Welcome Back
After months of ticking over on a non-contact basis (virtual repair café, fence food swaps, zoom workshops) while we were all in enforced semi-hibernation, TD is back in person !!!!!!
The COVID pandemic has provided a taste of the type of disruption which we are likely to face if climate change is not abated, and a test of our community resilience.
We’ve managed to keep some activity going, sometimes in collaboration with other groups.
Monthly FOODSWAPS resumed in November: in Reservoir, Fairfield (both third Saturday) and Thornbury/Preston (4th Saturday).
At the front fence during lockdown. In person when possible.
REPAIR CAFÉ
November: in person again. During lockdowns: repair at home and record weight.
Home repairs during lockdown: new switch; turned shirt collars. Teamwork at a repair cafe
WORKSHOPS: a mix of zoom and in-person.
Fix-it the Enviro-friendly Clown Wicking bed in a box
BOOMERANG BAGS: Shopping bags for local stores and produce bags for DIVRS food relief packing. 
Check TD website or Facebook pages – Darebin Repair Café, Boomerang Bags Darebin, & Darebin Urban Harvesters – for further event details.
Whats on in July
Even though its winter, the second half of July is heating up with lots of events coming up
First up, our trusty Foodswaps
Reservoir Food Swap – 10am on 17th July outside Reservoir Library. (cancelled due to COVID 19 lockdown)
Fairfield Food Swap at 11am on 17th July at the cnr of Duncan and Gillies st. (cancelled due to COVID 19 lockdown)
Thornbury/Preston Food swap at 11am on 24th of July at Thornbury Picture House (cancelled due to COVID 19 lockdown)
Postponed due to COVID 19 lockdown – stay tuned for new dates
We are co-hosting the ReLove Upcycle Market with the Darebin Hard Rubbish Heroes taking place at The Bridge Darebin 218 High st, Preston.
Lots going on in this event – Recycling drop offs, stallholders with upcycled crafts, raffles and a workshops to make bee baths from salvaged materials – more info here
Postponed due to COVID 19 lockdown – stay tuned for new dates
On the 20th July Transition Darebin are collaborating with Newlands Friends of the Forest to bring you Fascinating Forest Film Night from 6pm at Thornbury Picture House with snacks provided by TD.
July Repair cafe cancelled due to COVID 19 lockdown
Our 20th Darebin Repair cafe takes place on 25th July 10am-1pm
Some tickets remain for sewing and jewellery repair and some general fixes. – get in quick -bookings can be made here – Darebin Repair Cafe #20
Our last event of July on the afternoon of the 31st, Transition Darebin and Northcote Library Food Garden are hosting Handy Tips for Food Growing at Home providing ideas and information on food-growing at home, with presenters from NLFG and Heritage Fruits Society.
There will be 3 sessions, run in rotation, so you can attend one or all:
Compost-making – practical demonstration using the NLFG compost heaps
Wicking bed in a box – how to make a portable, compact garden bed
Fruit trees – what to grow; how to care for; basic pruning tips
A whole lot going on – get involved and we would love to hear from you if you find you have some time on your hands to help out with our activities. we would love to have you on board – email us at Transitiondarebin@gmail.com
Northcote Food Swap – Now In Hibernation
Hello fellow Northcote food swappers,
Sending a note of thanks for all your support over many years. We are putting Northcote food swap into hibernation but you are very welcome to attend any of the other swaps that are still on the go – Fairfield, Thornbury/Preston or Reservoir.
It has been great swapping fresh food, friendship and gardening stories with you over the many years of the Northcote food swap, and we hope to catch up with you all at one of our other food swapping sessions or Transition Darebin events during 2021.
We look forward to catching up with you down the track.
Regards,
Food Swaps Are Back~
Hi there Transitioners,
Y’all may have already heard, but our Food Swaps are now active once more. See below for next dates of each.
So if you have some home grown crops (or products you have made from home grown crops) that you would like to swap and share please bring them along to one of our backyard food swaps:
– Northcote food swap (beside Northcote Library, Separation St, in the community garden) 11 – 12 Saturday 13 February (2nd Saturday of the month)
– Reservoir Food Swap (outside Reservoir Library, Edwardes St, Reservoir) 10-11 Saturday 20 February (3rd Saturday of the month)
– Fairfield Food Swap (outside St Andrew’s Church side wall, corner of Gillies and Duncan Sts) 11 – 12 Saturday 20 February (3rd Saturday of the month)
– Thornbury Food Swap (at Thornbury Picture House, High St, beside corner of High St and Pender St) 11-12 Saturday 27 February (4th Saturday of the month)
Time to put this year’s food swaps into your new you beaut calendar to remind you every month that swapping fresh food in your neighbourhood is a simple joy and chance to connect with new friends and old.
If you have heaps of abundant crops, think about donating them to one of the food security agencies in Darebin:
– Salvation Army, Gower St, Preston
– DIVRS, High St, Preston (opens 11 January)
Or to our local pay as you feel restaurant:
– Inconvenience Store, Lentil as Anything, High St Thornbury, offers a pay as you feel fruit and veggie store inside the restaurant
If you have a big crop, and have too much for your own needs, and need someone to help you pick it, contact Darebin Fruit Squad, at DIVRS (urbanfood@divrs.org.au) and volunteer fruit pickers can come to your house and pick the fruit for you, then take it back to the emergency relief service at DIVRS for distribution to families who are short of food in Darebin. They open again on 11 January.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our swaps soon. We love to meet new people, so please drop by with food to swap, it’s like op shopping for fresh fruit and veg, you never know what you’re going to find!
Sowing seeds of resilience in the suburbs
Event – Sunday, 29 November 2020
This free online workshop is one of a series highlighting the skills and expertise of local people and spreading this knowledge to strengthen our community in Darebin.
Sowing seeds of resilience in the suburbs: Methods to manage ‘waste’, mobilise and involve neighbours and regenerate small spaces.
Sunday 29th November 3.00 – 4.30 (by zoom)
Description:This session seeks to inform and inspire others living in multi unit apartment precincts to:‘Green’ their backyard / balcony / terrace and wider precinct
Design systems to manage ‘waste’
Rejuvenate small spaces and marginal edges
Develop meaningful connections with neighbours and trades
Understand how Permaculture zones and principles can assist in creating positive changes
Note – The session time will be approximately an hour with time allowed to settle in at the start and some time for extra questions at the end if required.
Your Presenters
Lena and Elise are residents in a multi-unit precinct in Thornbury. Through video and discussion they will share their experience of applying these practices on their own properties and within their precinct.
Your Host – Transition Darebin
We are a community group based in Darebin which aims to inspire a transition to more sustainable ways of living. This series of workshops supports local people by showcasing their skills within the community. The sessions offer opportunities to learn about sustainable living, be informed about climate/environmental issues and build stronger connections between local people, in order to create a healthy, sustainable and inclusive community.This event is kindly supported by Darebin City Council
18 November, 2020 at 9:05 pm transitiondarebin Leave a comment
Transition Darebin workshop: Cloth Nappies and other ways to reduce waste with a baby
Wed 4th Nov 2020, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm AEDT
https://events.humanitix.com/transition-darebin-workshop-cloth-nappies-and-other-ways-to-reduce-waste-with-a-baby – happening over Zoom
This free workshop is one of a series highlighting the skills and knowledge of local people and spreading this knowledge to strengthen our community in Darebin.
Local parent Genevieve Neve will talk about how she is making and using cloth nappies, plus other strategies to reduce the environmental impact of baby care.
What we will be covering during the event
What are Cloth nappies, fittings, materials and where to buy
How to take care of Cloth nappies
Supplies needed
and Making your own
Note – The session time will be approximately an hour with time allowed to settle in at the start and some time for extra questions at the end if required.
Your Presenter- Genevieve Neve
I’m a local mother of an 18 month old. We have been using cloth since birth and are moving towards early potty training. I’m an Actor with a background in Art and Fashion and a particular interest in environmental impact, hoping for a better future for our children, believing in a circular economy and a closed loop system. I have created my own pattern and instructions for cloth nappy making which come free with this course.
Your Host – Transition Darebin
We are a community group based in Darebin which aims to inspire a transition to more sustainable ways of living. This series of workshops supports local people by showcasing their skills within the community. The sessions offer opportunities to learn about sustainable living, be informed about climate/environmental issues and build stronger connections between local people, in order to create a healthy, sustainable and inclusive community.
This event is kindly supported by Darebin City Council
What’s Actually On Right Now
At the moment… most of our events are not live, thanks to the spread of COVID-19. So what is happening?
Darebin Repair Cafe is currently doing an online variation – fix things, and send an email to darebinrepaircafe(at)gmail.com to confirm. Next cafe starts up Sunday July 19, and will continue until the end of August.
Apart from that… watch this space, and take care of yourselves.
What’s On In May
Fix-It Newlands – May
This is an informal session, where people can bring their own items that need mending (and whatever supplies they need for it) and mend them themselves in good company.
How great will it be to be able to use those things in the back of the cupboard!
Note: We LOVE Repair Cafes where volunteers fix things for you. This is different – this is where we make the time to fix/mend our own things – to make it a priority 🙂
Food Swaps – CANCELLED Until Further Notice
Fix-It Newlands – April
This is an informal session, where people can bring their own items that need mending (and whatever supplies they need for it) and mend them themselves in good company.
How great will it be to be able to use those things in the back of the cupboard!
Note: We LOVE Repair Cafes where volunteers fix things for you. This is different – this is where we make the time to fix/mend our own things – to make it a priority 🙂
Transition Darebin Food Swaps CANCELLED
Hi all,
We are cancelling our 4 food swaps until further notice. Unfortunately, given the spread of COVID-19 and the need to encourage self-isolation, we can’t safely run these events in public. Thank you for your understanding.
We encourage you to use social media or other avenues to swap food in your locality by doing porch/nature strip/front gate pickups.
In Gellibrand Crescent in Reservoir there is a little food share project apparently. They have frequent posts in the Reservoir Good Karma Network on Facebook.
Recent food shares at the front gate and on the nature strip amongst our network were: warrigal greens in Preston, and parsley in Thornbury.
Our relevant Facebook pages are Transition Darebin and Darebin Urban Harvesters.
Thank you for your support during this time; we hope to see you all again.
Transition Darebin 