Ever heard of Backyard Blitz? It's where Jamie Durie flexes his muscles and suburban blocks are changed from rubble and weeds into majestic pieces of urban architecture?

Friends of the Earth Sydney are going one step further - welcome to Permablitz! Permablitz is the socially responsible and environmentally friendly way of converting rubble and weeds into edible community gardens.

Permablitz is way that people living in urban areas can do something positive about issues of climate change and oil depletion that is fun and inexpensive. Permablitz is about growing your own organic fruit and vegies and reducing our dependence on food that comes at an environmental cost – emissions through transportation, use of chemicals and water in processing, soil degradation and genetically modified seeds.

The Wigram Permablitz is a free event conducted by Friends of the Earth Sydney, and is welcome to anyone with an interest in sustainable gardening, the environment and organic food.

The Wigram Permablitz will involve:

-         Hands-on permaculture gardening (bring your gloves);

-         Workshops on permaculture design with enviro-gardening tips and hints; and  

-         Meeting your neighbours and other local council members, politicians and small business people with an interest in sustainable gardening and the environment.

Prior to the November Wigram Permablitz Friends of the Earth will screen two films related to Permablitz – Eat The Suburbs and How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

The Wigram Permablitz is just the beginning of an ongoing community initiative. We would like to establish an open and ongoing process to Permablitz gardens and build an environmentally-sustainable community. We will be raising awareness of the initiative through local media and also hope to build an awareness of resources available to people who would like to grown their own food.

We would like to invite you to attend the Permablitz and ask you to support this initiative. You can help by attending and sharing your knowledge, contributing compost, manure, worms, soil, mulch, seeds, cuttings, tools, newspaper and any other interesting gizmos you may have.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and meeting you at the Permablitz screening on November 2 and the Wigram Permablitz on November 4.

Jess Miller

on behalf of Friends of the Earth, Sydney

Key Dates & Permablitz Information:

Screening: Eat the Suburbs and How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.

Friday November 2,

Glebe Community Café, 37-41 St. Johns Road, Glebe,

Free,

Kids Welcome, bring your own food.

Permablitz

Sunday November 4,

11am start,

87 Wigram Road Glebe – this is a rental property.

BYO lunch to share, gloves - some tools provided otherwise label bring and label your own.

Kids very welcome, let us know if they are coming so we can accommodate them.

Stuff you can bring/contribute:

Newspaper

Compost

Manure

Mulch

Tools

Books

Good websites

Knowledge & Skills

Worm farms

Gizmos

Seedlings & cuttings

Pots and seedling trays

Resources:

http://permablitz.net/

http://permablitz.net/index.php?option+com_content&task+view&id+17

(Asha Bee article)

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/07/16/1184559700758.html

(article on Permablitz)

http://permaculturesolutions.com.au/thomasstreet/ (blog of the original permalitz site in Melbourne

http://wwwearththesuburbs.org/ (creative responses to climate change and peak oil)

http://globalpublicmedua.come/the_power_of_community_how_cuba_survived_peak_oil

Contact:

Jess Miller – 0409 490 711 miller.jess@gmail.com (Media and Comms)

Rachael Neary – 0418 415 736 rachel.neary@exemail.com.au (Permablitz site)

Alex Mclean – 0439 401 464 alex.mcclean@exemail.com.au (Permablitz site)

Adam Wolfenden – 0401 045 536 adamwolf@riseup.net