnessed every single sunrise and sunset. If you’ve […]