The Greening of Gavin

Kev’s Patch – Rejected!

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Here is a letter that I received from the Prime Ministers office about the Kev’s Patch Campaign that a few other bloggers and I are involved in. It is a resonable facimile with only my address being omitted.

Australian Government
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
ONE NATIONAL CIRCUIT BARTON
Reference:C09/32365

15 July 2009
Dear Mr Gavin

Thank you for your letter of 4 June 2009 to the Prime Minister regarding a vegetable garden at The Lodge. I have been asked to reply on the Prime Minister’s behalf.

At this time there are no immediate plans to grow vegetables at The Lodge. While we acknowledge that there are many good reasons to do so, the lack of water in Canberra makes it impractical to undertake such a project. The grounds at The Lodge have already been affected by the water shortage and would be further compromised if water were redirected to the establishment of a new garden. There are however, existing fruit trees and herbs growing throughout the garden which are used in the house, as are flowers grown in the grounds.

The time you have taken to write to the Prime Minister is appreciated.

Yours sincerely

Suzanne de Smet
Assistant Director
Official Establishments Unit

Good on them for having fruit trees and a herb garden, however it is a bit disappointing to say the least, and I dare say that there are a few unhappy campers around with the same letter in their hands. A few apples and oranges and a bunch of herbs is not going to make much of an impression on the nation’s people. Most of the folk I know have at least some mint, parsley and a lemon tree down the back. A bit more effort please Mr Rudd.

Now I must say that the lack of water in Canberra is a pretty piss poor excuse on the PM’s behalf. If I can keep my veggie patch alive with water restrictions in place (watering for 1 hour, twice weekly) and got off my bum and put in a 2300L rain water tank, and sure the PM can spare a couple of thousand dollars of my tax payers money to buy The Lodge a few measly tanks. Not trying very hard me thinks! Set an example Mr Rudd and many others will follow.

What do you think of the result? It just makes me want to try harder, and now I am even more determined to increase the heat, so to speak.

Kev’s Patch Update

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If you remember back a week you would have remembered that I mentioned that I joined the campaign to encourage the Prime Minister of Australia to plant an organic vegetable patch in the grounds of the lodge.  I called upon fellow citizens to send a message to the PM via his website asking him to give it a go.

Well since then, things have gathered a bit of steam.  Another concerned blogger, Julie @ Go Greener Australia, has whipped up a dedicated website called (you guessed it), Kev’s Patch.  As she is a web designer by trade, it looks very professional and has managed to get the graphic done for free!  Have a look at this new site at this address; http://kevspatch.wordpress.com  Pretty flash, and well done Julie and thanks for joining the campaign.

Also, Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth has also joined in the fun.  She has re-established a veggie patch in the grounds of Buckingham Palace.  You can have a look at the article from the Guardian titled, “Queen turns corner of palace backyard into an allotment”.

And have a video tour of the Queen’s allotment by watching this video.  I know that she has a team of gardeners to work the plot for her, but it is the simple act of her requesting it is what counts.  I hope she enjoys her first batch of tomatoes from her own backyard just like I did!

I suppose the next step for our little band of eco-gardeners is to promote the campaign via the media and get others interested.  Should be a fun journey!

If any one else is interested in getting involved with Kev’s Patch, let us know via the site.

Kev’s Patch

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If Barack Obama can have a veggie patch, why can’t Kevin Rudd! It took a lot of campaigning by many concerned citizens who voiced their opinion at EatTheView.org. They made such an impact that Michelle Obama actually turned over the first sod in the garden herself. Many American families are following suit and have begun to plant ‘Recession Gardens‘. The First Lady even appeared on Oprah to tout the benefits of growing your own organic vegetables. Now that the President of the USA and family has an organic supply of yummy vegetables in the Whitehouse’s yard, there should be no reason why our Kev can’t rip up some of the lawn at the Lodge (the official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia), and put in a veggie patch just like the one that Peter Cundall made at the Royal Botanical Garden in Hobart. After all, the upkeep of the Lodge is paid for by Australian taxpayers dollars, so technically it belongs to all Australians. Just look at all that potential veggie patch space in the photo below!

In fact it was Peter, whilst visiting the Lodge as a finalist for 2009 Australian of the year, who actually suggested it to Kevin and Teresa over a cuppa. They were apparently interested, as our PM was raised on a farm in Queensland. Apparently Peter and his mate Mike Plane have been on the campaign trail for over a year, but they haven’t had much luck.

Here is where we proud Australians and any International visitors come into the picture. My fellow green blogger, Darren over at Green-Change.com suggested that other bloggers and I get busy promoting this campaign. Have a look at his Kev’s Patch page. I believe it will be the start of something really big. So this is what I ask of you, if you are game. Send the PM a little message at his official web site, just like Darren and I have. If you really want to, you can mention our blogs! Now that reminds me of a dream I once had.

I am going to promote it as much as I can, and believe that if we get enough media attention, then we may just see a veggie patch at the Lodge. I am going to call our local paper tomorrow and see if they are interested in a story. Check back at Kev’s Patch on Green-Change.com regularly for updates. Darren is investigating blog buttons, a petition, and a few other things. He has even had his first write up in the Christian Science Monitor, much to his amazement.

Here is my letter to our Prime Minister. I hope you have a go as well. You can use mine as a basic template if you like. I don’t mind at all.

Organic Veggie Garden at the Lodge – Kev’s Patch

Dear Mr Prime Minister Rudd,

My friend Darren Collins and I are very impressed with the way that Barack Obama and his family planted an organic vegetable garden in the Whitehouse grounds, and were wondering if you would consider planting a similar garden at the Lodge.

We believe that by setting an example, other Australians would follow your example and begin to grow their own wholesome veggies, and therefore begin to learn how to provide for themselves in a small way. I have also read that Peter Cundall has offered to help you in this endeavour and has even persuaded some organic veggie gardeners to maintain it for you. I believe that this is an offer too good to refuse!

Please consider this proposal, as I believe it will give hope and offer inspiration to many ordinary Australians.

Regards,

Gavin
greeningofgavin.blogspot.com

So what do you think? Are Darren and I crazy, or do you think it is a worthwhile campaign. Let us both know via a comment. While you are writing your comment, have a look at this you tube video from the US campaign to fire you up!

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