Where the Dewdrops Cry and the Cats Meow

K'boom - on Tuesday morning they landed mightily on the Common, delivered fresh by the redoubtable Kevin from the excavations at the Parade Apartments development on Merri Parade.  Merri Merri Developments have very kindly helped us out with some of the enormous basalt boulders that lie just under the surface of most of our neighbourhood (as anyone trying to dig an ambitious trench in the back yard can bitterly attest).

These are going to look just fantastic when we plant out our indigenous garden on the north-east site in a couple of weeks.  We're sorting out a backhoe and operator as we speak to get these placed just right (and a big thanks to Rob Wallace for his valuable advice on logistics).  Details on our next planting day soon - meanwhile, a huge thank you to Russell Gordon of Merri Merri Developments and his foreman Michael Kildarry for coming through for us with the big rocks.  Really appreciated.

Where a Man is a Man, and the Children Dance... to the PIPES OF PAN

South-West Site Sorted!

An incredible effort from the hard-working crew who turned out on Sunday to get the south-west site (platform 2) all planted out.  A beautiful day to get stuck into it with 28 big people and 22 smaller, more impressionable people making remarkably light work of a reasonably large area, keeping the task friendly, fun and well within our allotted time frame.

Community Labour for Make Benefit Glorious Station of Merri

Serious Business - Allocating Unpleasant Tasks to the Children

"Come, Friend.  Together we
 Shall Build a Mighty Tower
the Likes of Which this
World has Never Seen" 

"I am Serious this is
Going to Happen"

"Look Upon Our Works,
Ye Mighty, and Despair"

"Oh, uh... was that a police helicopter
or just a news crew"

Goodness me, this looks like the cover of a Council publication.
"Harnessing our Youth: Plundering Childhood in Service of Early Retirement"

All got busy with picks and shovels to dig holes and lovingly bed down the new arrivals.

On sites planted out earlier, drooping trees and plants were staked up, while nimble young fingers were once again put to good use pulling weeds.

Meanwhile, in Soviet Russia: "ALL these weeds, Dad?"

"Yes."

Can anyone make out the writing?  "London"
something something.  Obviously a bit too
close to the biscuits at morning tea
(or Nick's mattock).

These terrific finds had Nick Harding and
Rob Wallace going nuts, rooting about with
mattocks and all but uprooting half the plants
in the process...

We had some fantastic archaeological finds: a bell and some sort of wheel, buried in the rubble that makes up the foundation of platform 2, likely dating from the 19th Century construction of the station.










Morning tea and a barbeque lunch provided a great opportunity to relax and yarn with friends and neighbours, basking in the afterglow of what had just been achieved.  It looks terrific.

"Is this double-cheese corn-dog beefy
super-melt organic"

Finally, all the new plants were watered in with the helpful assistance of the Northcote High School water cart - a community effort indeed.

Rohan and Jela getting it done.

Great photos as always from Anna DeLeeuw Poole.  Thanks to everyone for coming along and making it a fun day for us all.

Planting Day this Sunday, 16 September

Hello all,

In case you've missed any emails or notices, our next planting day is this coming Sunday from 10 until 2 - we'll be planting out the area to the south-west of the station that we mulched back in May.  Bring all those busy little fingers again!  Morning tea and a barbeque lunch laid on.  Come and spend a spring morning outdoors with us this Sunday - we meet near the entrance to Platform 2 (west side).

Cheers,

Mike

Getting it Done (with Child Labour)

No, it isn't the latest think-piece from the Institute of Public Affairs, it's Sunday's working bee! One of the best turnouts ever from friends and neighbours to help distribute two vast piles of organic compost across two new garden beds on either side of the train line. Thanks to everyone who came along to help and for sharing a sausage or two in the aftermath.  As the photos attest, a heap of local kids were right in the thick of things, working hard and really helping us out with unflagging enthusiasm.  A fun way to get a big job done, and an all-too-rare opportunity for neighbours to spend some purposeful time together.

30 cubic metres of steaming hot organic compost were generously donated by SITA Organics - it is tremendous stuff and will give our new plantings a real boost when we get them into the ground come September.  We owe our immense gratitude to SITA for their donation and for their commitment to improving the local environment through supporting our community's activities.

Take that, you courtyard, you.  SITA Organics delivers their steaming, hot, organic compost.  Mmmm.

Ugh this is hard going, where are the kids...

Boys have we taught you nothing - do as we say, not as we do.

Much better.

Ahh nimble little fingers at work, it warms the heart.

South-West site filling out nicely.

He is inVINCEable

The North-East site gets the Dickens treatment.

Thanks to Anna DeLeeuw Poole for the great photos.  More updates soon, including some concept plans for the whole site for your perusal and input.