The Greening of Gavin

Green Behaviours – Poll Results

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Well after a week of polling, the results are in with 668 responses being cast before the poll closed.

But firstly, before we get to the results,  I would like to thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on what topics are your favourite and what you would like to read or hear more about on the blog and podcast.  Your input has been invaluable and you are amazingly generous!

So what were the top 6 of all responses?

Poll results

As you can see in the screenshot, reducing waste came in at #1 with 9.13% of the vote, followed by #2 cooking from scratch, #3 Upcycling, #4 Eating healthy food, #5 composting and worm farming, and at #6 Growing your own food with 7.1% of the vote.

There were also a few interesting “others”, like winemaking, cider making, bread making, preserving, fitness, make laundry liquid, no plastic bags, and Living a vegan lifestyle.

I will focus more towards the top six in the coming weeks.  However, with that said, I will still be featuring other topics as well that didn’t make it into the top six.  After all, variety is the spice of life!

You may have noticed that I have already started to track down interviews and written blog posts that contain some of this information.  For instance, TGoG 113 featured Erin from The Rouge Ginger who strives to live a zero waste lifestyle, and recent posts on growing your own garlic and curing olives.

I will also be posting more delicious recipes that we make from ingredients grown in our very own backyard for all of you who voted for #2.  I am looking forward to eating the meals as well!

All in all, it was great to receive feedback from you and to generate some potential post and podcast ideas.  If my years of blogging have taught me anything, it’s that it pays to solicit feedback and seek the opinion of you, the reader.

Thanks again for your participation.  It has helped immensely.

TGoG 102 – Can You Be Self-Sufficient in the Suburbs?

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Listen to the Episode Below (00:28:05)
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Tom+and+BarbaraCan you be self-sufficient in the suburbs? That is a big question. It may have worked for Tom and Barbara, but can it actually be done?

Let Gavin guide you through some of the barriers that may hinder true self-sufficiency in the suburban context.  Being self-sufficient is hard work.

There is a bit of something in this episode for everyone.  Very thought-provoking.

Also if you like the show and would like to help it continue, please visit my Patreon page and pledge a dollar or two for hosting and equipment costs. www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin is the place where you can help.

Become my patreon!

There Is Nothing Wrong With Asking For Help

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We all want the satisfaction of doing things ourselves, but sometimes we need help.  However, many of us find it difficult to ask.  Let me tell you something.

STOP trying to be Superman or Superwoman and start asking for help.

You can’t do it all yourself.  Honestly, I know, because I am speaking from years of experience.  There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.

There is no way I could have built all the garden beds around here or let alone filled them with the layers of cardboard, straw, and compost.  NO FREAKING WAY.  It would have taken me a month of Sundays.  Thankfully I asked Adam, Megan, Amy, and Kim to give me a hand and they kind of volunteered to help me out over a few very wet weekends back in March and April 2007.  They were happy days, excellent character building exercises, and best of all; we had fun.

Nothing wrong with asking for help. Veggie Patch circa May 2007

Veggie Patch circa May 2007

Another example was building our chook house.  Every single family member helped to make it.  Amy and Megan dug post holes (begrudgingly as they were teenagers at the time) for the initial chicken run.  Adam and I built the first chicken enclosure and coop, and Ben helped me to paint the coop.  It was a family affair, and once again, I asked for help and people joined in and had fun.

Nothing wrong with asking for help. Painting the first chook house circa June 2008

Painting the first chook house circa June 2008

My final example is our Backyard Clay Oven.  This project was certainly not finished in a day.  It took many weekends of hard graft to get the oven completed.  Sure, I built the plinth of breeze block (cinder blocks), but there was no way I could have lifted the four very heavy slabs that formed the base with my friend David’s help.  Nor could I have finished the first layer of cob by myself in two hours.  The members of the Melton Sustainable Living Group helped out during a clay oven workshop that I held and everyone pitched in.  Once the first layer was on, the other four were a breeze, even though it took me another two months to complete it, and that was with help from my family.

Nothing wrong with asking for help. Cob Oven Firing 4th layer

Cob Oven Firing 4th layer with Megan and Jake circa Sept 2011

As you can see, all of the projects I have completed around our Suburban Food Farm have not been singular tasks.  I am not Superman, and neither is anyone else I know.

Don’t be scared to ask for help anytime during your own sustainable living journey, because my friends, that is what makes it interesting and fun.  Team work with others, sharing the joy of a completed project, and being able to use the fruits of the joint labour with all your friends for a very long time.

In reality, this blog has not been about my sustainable living journey, but the journey of every single person that has helped me along the path.  Every. Single. Person.  And for that, I thank you one and all including every reader of this blog.  You have also been on my journey with me, helping me keep motivated via emails and comments, and inspiring me to try out new things, ideas, and ways of thinking.

So reach out and ask someone to help with your next project.  You may be surprised at their response, because everyone knows that sustainable living projects are the best fun!