News |
from Mandurah Community Gardens
News |
Mandurah Community Gardens was contacted by Katherine, one of the organisers of the Australian Association For Environmental Education's (AAEE) 21st Biennial Conference and 4th Research Symposium being held in Mandurah on the 28th to the 30th September. This conference aims to showcase innovative, practical and effective tools to help us "change the tides" of environmental and sustainability education. The community garden was asked if we would accept the organic waste from the conference. Of course, we said yes! Once the day's waste was weighed and recorded, it found it's way to the garden's worm farms and compost heap. One hundred people were able to reduce their lunch, morning and afternoon tea waste down to one bucket full. Wrapped in worm and compost friendly bags made from vegetables and not plastic the waste was collected by Cheryl from the garden then the bags were torn up and added with the food scraps, serviettes and green bags to a worm farm and the compost as an experiment to see how long it will take the bags to break down. How amazing it is to be associated with this important event for the environment and sustainability!
Mandurah Community Gardens is doing it's bit by using organic practices and collecting items for recycling that aren't able to go into the yellow bin for collection. We are working our way towards zero waste and a "plastic bag free" community garden.
0 Comments
Have you ever tried a nasturtium sandwich? These nasturtiums are doing their own thing looking so bright and pretty growing at Mandurah Community Gardens. An added bonus is that they have edible leaves and flowers which look great in a salad and have a peppery taste.
On the Guardian news website, James Wong wrote an article (Sunday 13 June 2021) describing how gardening provides a natural object of meditation that helps create a healthy mind, being a good focus point for mindfulness practice. The colour in our life The thing about gardens, forests, jungles and most living plants is that they tend to be green. The colour green in the spectrum of light is the most restful colour we perceive because the eyes at rest don't have to accommodate the focal point of this wavelength as it lands on the retina. For example, the colour red has a focal point slightly behind the retina while the colour blue falls slightly in front of the retina. So with the colour green, the lens of the eye is in a relaxed state when viewing anything in natural green, creating the relaxation response that calms us. As most of us already know, green and natural green are not the same thing. We can usually distinguish the difference between the green of an artificial plant and a real plant. If we were looking to get an artificial plant, it's subtle green hues would have to be as close to the real thing for us to accept its likeness of a living plant. Alas, it seems that most artificial plants are a poor reproduction of the real thing and look fake - unless you are prepared to pay much more money to get closer to perfection. Of course, we know there is more to the garden than just its colour. Our attention is always drawn to the relaxing ambience of a beautiful garden. As we become aware of life growing and living around us, we naturally recognise our own connection with the environment we are in. Thriving to be happy The community garden is an environment rich in sensory experience. Not only is it a visual experience for us, it also feeds our senses with its sounds, with its many scents, with the experience of touch, and the presence of others around us. It is not so much as about being occupied, or working and keeping busy, but the garden provides us with it's true value by giving us a place to be present, in a productive environment, letting us enjoy the experience of being alive. We see the garden as a living, transient thing, as an extension of our existence. It is this feeling of harmony with our environment that heals us, and this is because maintaining a healthy garden is akin to maintaining a healthy mind. This cycle of benefit works to bring us contentment from both directions:
What we grow together, we know together. In essence, gardening is a meditation in practice. When we reinforce this practice by gardening together, the social aspect of our human nature is supported, helping us to maintain a natural bond with others in our community. Read more about this in James Wong's article in the Guardian: "Why is gardening so good for your mental and physical health?
We're back baby, Mandurah Community Garden is now able to open its gates to the community and visitors are most welcome on Tuesday and Friday mornings between 9.30am and 12:00pm.
Social Distancing, hand hygiene and staying away if you are unwell is still in place as we continue to comply with the WA Government's instructions. MCG member Pamela is a keen apiarist and is offering her home-grown honey for sale*.
Prices are: 1kg - $16 500g - $8.50 300g - $5. 50 If you would like to place an order for her fresh honey, please email Mandurah Community Gardens: info@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au *While stock lasts UPDATE: PLEASE SEE OUR NEWS ARCHIVE FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON STATE OF RESTRICTIONS AT MANDURAH COMMUNITY GARDENS. FYI COVID-19 (Corona Virus) - This explanatory information from the Assoc Prof of Infectious Diseases at John Hopkins University:
Disinfection
Staying Safe
TAKE CARE & STAY SAFE💕 Personal hygiene is an important measure in preventing illness from cross-contamination of bacteria or viruses.
This recipe for making your own hand sanitiser is from Mandurah Community Garden members Pamela and Tricia. You will need:
Blend it together in your food processor or bullet until well mixed then pour into a sterile dispensing container.
Why are reviews needed?
Reviews help us know what we are doing right or what we need to do with our online presence make it an interesting and enjoyable experience for you. Passive Vs. Active Involvement The feedback received from reviews and seen by others helps make the virtual world of the internet more real for people visiting, its a proactive step beyond the quick click on a "like". Through the sharing of information, creating discussions, giving suggestions or our sharing of ideas, we are communicating. A community works much better together when it communicates with each other, but the passive viewer who doesn't interact causes our group to have less significance in this modern world, and we disappear off the radar of Facebook, Google and other online platforms. The alternative method to getting our message out there is to advertise, and that is what the online services would prefer us to do. But for a nonprofit organisation like the Mandurah Community Gardens, letting people know that we exist by paying money would only serve to make us operate like a commercial venture, rather than the community one that we all value and love. We rely on the generosity of you and others to exist, and in turn our volunteers offer their time and efforts to help continue providing a great service to our community. We value your words of appreciation So, we rely on your patronage and help in spreading the word about us. If you can help us out by giving us your review and more importantly, some feedback with it, everyone in our community will know the value of Mandurah Community Gardens and be reminded that it is always there for them.
Watch the video below to see how to give your review on Facebook
Mandurah Community Gardens is showcased with the Heart Foundation's advocacy program that reports on healthy built designs benefiting the hearts of communities. Their website, Healthy Active By Design, showcases purpose built designs that are shown to help keep us healthy and maintain the good health of our hearts. On their website page titled Mandurah Community Gardens, the Heart Foundation has published a study of our community group detailing how it was formed, who was involved and how it was financed. The purpose and function of Mandurah Community Gardens is assessed for the many good values it provides our society, categorised by the kind of benefit given. The Heart Foundation explains how Mandurah Community Gardens plays a vital role in our community, and how it provides an important contribution to maintaining our community's health. Recommended reading for anyone who would like to know more about the Mandurah Community Gardens and how it helps us all. |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2024
|