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Growling Grass Frogs return to Maribyrnong!
A recent recording taken near the Village Green in Maribyrnong confirmed that the Growling Grass Frog, one of Melbourne’s most iconic and endangered frogs, is alive and well in Maribyrnong! The recording was taken by a resident using the new Melbourne Water frog census app, and has been officially verified by Melbourne Water. Council and Melbourne Water have been working together to help improve frog habitat and monitor frog populations throughout the area. Discoveries like this go to show how citizen science can contribute to the understanding and support of endangered species, like the Growling Grass Frog.
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Sustainability for Schools
Council have launched their new Schools Environmental Learning program, with a range of free waste and environmental education workshops for schools and kindergartens. Discover how waste and recycling impact on our environment and how you can reduce waste at home and at school. From discovering worms and mini beasts to running a recycling relay. There are up to 30 free waste education sessions available. Find out more or make a booking enquiry here.
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Bike Skills Training
Boost your bike confidence this summer with a series of training sessions especially designed to get you on your bike. Council is running free bike skill training for people who live, work or study in the municipality aged 18 years or older.
You will learn about bike control and traffic riding skills including planning your route, road positioning, dealing with intersections, signalling, using bike lanes and much more. Sessions include a short ride on local roads with 2 qualified bike instructors. This training is aimed at lapsed riders rather than complete beginners.
Bike maintenance classes are also being offered. This popular 2 hour demonstration workshop will teach participants how to undertake bike checks, make basic adjustments, take off a wheel, replace an inner tube, repair a puncture and clean a chain. Bikes are optional.
More information visit Bike Skill Training.
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Recycling Hubs
Residents can now drop off unwanted clothing, textiles and electronic goods at one of Council's 18 free Drop-Off Hubs. Council have partnered with the Southern Cross Recycling Group to provide the 18 hubs across 6 sites throughout the municipality.
Clothing hubs
Unlike some clothing bins that only accept re-usable items, all textiles can be placed in the clothing Drop-Off Hubs. Materials collected are sent for reuse, recycling, or are converted into alternate fuels.
Electrical hubs
The electrical drop off points accept all small electrical items that have a cord, in addition to lap tops, tablets and mobile phones. Large items such as televisions are not accepted.
Visit Maribyrnong City Council for all the drop off hub locations and full list of acceptable items.
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Maribyrnong Sustainability and Environment Guide
Announcing the new Maribyrnong Sustainability and Environment Guide from the Friends of Maribyrnong Valley! Download a copy via our website to find out all the latest information on local wildlife, community gardens, environmental programs, and Friends groups.
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My Neighbourhood
With summer sun here and holidays around the corner it's important to know what's going on in your area - from your next bin day, parks and facilities, through to festivals, events and projects. Did you know that Council has an easy to use search function? Just type in your address (for example 61 Napier Street, Footscray), and navigate through the interactive map. Check out My Neighbourhood to give it a go!
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Turn It Down
Heating and cooling, hot water services, and fridges, are some of the biggest energy users in the typical Victorian home. Making small adjustments to the temperature of these energy guzzling items in the home, can make a big impact on your energy use and save dollars without compromising your comfort. When it comes to hot days and cooling, set your air conditioner thermostat to 24 and 26 degrees celsius. Every degree lower will increase running costs by around 10 per cent. That's a big difference to your summer power bill!
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New Nursery in the Hood
One of our favourite cafes has extended its offerings to the living kind with a brand new nursery in the backyard.
Little Corner Nursery specialises in edible plants and has predominantly been made from recycled and repurposing materials. It was established to celebrate a love of food, gardening, cooking, and the inner west Melbourne community.
They're also holding regular event like this:
Intro to Edible Gardening
New to growing your own food? Or have you tried to grow some things, but haven't had as much success as you'd like? Do you just need some guidance as to what to grow, when to grow & what to grow it with?
Monday, January 8, 2018 at 10 AM - 12 PM
Tickets essential
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Calling all keen River Detectives!
Teachers and educators in the Maribyrnong area looking to explore their local waterway with students are invited to apply to be a part of Melbourne Water’s River Detectives program in 2018. Melbourne Water is offering a small number of schools program sponsorship for next year. Successful applications will receive:
- professional learning workshops for teachers
- the loan of a water quality and waterbug kit
- access to online tools and resources
- invitations to special events
The program enables students to gain an intimate knowledge and love for their local waterway through hands-on activities like water quality testing and habitat surveys. The curriculum based activities also promote understanding of waterways as key features of a healthy ecosystem and a healthy community. For more information and an online application form please visit our River Detectives website or email education@melbournewater.com.au.
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Sustainable Living Maribyrnong Events
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Fix, Don't Throw!
Bring your torn and broken things down to the Melbourne Repair Cafe and learn how to fix them for free. We'll try and help you with almost anything - from clothing to bikes, lamps to chairs, tools to toys! We also run a "really really free market" (RRFM) alongside the repair cafe, where people are welcome to bring their stuff (in good nick) and share their skills, talents and services - from haircuts to travel tips, origami making to guitar strumming. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in the Melbourne Repair Cafe is always looking for prospective fixers, helpers and support.
Meet the team at 8.30am or come along from 10.00am to swap your wears
Sunday, 10 December 2017, from 10am to 1pm
Yarraville Community Centre, 59 Francis Street, Yarraville
For more information visit Melbourne Repair Cafe or join us on Facebook.
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Garage Sale Trail recap
Recycling is great but reusing is even better! Reuse extends the life and value of the stuff we buy and takes pressure off the planet’s precious resources. Last month the City of Maribyrnong hosted 102 stalls in the annual Garage Sale Trail Festival, a national movement of reuse-loving, community minded individuals who come together on one weekend to clear out their pre-loved stuff, find treasure, meet the neighbours and have some fun. We expect that this one weekend saw up to 10,000 items listed for resale making an enormous impact on waste. A big thanks goes out to all the sellers and shoppers on the day who picked up a bargain and also helped to make the day a great community event that's good for the planet too.
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Keep pests at bay the organic way
Learn techniques to keep pests and diseases away from your plants without chemicals. Recognise who are the good guys and who are the bad. What is causing your plants to suffer? Can weeds be good for the garden? New and natural ways of gardening to improve your harvest with less effort.
This is a FREE event. Please register your attendance through Eventbrite.
Sat. 9 December 2017
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Avondale Heights Community Garden
2-22 River Drive (enter via lane way)
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Seniors River Walk and Boat Cruise
Seniors are invited to join us for a fun and informative walk from Pipemakers Park to Edgewater Jetty. Learn a thing or two about the local floral and fauna and make some new friends along the way. Light lunch will be served at Cafe Boutique before embarking on the Bluebird Cruiser for the ride back where our captain will offer more comments on the history of the river.
Friday 8 December, 9.30
Meet at Pipemakers Park, Gordon Street Maribyrnong
Bookings are essential 9688 0342
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Festival City
Our City has so many beautiful spaces and what better way to enjoy them than getting outdoors to one of our many festivals. Over the coming months our municipality will come to life with music, food, dance and culture. Christmas brings with it open air cinema experiences and carols while New Years Eve sees the Maribyrnong River light up with the reflection of bright fireworks. Many of the events are free and totally family friendly. Don't miss the opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of each one as they all have something unique to offer. Stay up to date by visiting Festival City.
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Council Programs For You!
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My Smart Garden
The My Smart Garden program is a highly successful sustainable gardening program concepted and managed by three local councils in inner west Melbourne – Moonee Valley, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong. We actively strive to build the resilience of local people living with a changing climate and scarcer resources.
Since 2011, our program has grown a network of over 1500 urban gardeners are now gardening ‘smarter’: that is, harvesting and using water efficiently, growing food, using organic pesticides, recycling wastes and using vegetation to shelter their homes. Our program aims to deliver training, provides best-practice gardening resources and build community connections around sustainable urban gardening.
For more information, visit: www.mysmartgarden.org.au
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Food Know How
Food Know How is an award winning program that helps households reduce the amount of food they throw away.
The program helps households to avoid and minimise food waste by providing you with easy ways to get the most out of menu and meal planning, using leftovers, and tips about smart shopping and food storage, as well as composting and worm farming.
For more information, visit: www.foodknowhow.org.au/
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