Community News

Valley Watch – nominate now for ‘Living Sustainably Awards’

The vibrant Yamba Community Garden was again the venue for our ‘Introduction to Biodynamics’ workshop that Valley Watch sponsored as part of its education program. Twenty six participants from a diverse range of backgrounds came to explore how they could practise biodynamics on their patch of ground.

Participants were initially asking about how to improve their degraded soil and how to manage unwanted insect pests. Guidance was given in building healthy soil with good compost that incorporates inexpensive biodynamic ‘preparations’ as well as in what to do when the plants emerged. Funnily, plants are like us. If we are healthy, we are less likely to catch a virus; if the soil is healthy, insect pests become a lot less bothersome. Participants were encouraged to be observant in their gardens. It was inspirational and heart-warming.

The May Yamba River Market was a real buzz with lots of diverse conversations at the Valley Watch tent. It is great to interact with people who want to share their enthusiasm for living more sustainably or their positive stories about good works being done to improve the health of the Clarence Valley. Conversely, it saddens us to hear of wilful clearing of wildlife environments or potential polluting of headwaters that are essential in keeping the whole of theClarence Valley healthy.

Our Monstera plant raffle, sponsored by Willow Botanicals, was won by Wendy Vang at Wendy’s Fruit and Veg stall. Julia King of Wooloweyah donated some Boomerang Bags to us to help us in our ‘Free Yamba From Plastics’ campaign.

The ‘Living Sustainably Awards’ are given out by CVC’s Climate Change Advisory Committee each year in several categories; now is the time to make a nomination for a business (including farming enterprises), community group, school or individual who is trying to reduce the use of the Earth’s resources. They are people who try to reduce their carbon footprint and live and work in ways that allow both themselves and nature to flourish. If you see a dairy farmer with solar on their sheds, a golf club replacing synthetic fertilisers and pesticides with organics in the care of their greens and fairways, a cafe whose owner sources its food as locally as possible, a sporting club that has banned plastics in their canteen or a school that is aiming for zero waste, nominate them with suzanne.lynch@clarence.nsw.edu.au  

Show the people of the Clarence Valley that you care about what is happening in it.

 Helen Granleese