Liz Bassett

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 ... Recently updated !

This entry was posted in front page Network News on October 21, 2024 by Liz Bassett

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 | ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on August 18, 2024 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page on June 17, 2024 by Liz Bassett

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| ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on April 15, 2024 by Liz Bassett

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

This entry was posted in front page on February 11, 2024 by Liz Bassett

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, ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on December 18, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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

This entry was posted in front page Network News on October 16, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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

This entry was posted in front page on August 14, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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| ...

This entry was posted in front page on June 12, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on April 18, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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|

This entry was posted in front page Network News on February 14, 2023 by Liz Bassett

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 – ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on December 1, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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, ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on November 21, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on September 19, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on July 25, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on May 24, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on March 21, 2022 by Liz Bassett

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 ...

This entry was posted in front page Network News on January 24, 2022 by Liz Bassett

photographing a cicada — Featured Frogging at Narara Ecovillage Above: Citizen scientists having a froggy good time -Words and photos: Richard Cassels, Lorraine Hawdon, Guy Dutson On a humid Saturday night (November 19 2021), five frog enthusiasts from the ecovillage set out to record the local frogs, using the wonderful free FrogID app, […]

Frogs, Building agreement, FairShares, Deep Ecology & more, Nov 2021

This entry was posted in front page Network News on November 22, 2021 by Liz Bassett

In the last 18 months, and especially since May 2021, NELN, like many organisations, have had to wind back our activities due to the pandemic. One highlight of the year was Sustainable House Day at Narara Ecovillage, held in Sept 2020, which was sparsely but enthusiastically attended, and included guided […]

Narara Eco Living Network Annual Report July 1 2020 – ...

This entry was posted in front page on October 11, 2021 by Liz Bassett