Biodiversity-biointensity: New Year's Eve Parade 2017

For we community gardeners this year's theme for the Daylesford New Year's Eve Parade was Biodiversity-Biointensity, so we got to work, made signs,

found treasures at the Daylesford Community Opshop,

got dressed and ate together,

made last minute costume adjustments,

took some group pics,

then walked the short 1km up to the parade.

We banged, drummed, and crashed our way up,

practising staying close together.

We were joined by more goodly crew,

and took more happy snaps,

only to become this entire mob of radical earth lovers.

Then we set off

Photo by Nicholas Hansen

with much ado. Busy bees and whistles and screams from the many worlds of life we were carrying, performing and representing.

Photo by Nicholas Hansen

Clanging and clapping, chanting and drumming,

Photo by Nicholas Hansen

dancing and jumping,

Photo by Nicholas Hansen

swinging and signing down the main drag of Daylesford, Vincent Street.

Photo by Karen Brothers

We were composting bankers,

Photo by Karen Brothers

bugs, peas and moths,

Photo by Karen Brothers

we were pathogens, disease and biological pest controls,

Photo by Karen Brothers

and flower queens,

Photo by Karen Brothers

worms and caterpillars and many more fertile things besides.

Photo by Karen Brothers

Thank you to all who joined us for this year's parade. We were awarded runner-up for Best Decorated Float and received $100 for our troubles. This money will go into our account at Wombat Hill Nursery to help keep us in the black.

See you all at the January working bee on Sat 13th. Oh, and if you're passing by the garden and you have a spare 15 mins please give it a soak. The hose is around the back of the library building.

We hope you have a great year in 2018!

A free-dragging working bee

To celebrate Chill Out, Australia's largest regional Gay and Lesbian festival held annually in Daylesford, we community gardeners stepped into drag action, or at least a few of us did, for this month's working bee.

December Bee

A scorching (35 degrees) day saw numbers down this month, with only 30 hardy peeps braving the heat. Tricia had dropped off some lovely sunflower seedlings so we popped them in new beds with a skirt of summer variety spinach seeds that she had also dropped off – thanks Tricia! We kept the work load to a minimum and took things pretty easy, erecting a new chalkboard sign,

finding a little creature who loves our lack of chemicals,

catching up with friends,

making new ones,

harvesting some produce,

cooling down,

keeping to the shade,

making compost and

mulching.

Florian's seedlings were mostly too delicate to plant on Saturday in the heatwave so we had another planting bee today, which was infinitely cooler. Two boys, Zephyr and Jacob, planted several punnets at both Albert St and Rea Lands Park gardens. Tony ran over the grass paths with his mower – thanks Tony! 

Later Patrick met with Koos (local sustainability all-rounder) at the site of the fifth community food garden (more info soon) to try to work out the water problems there. Thanks Koos, it looks like quite an easy job to fix.

Thanks everyone for bearing the heat yesterday and for all the generosity given over the weekend. If you're interested in joining the water roster please email Pete.