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Archive | August, 2014

Are backyard chickens right for you?

chickens

By Grace Boglev

If you have a yard and don’t mind a little extra pet care, it’s worth looking into keeping some backyard chickens. Hens are relatively simple and cheap care for, plus they have a range of lifestyle and environmental benefits.

Before you decide to keep chickens, keep in mind that they require consistent attention. Some animal shelters have seen a huge rise in numbers of abandoned chickens from would-be backyard farmers motivated by novelty rather than considered planning. Like all pets, they’re an investment, so make sure you have the time and inclination to give them the lives they deserve.

Eggs

eggsontoast

Eggs are fantastic. A great source of complete protein plus many essential vitamins and minerals, they’re incredibly versatile and an under-appreciated star of the average fridge. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to navigate the ethical concerns that come with the humble egg. As consumers, we can make the choice not to support factory farming, but even navigating the labelling on eggs to avoid cage eggs can be complicated.
One way to know for sure that your eggs come from a safe, caring environment is to raise the hens yourself – it’s not as hard as you might think, and can be very rewarding. Most chooks can be expected to produce around 4 eggs per week, which can really add up if you’ve got a small flock!

Food Waste, Compost and Fertiliser

Chickens will gladly gobble up scraps from your kitchen – vegetable peelings, old bread and leftovers are all fine feed for a chook. Plus, your chook can take this food waste and quickly turn it into fertiliser for your garden – a double win for you.

Pest Control

Chickens will go out of their way to snarf up slugs, snails and other pests in your garden. As long as you keep an eye on them so they don’t damage your plants, they’re a totally natural and highly effective insecticide.

Before You Start

henhouse


Be sure to contact your local council about keeping chickens – different councils have different regulations concerning how many chickens you’re allowed to keep and the type of housing you must provide them. It’s also possible that you won’t be able to keep a rooster – while chickens are relatively quiet, roosters aren’t!

You can get chickens from a number of sources. The best place for you depends on why you want to keep chickens.

Local Farmers

Buying your chickens from local farmers means that you can meet the people who raised your birds, as well as supporting a local business. This will also allow you to choose which type of hens you want – pets, egg layers, for meat or for eggs and meat. Consider looking for stalls selling eggs and hens at your local farmers’ markets. Otherwise, Humane Choice has put together a list of certified farms (though not all farms listed will sell hens, it’s a good way to find local farmers).

Rescue chickens

If you want to re-home a chicken that has been rescued from a factory farm, there are a number of organisations that can assist you. Animals Australia have listed some adoption organisations in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania that they approve of. NSW Hen Rescue also have some useful information on how to care for rescue chickens and if they are suitable for you. Most rescue hens are unreliable layers, so if eggs are what you’re after, consider buying a small flock and adding a rescue chicken or two as well.

What You’ll Need

First, you’ll want a reasonably sized yard. Some councils will have regulations about the distance the coop and run must be from the fence.
The coop itself should be secure and warm, protected from the elements and including a nesting box and perch. You’ll also need an enclosed mesh run to protect your chooks from predators. Various state animal welfare legislation says that they must be provided with appropriate food, water and protection, so make sure your coop is of a standard that meets local requirements and your birds have everything they need to flourish and be happy.
Many suppliers of hens will also provide you with a coop, but you can also build one yourself. This set of instructions from Readers Digest Australia tells you how to build a small A-frame chicken coop cheaply, but there are many other sets of instructions available online depending on the size and style of coop you want to build.

Want To Know More?

There’s lots of information available online for raising chickens:

are all great resources to start with. Happy farming!

Photo credit
Chicken trio, kimll (CC)
Boiled egg over cheese bread toast, Ames Lai (CC)
laying eggs, dolanh (CC)
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Sustainable Dating: green romance for eco-conscious lovebirds

sustainable dating

How do you combine sustainability with dating? Daile Kelleher isn’t going to suggest recycling lovers (it’s always a terrible idea), and she hasn’t quite figured out how to upcycle  past partners for future use. But she does have some sustainable dating ideas – being green has never been more romantic. Visit her blog at The Confused But Conscious Customer.

sustainable dating

Geocaching

Perfect for lovebirds with a sense of adventure and a fondness for the great outdoors. Set aside a day with your date, wear comfortable shoes, download the Geocache app on your GPS-enabled smartphone and you have yourself a romantic treasure hunt.

What’s the deal?

A geocache is a container of varied size that has been hidden in a specific location and tagged with GPS coordinates, ready to be discovered in an online-enabled scavenger hunt. Once you reach the marked area and find the specially marked geocache you can sign the logbook, celebrate your discovery via social media and take a memento from the container, as well as leaving one in its place to mark your achievement. No need for vehicles or cash money – you couldn’t ask for a more eco and pocket friendly date.

Why is this a great date idea?

With few outside distractions you’ll have an opportunity to connect with your date, and geocache hunting is a great chance to talk. This type of activity is also reminiscent of childhood – treasure hunting, orienteering at school camps or your summer with the local scout troop – which can lead to intimate conversations laced with nostalgia. This grown-up Easter Egg expedition has to involve teamwork, so when you find the geocache you’ve achieved something together. Awww!

sustainable date ideas

Fish & chips at the beach

Every beach has a local takeaway where you can get a serve of chunky chips, battered sav, potato scallop and a piece of crumbed fish to enjoy while watching the waves. While some areas may have slightly more upmarket versions of the humble fish and chipper, there is nothing better than an oil soaked paper wrapped parcel shared with someone cute.

What’s the deal?

If you live near the beach, walking or catching public transport means you cut down on emissions. But what about the fish? We all know about overfishing and species extinction, so it’s crucial to choose your fish wisely – which is often easier at the fishmonger than it is at a fish & chip shop. This is where the Sustainable Seafood Guide comes to the rescue. An online tool as well as an app, it’s as simple as searching for the type of fish you want to eat and checking the rank.

Make sure you check yours and your date’s seafood choices so you can enjoy your parcel of freshly deep fried food knowing you have made a more sustainable decision.

Why is this a great date idea?

Sunshine, sand and water – whether you go swimming or not, the beach is a fantastic outdoors date. You get a bit of vitamin D and honestly, who doesn’t feel a bit more romantic bathed in sunshine with the sea breeze tossing your hair about? As for the fish, every time I use the Sustainable Seafood Guide app around friends they are intrigued and want to know more. It’s a wonderful little educator on the types of fish we should be eating more of and ones we should avoid altogether.

Sustainable dating isn’t all about being outdoors, so here’s one last option for committed homebodies who prefer their dates cosy and low-key rather than rugged and sandy.

sustainable date ideas

Board games by candlelight

Prove two people can have hours of fun with their clothes on by having a board game night with your date. Grab your favourite game, light some candles and chill a cask of Australian wine (much more sustainable than a bottle) for a romantic night in.

What’s the deal?

No matter what your interests, there will be a board game suitable for you and your date. Try Eurogames like Agricola, a card game like the aptly named Love Letter or even an old faithful like Scrabble. A fun way to match your wits, intellect and ability to strategize, board games are a bit of competitive fun and an excellent way to stave off fear of awkward silences.

Why is this a great date idea?

It’s private, you don’t have to leave home and the candles are not only  romance-inducing but also a great power saver. Any extra sparks you create definitely won’t contribute to your carbon footprint. Board games are a lifelong investment and can be played for years to come – imagine the flashbacks when you sit down with your grandkids to play Ticket to Ride, reminiscing about the evening you spent flirting over train routes.

Considering sustainability while dating isn’t that difficult and there are plenty of activities that are fun, flirty and suitable for two with as little impact on the environment as possible. Other ideas include pretending to be a tourist and exploring your own city, spending a day volunteering at an event together, a visit to your local organic farmers market to grab ingredients for a homemade lunch, or even a simple picnic in the park with plenty of opportunities for canoodling. Failing that, by far the most sustainable activity you can engage in is best done with the lights off…  all in the name of energy efficiency of course.

Photo Credit
Loving on the edge, Collin Key (CC)
Geocaching, Sean Carney (CC)
Fish and Chips, Travis (CC)
Disco Ticket to Ride, Kevin Cheng (CC)
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Everyone’s business: the world of social enterprise

social enterprise

What is a social enterprise, and why are they important for achieving positive change? Social Traders, a specialist social enterprise development organisation that also host the  Social Enterprise Awards, sent their project manager Mindy Leow to explain.

As the Australian social enterprise sector grows, it’s easier for consumers and organisations to deliver social impact through their spending. Social enterprises are businesses that sell goods and services into the marketplace in order to deliver community benefit. The motivations driving social enterprises usually fall into one of three categories:

• creating jobs for marginalised or disadvantaged job-seekers,
• developing services in response to a need not currently being met by the market,
• redistribution of profits to community programs.

In Australia, approximately $22 billion, or 39% of all income in the not-for-profit sector, is generated through trading activity, equating to 2 to 3% of the Australia’s GDP. There are over 20,000 social enterprises, operating across every industry in the country. What this means for Australian consumers and organisations is that the power of purchasing is becoming one of the most effective ways that both organisations and individuals can achieve social change.

whogivesacrap
The recent Social Enterprise Awards run by Social Traders highlighted a number of national social enterprises offering everyday consumers products that we can easily get on board with:

• The winner of the Social Innovation Award, Thankyou, is a social enterprise that now offers food and body care products that can be purchased from 7-Evelen, Coles, Woolworths, and other retailers. All profits from sales go towards funding high quality development projects around the world. Since starting up, Thankyou has distributed over $1 million to charities.
• Who Gives A Crap is an eco-friendly, 100% recycled toilet paper, delivered directly to your home or business. WGAC donates 50% of its profits to international charity WaterAid. Each roll sold gives someone access to a toilet for approximately one week.

The beauty of these social enterprises is that we can make a difference by simply choosing these products that we already use daily (bottled water, food, body care, and toilet paper). Talk about more power back to the consumer! In Australia, the majority of products and services offered by social enterprises target procurement professionals and other organisational buyers, giving them a greater strategic impact from their spending than ever before.

nundah

A number of other exemplary social enterprises making a difference in their communities were also recognised at the Social Enterprise Awards, including:

• SEED Parks and Property Maintenance employs previously long-term unemployed people in North Brisbane to deliver commercial landscape maintenance, residential gardening and commercial cleaning.
• Nundah Community Enterprises Co-operative operates a café and park and maintenance business to provide over 5,000 hours of supportive part-time employment annually to members who all have a disability.
• SORT Recycling recycles computers to people in need. The recycling enterprise collects unwanted computers and through this process provides training and employment opportunities to those with mental health issues through a range of enterprises.
• Ability Enterprises operates council gatehouses at waste facilities in the Toowoomba region to create employment opportunities for people living with a disability or those long-term unemployed.

fairtrade

Equally as important as the social enterprises delivering good are the organisations that purchase from social enterprises. The recent Social Enterprise Awards recognised City of Gold Coast as winner of the Buy Social Award. Gold Coast initiated its social procurement policy in February 2013 with the goal of reducing unemployment and increasing economic activity. As a result, over $5m in spending has created 76 jobs for Gold Coast residents who are long term unemployed, including a high number of people with disabilities.

To make it easier for consumers and procurement officers to find social enterprises in Australia, Social Traders has developed an online directory called the Social Enterprise Finder, where over 5,000 social enterprises are listed. Here you can locate social enterprises operating near you, and vote for social change every time you reach for the wallet.

 Image Credit
jairoagua, Networking (CC)
Courtesy of Who Gives A Crap
Courtesy of Nundah Community Enterprises Co-Operative
Richard Thomas, Fairtrade Fortnight (CC)
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Op shopping tips for the skeptical newbie

op shopping

Eleanor Robertson

Op shops are fantastic, there’s no two ways about it. They’re a great way to avoid purchasing new and prevent perfectly good cast-offs from going into landfill, plus you’re supporting charity at the same time.  Some of my earliest memories are of cruising op shops with my dad on Saturday afternoons; his poison was vintage sci-fi novels and comics, whereas I was more interested in toys and dress-ups.

However! For people who aren’t lifelong op shoppers, secondhand wonderlands can be confusing and intimidating. Plus there’s that weird op shop smell, like a cross between a primary school and a retirement home. But fear not, because to celebrate National Op Shop Week we’ve put together the ultimate guide to pre-loved purchasing  — and don’t worry, the op shop smell disappears completely after a thorough cycle in the washing machine.

  1. Know the lay of the land.

Choosing which op shops to hit up is crucial. If someone close to you is a regular at Vinnies and the Salvos, get them to take you to their favourite spots. Op shops vary hugely in size, price point, stock, store arrangement and many other factors. For the seasoned enthusiast this is all part of the fun, but if you’re more used to doing a casual swing through Target then the number and variety of op shops can be overwhelming. To find your closest op shops, check out Op Shop Listing, which has hundreds of op shops around the country.

As well as proximity, here are some general tips when deciding which stores to hit up:

  • The further you are from a major urban centre, the cheaper the items and the larger the variety. Regional op shops, and those in outer suburbs, are often enormous treasure troves of clothing, books and homewares priced significantly lower than those in trendier postcodes.
  • Check out church or parish op shops, which are tiny in size but frequently contain more than their fair share of unexpected finds.
  • Most op shops take delivery of new stock on specific days of the week, so it’s often worth it to phone ahead to your op shop of choice and ask them when they’ll get a new shipment in.

op shopping

  1. Be prepared.

Ideally, you want to set aside at least a whole morning or afternoon to go on an op shopping adventure. There are some basic preparations you’ll want to make to ensure you get the best out of the experience:

  • Bring reusable shopping bags for carrying your finds so that you don’t have to use disposable plastic bags.
  • Make sure you’ve got a reasonable wad of cash, because some op shops don’t have EFTPOS.
  • Go through your wardrobe or your kitchen cupboard and make a rough list of what you’re looking for so that you don’t end up wandering around aimlessly (can be a real problem in op shops.)
  • Bring a bottle of water. Op shopping is thirsty work.

op shopping

  1. When you’re inside

Because op shops are organised so differently to normal retail spaces, the techniques you need to navigate them are different too. Stock is often displayed in a way that would be considered cramped in other shops, and this means there are a lot more items per square inch than your shopping eyes are probably used to. This is a recipe for glazed-over wandering – don’t let the Op Shop Dawdle happen to you.

  • Manage your FOMO (fear of missing out). Only check each area once, and be strict. If you find yourself fingering through the same rack of jumpers three or four times, you might have to implement a time limit by setting an alarm on your phone.
  • When going through clothing, be picky. Is your item made of nice fabric? Is it a colour that will go with other things in your wardrobe? Does it fit properly? Are there any defects? Only take the plunge if it’s something you’ll actually wear!
  • Don’t get too caught up in gender-specific sections. Browse the men’s section if you’re a woman, and if you’re a man don’t reject that nice wintery coat just because the tag says it’s made by the Ladies’ Clothing Emporium for Women.

op shopping

Pro tips

  • Don’t buy something if it’s chipped, ripped, stained, too short, too long, or ‘for a friend’. If you’ve never sewn before you’re probably not going to start now, and that beautiful but too-long skirt will sit at the bottom of your wardrobe causing you guilt until you give it back to a different op shop six months later. Better to leave it for someone else to find.
  • Know what clothing in style this season. Fashion goes through cycles, and often by the time something ends up in an op shop it can be on the verge of a comeback.
  • Avoid single-use appliances unless you’re 100% sure you’ll use them. There are stacks of popcorn makers, doughnut irons, fairy floss machines, chocolate fountains and the like in op shops, which can seem exciting because they’re expensive at retail. But there’s a reason they end up here – most people don’t use them!
  • If you’re shopping for furniture, bring a tape measure, and the dimensions of the space you need to fill. There’s nothing worse than lashing a bargain vintage bed frame to the roof of your car and dragging it home, only to find it doesn’t fit in your bedroom.
  • Be very picky about accessories. Op shops are full of scarves, belts, hats, sunglasses and costume jewellery, and you can afford to put something back if you’re not completely in love with it.
 Photo credit
 Emily Orpin, A day in Hongdae (CC)
Eddy Milfort, 10 11 2013 (CC)
Ashton, Vintage Haight-Ashbury (CC)
Tracy B, Royal Albert Summer Solitude (CC)

 

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