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Archives for March 2014

Eco Documentaries That Changed My World View

March 24, 2014 @ 23:08 By Gavin Webber 30 Comments

Eco Documentaries - An Inconvenient TruthEco documentary directors and producers want to change the world, or at least their little part of it.  The only trouble is that they must have an audience willing to watch them.

The good news is that I love watching eco documentaries, and many have influenced my thinking.  In fact, I have watched so many of them, that I want to share a few of my favourites that influenced us the most.  I have only posted the trailers of each documentary, but I am sure with a bit of searching you could find the full version on-line, or source the DVD at your local library.

An Inconvenient Truth

This was the doco that blew me away.  It was life changing for me and my family.  It was during this documentary that I had my well-known green epiphany, and vowed that I would no longer be part of the problem, but be part of the solution to tackling climate change.

The End of Suburbia

This doco opened my eyes to the way our suburban living arrangement is heavily dependant on resources that are dwindling, for example oil and natural gas.   It has an US focus, but very relevant to the unsustainable sprawl of suburbia that we have here in Australian cities.

The End of The Line

A good friend (Hi Sim!) recommended this documentary to me in early 2009.  It is about how we are overfishing the oceans.  After I had watched this, I wrote a series of posts about overfishing, and what we can do to prevent the further collapse of our fisheries.  It changed the way I look at fish on my plate, and we now look for sustainable seafood options only.

The Economy of Happiness

This particularly good documentary opened my mind to the effects of mindful consumption and localization as an alternative to the consumer culture and globalisation.  It is very enlightening.

Garbage Warrior

This doco is brilliant. I have met Mike Reynolds who stars in this tale, and he is just like he is in real life. It is a story of his struggle to build sustainable housing in the US, and create a model of architecture that could be followed the world over. Enter the Earth ship!

What Would Jesus Buy?

If you want to have a laugh at today’s consumer culture, then this is the doco for you. I couldn’t stop laughing at some of the antics that Rev Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping (a bunch of activists) got up to, just to prove a point. They are on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt). It really makes you think about your consumption habits.

Age of Stupid

What if you could look back at today from a point in the future and ask “why didn’t they do something”. Well this doco does exactly that. I saw this one with friends at the Australian premier held by the Climate Action Network Australia. It was hard-hitting, and made me even more determined to spread the benefits of living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Food Inc.

After watching this, you will never look at food in the same way again, unless you grow your own of course. Shocking, hard-hitting, and eye-opening, this is the documentary that inspired me to get my own chickens, and double my food production here at home. This movie is the one that brought Joel Salatin into the spotlight for his common sense farming methods.

 

Well that is about it. There are a few others, but these eight eco documentaries had the biggest impact upon Kim and me.

We realised that the truth is out there, we just had to open our eyes and see.

Has your world view been influenced by any of these, or can you add another to the list?  I think you can embed video into the comments if you like, or just paste in the YouTube link if you can find it.

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Filed Under: climate change, economy, Education, Fish, food, Happiness, Media, movies, Peak Everything, Sustainable Living Tagged With: Documentaries

Grow Food Not Lawns – 4 Reasons Why You Should Dig Up Your Lawn

March 23, 2014 @ 22:14 By Gavin Webber 33 Comments

It is probably a well-known fact that I do not have a lawn.  Correction: I don’t have any lawns, anywhere on my suburban block (except for the nature strip and I am working on that).

I am a strong supporter of the grow food not lawns movement, if there is such a thing.

In fact, one of the very first things we did after our green awakening was to dig up our lawn so that we could save water.  From there it was a natural progression to replace the lawns with vegetable garden beds and fruit trees.

So let me provide 4 reasons why you should dig up your lawn and grow food instead.

1.  Lawns are resource intense and expensive to maintain.

Now, I don’t think I am that hard-core when it comes to growing food.  Well, maybe a little.  

I have seen more intense cultivation in smaller spaces than mine.  Only a few mind you, because most suburbanites are in love with their lawns.  I don’t know why, they just are.  They water them, mow them weekly, trim them, fertilize them with artificial gunk, weed them, use pesticide and herbicides on them, and generally dote over them.  

Don’t get me wrong, I used to be one of them, but I certainly didn’t let it rule my life. 

But the simple fact remains; lawns cost a heck of a lot of money and your precious time to maintain in pristine condition.  And you get to waste lots of water for no benefit whatsoever, which is not the right thing to do in a drought stricken country like Australia.

On the other hand growing fruit and vegetables takes a lot less time, money, and resources. Best of all, you get something in return.  You get food on the table for a bargain basement price.

 2.  Front lawns are for your neighbours, not you.

Once I thought in this way, it was almost impossible to not dig up my lawn.  People maintain front lawns for only a few basic reasons.  One, to impress the neighbours.  Two, to raise the perceived value of their home, and Three, to keep lawnmower manufacturers and services in business.

Have a think how many times you use your front lawn.  I bet it is not very many.  How many times a day do you actually see it?  Twice, once when backing out of the driveway on the way to work, and another when you get home?  Is it really worth all that hassle.  Then only person that actually gets to visually enjoy your front lawn is your neighbours across the road.  Weird.

Dig it up and use the space for yourself.  Grow fruit trees on dwarf root-stock and you will be able to feed yourself most of the year round.

3.  We can’t eat lawns

When push comes to shove, the real reason you should dig up your lawn is that we can’t eat it.  If you are suddenly out of work and struggling to make ends meet, are you A) going to mow the lawn and make a salad out of it, or B) going to pick some pumpkins or tomatoes that you have grown in your veggie patch where the lawn used to be?

I think B is by far the more palatable option (pun intended).  Food is going to help you in a crisis, lawn will not.  Unless you get a goat and let it eat your lawn, then milk it and make delicious cheese.  But then it wouldn’t be a lawn, it would be a pasture.  Big difference!

4.  Grow Food Not Lawns

Let me show you a couple of photos from the front of my house, and you decide what looks better.

Gavin Webber old front lawn

Front lawn, circa 2004

This is what the front of our house used to look like few years ago.  A pain to mow, and we hardly ever used it.  It was a big waste of space.  Boring and inedible.

Compare that scene to this photo I took this today.

Grow food not lawn - Front lawn, March 2014

Front lawn, March 2014

In this scene I can see five fruiting trees and two types of vegetable (pumpkin and long yellow peppers), and this is only a part of the lawn.  It is much more productive than the first picture way back before we dug up the lawn.  There are 12 Queensland Blue pumpkins hidden throughout the pumpkin patch.

Not convinced yet?

Here are a couple more from the west side of the house which is our main entrance.

Gavin Webber's lawn before

Gavin Webber’s lawn before 2006

It’s all about the productivity.  Why slave at a job to pay off your little patch of suburban paradise, if all you are going to use it for is to grow an unproductive lawn?  At least do something productive with it, like maybe, grow some food!  Fruit trees don’t need that much care during the year.  A little bit of a prune in late summer, early autumn, a bit of water if it hasn’t rained in a while, and maybe a net to keep the birds off your abundant harvest.

Grow food not lawn - Veggie patch, January 2010

Grow food not lawn – Veggie patch, January 2010

That’s it.  They look after themselves, finding their own water and nutrients from the soil.  Pretty cool, and beats lawns hands down any time.  You can even grow fruit trees in large pots with good success.  All of my citrus trees are in pots and producing masses of fruit each year.

Vegetables are even easier.  Once you have good soil to plant them in, or build raised garden beds as I have, then the rest is easy.  Plant seeds, water, weed occasionally, then harvest and eat.

Not a lawn mower or can of fuel in sight.

Summary

So what are you waiting for.  By digging up your lawn and growing your own food, not only are you providing for yourself, but you are growing nutritious and delicious fare for your family and friends.  I hope to see the day when the resale value of a home is determines by how much food is grown on the block.

Now that is when suburban land is truly valued, and not the urban food desert that it is today.  After all, most suburbs were farm land to begin with, so we are only returning it to from whence it came!

Have I convinced you to dig up your lawn, or have you already taken the leap towards being lawn-less?  Chime in with comments, observations from your own experience, or even questions.

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Filed Under: food, Gardening, Organic, Permaculture, Sustainable Living

Blogging for Beginners – Blogging Course

March 22, 2014 @ 18:45 By Gavin Webber 4 Comments

Gavin blogging in his gardenDo you want to build an on-line community?  Are you looking for a way of engaging like-minded people within your niche?  Why not build a blog?  Would you like to learn from someone you trust?

My wife Kim, convinced me to start sharing my skills and experience in this field.  So dear readers, I am very pleased to announce that I will be teaching a blogging course over two sessions, here  in Melton, Victoria during April and May 2014.

You may be wondering why I believe that I am qualified to teach such a blogging course.  Well, this blog, The Greening of Gavin, was recently awarded the Green Lifestyle Award 2013 – On-line Eco Info Site (Highly Commended).  It has received over 2 million page-views and contains over 1500 posts.  Additionally, I am an IT professional with over 20 years experience in the industry and have a Certificate IV in Vocational Training (Instruction).  Besides that, I am passionate about teaching people new skills, green or otherwise.

I have been blogging in various forms since 2007 and am proficient using Google Blogger and WordPress blogging applications.  I now publish regularly on three blogs and three podcasts that I have created from myself.

So, here are the details of the two sessions;

Session One – Blogging for Beginners

What you will learn during this presentation:

  • Blogging background, what, why and how.
  • How to choose between different blogging platforms.
  • Deciding on a name for your blog.
  • Deciding what you are going to write about.
  • Steps on how to create your own blog for free.

Full presentation notes provided.

Date: Wednesday 30th April 2014
From 6.30pm – 8.30pm (1 session)
Contact: Melton South Community Centre on 03 9747 8576 for bookings
Location: 26 Exford Rd, Melton South, Victoria

Session Two – Build Your Blog

Do you have your own blog or want to set up one? Do you need more followers? Do you want to learn how to write even better blog posts? Do you want to build a community around your blog?

If the answer is Yes to any of the above questions then come and learn from the award-winning blogger, Gavin Webber, who has over 7 years of experience in blog writing and technical know-how.

What you will learn during this session;

  • How to set up your own blog with step by step instructions. Students will create their very own blog.
  • Learning how to write better blog posts.
  • Increasing and keeping your readership.
  • Promoting your blog with Social Media.
  • Methods of earning money on your blog.
Date: Wednesday 7th May 2014
From 6.30pm – 9.30pm (1 session)
Contact: Melton South Community Centre on 03 9747 8576 for bookings
Location: 26 Exford Rd, Melton South, Victoria

Total cost for the course (both sessions); AU$48.00 and AU$43.00 concession.  Minimum of 5, maximum of 8 students.

Get in quick, as places are limited, and the cost is minimal.  Further sessions may be available depending on the popularity of these initial course sessions.

Also, if you would like to learn about other courses that Kim and I offer, pop on over to www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au for a full list of dates until mid year.  There are soap making, soy candle making, and basic cheese making.  Hope to see you there if you live nearby.

Oh, and if you have attended one of our workshops, chime in and leave some feedback via comment; it is always welcome.

 

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Filed Under: Blog, Education

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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Podcast Reviews

  • Always inspiring and entertaining!
    August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

    I've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

  • ms
    July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

    I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do. Thanks Gavin, love it!!

  • Well worth your time to tune in
    October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

    I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast ! I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to. Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

  • very good
    June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

    This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

  • opened my eyes
    May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

    A wonderful show!

  • Inspiring
    April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

    This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

  • Green Living, inspiring and practical
    January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

    Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

  • Local food equals less waste
    December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

    Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

  • Honestly australian
    December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

    Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

  • Morning motivation
    December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

    Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

  • Passionate Advocate
    October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

    Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

  • Gavin speaks from the heart
    October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

    Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

  • Green thoughts, so well iterated
    October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

    This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

  • Easy listening inspiration on being green
    September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

    Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

  • Thanks Gavin!
    August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

    Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

  • Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm
    August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

    Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

  • Green Podcasts
    July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

    Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

  • Practical ideas and inspiration
    July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

    I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

  • Interesting & easy to listen to
    April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

    Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

  • Great green listen
    April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

    Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese

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