How to build an automatic chicken coop door opener, the world’s fanciest chicken coop, Kiama Community Garden’s new blog, backyard aquaponics, and Fresh the movie.

[ February 6, 2011; 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. ] Our first Jamberoo Community Growers meeting for 2011 will be on Sunday 6th February, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, in the Jamberoo Anglican Church hall (next door to Jamberoo Primary School). The speaker at this meeting will be John Burgess from Fresh By Nature, a Gerringong-based business providing aquaponics systems, supplies, fish stock & feed, and advice. Aquaponics [...]

By “chopping and dropping” your weeds you not only mulch and return nutrients to the soil, but you avoid disturbing the soil surface and prevent more weed seeds germinating.

How to dismantle wooden shipping pallets and use them to build sheds, chicken coops, animal shelters and other useful structures. Also how to dig swales, and an indoor farm in Tokyo.

You get a lot of variations in the size, shape and colour of eggs between different breeds of chickens and ducks. There’s a fair bit of natural variation within a breed, and even with eggs from the same bird. Here’s a lineup of some recent eggs we’ve collected.

A little more unusual than chickens and ducks, geese can provide several useful functions in the garden if you have the space.

Photos and a description of a very cleverly designed chicken coop.

[ January 29, 2011; 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. ] See first hand the difference a community can make to the environment and discover the history of the dunes. This guided walk is part of the Conservation Volunteers Summer Discovery Program. Bookings are essential through the Conservation Volunteers Australia Office on (02) 4228 9246. For information on this walk and a program of other walks, check out the CVA [...]

[ January 27, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Take in the views as the sun goes down behind Lake Illawarra. This guided walk is part of the Conservation Volunteers Summer Discovery Program. Bookings are essential through the Conservation Volunteers Australia Office on (02) 4228 9246. For information on this walk and a program of other walks, check out the CVA Illawarra coastal walks flyer and calendar (617 [...]

[ January 20, 2011; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Discover the difference local volunteers have made at Nyrang Park and be surrounded by birdlife. This guided walk is part of the Conservation Volunteers Summer Discovery Program. Bookings are essential through the Conservation Volunteers Australia Office on (02) 4228 9246. For information on this walk and a program of other walks, check out the CVA Illawarra coastal walks flyer [...]