The Greening of Gavin

Getting My Cheese On

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Gavin Webber - Curd Nerd

Gavin Webber – Curd Nerd

It’s been a bit quiet around here on the blog.  Gav must be busy?

Too right I have!  Between attending trade shows with Kim to find more potential kits for our store, a marathon chook house clean out with Ben, to moving outdoor furniture around three times to suit Kim’s taste (then putting it back again because it looked better the first time), I haven’t had much me time.

Additionally, I did embark on a massive IT project to revamp my cheese blog, Little Green Cheese.  Besides the cosmetics, there is one big reason I’ve been giving it a new look and feel plus beefing up the back-end of the site.

That reason is…..Drumroll please….  I will be contributing to Mother Earth News as an authority on home cheese making!  I am writing my first contribution over the weekend.

I’ve been told the following fun facts about the site;

Your posts would be shared with a very large online audience — our website receives more than 7 million visits per month, and we share the best posts in our newsletters (about 400,000 subscribers) and on our Facebook page (1.8 million fans).

That is an incredible audience and I am very excited about that and reaching out to like minded folk about the simple joy of making cheese at home and teaching them the art of the curd nerd.  I dare say a few of those visitors will spill over to this blog as well for all its greenness.

The deal with Mother Earth News is a fortnightly commitment (minimum) where I contribute original articles to the Real Food section of the online edition.  I don’t think I will have any problems with that, because some of you may know, I was a contributor to the Simple, Green, Frugal Coop for a couple of years as well before it closed down (then restarted, and stopped again).  As before, there is no payment for articles, it’s for the love of it which is something I have no issue with at all.  After all, that’s why I write most days for you!

So that is my big news of the day.  Wish me luck on the cheese front!

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

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“So sad that it should come to this”, sung the dolphins as they left the Earth
 – Douglas Adams

Yes it is a milestone today.  It is the day of the last post at the Simple Green Frugal Co-op.  My first post at the Co-op was on December 21st 2008, and I posted every single fortnight until today.  That is a lot of thought provoking posts, and writing some of the deeper ones helped me get my own journey in perspective.

My favourite logo for the SGFC

It was great while it lasted, but as Rhonda Hetzel, the founder of the site said;

“I started this blog way back in 2008 when accurate information about sustainable living, written by people who were actually doing it, was not commonly available. I’m happy to say we were one of the leaders in this type of blogging and now there are many fine blogs written by permaculturalists, biodynamic farmers and people living sustainably in their own homes. There is more information now and many more people living this way.”

There are so many great resources now, many great blogs and mainstream magazines in print.  Simple living and variations on the theme seems to be in conversation everywhere.

So adieu old friend.  A big thanks to Sharon and Rhonda for organising everything behind the scenes, and to all the wonderful writers who contributed along side of me.  Every single post was inspiring, and special.

Will you miss the SGFC?

Voluntary Simplicity at the Co-op

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My main post for today is over at the Simple Green Frugal Co-op and is titled, How To Start Living Sustainably.

 I reflect upon the catalyst that made my green epiphany so powerful and motivating.  Yes, guilt had a lot to do with it, but what was I guilty about?

You will just have to pop on over to the SGFC to find out now, won’t you!

 Yours in greening,

Gav