Narara Eco Living Network

Natural building – a long, worthwhile journey Linda’s green roof – left; The underlying webbing – right -Linda Scott This 4th May I’m excited to be opening the doors to my hobbit-style art studio for Sustainable House Day in Narara Ecovillage. From the initial decision to build an earth bag […]

April 2025 Building and gardening with joy, tons of events

14 Apr, 2025 in front page / Network News tagged sticky by Liz Bassett (updated 10 days ago)

Aerial shot of the village — FEATURES A Good Year for Robber (Assassin) Flies -Text and photos by Richard Yank While most of us are aware that the summer of 2024-2025 has produced an unusually high number of Cicadas in the Central Coast, the fact that robber flies have also appeared in good numbers this season […]

Feb 2025 Robber Flies|Slugs|Sneaky Skink|Kirtan |Community bonding|Stacks of Events!

16 Feb, 2025 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 66 days ago)

Ecogardening & wildlife Biochar – what difference does it make? -Rafaele Joudry I tried putting Biochar on my garden once. I spent a day reading up on the internet, got excited and started fiddling around, going to the shops, collecting tins of various sizes. By afternoon, I made my own […]

Biochar |Weeds| Orchids |Frogs| Less is More |Events| OCT 2024 Network ...

21 Oct, 2024 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 181 days ago)

AUGUST 2024 FEATURES: SUSTAINABLE LIVING Saving Ecuador’s Los Cedros again and again and again … “… it is now, in the words of Bitty Roy, Professor of Ecology from the University of Oregon, ‘the best forested watershed in western Ecuador.’” – John Seed The Rainforest Information Centre and I personally […]

Saving Los Cedros | Weeds | Waste | Mylks | ...

18 Aug, 2024 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 248 days ago)

Features Bringing Back that Good Fire: learning about indigenous burning practices -Donna Carey I recently attended an interesting and important workshop on indigenous cultural burning practices ‘Bringing back that Good Fire’, hosted by the Kariong Eco Garden. Cultural burning, also known as’ cool burning’ or the ‘right fire’, brings back […]

JUNE 2024: Right Fire, Naughty Spiders, Yummy Weeds, Day of ...

17 Jun, 2024 in front page by Liz Bassett (updated 310 days ago)

Features Building an ecological identity “… the world is not a pyramid with humans on top, but a web…“ -John Seed “It is not enough to have ecological ideas, we have to have an ecological identity, ecological self” Arne Naess I have worked for worldwide rainforests since 1979. Although many […]

APRIL 2024 |Bunyas| Blackberries| Embodied carbon| Ecological identity| Events| KEG| ...

15 Apr, 2024 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 373 days ago)

Chinese New Year dragon — Features Pruning essentials -Gillian Wellstead With nearly six decades of pruning experience, starting when she decimated her mother’s rambling dog rose, Gillian is well qualified to teach pruning skills. (The rose recovered and put on a spectacular show the next season.) The essential points are: Know your goals, Use correct […]

FEB 2024: Pruning tips|Death Adders|Bird babies|Strategic goals|Events|Network News

11 Feb, 2024 in front page by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

How cool is grass? -Donna Carey With a hot summer upon us, consider keeping your grass a bit longer for the next few months – unless it starts turning brown of course. Uncut grass keeps the soil at 19.5°C Grass cut at a level of 10 cm maintains the soil […]

DEC 2023: Cool grass, steep slopes, long life & caring, ...

18 Dec, 2023 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Features Learning about Biodynamics Why is the cow so important in Biodynamics? Answer: because it is so calm and contented. -Rafaele Joudry Ten of us recently spent two days at Narara Ecovillage learning about Biodynamic compost and other wonders of Biodynamic gardening methods. Biodynamics seeks to integrate scientific understanding with […]

OCT 2023: Soap, biodynamics, resilience, events, opportunities

16 Oct, 2023 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 555 days ago)

Features A slice of Australia’s horticultural history -Lorraine Hawdon A recent historical display highlighted the former Gosford Horticultural Research Station’s fascinating connections to the early days of the Australian wine Industry and development of Pecan Nuts in Australia. Narara Ecovillage is built on the former Gosford Horticultural Research Station, which […]

AUG 2023: History |Biodiversity |Air quality |Celebrations|Labyrinths| Network News

14 Aug, 2023 in front page by Liz Bassett (updated 270 days ago)

cockies eating seed June 2023 — FEATURES Reduce mould by managing ventilation, internal humidity and dust Healthy homes #3 by Mikala Dind In part 3 of this series, Mikala Dind shares her knowledge about what makes houses healthy or unhealthy. This article explains the connection between mould and humidity, and how to discourage mould by managing […]

June 2023: Community battery|4 ways with Mould|Forest Bathing|3D wall|Farmer wanted| ...

12 Jun, 2023 in front page by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Network News Features Owl Rescue A Boobook Owl chick, too young to leave the nest, is found on the forest floor. Will it survive? Our ‘resident ecologist’ Guy Dutson was walking in the forest one morning when he came upon a small wet and bedraggled owl sitting on the forest […]

APRIL 2023 Owl saved|Avoid mould|Parrot habitat|Deep Ecology|Events|Retrofit a heritage house ...

18 Apr, 2023 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Network News Features Principles for Building a Healthy New Home Photo: pixabay -Mikala Dind This 4-part series provides practical information to help you build a healthy home. FEBRUARY: Design #1: Location, orientation, foundations and insulation APRIL: Design #2: Water management – drainage, eaves, gutters and roofs JUNE: Management #1: Humidity, ventilation, […]

FEB 2023 Healthy Homes|Dragonflies|Baby Possum|Smart Grid Report|Lots of Events|

14 Feb, 2023 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

The 2021-22 year was a period of consolidation for the Narara Eco Living Network (NELN). A new Aim and Domain were agreed, and procedures were streamlined for auspicing and insuring events at the Narara Ecovillage through NELN. Relationships were strengthened with NEV Education and NELN had a continued presence at […]

Narara Eco Living Network Annual Report July 1 2021 – ...

1 Dec, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 874 days ago)

Features Yes, ecovillages can be hi-tech Federal MP Gordon Reid and NEV Power member Dave Parris cut the “ribbon” to celebrate the battery launch -Chris Wenban and others With the official launch of the Narara Ecovillage Community Battery and ongoing development of a Smartgrid, NEV’s energy company ensures the village […]

NOV 2022: Smartgrid, Milestones, Clay floor, Cohousing, Echidnas, Parrots, News, ...

21 Nov, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Features Our precious Dark Skies The Milky Way: John H, Narara Ecovillage A growing body of evidence has linked light pollution directly to ecological disruption and harm to human health, not to mention unnecessary energy consumption. What can you do about it? – Olga K A growing body of evidence […]

SEPT 2022: Dark Skies, Bush tucker, Events, Orchids, Ducks, Counting ...

19 Sep, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Feature Swift Parrot habitat rehabilitation: work begins! -Lorraine Hawdon Rehabilitation Begins – BEFORE AFTER “We all know the importance of planting trees and managing weeds, but winning this grant demonstrates the value of our work and makes sure that we actually do it!” -Guy Dutson, Ecologist. Excitement is growing at […]

JULY 2022: Parrot news, frogs, weedy soup, winter solstice, Open ...

25 Jul, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

Feature Story Birdstrike! Above: Wonga pigeon at Narara -Richard Cassels Finding a beautiful bird dead below your window is awful. Even worse is the distinctive, surprisingly loud “bang” of a fast-flying bird colliding with a fixed glass window pane. There are two things you can do if you witness a […]

Birdstrike, Open Day, a Game, Swift Parrots. May 2022 Network ...

24 May, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 1064 days ago)

March 2022 Network News Village news Hi-tech says Hi to old-tech: 3D mud wall printing Printed MUD wall Research project & Crowdfunding Request University researchers will team up with natural builders in a trial of cutting-edge 3D printing techniques to build a modular wall using local earth materials. Narara Ecovillage […]

MARCH 2022: Sculpted house, leeches, mud printing, prosocial, bird ...

21 Mar, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 271 days ago)

FEATURES Plotting our progress – Evaluating NEV social, environmental, and economic projects -Rosemary Leonard Narara Ecovillage (NEV) is a living experiment in how people can work together at the local level to create a thriving community. NEV members know we need to explore new ways not only of regenerating the […]

Jan 2022: Plotting progress, Screaming frogs, Finding grass, Events, NEV ...

24 Jan, 2022 in front page / Network News by Liz Bassett (updated 1185 days ago)