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 […]

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





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, […]

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


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 – ...


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 […]

Network News Nov 2022: Smartgrid, Milestones, Clay floor, Cohousing, Echidnas, ...



Dark Skies, Bush tucker, Events, Orchids, Ducks, Counting birds 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 […]

Network News Sept 2022


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 […]

Parrot news, frogs, weedy soup, winter solstice, Open Day


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 ...



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 […]

Sculpted house, leeches, mud printing, prosocial, bird tales


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 ...


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



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 – ...


Campground at Narara Ecovillage
Network News SEPTEMBER 2021 Feature The Amazing Superb Fairy-wren -Richard Cassels Bouncing around like highly energised ping-pong balls, Superb Fairy-wrens are a continuous source of fascination and entertainment! These birds are so small they can become trapped in spider webs, yet they are great survivors.  Are they really Mormons? Do […]

Amazing Wrens, Swamp Mahoganies, Eco-Experiences


Feature Articles Spangled Drongo Dreaming ……………………………………………… -Richard Cassels In Australia, drongo means a stupid person. Wikipedia, citing the Oxford Dictionary and the Cassells’ Dictionary of Slang, says: ‘The word drongo is used in Australian as a mild form of insult meaning “idiot” or “stupid fellow”. This usage derives from an Australian racehorse of […]

Drongos, Cohousing, Forest bathing, Events, Eco-actions AUG 2021 Network News