I Want To Live Here film competition this thursday!

Those groovy kids at Earthsharing Australia have been running a short film competition about the housing affordability crisis.Budding film makers have spent the last few months making short films, all aiming for a massive $3000 prize. A prize sure to help pay the rent!

Polka Dot Rabbit is super excited to be running a market at the finals night.Us crafters know all about the cost of rent, it's the main reason we have to put so much markup on our products when they go into shops! When you support local makers at local markets you not only get something lovely and unique to call your own, but you are also supporting your local independent industries. Buying local handmade stuff is one of the easiest ways to help your community survive a global economic crisis.

Wanna know more? Come along.

I Want To Live Here - Short Film Competition
December 3, 2008
For more details:http://www.iwanttolivehere.org.au/

Ways to reduce waste part 2: Whose responsibility is it?

We're lucky in Australia that waste reduction is mandatory in the sense that all of us have recycle bins in our homes. So we all have an entrenched mindfullness about recycling and such. But how much are you recycling? If you're like us the recycle bin is constantly overfull and the normal bin less than a third. What if we were to buy less things that needed to be recycled in the first place, or only things that could be reused?

The US recently had a national recycled campaign organised by the National Recycling Coalition One school of thought from Treehugger is that

Recycling is simply the transfer of producer responsibility for what they produce to the taxpayer who has to pick it up and take it away.

The author highlights to role of big business in waste reduction 'shams' where waste may be recycled (with massive water usage and carbon footprints) rather than the use of reusable products or indeed deposited. Imagine how empty the recycle bin would be if we could re-fill wine bottles, milk bottles, beer bottles and the like? What if we paid a deposit which was reimbursed upon their return?

Ways to reduce waste part 1 : Plastic bags

Pretty everyone these days knows that plastic bags are a no no. In most instances we can avoid them. But how about encouraging other people to stop or at least reduce their usage? I for one am sick of the way retail staff still reach for the bags without thinking. I'm also seeing people use them for everything even fruit that needs peeling.

I know there's been talk about baning them in various areas and some businesses charge for them. Green bags are a good start but in reality they're not all that environmentally friendly .

But what if you could do more?

Morsbags was started in 2007 by a crafty woman who was sick of seeing plastic bags in local waterways.

Join us at Morsbags!

The wonderful Steph has decided to get us started with a meet up in January.

The idea is to get together with people in your local community, drink wine and make reusable cloth bags (from old duvet covers, curtains from charity shops etc) and hand them out to the unsuspecting public for free on specified dates outside different supermarkets.

Meet new people, do something marvellous for the planet and beat other pods (groups) of baggers with your morsbag tally.

Go to www.morsbags.com to be a part of a wonderful thing.. Go to the "top of the pods" page, search for "VicPod" and join us. We've also got a facebook group you can join here.

For all our UK (Bath) readers...

Probably not that many of you, but a great little publication and accompanying website that was passed to me by a friend in Bath :

www.greenbath.org

it provides listings and resources for green and sustainable resources and organisations across the area in a friendly and presentable format, produced by locals for locals!

Do you ride a bike?

Even if you're a veritable beginner like me, I'd encourage you to come along to the Melbourne Bicycle Film Festival from November 21st-23rd.

It includes:

• films (obviously)
• A bike beauty pagent
• Bike mating
• loads of prizes and exhibitions
• Markets and stall and heaps more!

Polka Dot Rabbit is busily working on some specially recycled bicycle themed crafts for the markets!

Craft your own bird planter!

Check out this tutorial on Design Sponge to make your own bird feeder from recycled products!

Weekly container Gardening Spotlight!

Sick of boring terracotta or woven hanging baskets? Kate Pruitt from Design Sponge shows us how to make these wonderful hanging baskets with a personal flair.

Home going for beginners-free workshop-November 13

Paul, Adam and Nathan from Permablitz are inviting all to this free 2-hour seminar on how and why to successfully grow your own veges and fruit.Arrive at 6:45 for a cuppa before the 7pm start.No RSVP required.

For more information email permablitz@gmail.com
Address:
Kindness House - 288 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.

Time: 18:45 -21:00

Free silverbeet!

Our veggie garden is overflowing with silverbeet! It's been a staple in all kinds of veggie dishes and also got me into making silverbeet and fetta pastries the other night. They were a hit for all of us, even the young child we were babysitting!

I don't have any pics, but here's how it goes...

Ingredients:

onion

silverbeet

parsley

mushrooms

tomato

fetta cheese

puff pastry

salt and pepper

nutmeg

Method:

1. lightly saute all veggies. The silverbeet shrinks considerably so use more than you thought needs.

2. add cheese and condiments and mix through. Allow to cool.

3. Defrost puff pastry ( I must confess I've never made my own)

4. Cut pastry into triangles, spoon mix to the centre and fold over pasty. Seal by tweaking the edges.

5.Bake at 200c for about 20 mins or until golden.

You could certainly add tofu and/or whisked eggs if you would like more protein.

So, if you are based in Melbourne and would like some silverbeet, please let us know. We also have an ample quantity of rosemary growing in our front garden.

Could you live on a dollar a day?

Living with the lightest carbon footprint sometimes clashes directly with the reality of living cheaply. We all know that alot of organic produce are significantly dearer than their non-organic counterparts.

A vegetarian couple, Christopher and Kerrie, decided to look at the dietary realities of low cost living, spending only $1 per day on food each with no handouts allowed. You can read about their journey here . I was shocked that they couldn't afford store bought bread (having always been taught that it's cheaper than making your own) or fresh fruit and vegetables. It's an extremely interesting story that has recieved quite a bit of press such as this article in the New York Times.

Efficient energy use really does reduce bills

We're very happy here at Green Renters towers as we have proof that being careful with your utilities usage really does reduce your bills...

For the past year or so our combined Gas and Electricity bill (from Tru Energy) has been a flat $100 a month that is reassessed every 6 months.

After doing as much as possible to reduce our usage our latest assessment has reduced our bill to $60 a month, which is a pretty significant drop.

Well done us!