Memories of Miss Memory

Last year the NSW Government promised that the river red gums of NSW would be protected by national parks, but late last week Environment Minister Frank Sartor announced that nearly 20% of the trees — some 16,000 hectares - will be logged for 5 years to come. Here is a letter I wrote and sent to Peter Garrett about it.

If you want to write a letter too it’s really easy. Just click on this link and write your letter and press send. http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/murray_river_gums

Dear Mr. Garrett,

I have been an environmental activist since the tender age of 13, when I helped garner petitions to save the South East forests.

As a child I could see the importance trees have to our ecosystems. Even more so now with the advent of global warming, trees are our only hope. We should be protecting whatever there is left after the previous generations of environmental pillaging, as well as making plans to re-forest the vast amount of land that has been denuded.

Trees protect rivers from erosion, they oxygenate our planet, they bring life and sustenance to other animals and help protect biodiversity.

The River Red Gums on the banks of the Murray-Darling are crucial to the health of the river. I ask you, as the Federal Environment Minister, to please recognise the significance of these trees and protect them strongly.

Yours Sincerely

Sofie Loizou

Finally I got to visit my wonderful friends Kirsten and Nick over at their farm Milkwood, not far from Mudgee, and only a few hours by public transport from Sydney. Kirsten picked me up in a pretty town called Rylstone, where we did a spot of op-shopping before dropping in by accident on a workshop on useful australian weeds hosted by Pat Collins. On the way to Milkwood, we stopped on the side of the road to take some cuttings from a HUGE old apple tree she had spotted on the way. Getting a cutting was trickier than usual because a large black bull was keeping watch over it. We negotiated our way around it to pilfer a couple of twigs and one large apple for tasting.

We also stopped by the Cudgegong River for a photo opp.

Since their last Milkwood blog post, Kirsten has been busy doing a residency at First Draft Gallery in Sydney, and Nick and Kirsten have been running permaculture courses in Sydney and at Milkwood. They have been running their courses in the the wool shed, which is so homely and comfortable, and reminds me somewhat of their old warehouse in Melbourne. Kirsten has been cooking up feasts of beautiful organic food made fresh every day. Because they have had an influx of people at the farm, they have built a shower and toilet block and washing up area.

They now have twelve chookies for eggs as well as creating a rich bed of compost for the food forest floor that resides on the hill above the planned studio/home. The dams and swales have created a fascinating landscape that will create beautiful surrounds for their abode.

Over the weekend i got to help plant the vegie garden, where little silverbeets, chicory, parsley and carrots heads are starting to rear their heads through the mulch.

Kirsten and I also sowed onions, leeks, kale, parsley and lettuce into seed trays, using river sand and home made compost. We also created some new beds, and laid out the rest of the beds for mulching and planting.

I got as dirty as possible and had a brilliant time exhausting myself doing manual labour, which is a rarity for me being a city dweller.

At the end of a day in the sun, Nick watered and turned the compost heap,

Then we chilled out and watched the sun go down drinking a glass of red and basking in the glow of accomplishment. For me this was a great inspiration, as a budding permaculture convert who dwells in the city, I am excited to get back to my home and into my own tiny garden to clear the excess scurvy weed from my garden beds and mulch the soil ready for a winter crop.

Freecycle has been around for a number of years now, but still I am amazed at the amount of people I talk to that haven’t heard of it. It’s one of those 21st century ideas that sounds good in theory, but impressively, in practice it also works pretty darn well. A very rare bird indeed. The basic principle is this. You have something you don’t want anymore, instead of throwing it out, to become more landfill and waste, you list it on the freecycle group in your area, and someone, or even many people will email you to let you know that they want the said item, and when they can come and pick it up. It’s a gift economy concept, there is no trading or barter that goes on. It’s a bit tricky when you list something that lots of people want. Then you just have to work it out for yourself who you think should get it. I generally go on who can pick it up the soonest, or who needs it the most (but watch out for sob stories).

So far I have given away a queen size bed, many little odd things that were unwanted gifts, and a freezer. I have received, 50 jazz and classical cassettes, a Yamaha DX9, some computer speakers and cd cases. All very useful in my line of work. In my opinion this model of gifting works pretty well.

From the website:

Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.

Why not check it out and get onto your local freecycle. Theres four of them in Sydney alone.