The Festival raises awareness and provides tools for change by showcasing tangible solutions to the ecological and social challenges we face.

In 2009 the Festival at Federation Square attracted over 124,000 visits and engaged more than 450 community volunteers.

In its eleventh year, the Festival is getting even bigger!

The 2010 Festival will include 2 programs, the Main Event at Federation Square (19-21 February 2010) and the Local Events Program (6-21 February 2010). The new 2-week format will enable individuals and communities across Australia to host and promote their own sustainability event, extending the reach of the sustainability message even further.

The Main Event at Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne will continue to celebrate the very best examples of ecological and social sustainability. The event will fuse interactive workshops, talks, demonstrations, artworks, exhibits, films and live performances. In recognition of the climate situation, the Main Event will be inspired by the theme: Get Ready for the Safe Climate Decade!

Our pics (most relevant/interesting to Renters)

Top 10 Reasons to Grow Your Own

How Car Dependence is Turning the Suburban Dream into a Nightmare

Sustaining Fashion? An Open Forum Exploring The Darker Side Of Fashion

GM Free is the way to be

Living Zero Waste

Life Time Affordable Sustainable Housing

Consumer Power-Making the Change

Sharehood Communities

And of course… How to Live Sustainably in a Rental Property yep, we are presenting a talk. It’ll be lots of fun with pictures, samples and demonstrations of things you can make yourself, so please come along . You can also chat to us as part of the Sustainable Living Library

Monsanto is an American-owned international agro-chemical and foods conglomerate. It employs about 45,000 people and peddles over eight billion dollars a year in chemical products all over the world. While Monsanto has been critised for some time for their production of NutraSweet and the genetically engineered rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone), the latest criticism is for it’s moves into the world of GMOs (genetically manipulated organisams). They produce ‘RoundUp Ready’ soya beans that are genetically altered to be resistant to their chemical herbicide ‘Roundup’ (the biggest selling agro-chemical in the world with sales totalling more than $620 million a year), which provides 40% of the companies operating profit.

You can view afantastic documentary on Monsanto, why they are evil and why you should say no by clicking here

You also might like to attend the following rally:

Farmers and Shoppers World-Wide say No ! Monsanto !

WHEN : 7 am on Thursday 18th February

WHERE : Hilton on the Park, 192 Wellington Parade East Melbourne (near Fitzroy Gardens) 

 Monsanto spokesperson Peter O’Keeffe will address the Rural Press Club at the “Hilton on the Park” promoting farmers’ “choice” to grow GM canola and Monsanto’s role in the future of agriculture.

 In solidarity with majority world farmers who are fighting for sovereignty against multinational control of their land and patented seed monopoly, we will rally outside the Hilton to say “No! Monsanto !”

Profits, seed monopoly and patenting are Monsanto’s real agenda.

From the cotton fields of Indonesia, where the company was fined $US1.5 million for bribery while trying to influence a GM cotton approval, to India, where over 100,000 people fasted in January against seed monopoly and GM eggplant introduction, world-wide awareness of the threat of GM crops is building. Corporate spin will not convince us that Monsanto’s patented seeds will “feed the world”.

We don’t want unstable, untested GM food products on our plates while GM canola spreads and contaminates our paddocks, in the name of a farcical “choice” which destroys our choice to farm and eat GM free.

Join us for a GM free breakfast rally with speakers and debate.

Rally sponsors : MADGE info@madge.org.au LASNET lasnet@latinlasnet.org Friends of the Earth Australia realfood@melbourne.foe.org.au

We’re big fans of the ‘make do and mend’ ethos here at Green Renters, but I’m not sure I’d wear these creations out of the house! Good to see such an important issue covered in a mainstream fashion magazine however!

(The photos are by Tim Walker for Vogue Nov 2009)

Over the next few weeks, here at Green Renters we will be taking a look at:

Handmade and homemade gift  giving

Shopping locally and Ethically

Eco friendly Christmas decorations

Christmas wrapping the green way

Dealing with non ‘green’ relatives

Preserving your plants whilst you are away…

Also we will be having a very special giveaway next week!

Stay tuned for more details!

I’m a big fan of Gardening Australia. I love learning about plants I’ve never even seen before, let alone attempted to grow. Jerry provides great insight into how to create a workable organic garden (I know we were doing ok up until the snail infestation!). I also like the step by step projects suitable even for the blackest thumb, all presented in a factual interesting format without the condescension of some television presenters.

The ABC Gardening Expo is a great chance to learn and enjoy all things gardening. Lots of things to buy, people to talk to and information to gather.

I really like the idea of the  Ask It, Solve It Stage – An informal, intimate Q&A panel format featuring ABC TV’s Gardening Australia presenters as well as other industry experts talking on specific plant care and answering all gardening related questions.

As as far as workshops go, we’d be particularly interested in attending Sally Wise’s workshops on making your own jams and preserves from garden produce.

When: October 2-4, 2009
Where: Caulfield Racecourse
Time: 10:00am – 4:30pm daily

It’s not very often that Australia is in the news for a positive environmental first, especially small towns that noone’s heard of, but in a great example of small groups of people having the power to make decisions for their own community, Bundanoon, 1.5 hours south of Sydney has put a veto on bottled water being sold in all of it’s retail outlets, simultaneously installing public water fountains throughout the town.

Find out more and send messages of support here : www.bundyontap.com.au

I’ve been doing some research into Green Power in Australia as I was under the impression that, with our reliance on Coal and a lack of government guidance, it wasn’t really worth it. Fortunately, it seems I was wrong and that it is definitely worth investing in, but where do you start? Most utility companies now are offering alternatives, I came across Green Energy Watch, which whilst the information was collected in 2007, will give you a good indication of the products available.

For guidance on policy and government initiatives, take a look at www.greenpower.gov.au

Apart from writing this blog, we’ve been busying ourselves with writing workshops (see the page link to the right) and articles for several magazines, the first of which has now been published.

So click here to read an article we wrote on Green Renting for the Australian Green party’s members magazine.

Article from the Herald Sun

Amazing compared to 2004 when Free Range Eggs made up only 9 per cent of the eg market in Australia! Whilst it’s not a complete phase out of cage or barn laid eggs everywhere, it’s a start and certainly evidence that as consumers, we have a lot of power to dictate the world we want to live in by what we buy and what we consume.-Cate

How many of these do you do? List via Pink of Perfection