Gathering at Cwm Goch

What a perfect day for our gathering today! Thank you to everyone who came, wandered and took tangeloes!

We found our first goose egg of the season after you all left!

August Gathering in Sawyers Valley

Fancy another stickybeak session?

This month's gathering will be at our (Hywel and Nathalie's) property "Cwm Goch". Despite what Dario from Jetto's Patch might have led some of you to believe, the property is very much a work in progress but hopefully will be worthwhile to some of you. You must all come back again in 5 years time to see it again when the dream has flourished!

Things to see: a native garden (built to encourage native insectivorous birds), the beginnings of a future food forest with a variety of annual and perennial plants, many examples of 're-use and recycling,' chooks, geese and if you're lucky, we might even have the new pond finished - no promises though! 

An experimental swale has also recently been created in the hope of catching some of the run-off to a bottom paddock and beginning a nucleus for a second food forest in years to come.

Liz will email you all the address. This is a family-friendly venue, children very welcome, but no dogs please as we have animals on the property.

Look forward to seeing you all,

Nathalie, on behalf of the HLPG Convening Team.

Community Announcement - Save the Rail Forum

Save Rail Forum

The government has said that it will close the Tier 3 Rail Lines - those small Wheatbelt railways that handle the grain harvest.   

The direct impact of the closure on metro communities will be the increase in the number of trucks using the highways.  The increase in: danger on the Wheatbelt roads, pollution, cost and inconvenience as well  as the future economic and social consequences of closing railway lines must be considered.   

 Mundaring Ratepayer groups  have booked

The Hub in Craig St Mundaring for 7pm on Tuesday June 26^th   .   

Jane Fuchsbichler from the Wheatbelt Railway Retention Alliance will give a presentation. Ken Travers, Shadow Minister for Transport, Frank Alban local MLA and Jim Thom from the Hills Sustainability Group have also been invited to speak. Alison Xamon or another member of The Greens will also be there.  A Panel will give everyone a chance to ask questions,  have a say and come up with some actions we may take.

We believe that there is a real opportunity to change this policy, but only if city people are prepared to be involved.

 .Contact Gwyn   9572 1447 or Val    0423 237 473 or gdean@netcall.com.au .

Our next gathering.....

This month's HLPG gathering will be an informal one which will allow people to choose their level of involvement. Primarily, it will be very social - a chance to get together and debrief after our visit to the Franzinelli's ( I know a few people took away some ideas to implement into their own space - we've love to hear about them!), and to share and swap seeds and cuttings.
In addition however, if you have some energy and goodwill to spare, we'd like to do a micro busybee at the venue. This is something we'd like to do every so often to help people within our group who might need some inspiration, motivation etc. So if you have  a project that feels a bit beyond you, let us know! We'd also like to hear from people who would be happy for us to have a sticky beak at their gardens and share their ideas and experience.

To this end, this months' gathering will be at the home of one of our very own members, Kristy-Lee.

Like many of us, Kristy-Lee has been wanting to put some plans into action for a while, but has felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. Her property, while absolutely beautiful, has its fair share of challenges not least of which is a steep incline and many, many rocks. To help her in her endeavour we thought the gathering might be an opportunity to make use of many hands and complete a few simple tasks to get her started on a small kitchen garden. This would involve moving a bit of mulch, carting a few rocks and perhaps building a small stone wall. Nothing onerous but it just needs a few helping hands.

If you feel inclined to help, we'd appreciate the loan of some buckets (to cart the mulch - as you can't get a wheelbarrow up the hill) and some cardboard to lay on the ground.

Elizabeth will be emailing those of you on the mailing list to give you the address. If you aren't on the list and would like to come please email Nathalie at cwmgoch@iprimus.com.au

Don't forget a plate to share if you can, and any seeds/seedlings you'd like to give or swap.

Looking forward to catching up with you all.

A Visit to Jetto's Patch

Today the HLPG headed down the hill to Jetto's Patch for a morning of information and inspiration.
It was lovely to see many of us madly taking notes as Dario and Michele led us around their magnificent urban food forest. But don't worry, if you missed anything or want more information you can chat with the Franzinelli's again via their Facebook page: Just search for 'Jetto's Patch'.

It's hard to say what the highlights of the day were as everyone seemed to come away with something valuable, whether it was names of new species they might grow, ideas for how to grow things, or information on how to eat the plants.

I know there'll be a whole group of people returning home with new plans for their gardens this weekend!

Our sincere thanks go to Dario and Michele for their hospitality and generosity, as always.

 The Arrival. Dario, centre stage.

 A friendly resident dragon.

 All sorts of plants grow here, temperate to tropical species.

 So many questions, so little time!

 Pecans

 Pest control

 Pooh Corner, right next to Parliament house. Makes sense really!

 The new passionfruit vine and blueberry patch.

 The Froggery

 Harvest for us to try. Clockwise from top: Lilly Pilly, Feijoa, Midgim berries.

 These got a bit of interest so a close-up was in order. Midgim berries. Yum!

The newly inspired HLPG!

We're off to Jetto's Patch!

The day has been confirmed. Our next meeting will be at Jetto's Patch on May 19th. Please note the time change. This session will be from 10.30 -midday.

As this is a private residence which is gaining some fame, the address is not being posted here. Please email Nathalie: cwmgoch@iprimus.com.au for the details if you are attending.

This will be great day. Be prepared to see plants you've never seen or heard of before and be sure to bring along all your questions about anything you grow, want to grow or are having trouble growing. You are pretty much guaranteed the Franzinelli's have it thriving in their garden. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Look out! A fun year is planned!

We all LOVE to have a sticky beak in other people's gardens, to see how THEY do it and leave inspired and brimming with ideas. This year the HLPG will be offering a series of opportunities to do just this, including.... *drum roll please*... a visit to Jetto's Patch!

Jetto's Patch is an edible garden absolutely jam packed with layers of edible plants from the ground to the canopy. It has been a labour of love for Dario and Michele Franzinelli for over 20 years and showcases exactly what can be done with a bit of planning and hard work.
Dario and Michele have graciously agreed to let us visit en mass, and share their amazing wealth of knowledge with us. So start gathering your questions!

Click on these links for a preview:

Jetto's Patch on Garden Gurus

Jetto's Patch on Gardening Australia


We are waiting on a date for this one, and will let you know as soon as possible so you can all put it into your diaries. You can also chat with Dario and Michele on Facebook

Jetto's Patch on Facebook

In addition, we will be visiting a number of properties in the Hills and seeing projects underway.

Finally, the planning team discussed a seed and surplus swap and decided we really should do this EVERY meeting, so PLEASE if you have surplus produce, seedlings or seeds, bring them along to share with others.

Looking forward to catching up with all of you!

MARCH GATHERING

The Hills Local Permaculture Group met on Saturday March 17th for its first monthly gathering for 2012. In keeping with our 2012 intention to assist each other and other local groups to learn about and implement permaculture in our daily lives, we joined with others to support the regeneration of a tiny part of our local waterway ecosystems.

This ‘Zone 5‘ work took place beside a tiny stretch of Nyaania Creek in Morgan John Morgan Reserve in Glen Forrest. This section of the creek meanders alongside the newly-approved site for Glen Forrest Community Garden. Our ‘task force’ included members of the local Friends of the Reserve group and the Glen Forrest Community Garden Group.

The group gathered in the shade of tall marri beside the creek to learn something of the place and the tasks of the morning. In contemporary times the creek is a winter waterway, and at this time of the year the dry creek bed is thick with paspalum, kikuyu, and watsonia along with multitudes of other opportunistic weeds.

To begin the morning the group heard from Val about ongoing conversations with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council in relation to management of the system of underground and aboveground waterways of Wadjuk country, of which Nyaania Creek is a part. In carrying out our intention to contribute to the regeneration of this part of the creek, the group acknowledges the traditional and ongoing ownership of the Noongah people, and the essential knowledges of local Noongah Elders in managing restoration of local ecosystems.

We were joined by local bush-regenerator-extraordinaire Kathy Woods. Kathy gave a short talk and demonstration of ways to assist in revitalising the creek’s natural plant and animal systems. The group heard that rather than simply removing the weeds, creating more disturbance and inviting new crops of these same and other weeds to move in, we would be planting small clumps of endemic rushes within weedscapes. Once established even a little, these local rushes such as juncus pallidus and juncus subsecundus will provide protection to endemic creatures such as frogs and bandicoots from foxes, cats, dogs and other hazards to creek systems.

The group divided into small teams to plant the rushes. We first ‘scalped’ small patches of paspalum and kikuyu on the edges of the creek, using small pickaxes or spades to remove roots and dig holes in the baked earth. Once an initial bucket of water had soaked into the hole, we planted the rushes with some water-holding granules, watered them well again, and covered with stone-and-stick mulches. We planted rushes in groups of two or three to optimise protection for small animals.

An important part of the morning was the careful bagging and removal of all scalped weeds soil in order to minimise and prevent further spread. Weed seeds are likely to inhabit about 30 cm of the top soil profile.

The rushes will need some water supplied as we are probably still some way from substantial rain, and we will be keeping a close eye on the new plantings until the rains come.

We’re looking forward to watching as the creek slowly transforms itself with the assistance of the local rushes and animals which will find their way back once protective habitats begin to be established.

Many thanks to all who came and to those who sent their good wishes for the day. A special thanks to Robyn from the Mundaring Garden Centre for supplying the juncus seedlings for planting.

Updates on the progress of this tiny patch of creek regeneration will appear here in the blog.

The next Hills Local Permaculture Gathering will be on April 21st 2012 at the Silver Tree Steiner School in Parkerville.

Hills Happenings 2012

Greetings from the Hills Local Permaculture Group Core Team for 2012. We’re looking forward to a year of hands-on permaculture in our local communities and lives, and to connecting in with and being part of change-for-life in the wider world community.

The team met for a visioning/planning morning in February, keeping up the best traditions of the Convene Team with a fine spread of food to share, inspiring conversation and a magnificent salad of ideas for the year. We finished with a bonus tour of Nathalie's amazing water-thrifty garden, which managed to look well-kempt, beautiful, productive and lush even in the shrivelling heat of February.

As with the last few years, we have a core team of five, with a slightly changed membership. Sharryn and Elizabeth are continuing on the team this year, joined by Nathalie, Krystylee, and Trish.

Thanks go to retiring team members Silvia, Rosemary and Joy for the amazing amount of work and care that has gone into every aspect of HLPG over the last few years, from vision-holding to producing newsletters with global cult followings(!), keeping everyone in touch through emails, maintaining records, liaising and being available on the phone, planning and organising, making sure there are enough chairs and cake ... all the small and large details that have kept HLPG life humming along. Best wishes for the unfolding of the new ... looking forward to seeing you all during the year at HLPG events.

This year the Hills Local group will be focussing on sharing and assisting each other with the small and practical details of implementing permaculture in our lives. We will still be gathering on the morning of the 3rd Saturday of each month, still sharing a cuppa and potluck morning tea or lunch, and we will also 'do and learn' a small something...' This may take the form of an activity such as pruning fruit trees, or building a biodynamic compost pile at someone’s house, or jumping in the creek for some revegetation work, or designing a chook pen for someone’s odd-shaped back-yard ...

One of these gatherings will be at the Silver Tree Steiner School, as a very small thankyou for their very kind assistance in providing a venue for us to meet at for the last couple of years. The new 'sustainable' school is looking amazing, and has come along even further since our tour there in December last year.

There will also be a couple of slightly larger-scale events. We will be teaming up with the wider Permaculture West mob the first Hill's Permablitz at Kristylee's in June. We hope to be able to build on the learning that P/West has been harvesting through permablitzes around Perth, to make the organisation of further mini-blitzes and full-scale permablitzes in our local group easy and fun.

And later in the year we plan to host a local 'surplus-share'-fiesta... an opportunity to share produce, seeds and cuttings, skills, learning, inspiration, ideas, food, fun and time in the name of permaculturing the world starting with our local community/ies.

The Hills Local Permaculture Group meets once a month on the third Saturday of each month, 10am to 12pm. The next Gathering will be on April 21st 2012 at the Silver Tree Steiner School in Parkerville. See web page at xxxx for details.

Milkwood - How to make Compost Part 1

Milkwood Permaculture are a wonderful source of information. A link to their site and their other videos can be found under the 'Interesting Links' tab.

This video is the first in a set of 3.

Welcome to the Hills Local Permaculture Group!

This is our very first post on what we hope will be an informative, useful and inspiring blog, dedicated to all things Permaculture in a Hills context and keeping you up to date with the workings of the HLPG.

This is also a place to share ideas, knowledge and experience, so if you have a garden or project you'd like to share, some tips which would help us, a favourite Permie website you love, or even a big brag from your vegie patch, let us know via a comment and we'll share it with everyone.

Hope to see you again soon!

The HLPG Team :)