Food from the Yard

Our dog Violet likes to raid the bin and take food out into the yard, but this is different.

My wife has been working hard recently on edible gardens, and being able to produce food from the back yard. There is a fair bit more to go, and we are only at a early stage, but I thought I would give a brief update.

We have some raised garden beds, some barrels that we have planted potatoes in, some seedlings that have been propagated, and a 'Sweet Temptation' chilli plant, that has two chillis ready to eat.

As we do more, we will post some more details. To see more photos, click here.


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Australia Invests in Nuclear Weapons

The Future Fund, was set up by the Australian Government from the sale of their remaining stake in  Telstra in 2006, The Fund was intended to help the government pay it's future superannuation obligations. Recently released records (obtained under FOI laws) show that the Fund has invested over $130 million in companies that design, produce and maintain nuclear weapons. This includes investment in companies that are building nuclear armed submarines for India, a non signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.

The good news is that recently the Future Fund sold out of their holdings of companies manufacturing cluster bombs.

The Future Fund was set up using the proceeds from the sale of the Governement's holding of Telstra. It is our money. So where else is 'our money' (read YOUR money) invested. A two minute search shows that investors in one of the largest and most well known super funds in Queensland invests in uranium mining. The same fund has investments in Exxon Mobil and BP.

As ever, if you are comfortable with these types of investments, then it is business as usual. However, if you are not, and do not wish to support them, or wish to actively activate against them, you can.

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Everything old is new again!!!

A key aspect of sustainability, and a catch cry is 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. Recently, we have done just that, and I wanted to share the experience, and some of the reasons why.

We have a very old dining table sitting under our house (and every other house we have lived in for the last 20 years), that I estimate to be at least 100 years old. It is made of Silky Oak, a Grevillea that is extremely useful for windows and furniture, because it is resistant to rotting.

A few months ago, we decided to gift our existing table to some good friends, and rather than buy another one, agreed that as a family, we could restore the old one. We felt that this was an ideal way to show our daughter that we could take something that we did not use anymore, and turn it into something useful, if not beautiful.

One of the primary reasons that it was important, is that even though Silky Oak is relatively drought resistant and fast growing, the harvesting of Silky Oak is severely resticted due to the depletion of stocks. In effect, it is endangered, and we felt it was important to utilise it, rather than let it go to waste.

Over the coming weeks we did a lot of research. We read the Green Magazine, as well as The Green Pages to find products that we felt comfortable with using. Finally, we chose an oil and a varnish from Bio Products. Because we have kids that would eat off the table, we wanted non toxic paints, and those that would limit the release of V.O.C.'s. For us, the Bio Product range available from Hand Made Naturals in Highgate Hill, Brisbane, fit the bill.

Over the next few weeks, we sanded the table, oiled it, and varnished it, just in time for Mothers day lunch.

In the end, we have a beautiful functional tale, but more than that, we have re-used a depleted resource, and restored it in a way that we feel comfortable with. All the while, we have helped our daughter to see the benefits of reusing, rather that just dumping.

To look at a few more photos, look here. It could use another coat or two, and maybe a light sand. However, responsibility and sustainability for our family are more than just the big issues like climate change, and resource depletion. For us it is a series of little issues every day, so while we are happy with the results, we are even happier with the process.