Author Archives: Rodney

Lake Macquarie City Council Environmental Activities, grants etc April- May 2013

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Make your own backyard  habitat – free  workshop

Saturday 20 April,  1-3pm

Learn about the importance  of backyard habitat for local native animals, and discover how to create a frog  pond and possum nest box in your own  backyard.

Location:  Landcare Resource Centre, Corner of Toronto  Roadand  Five Islands Road,  Teralba

Bookings essential to Lake  Macquarie City Council on 4921  0333

 

Fungi  Foray

Saturday 27 April,  Approximately 9.15am – 1.30pm

A free event for Landcarers  and Community Ecosystem Monitoring Volunteers. Learn about fungi and how to identify  different  types.

Meet at the Landcare  Resource Office, 80 Toronto  Rd,  Teralba

Limited places so please  call the Landcare Resource Office on 4921 0392 by 24 April to book your  place.

 

Free Showerhead  Exchange

Hunter Water and Lake  Macquarie City Council invite Hunter Water Customers to exchange their existing  water guzzling showerhead for a water efficient one. Free and low cost premium  options available.

 

Westfield Kotara       Shopping Centre, outside Woolworths       Supermarket Thursday 2       May10am –       8pm Friday 3       May10am –       4pm Saturday 4       May10am –       2pm
Hunter Water, 36 Honeysuckle Drive,       Newcastle       Westor

Hunter       Water’s Customer Service desk at Lake Macquarie City Council, 126-138 Main       Road, Speers       Point

 Monday 6 –       Friday 31       May9am –       5pm

 

Littoral Rainforest Plant  Identification  Workshop

Saturday 4 May, 10am – 2pm

Help  protect and improve the ecological value of Littoral Rainforest.  The workshop will include an overview of  native plant species found in Littoral Rainforest Communities, ecology and  identification principles, and an introduction to Plantnet and other useful  resources.

Location: Landcare Resource  Centre,  Teralba

For further information or  to book your place contact the Landcare Resource Centre on 4921  0392.

 

Powerful Owl  Workshop

Sunday  5 May, 10am – 12:30pm

Find  out about these amazing birds and how you can become involved in the Powerful  Owl Project, www.birdsinbackyards.net/surveys/Powerful-Owl-Project

Location:  Landcare Resource Centre,  Teralba

For  further information and to book your place, contact David Bain at BirdLife Australia on 0421 337  545 or email david.bain@birdlife.org.au.

 

 

Wangi Area Sustainable  Neighbourhood Group Launch and  Celebration

Saturday 11 May 2013,  11.00am – 2.00pm

The official launch of the  Wangi Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group and their Action Plan will be held on  Saturday 11 May 2013.

Join in the fun – there  will be family-friendly activities, free food and lots of information about the  great projects members are  undertaking.

New member sign ups on the  day are very  welcome.

Location:  Wangi Wangi Foreshore, Watkins Road (in  front of  RSL)

For more information,  contact the Wangi Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group on sustainwangiarea@gmail.com.

 

Salts Bay Community Event and  BBQ

Saturday 11 May,  10.00am – 1.00pm

Come along to a walk and  talk, with free BBQ, to learn about the rainforest of SaltsBay and Swansea  Heads.

Location:  Meet at Reids Reserve at the end of  Lambton Pde, Swansea Heads

Bookings essential to the  Landcare Resource Centre on 4921 0392

Create your own Naturewatch  Diary – Workshop

Saturday 25 May,  10.30am – 12.30pm

There are many ways to  record the seasonal changes in your garden or local bushland.  Build your awareness with tips from an  expert and document your observations for future generations.  All participants will receive a copy of  unique template developed by the presenter, in addition to a Naturewatch  Diary.

Landcare Resource Centre,  Corner of Toronto  Roadand  Five Islands Road,  Teralba

Bookings essential to Lake  Macquarie City Council on 4921 0333

 

Other  Opportunities

 

Our Super  Street Sale

Our Super StreetSale is a new Council service to help you  hold a street-wide garage  sale.

All you need to do  is get two or more houses in your street to hold a garage sale on the same day  and Council  will:

  • advertise your garage sales  in the Newcastle Herald on the day of your  sale
  • promote your garage sales on  Council’s website, Facebook page and  Twitter
  • send you a free garage sale  kit, including tips and hints, to have the best garage sale  ever

 

Win $500  towards your electricity bill!

Council has  launched the 2013 Bust Your Bills  competition, a fun initiative to help you reduce your energy usage and  save money on your electricity  bills.

You could win $500  towards your power bill, as well as fantastic monthly  prizes.

 

 

Community Environment Grants (Caring for our  Country)

Applications for Community  Environment Grants program which offer small grants of between $5000 and $50 000  to help groups undertake on-the-ground activities and increase their skills and  capacity to protect the natural environmenthasnow  opened.

A wide range of activities  are eligible including activities that increase biodiversity in and around World  Heritage Areas; developing land and sea country management plans, holding field  days and conferences to show-case innovative sustainable environment practices.

Activities also extend to  training local communities to participate in environmental protection, working  with local governments, regional bodies and industries to reduce pollution  entering urban and coastal waterways and marine environments and recording and  using Indigenous ecological knowledge to deliver conservation outcomes.

Applications are open to  groups Australia-wide until midnight (12am AEST) Wednesday 8  May.

Grant guidelines,  application forms and further information is available from the Caring for our  Country website: www.nrm.gov.au.

 

EcoSchools  Grants

This program provides  grants to schools to give them the opportunity to involve their  students and community in developing and implementing environmental management  projects.

The overall objective of the  Eco Schools program is to support schools to develop best practice in  environmental education and innovative solutions to environmental  issues.

Applications close 17 May  2013.

For full details go to www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/schools.htm

 

Stephanie  Alexander Kitchen Garden Program Is Now  Open

The focus of the  Program is for primary school students to learn how to grow, harvest, prepare  and share fresh food in the belief that this approach will provide a better  chance of positively influencing children’s food  choices.

The Program  provides one-off funding of up to $60,000 (GST exclusive) to eligible schools to  cover infrastructure costs associated with building a kitchen and  garden.

For more  information www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/about-the-program.

 

Volunteer Grants – Australian  Government

Volunteer Grants  2013 recognises the valuable work of Australia’s volunteers.  This  initiative forms part of the Australian Government’s ongoing commitment to  organisations whose volunteers assist disadvantaged communities and encourage  inclusion of vulnerable people in community  life.

Funding of $16  million is available to support and encourage volunteering.  Eligible  not-for-profit community organisations can apply for grants between $1,000 and  $5,000.

For more  information and application guidelines go to: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/communities-and-vulnerable-people/grants-funding/volunteer-grants-2013-call-for-applications-now-open.

Applications are  due 24 April  2013.

A garden in the ghetto generate food Gardens, build communities

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This film below tells the story of a South Los Angeles edible garden planted in a surprising spot. Ron Finley, its planter, constructed the garden the way he wishes his neighborhood could be. And his vision of repurposing unused open space, like that of many others working together on urban agriculture in our city, should inspire us all, and remind us of how, with a little creativity of vision, and willingness to get our hands dirty, we can remake spaces defined by asphalt and dead grass into productive places of beauty.

 

TO LEARN MORE about the food movement in Los Angeles and how to get involved visit the Los Angeles Food Policy Council:

Welcome

Aquaponics on 60 minutes

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Please see below for a 60 minutes article and video link to last nights story.

 

For many Australian families, putting enough food on the table is a daily struggle. And things will get worse before they get better.

You see the world’s got too many mouths to feed and we’re fast running out of good farming land.

It’s being overgrazed, gobbled up by sprawling cities, or sold up to foreign interests.

The solution to this global crisis might just be the return of the humble vegie patch but on a massive, modern scale.

Entire skyscrapers, housing farms, not office workers. No soil, no sunlight, no seasons.

It’s a food revolution and it’s starting right here, in our own backyard.

To read about the Brooklyn Grange Rooftop farm visit the website.

To have a look at Rosemary’s restaurant in New York City go to the website.

To read more about Dickson Despommier’s vision visit Vertical Farm.

Aquaponics is great for the elderly

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There are many benefits of an Aquaponic system that can benefit elderly gardeners. The most noteworthy benefits are the following

  • No digging in the ground is required to create plant beds
  • Very little watering is required for the system to function (save as much as 90% water)
  • No chemicals are used in the process
  • The system is sustainable
  • Production of 100% organic vegetables and fish

Aquaponics systems are self-contained and require no digging in the ground to prep the bed, heavy lifting of soils and mulches and even watering is at a minimum with the Aquaponic system.  Although there is a set-up that needs to take place with any Aquaponics system, once the system is in place there are many benefits that make it an ideal gardening system for the elderly.

Once the system(s) are in place they can generally be maintained comfortably from a seated position, making maintenance and harvesting of the containers easier for the elderly

  • Containers can be made so that those in wheelchairs can easily access them
  • Aquaponics use 90% less water, therefore watering of the system does not need to be done daily, or even weekly and can be accomplished when help is available
  • No heavy lifting is required once the system is in place. This includes things such as: hoses, watering cans, soils and mulches
  • Aquaponics systems do not require the system to be “tended to” on a daily basis. In fact they prefer not to be disturbed. This is ideal for those who cannot get out into their garden daily but still want to reap the benefits
  • Gardening in itself is therapeutic, many people report the same therapeutic effects from the Aquaponic systems as they had previously gained from their previous gardens
  • Aquaponics systems do not require much room and can be grown in a small backyard, on a patio or balcony or even indoors
  • Aquaponics systems can be grown at senior centers are part of their activity programs with little ongoing care/maintenance required, plus the residents get the benefit of the fresh vegetables
  • Fresh vegetables without having to go to the supermarket!!!

Aquaponic systems can be used to grow many varieties of vegetables and can even be used to grow flower beds. The satisfaction that comes from growing one’s own food is immeasurable. The system is being used in homes, senior citizen centers, community gardens and farms around the globe including third world projects in Haiti, Kenya, India, PNG and Mexico.

Think Eat Save Food Campaign Launched

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Simple actions by consumers and food retailers can dramatically cut the 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted each year and help shape a sustainable future, according to a new global campaign to cut food waste launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and partners.

eat think saveWorldwide, about one-third of all food produced, worth around US$1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems, according to data released by FAO. Food loss occurs mostly at the production stages – harvesting, processing and distribution – while food waste typically takes place at the retailer and consumer end of the food-supply chain.

The ‘Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint’ campaign is in support of the SAVE FOOD Initiative to reduce food loss and waste along the entire chain of food production and consumption – run by the FAO and trade fair organiser Messe Düsseldorf – and the UN Secretary General’s Zero Hunger Initiatives. The new campaign specifically targets food wasted by consumers, retailers and the hospitality industry.

The campaign harnesses the expertise of organisations such as WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), Feeding the 5,000 and other partners, including national governments, who have considerable experience targeting and changing wasteful practices.

Think.Eat.Save. aims to accelerate action and provide a global vision and information-sharing portal (www.thinkeatsave.org) for the many and diverse initiatives currently underway around the world.

Part of the trigger for the campaign was the outcome of the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012, in which heads of state and governments gave the go-ahead for a 10-Year Framework of Programmes for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Patterns. Developing an SCP programme for the food sector must be a vital element of this framework, given the need to sustain the world’s food production base, reduce associated environmental impacts and feed a growing human population.

“To bring about the vision of a truly sustainable world, we need a transformation in the way we produce and consume our natural resources,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

According to FAO, roughly 95% of food loss and waste in developing countries is through unintentional losses at early stages of the food supply chain due to financial, managerial and technical limitations in harvesting techniques; storage and cooling facilities in difficult climatic conditions; infrastructure; packaging and marketing systems.

However, in the developed world the end of the chain is far more significant. At the food manufacturing and retail level in the developed world, large quantities of food are wasted due to inefficient practices, quality standards that over-emphasise appearance, confusion over date labels and consumers being quick to throw away edible food due to over-buying, inappropriate storage and preparing meals that are too large.

Per-capita waste by consumers is between 95 and 115 kg a year in Europe and North America/Oceania, while consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-eastern Asia each throw away only 6 to 11 kg a year.

“Together, we can reverse this unacceptable trend and improve lives. In industrialised regions, almost half of the total food squandered, around 300 million tonnes annually, occurs because producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for consumption,” said José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General. “This is more than the total net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa, and would be sufficient to feed the estimated 870 million people hungry in the world.

“If we can help food producers to reduce losses through better harvesting, processing, storage, transport and marketing methods, and combine this with profound and lasting changes in the way people consume food, then we can have a healthier and hunger-free world,” Graziano da Silva added.

 

Aquaponic Vegetables- what can i grow?

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Getting started with aquaponics isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Here are a few things to consider when choosing the plants for your aquaponics system.

Most people think that leafy green vegetables are the only plants that can be grown in an aquaponics system, but this is simply not the case. My experience is that almost any plant will grow including fruit trees, flowers and almost all other vegetables. Some things like potatoes and carrots will grow but are best suited to a wicking bed approach.

Most agree that grow beds with clay pellets or volcanic rock or similar media tend to yield better results. There are several different types of media you can use such as clay pebbles, gravel and pumice to name a few but you have to make sure the medium wont break down over time and that it wont change your water pH.  It is recommended that grow beds be kept at a depth of 350mm for good stability of the root zone. It is also important to take your climate and location into consideration before you decide which plants to grow.

Below are some of the more commonly used plants that i have grown well in my systems in Newcastle Australia:aquaponic cauliflower

 Asian Leafy Greens

 Herbs

 Tomatoes          

 Strawberries                    

 Lettuce               

Broccoli

Cauliflower                        

 Basil

 Cucumbers

 Oregano

 Zucchiniaquaponic broad beans

 Grapes                                               

 Spinach                                              

 Parsley

 Capsicum                                           

 Kale                                     

 Garlic

Corn

Fruit trees

Flowers

Getting Started in Aquaponics

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Getting started with aquaponics isn’t as difficult as it seems all you need is a little knowledge, patience and proper planning. Here are a few things to consider when planning your aquaponics system in your backyard .

Your Needs: One of the first steps before getting started with aquaponics is to decide how many people you intend to feed. An aquaponics system with one grow bed and IBC Aquaponics500lt fish tank could easily feed a family of 4 if done properly. It is also important to consider your location should your needs increase in the future or should you decide to expand your system.

The ratio of plants and fish in an aquaponics system is a reflection on the available filtration capacity or growbed size. In theory you should start with a 1:1 ratio- water in the growbeds should be equal to the amount of water available in your growbeds when your starting off, however after about 6 months you can increase the number of growbeds as your bacteria are well established.small baby pool aquaponics system

 Fish: Before deciding the type of fish for your system you should first consider what you intend to do with them. If you do not wish to harvest your fish to eat and or you are vegetarian you can use non edible ornamental  fish such as Koi or Goldfish. Depending on where you live will determine your fish species choices. In Australia you can use trout, catfish, silver or jade perch, yabbies, barramundi, murray cod  to name a few. All are excellent fish choices for your aquaponics system. It is important to note that too many fish in your aquaponics system will result in too much waste being produced so that the plants would not be able to consume it all. It may also lead to rapid fish death if you starve them of oxygen.

Plants: When it comes to plants, herbs and leafy vegetables are good first  choices. Your aquaponics system can provide you with an endless supply of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and many other fruits and vegetables. It is important that your plant to fish ratio be maintained for your system to produce the expected yield and thrive.

Planning Ahead:  At some point you may wish to expand your system. Before attempting this I strongly suggest that you first get familiar with what aquaponics is and how it all works before you embark on a larger sized system. With this being said you should take this into consideration before selecting your location as it will be much easier to maintain a single system vs. multiple ones. And always start small and increase it as your knowledge increases in time.

Spawning Goldfish or Koi in Aquaponics

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Many people ask me if there goldfish or koi will breed in an Aquaponic system. The short answer is if conditions are right your fish will always spawn all by themselves without much assistance from you. That said, you can help to trigger them to spawn and if they do you may want to get ready for the thousands of eggs and young fry that will hatch.

It doesn’t really matter if your fish are in a pond or if they are in a fish tank or IBC tank as fish will spawn regardless. Just keep on eye on your fish. If you notice them swimming rapidly around chasing each other than at that point you can be sure they will be spawning within an hour or so. If you don’t want to keep any young then just let them do their thing and some may survive however the vast majority of eggs will be eaten and few if any eggs will survive.

 If your deliberately attempting to spawn your fish then there are a few basic principles you will need to understand to help your fish spawn and to ensure that the majority survive:goldfish fry in Aquaponics

Select healthy fish of the variety you want to breed.  Make sure that they are of high quality to make sure that they will spawn good quality offspring. Remember that the ideal months to start breeding is between October to March in Australia as the weather warms.

Size – The larger the fish the more offspring will survive. Ideally your fish should be about 25 cm (10in) in length to ensure that they are sexually mature. The ideal Koi or goldfish male for breeding should be 3 to 5 years old, while a 4 to 6 year old female is best, being at its prime. 

Specimens chosen for breeding need to be conditioned for a year.  The best combination is two males to one female, a “ménage a trois”.  You need to put them in a separate “spawn pond or IBC tank” to ensure good genetics. This also helps reduce the likely hood of other fish just eating the eggs as they are fertilised and deposited around the tank or pond.

Setting up the location. There are several things that the fish need in order to spawn successfully.  The following needs to be ready and in place as soon as the Koi or goldfish are ready to spawn.
•    Aquatic weed habitat or medium or a place where fish they can lay their eggs. Artificial medium can be used if water plants are unavailable. In Aquaponics I grow water cress in the water and fish seem to spawn on it quickly without an issue;
•    Privacy – the newly hatched fry, being unable to swim yet, need a safe and secure place where they can hide;
•    Top quality water and correct pond temperature. You don’t want the water to fluctuate too much. Adding a heater for a week will help the young fry to grow and hatch quicker.

Gold fish fry in AquaponicsEggs:  You need to separate the eggs from the parents because they can be eaten pretty fast.  After spawning, and after the Koi or goldfish have been removed, treat the pond or tank with malachite green to prevent fungus from forming on any infertile eggs. Or if you don’t wish to use it get some tweezers and pluck out all the unfertile eggs. Fertile eggs will be a yellow colour and unfertile eggs will be white and will develop fungus. Maintain the temperature at 23oC and wait a couple of days for the fry to hatch.

Hatching:  After hatching, let the fry pass without feeding for 3 to 4 days.  Afterwards, bring them a very good source of abundant food. I add a cup of algae as it contains micro nutrients they need. About 27 degrees is the ideal temperature for growing fry.

Feeding fry: Take note that they still do not have any developed taste buds, so they can only detect food by sight alone; thus, they need to have food all around them.  For the first day or so, hardboiled egg yolk is the ideal food but it may lead to poor quality water if it’s not all consumed. Another good food source is brine shrimp, especially when the fry are about a week old.  After that, you can start feeding them a mash diet of power fish food rubbed between your fingers.

Sustainable Aquaponics using pre used or recycled materials

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The reason most people start in Aquaponics is to save money and be more selfsufficent. If you’re going to try your hand at growing vegetables or herbs using aquaponics to be more self sufficient then you should really go the extra step towards sustainability  and use recycled materials where ever you can in your aquaponics system design.

I know that there are an increasing amount of commercial aquaponic systems on the market and if you have the money to buy them I’m sure they will suit your needs.

But from a sustainability point of view, think about how much energy and green house emissions have gone into making that plastic fish tank or plastic grow bed. Also think about where the material was made and where you’re purchasing it from. Chances are that your new sustainable aquaponics kit has travelled 1000’s km to get to you and its full of embedded energy.small IBC aquaponics design

Now I’m not critical of commercial aquaponics kits, they are a great educational tool and also they are great to get you started growing fish and vegetables  really quickly. If however you can assemble your own plumbing and pipes and use a saw and you wish to be more sustainable in your gardening approach then I suggest that you use recycled materials. In this way you’re taking a once used and discarded product and using it for a second, third or fourth purpose.

To create an adequate size Aquaponics garden consider using IBC tote bulk containers for grow beds and fish tanks. They are available around the world and are easy to cut, move around your backyard and have a small physical footprint.

There are many methods and styles when using these IBC tanks. You could try some of the following:

  1. Chopping the top off and inverting the top. The large section becomes the fish tank and water is pumped to the growbed above. This is a great technique for those with limited space.
  2. Chop the top and base off. This will provide two growbeds. Use a second tank as a fish tank or use a fish pond and pump to the new growbeds. There is no limit to the number of grow beds you could use in this approach.

You could use many other materials like large tubs, old washing machines, old fridges, kids swimming pools, etc etc.

Look around, keep your eyes open and if it can hold water then you can most likely use it in your aquaponics project.

Why do i need Duckweed in Aquaponics?

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Duckweeds is a group of aquatic plants which float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving fresh water bodies, creeks  and wetlands. Duckweed has many uses in the backyard fishpond and it sure has its place in Aquaponics. Duckweed is extremely fast growing, and can double itself in just a few days. The fast growing plant utilizes excess nutrients duck weed in aquaponicssuch as nitrogen and phosphorus, thereby creating a healthier environment for pond inhabitants.

This humble plant is also a high protein plant, and make an excellent supplemental diet for aquacultures species such as Tilapia, koi, perch and even trout.  

Since the late 1960s, scientists have studied duckweed for animal and human consumption due to its high protein content. This tiny plant actually contains more protein per square meter than soybeans and is sometimes cited as a significant potential food source in many countries. Researchers are now tapping into the plant’s unique environmental benefits, from desalinating wastewater to exploring its potential as a viable starch-based feedstock for ethanol production.

Duck weed also provides shelter for timid species, and even provides a breeding medium for some fish. For all these benefits, this small plant species can also quickly become a nuisance to pond owners if its left unattended to. It’s perfect as a fish food if you have fish in the tank or pond but if you don’t this tiny plant can overtake a small pond in a matter of weeks, or sometimes, days. In this case duckweed blooms can deplete the pond of oxygen, resulting in stressful conditions for the livestock. Although propagating can be fairly easy, eradicating a population can be quite difficult.

Duckweed is also being studied by researchers around the world as a possible source of clean energy.  Yep that’s right- In the United States, both Rutgers University and North Carolina State University have ongoing projects to determine if duckweed might be a source of cost-effective, clean, renewable energy. Duckweed is a good candidate as a biofuel because as a biomass it grows rapidly, has 5 to 6 times as much starch as corn, and does not contribute to global warming. Duckweed is considered a carbon neutral energy source, because unlike most fuels, it removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is a promising area for the humble plant.duck weed types

I suggest that you try and find some for your fishpond or Aquaponics system. I have it growing in all sorts of places like unused buckets, in the sump of my Aquaponics system, in containers, you name it I’m growing it within it.  If you would like some I’m happy to post it to most states or you can collect from Cardiff NSW. Just contact me for more info.