Boomerang Bags works to reduce the use of plastic bags by engaging local communities in the making of Boomerang Bags – community made using recycled materials, Boomerang Bags provide a free, fun, sustainable alternative to plastic bags.  By getting involved, you are participating in a national movement that celebrates a local grassroots initiative, community building and sustainability.

BOOMERANG BAG - SEWING BEE

9:30am set up for 10am - 1pm session

Adelaide Sustainability Centre @ The Joinery, 111 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000

BRING           

• If you have them: Sewing machines and an extension cord (just in case), sharp fabric scissors and/or pinking shears, straight edge steel ruler, pins, any spare fabric.
• Please make sure all your items are clearly labelled so that nothing gets lost and if anything is left behind I can find the owner.

If you don’t have any of these things but are keen to help, there will be jobs for everyone and some spare machines. We will do another demonstration of how the bags are put together and then we will get on with making some. We will try to accomodate people who are keen to learn to sew - these bags are the perfect starting project.

RSVP           

Please let me know if you can come so that we know how many people to expect - don’t worry if you can’t come, there will be other opportunities.

REMEMBER       

Boomerang Bags aims to make our life a little bit less plastic, so please try not to use plastic bags or one-use coffee cups or water bottles. There is a kitchen with cups and there will be tea and coffee available. There may even be some morning tea!

Join the Boomerang Bags Adelaide Facebook group here.

Presented by Adelaide Sustainability Centre in partnership with FauNature

Build your own wildlife nesting box for parrots or possums

Join James Smith of fauNature to discover how we can support our native wildlife. This workshop is ideal for families, small groups or individuals. Learn about:

• the importance of natural hollows
• hollow-dependant wildlife
• issues faced by hollow-dependant fauna/wildlfe
• the best positions for nesting boxes
  
• maintaining nest boxes

Participants will build a nest box of their choice to take home with them.

Tickets and pricing:

Presentation only:
Select the free ticket option if you would like to attend the presentation to learn about our local hollow-dependent fauna but DO NOT wish to purchase and build a nest box.

If you wish to build a nest box:
Ticket prices vary depending on the type of box you choose to build.

Buy a ticket for the type of box you wish to build, this also includes admission for one person.

Then book a free ticket for any additional people who will join you on the day (for example if two members of the same family* are coming or a friend is joining you, book one box and one free ticket).

• Small Parrot Kit - $38.75 + bf
• Medium Parrot Kit - $43.25 + bf
• Brushtail or Ringtail Possum Kit - $45.00 + bf
• Free ticket - Includes a ticket to attend presentation with a friend or family member who has purchased a nesting box to build. This ticket does not include an individual nesting box to take home.

* Participants for the wildlife box build workshop need to be at least seven years old.

About the presenter:

James Smith runs fauNature, a company dedicated to assisting people in attracting and engaging with local wildlife.

James is author of Wildlife of Greater Adelaide, a comprehensive wildlife book about Adelaide. Covering the Mount Lofty – Kangaroo Island region, one of the designated 15 diversity rich areas across Australia. The book is over 450 pages with 11 chapters on identification including a list of 468 species and over 470 photographs collected over a four year period. There are chapters on worms, molluscs, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, insects, fishes, frogs, reptiles, birds and mammals.

The Adelaide Sustainability Centre is supported by the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board and Conservation Council of South Australia.

This exciting event is hosted by Permaculture SA and the Adelaide Sustainability Centre

Facilitated by Beck Lowe, Retrosuburbia chief editor, researcher and project manager and experienced permaculture trainer.

May 11 & 12: A two-day intensive on how to use Retrosuburbia for your family, house and community

May 13th: A one-day Trainers and facilitators add-on day for using Retrosuburbia resources in trainings, workshops and community groups

Fully catered including a delicious local lunch by The Foodprint Experience. All food and drinks organic and as local as possible.

Cost

May 11 & 12 (2 days) : $250 waged, $180 concession/Permaculture SA member

May 11 - 13 (3 days) : $350 waged, $280 concession/Permaculture SA member

Enquiries to Lachlan on 0499 570 199

About the workshop

Two day RetroSuburbia Workshop May 11th & 12th

Are you looking to create a more sustainable and resilient household? Wondering how to retrofit your current home or circumstances? Wanting to grow more food, reduce your energy use and enjoy a more satisfying, fulfilling life? These and other themes from David Holmgren’s new book RetroSuburbia: the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future will be explored in this two-day workshop. Participants will undertake activities and exercises to help them assess their current situation and plan for the future as well as have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss various aspects of the book.

Trainers and Facilitators add-on day May 13th

Trainers, educators and community facilitators who would like to incorporate more retrosuburban themes into their practice are invited to attend an extra ‘Trainers and Facilitators’ day at the end of the workshop. Participation in this add-on day allows attendees to become registered retrosuburban trainers with access to extensive training resources, and to apply to have their courses listed on retrosuburbia.com. This day will explore further methods and tools for supporting people to create fulfilling, abundant and sustainable lives through retrofitting their homes, gardens and lifestyles. It is also a chance to share your ideas and experiences with other participants working in similar fields, and explore retrosuburban themes in more detail. It is expected that participants on this day will have already read and be familiar with the material in RetroSuburbia.

Beck Lowe worked closely with David Holmgren on RetroSuburbia as chief editor, researcher and project manager. Since publication, she has also taken on the role of education coordinator. She is an enthusiastic and experienced permaculture educator and has been involved in permaculture training at all levels for more than 15 years. She has practical permaculture experience in private and community spaces in inner city, urban and rural areas.

Permaculture SA is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote, practice, and represent permaculture in South Australia. We support the South Australian permaculture community and the local permaculture groups in urban and rural South Australia.

The Adelaide Sustainability Centre is a non-profit community environment centre located in the heart of Adelaide. With a focus on meaningful connection with nature and sustainable urban living, the centre regulary runs events and workshops to build community connections and capacity. They are supported by the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board and Conservation SA.

Take your gardening to the next level - Go vertical!

From engineered walls to DIY projects - come along to a workshop with Karen Montgomery Kspace and work out which system is for you and how to make it thrive.

Karen will also explain the pros and cons of vertical garden systems - from using expensive to repurposed materials. We'll talk irrigation, potting mixes, plant selection, maintenance and more…

There will be time for Q&A and all participants will make their own edible vertical bottle garden to take home.

About the presenter:

Karen Montgomery is a horticulturalist with a passion for growing food and sharing knowledge to build healthy communities.

She is a garden consultant, designer, workshop facilitator, trainer, garden writer, radio presenter; current past CEO of the Master Landscapers SA, President of the Horticultural Media Association SA and involved with the Horticultural Therapy Association and The Rare Fruit Society. She can be heard regularly on ABC Adelaide & 5AA radio stations and contributes to print media such as SA Gardens and Outdoor Living magazine.

Karen lives in the Adelaide Hills, where she tends her 1 acre garden shaded by large trees. Her garden includes a 35m² veggie patch, orchard, bee hive and chicken run which she shares with her family and dogs. Along with the possums, koalas and kookaburras just to name a few permanent visitors.

The Adelaide Sustainability Centre is proudly supported by the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board and Conservation SA.

Feel that you are missing out on growing your own veggies, herbs and flowers due to lack of space?

Learn to transform a shady garden, balcony, courtyard, patio or windowsill into a productive edible garden by using containers. This workshop is particularly ideal for the elderly, those with mobility restrictions, renters and beginners concerned with tackling a backyard veggie patch.

This hands on workshop with Karen Montgomery will cover:

• Choosing the right container
• Understanding what to grow based on seasonality and what you eat
• Potting mix, compost and other media
• Fertilising - what does NPK mean?
• Watering options
• Pest contol - things to consider

There will be time for Q&A and all participants will take home a container they have planted with edibles.

About the presenter:

Karen Montgomery is a horticulturalist with a passion for growing food and sharing knowledge to build healthy communities.

She is a garden consultant, designer, workshop facilitator, trainer, garden writer, radio presenter; current past CEO of the Master Landscapers SA, President of the Horticultural Media Association SA and involved with the Horticultural Therapy Association and The Rare Fruit Society. She can be heard regularly on ABC Adelaide &
5AA radio stations and contributes to print media such as SA Gardens and Outdoor Living magazine.

Karen lives in the Adelaide Hills, where she tends her 1 acre garden shaded by large trees. Her garden includes a 35m² veggie patch, orchard, bee hive and chicken run which she shares with her family and dogs. Along with the possums, koalas and kookaburras just to name a few permanent visitors.

The Adelaide Sustainability Centre is proudly supported by the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board and Conservation SA.

"Both jaw-dropping and heartbreaking, Death by Design forces the viewer to reconsider their whole approach to technology and this mad and unsustainable obsession with constantly upgrading."

Hannah Clugston, Aesthetica Magazine

Death by Design

Consumers love - and live on - their smartphones, tablets and laptops. A cascade of new devices pours endlessly into the market, promising even better communication, non-stop entertainment and instant information. The numbers are staggering. By 2020, four billion people will have a personal computer. Five billion will own a mobile phone.

But this revolution has a dark side that the electronics industry doesn't want you to see.

In an investigation that spans the globe, award-winning filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the underbelly of the international electronics industry and reveals how even the tiniest devices have deadly environmental and health costs.

DEATH BY DESIGN tells the stories of young Chinese workers laboring in unsafe conditions, American families living with the tragic consequences of the industry's toxic practices, activists leading the charge to hold brands accountable, and passionate entrepreneurs who are developing more sustainable products and practices to safeguard our planet and our future.

From the intensely secretive electronics factories in China, to the high tech innovation labs of Silicon Valley, DEATH BY DESIGN tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast-approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.

View the trailer here.

73 minutes