Limes from next door, tamarillos from mum, feijoas from Jenny

Every year I forgive my next door neighbour John (Giovanni) his prolific spreading and digging of blood and bone (surely one of the most unneighbourly of products on earth) when he drops off bags of mandarins and oranges that he has grown in his garden.

This time at home has been a boon for neighbourhood fruit and the sharing of such. Have you also experienced this phenomenon?

I’ve eaten feijoas from my mother-in-law and from the community basket in Yarralea Street in Alphington.

I have had lemons from up the street, limes from my other next door neighbours, tamarillos from my mum (also made into chutney by my friend Ali - and she gave us a jar).

The other day I collected a bag of crispy persimmons from the community box out the front of a house in Howitt Street in Northcote.

I even picked a fig from that tree behind the houses, near Mr Wednesday, when I was walking to work one day.

Good fruit things. Happy neighbourhood days.

Mandarins from John, persimmons from Howitt Street

This week we started to install our stories from isolation sculptures. Don’t they look gorgeous grouped together in front of our new ramp!

Haha … it looks like I’ve been doing all the work in this pic. Actually Lee has been doing most of it! Thanks for taking the photo Mish.

Cute huh? We can’t wait for these to be installed in our garden! We’re thinking our little community clusters might go in front of our new ramp.

Stories from isolation … we’re a doggy neighbourhood so we couldn’t leave the fur babies out!

I recently received a little note from local Brian, who also happens to one of my favourite ex-colleagues. We worked together in what used to be the Department of Natural Resources and Environment - along with half of the population of Alphington and Fairfield I think!

This is what he wrote …

This might be of interest to some of the good folk in the Alphington Community Centre community. It is an online Diploma of Sustainable Living that is offered by the University of Tasmania. As I understand it people can do the whole thing or just a one off unit, eg. there is one unit on backyard biodiversity which sounds really interesting I reckon.

Here’s the link to the backyard biodiversity subject, that then takes you to the broader course.

Thanks Brian!

Here’s a picture of him with his Highly Commended certificate from last year’s Alphington Show. He whittled those spoons - some from the trees in his garden - aren’t they ace!

Fancy a break from thinking about these ‘unprecendented’ times and that Johnny-come-lately coronavirus? How about turning your mind to our old mate - climate change! Yay.

While we’re all stuck at home, City of Yarra is very helpfully running a free online webinar series to assist us in stepping up our personal climate action, providing the opportunity to learn new sustainability skills from the comfort of our sofas. A full list of webinars is available here and below is a selection of what’s on offer:

Flick the Switch: Buy renewable energy and save energy at home
Take climate action at home by cutting your energy use and buying 100% renewable energy. An expert speaker from Renew will explain the ins and out of home energy efficiency, renewable energy, including accredited GreenPower, carbon offset energy and more. You'll leave armed with the right questions to ask your energy retailer and tools to help you reduce energy and make a renewable energy choice that's right for you.
Thursday 28 May, 7.00 - 8.15pm
Online webinar.  Register here.

Climate Conversations: How to talk to people about the climate emergency 
Like to hone your skills to have conversations about the climate emergency to effect change? Speakers from Common Cause, Australian Conservation Foundation and Climate for Change will discuss the power of conversation in increasing people's understanding of the climate emergency and motivating action. The session will include practical tips and techniques to help you talk with friends, neighbours and others in your community.
Thursday 4 June, 7.00 – 8.30pm
Online webinar. Register here.

Using Social Media for Climate Advocacy
Gain new digital and social media skills to help you ramp up advocacy on the climate emergency. This is a practical skills-based session led by a communications specialist at Environment Victoria. You'll learn about messaging — what to say and how to say it — as well as techniques to effectively use various digital and social media platforms to engage people to act on the climate emergency.
Thursday 11 June, 6.30 - 7.45pm
Online webinar.  Register here.

We also like the look of ‘Grow a garden for wildlife’, ‘Keep happy healthy backyard chooks’ and ‘Keep cosy and draught proof your home’. Tuck in!