The arrival of Melbourne Farmers Markets down the road really has completely changed the vibe of our little pocket of Alphington all for the better over the last 5 years - I am sure you agree.

Remember that weird suspended watering system and how neglected and industrial the view into that site was from Yarana Road before Miranda came along? Now we have the walking/bike path connecting to the parklands and lots of planting, and fun and educational artworks and signs, inspiring vegetable gardens and shipping containers and … bees and mushrooms and all the things!

It is quite exciting to have this creative urban ag. hub in our backyard - bringing those cool vibes along with great fresh produce right to our doorstep.

But … MFM and the other tenants don’t have a secure ongoing licence … and Miranda and her colleagues are now putting together their expressions of interest to stay in situ for the next 5 years.

As part of the process Miranda is keen to document community support for their vision for the site. So if you too visit the market regularly, stop in for a coffee and bread at the new bakery, or enjoy seeing all the micro-enterprises popping up, read the poster below, follow the link via the QR code (or click here) and register your support.

Fingers crossed that the process is smooth for you Miranda and all!

Are you a keen gardener? We’d love some help in our garden on Friday mornings. Clare is here from 10-11.30am working to maintain our lovely community garden space and building up the capacity of our seed library and the other gardening resources onsite - and at the same time sharing seasonal gardening expertise and composting tips and tricks etc.

If you enjoy a chat and like gardening perhaps you’d like to come along? This program is suitable for young families and retirees, and anyone in between who enjoys gardening.

Note the program concludes with morning tea at 11.30am. We hope to see you soon!

This week is National Recycling Week and we’ve been celebrating recycling in our programs. We kicked off with Visible Mending Club on the weekend and sent along some fabulous potential mending supplies for the group that Anne had kindly donated (patches and lace and all sorts of interesting things) … then offered a range of fun recycled craft activities for playgroups … and will finish the week mixing up recycling with gardening … making recycled seed packets for seeds we’ve saved from the garden and also potting up some of the lettuce seedlings we’ve been growing - again in recycled pots and tins.

And we made this great sign as well! Just for fun. Using a whole range of donated/recycled things we had hanging around … so Happy National Recycling Week.

Join the Yarra Circular Living Challenge 

Interested in a more sustainable and regenerative future?

The Circular Living Challenge is a 30-day challenge focused on engaging the community and local merchants in the City of Yarra to build a more circular economy.

Brought to you by Circular Economy Victoria and Reducing our Footprint, this initiative will take place from the 19 September to the 14 October.

Access the challenge on your smartphone, tablet or computer, practice sustainable behaviours in your community, earn points and track your progress to become a sustainability champion.

The participation is open and free of charge, but we only have a limited number of spots available. Register your interest today and be part of the change towards a more sustainable City of Yarra!

This program is supported through the Climate Action stream of the Yarra Council’s Annual Grants Program.

You can find out more here.

Did you know we have a compost hub at ACC? It is not huge - just two bins - but they are available for our community to contribute to (if you don’t have your own system at home etc.).

Clare manages them on a Friday … and with a little love (and weekly turning) they are amazingly productive.

We have a collection of neighbours and friends who contribute their kitchen scraps regularly which is just lovely … and we use the compost generated to keep our community garden beds healthy … so we can grow food to share! Like our little seeds that have just been planted and will hopefully pop through the soil any day now.