News & events

Dig Day Afternoon!

June 10th, 2010

Coming July 3rd.

We will finally break soil!

More details soon. It’s gonna be huge!

Update: The lines have been marked in preparation for the day! Check out what we did on Monday:

Indigenous Plants Workshop

June 9th, 2010
July 31, 2010
1:30 pmto3:30 pm

Saturday 31st July – 1.30pm

@ MCCG site with Eve Archbold

Learn about some of the beautiful local native plants that can be used in your garden to attract birds and butterflies, create privacy and even to plant for some bush tucker! We’ll go for a stroll along Merri Creek to learn how to identify some local plants, and then have a chat about some particularly beautiful native plants for small spaces or pots.  If you have time you can stick around for a working bee at MCCG where we will be planting out the native garden beds to compliment the total garden design.
Eve Archbold has recently returned from Tanzania where she has, since 2008, been implementing and managing a permaculture project for an Australian NGO called foodwatershelter.  She is currently completing a Master of Urban horticulture at Melbourne University.
Interested?
RSVP by email or phone Bernie on 0401 476 839.

Raised Beds Workshop

June 9th, 2010
August 7, 2010
1:30 pmto3:30 pm

Saturday August 7th – 1:30pm

@ MCCG site with the Urban Carpenters

The Urban Bush Carpenters are coming to the MCCG to help us learn about and build raised garden beds, wooden planter boxes and compost bins.  The fellas use found timber and pellets to make these fantastic additions to any garden and are going to be available all day on Saturday the 7th of August to work alongside volunteers and create some of the structural raised gardens and compost bays for the Merri Corner Community Garden.  A great day to come down and do some bush carpentry and learn some new skills.  Bring some lunch, or something to share and make a day of it! Everyone is welcome!

Interested?
RSVP by email or phone Bernie on 0401 476 839.

UPDATE!

We’ve just collected a about 130metres worth of timber from Lismore for the edges of the raised beds. Check out Gavin hard at work sorting the wheat from the chaff:

Fork to Fork: Sustainable Cooking & Gardening

June 9th, 2010
July 24, 2010
11:00 amto1:00 pm

Saturday July 24th – 11:00am

@ 1/2 Holmes St, Brunswick East (Op. McDonalds) with Arabella Forge

Growing your own food has numerous benefits – it can save you time shopping, reduce your costs for groceries, and also supply you with the most nutrient-dense foods possible. Join Arabella Forge for a tour of your garden to dinner plate. Learn how to make quick and easy meals with nothing but a fry-pan and some secateurs in hand, and also design your garden plot to have the most productive and useful edible plants on hand.
The session will include food education, hands on cooking and a light and easy sit-down lunch.

Arabella Forge is a Melbourne-based nutritionist and home-cook. She has extensive experience with traditional cooking techniques – sourdough bread making, fermenting and pickling and also loves a good bit of time in the garden. Arabella is the Melbourne Co-ordinator of the Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org), a foundation that promotes sustainable farming practices and traditional home-cooking methods. She also has an upcoming book, ‘Frugavore’ which is to be released in September 2010.

Interested?

RSVP by email or phone Bernie on 0401 476 839.

Water Wise Gardening Workshop

June 9th, 2010
July 17, 2010
11:00 amto1:00 pm

Saturday July 17th – 11:00am

@ Ilma Lever, 2a Station St Coburg (along the train tracks just after Moreland rd)

with Elspeth Brock

Learn how to use permaculture design to keep water in the landscape and techniques to hold water in the soil. What kinds of plants to plant and how to easily identify them. Which food plants will grow well in dry areas?

There is a cosy shed so the workshop will go on regardless of the weather, and established a gardens with lots of great planting examples.

Who: Elspeth Brock will be running the workshop’s she has experience in native landscape regeneration, community horticulture and permaculture design. She recently traveled to Morocco to work on a permaculture project there.

RSVP by email or phone Bernie on 0401 476 839.

Compost Workshop

June 9th, 2010
June 20, 2010
11:00 amto1:00 pm

Sunday June 20th – 11:00am

@ Ilma Lever, 2a Station St Coburg (off Moreland Rd)

with Elspeth Brock

Discover what makes good compost: what to put in and what to leave out. Learn how to ensure your composts stays aoerobic, retains nutrients, and doesn’t attract pests. We will discuss various composting systems, including bins bays and rapid composting and learn how to bring life back to the soil with compost tea.

Interested?

RSVP by email or phone Bernie on 0401 476 839.

Volunteer Induction

May 13th, 2010

The Merri Corner Community garden is looking for passionate people to join our group of volunteers.

It’s been 3 years in the making, but we’ve signed the lease with Moreland Council and we’re about to start digging! On the corner of Donald and Harrison Sts, the garden will have individual plots for lease, fruit trees, lots of shared space to hang out and enjoy the sights and sounds of Merri Corner.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much gardening experience you have; if you’re an interested local resident, want to grow your own food, or maybe you’re handy with tools and have skills to offer during the construction, come and meet other like-minded people to learn about who we are and what you can do.

Come and find out more about this exciting project!

When: Saturday 22nd May 12:00pm – 1:30pm.

Where: Corner Donald St and Harrison St, East Brunswick (or Bicycle Club across the road if wet weather)

Lunch and refreshments provided

Contact: Bernie on 0401476839 or email info@merricorner.org

Introduction to Permaculture Workshop

May 12th, 2010

Introduction to Permaculture Workshop

Saturday 22nd May Cnr Donald and Harrison Streets (MCCG Site)  1:30pm

with Eve Archbold

This workshop is aimed at beginners or any folks who are interested in learning the basics of Permaculture design and practise. We’ll be discussing the ethics and principles that underpin Permaculture and will look at how we can apply Permaculture design principles to enhance large and small spaces to make them more productive, energy efficient and sustainable.  Bring along a pair of sturdy boots, a hat and a big smile and be prepared for some hands-on learning at the Merri Corner Community Garden block.  Eve has recently returned from Tanzania where she has, since 2008, been implementing and managing a permaculture project for an Australian NGO called foodwatershelter.  She is currently completing a Master of Urban horticulture at Melbourne University.

RSVP to info@merricorner.org to register for this workshop. Please include in your RSVP a brief reason as to why you’d like to attend.

We’ll have lots more workshops coming soon too, so stay tuned!

Did you get your Jig on? We did!

April 28th, 2010

The Merri Jig rocked the socks off the Edinburgh Castle last Friday night when New Archer, Biscotti, The Chalga Party and the magnificent Puta Madre Brothers came to town!

The evening began with the beautiful soothing vocals of indie-folk maestro New Archer warming the crowd, before the kooky, energetic Biscotti enticed the brave to the dance floor with her experimental electronic sound; Chalga Party threw the gig into a cultural revolt with their Bulgarian-gypsy music; and the fiesta hit boiling point when the incredibly talented Puta Madre Bros took centre stage with their boundary-pushing mutation of ‘garage rock, Mexican folk tunes and soul music’, which naturally had punters grooving out of their skins!

An almighty hoorah for our brilliant performers, including our fabulous MC’s Bernard Caleo (kooky bird) and Will Tait (scarecrow).

A big shout out to super sound engineer Fancy Dave Bower and to the wonderful folk at the Edinburgh Castle for supporting the event in such a major way.

A special thank you also to our wonderful sponsors, Buckley’s Beer, and all the individuals and organisations who donated wonderful prizes, including, but not limited to: Shock Records, Ceres Food Connect; Radical Grocery Store; Brunswick Bound; La Manna Fresh; Mettaphore Kinesiology and Massage; Studio on Lygon; Brunswick Vet; Green Pocket and Livros.

We raised over $2,000 to get our garden growing. Thank you one and all!

Here’s some pics!

The Merri Jig!

April 5th, 2010

Come along on Friday 16th April to the Edinburgh Castle for the Merri Jig! A splendid night will be had!

RSVP via our Facebook Event page

Band list:

Puta Madre Brothers

Chalga Party

Biscotti

New Archer

MC Bernard Caleo

Tickets:

$15 full / $12 concession

$25 entry + membership

Available on the door or email tickets@merricorner.org to book yours today