Earthcare News

We have had some disappointing attendances for revegetation planting days. Please make an effort to attend this last planting for the year. Remember we only plant in the winter.

The section we planted last year is flowering and growing well. Simon has more plants for the Mallee area between Harold Street and Middle Park station.

(Tim Tams, Malteasers, coffee,tea etc. will be provided as usual)

After 2 construction days we have boxes for:

• 2 cockatoos
• 1 barn owl
• 1 kookaburra
• 1 pardalote
• 1 bat
• 4 parrots

Construction is not difficult. Ring Russell 96453786 and help make some more.

EARTHCARE MEETING THURSDAY 26^th August 7.30pm at the Eco House

Monday 30^th August

Special Guest: Michael Mobbs

Program:

5.30-6.10pm drinks, nibbles and tour of the House

6.10-6.20pm Eco House working group-our vision for the house

6.20-7.30: Michael Mobbs-to talk on his experience with transforming an inner urban house into an environmentally sustainable house and then host a round table discussion regarding possibilities for The Eco House

Place: "The House" Cnr of Herbert and Blessington .st. St. Kilda

The House is a publicly owned building adjacent the St. Kilda botanical gardens. It is destined to become "The Ecocentre" a place that provides resources for environmental initiatives.

We will be meeting on the 2^nd Thursday of September, October, November and December.

The ideas for the Eco House are beginning to firm up. We need people to be involved in researching and coordinating the different areas. So far the following people are researching these areas:

NB. We need two people to take on non-toxic, local and recycled materials and nourishing environments as their "baby". You don’t need to have particular expertise, just an interest, team spirit and a commitment to seeing things through. If you are interested please be in touch with Josephine Samuel-King on 9534 5751 .

Also if anyone knows of architects, builders, carpenters or plumbers or builders who live in our area and might be interested in the project please let us know.

Earthcare and the St Kilda Indigenous Nursery Co-operative have a lot in common besides their interest in protecting and promoting indigenous flora and fauna. Both began as an initiative of those St Kilda Council legends Rob Scott and Neil Blake.

Since then SKINC has been through quite a few incarnations (and homes). The indigenous nursery began in the glasshouses at the St Kilda Botanical Gardens with Rob propagating from local remnants for the first time in the late 1980s. Soon members of the local community were involved, and the next step was building a Community Bush Nursery at the St Kilda Adventure Playground in Neptune St. Earthcare members were among those who knocked up the new shade house, benches and work area.

Some of the first plants to be grown at this nursery were also the first to be planted at the now well established West Beach and Breakwater sites. Earthcare members were very involved with the nursery at this stage, watering the plants and coming for Saturday afternoon pricking out sessions.

Finally, Rob couldn’t find any more spare time to run the nursery and so he suggested to a core group of us that we form a co-op and take over the operation entirely so that by 1995 the Bush Nursery had become St Kilda Indigenous Nursery Co-operative (SKINC - an acronym too good to pass up).

We grew so many plants that we ran out of space. The overflow was stored at the Elwood Beach House or on the roof of our workshed, until Neil came to the rescue offering us the use of the old Port Melbourne Council Nursery. Now we had an office instead of a cupboard, a watering system instead of a watering can, real glasshouses and even our own letter box.

Over the years Earthcare continued to support SKINC - two of our first directors, Val Walsh and Barry Hart, were Earthcare members. SKINC in turn has provided plants for many Earthcare ventures - Alma Park pond, the Corroboree Tree, West Beach, the Breakwater, Balaclava Railway, Elwood Foreshore and more!

These days however it’s rare to see an Earthcare member popping in, maybe because we seem so far from the action end of town. So if you want to see the nursery that grows the plants for Earthcare planting days - you’re very welcome! Earthcare members even get discounts on our plants. Hopefully Earthcare and SKINC have a shared future as well, going further into the adventures of eco-preservation.