16 September, 2012

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.