by albanymanager | Dec 29, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Green Skills Albany is proud to be working in partnership with the businesses on Proudlove Parade, the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the City of Albany on a new activation project for the precinct. As part of the Proudlove Parade Town Team, together with Yak On York, La Botanic, IGA York St and Barletta’s, this Thursday night market is an opportunity for regional, local, small, micro and home-based businesses to trade during the summer holiday period, initially. The markets aim to provide opportunity for a huge range of diverse stalls including arts and crafts, up-cyclers, on-sellers, food producers, cooks and preservers, clothing, hand made items, great food, music and so much more.
Thursday night shopping was very popular when it started in the 1980’s. This project aims to inject some of that popularity back into Proudlove Parade while providing holiday makers with another interesting night activity during their stay in Albany
If you would love to be a part of the markets please contact Anne Sparrow on [email protected] or 0498 194 222.
by | Dec 6, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
It’s Denmark Arts Market time again. Green Skills will continue the amazing success of our Not Waste education program. The Bin Faeries are a chance to be on the ground talking to our community and making a real difference in waste separation. To augment this Green Skills and Denmark Arts have been helping stall holders to change their practices by providing information on alternatives to single use plastic. This is not the only thing but it is a great step towards waste reduction. Also Plastic Reduction Denmark will continue there wash station and will be trialing plate washing from one stall. These two projects, community education and the changes by stallholders have reduced the landfill by over 90%. We would love to have you as a part of the team and thanks so much to everyone who has already been a part of this community action.
James the Bin Faerie
by Rachel | Nov 21, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
Green Skills was pleased to support the City of Albany to run another successful Green Fair in November 2019. With a jam-packed schedule of demonstrations, speakers, workshops, displays, music and market stalls, there were plenty of sustainable skills to look at. The weather was looking stormy in the week prior but Saturday brought welcome sunshine. This year the event was spread over both sides of the library (and upstairs in the meeting rooms) due to the construction site next to the Albany Town Hall.
Adrian Price travelled from Boyup Brook to talk about upcycling ewaste, how to safely dismantle items for parts and the potential for selling components.
Sustainable Schools had several displays inside the library area. Several local schools also had their own stalls outside, and it was great to see the recycling and sustainability initiatives that are popping up.
Green Skills held a stall and answered questions about our Terracycle programs, bushland regeneration and other projects.
There were lots of volunteers and community groups on the day sharing their skills and knowledge. What did you learn?
by Rachel | Oct 10, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
The Albany office has been running a ‘Food is Free’ cart since 2017 at 38 Graham Street, inspired by the Food is Free laneway in Ballarat, VIC. Over the last two years, hundreds of kilograms of fruit and vegetables have been given away from this humble little upcycled cart. The Food is Free concept started in Austin, Texas and has now spread around the world with over 350 cities participating. It’s a great way to build community and connect excess food to people who can use it.
The Green Skills Albany office has several raised garden beds and grows seasonal vegetables when volunteer labour & staff energy allows. We currently have one volunteer working in our garden and have planted summer seedlings such as zucchini and tomatoes. Upcycled wicking beds in the front yard are a great way of keeping the vegies going through summer holidays with gaps in garden watering. The garden produce on the Food is Free cart mostly comes from the office gardens and staff home vegetable gardens.
You can participate by dropping off your own homegrown produce or taking whatever you find on the cart. Please don’t leave items that can blow away, such as egg cartons, as this location is windy. The cart has been on the verge in the past but it now lives under the veranda where it is shadier.
The Green Skills Food is Free cart is available to the community whenever the gates are open, which is roughly 9-3pm weekdays (may be earlier or later depending on staffing). Keep an eye out on our Facebook page for current offerings. While you’re there, you may want to bring your coffee pods, toothbrushes or old pens for recycling in the TerraCycle program.
You might even like to set up a Food is Free space or edible verge garden at your place. Find out how here.
by helen | Oct 2, 2019 | Green Skills Inc. - Sustainability Non-Profit
The Denmark Community Garden is operated by Green Skills in collaboration with the Denmark CRC and was opened in March 2019. The Garden is conveniently and prominently located in the heart of Denmark behind the Morgan Richardson Centre (old Denmark hospital site) which is now the Denmark Community Resource Centre. It is in easy walking distance of many residents in social housing and retirement villages and designed to be wheelchair accessible and family-friendly.
The garden is a sustainable, organic, community-based food garden which encourages its members and local South Coast residents to participate more actively in community life, connect with the earth, grow fresh garden produce, and enjoy doing all this in company with others in the community. Here community gardeners can develop and try out new horticulture and food gardening skills and help give back to Denmark by contributing to this Community Garden.
The Denmark Community Garden is inclusive and accessible, holding regular free workshops and events for learning new gardening skills. Over 80 south coast residents have actively joined in workshops and events since this community garden was launched in March 2019. Go check on the Green Denmark Community Garden’s activities and upcoming workshops at: https://greenskills.org.au/denmark-community-garden/
Greg nurturing the broad beans
Preparing a range of herbs & veggies for planting at the Denmark Community Garden
