The Greening of Gavin | Sustainable Living in the Suburbs

During the Sustainable Living Festival, I had the pleasure to attend a talk given by members of the Victorian Wind Alliance.

The presenters talked about the benefits of Wind Power and the real facts behind this type of renewable energy.

I really enjoyed the details within the talks regarding community ownership, and community support.

I recorded two of the presenters which I have included in this episode with their permission.  You will hear from Dan Cass from Hepburn Wind, and Peter Reefman from Portland Sustainability Group, who both had very interesting talks.

You can find the Victorian Wind Alliance website at http://www.vicwind.org.au/

Love the power of the wind!

Also, you may have noticed a new feature on this blog.  I have added a sidebar widget that lets you record and send me a voicemail, via the widget if you so desire.

It is a very simple process as long as you have a microphone connected to your PC, which most do these days.  You can leave me questions or suggestions, that I may talk about in podcasts or write about in the blog.  I will always ask permission from you before posting your content.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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So, don’t be shy.  Keep the questions and suggestions coming.

 

On Tuesday night, I was the guest of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library, specifically the Ivanhoe Library.  I gave a talk about Energy Efficiency in the Home, which was one of the many sustainable living presentations during given during the yearly Sustainable Living Festival.

I had a great time, and judging from the notes taken by the audience, and the questions at the end, they enjoyed it and learnt lots as well.

As an added bonus I asked the audience if they minded if I record the presentation and turn it into a podcast.    Everyone was very happy and gave me permission to put it up on the web.

Naturally the audio is not quite studio quality, however, I have edited it heavily so that it is easy on the ear.

So, go make yourself a cuppa, grab a biscuit or two and have a listen to the podcast as it is 55 minutes long.  Remember that this episode is available on iTunes as well to download into your portable device.

 

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Doesn’t time fly when you are having fun!  I have been writing now for five years about my journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

Am I there yet?  Well, the answer is no, and I have recently admitted to myself that I may never get to the end of my journey, ever.  Which, of course, is fine by me, and probably fine by you dear reader, because it means that I keep writing.

So, to mark the event, I recorded a podcast, in which I talk about why I started the blog, how far it has travelled stats wise, how I write, and how I have introduced other forms of media to keep the format interesting.  It is a bit of a how-to-blog podcast.  I hope you take the time to listen.

To celebrate this anniversary/birthday, I have a gift for one lucky reader.  I am going to give away a copy of each of my four books.  Yes that is all the books that I have written over the past eight months.

All you have to do to enter the give-away is to leave a comment telling me why you read this blog, and then either “like” via Google+ or Facebook (buttons on the sidebar).

If you are already a follower, still leave a comment so you can be in the competition.  I will be checking for valid entries before I randomly select a winner.  Pretty easy competition this!

Once the winner is drawn, send me an email, and I will reply with the coupon for the eBooks.

Here is to the next five years.  Onward and upwards, as they say!

Addendum: The competition will be drawn on Wednesday 20th February (Australian Eastern Summer Time), so you still have time to enter if you want to win the 4 eBooks.  

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Well folks, the day has finally arrived.  I have been talking about this eBook for over four months, and now the time for talk is over.  It is here!  As an extra special treat for this eBook launch, I recorded a podcast in which I read the first two chapters for your enjoyment.

Introducing my newly published eBook, titled;

Build Your Own Backyard Clay Oven

by Gavin Webber

It seems like just about everyone wants to cook outdoors these days, and what better way to do it than in your very own backyard clay oven.

This book shows how easy it is to make a clay oven from scratch, and includes detailed instructions, with over 60 photographs and illustrations.

It is time for the humble Barbecue and Grill to move over, and for the backyard oven to step into the role of the ‘must build’ outdoor cooking accessory for the 21st century.

Available at my eBookstore

The entire process has been a labour of love.  From building the clay oven, to making the video, to writing and self-publishing the eBook.

If anyone would like to review the book, contact me via email, or post a review via the Smashwords book page.  I appreciate all feedback, good or bad.

I think that the best thing of all, I can cook in the oven any time I want, and share its output with all my friends!

I hope you enjoy the book launch.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Back after a long, long break, I start off the podcast again with a bang! This episode is a special eBook reading from my book titled “The Greening of Gavin – My First Year of Living Sustainably”.

I wanted to do this podcast for a while now, because so many people have asked me how I perform a book launch for an eBook.  Well this puzzled me for a while until a mate mentioned that I should just read a few chapters of my first book like they do on Radio National or at a normal book launch in a bricks and mortar book store.

Cool idea I thought, so here it is.  Enjoy my dulcet tones.

Until next time, happy listening!  Now that I have my recording mojo back, expect regular podcasts every few weeks.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Resilience.  How do we build it into our communities?  Can you build resilience from the ground up?  Well Craig Ambrose from Motueka, NZ thinks so, as do many like-minded people through the world.  Originally a Melbourne lad, Craig moved to NZ to seek a resilient community.

A short distance from the small town of Motueka, in the northern part of New Zealand’s South Island, Atamai Village is well underway in its goal to provide homes, food and economic security for 50 families in a well-planned, permaculture-inspired development.  You can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/atamaivillage

 

Craig and his son William at Atamai Village Commons

Please join me as we listen to Craig talk about his family’s journey and efforts to help establish this resilient community.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

This podcast was recorded at a live presentation about Sustainable Living that I gave to the Melton Gardening Club on 25th April 2012 before an audience of about 35 members.

I took Ben along as my assistant, and he really enjoyed himself.  The feedback on our trip home was “Dad, I really liked listen to you talk about the way we live”.

After the presentation, I was give a tin of ANZAC biscuits as a thank you which we really appreciated.  There was a Q and A session, but I didn’t include that in the podcast because there was just too much background noise which is a shame because there were some great questions.

 

I hope you take the time to listen to this presentation about our journey so far.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

 

This episode is about why we should Shop Less, and Live More.  It includes observations about the state of consumerism in the Bourke St Mall, Melbourne, and a slightly edited interview from ABC Radio with Paul Gilding, author of The Great Disruption.

Let me know if you found it interesting.  I always welcome feedback to improve the show.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

RSS Feed for your podcatcher application

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

This recording will either work, or be the worst podcast I have ever recorded.  This episode is a recording that I made on the journey home from Melbourne to Melton.

It is an observational piece where I prattle on about the unsustainable and sustainable features of the city.  There are many unsustainable features on my journey home, which I just usually mentally note, but here is a chance for me to share the irony of city sprawl when pitted against issues like peak oil and climate change.

I hope you enjoy it, and even if you don’t, please leave me some feedback via comment so that I can improve this type of roving recording in the future.

Also, on the media front, this article titled “Worldwide Webber a hit was published in the Melton Weekly.  Corny title, I know, but a nice read.  I think the media frenzy is now coming to an end, so on with our regular posts from now on!

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

 

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!

Will the energy descent and/or climate chaos hit us slowly or quickly?  Well in the case of Cuba, it was over a period of just 6 short months.

Linda Woodrow from The Witches Kitchen, and her family spent a year in Havana, Cuba during the Special Period teaching permaculture, some years after the country’s economic collapse and during shortages of imported food and oil.  It changed the Cuban’s lives forever, but not as badly as some may think.

Please join me in listening to an interview with Linda about her time in Cuba, and some of the lessons that can be learnt by people living in urban and suburban landscapes that are dependant on external resources for their survival.

There are many things we can learn from a country that has already experienced the sorts of issues we will also face during energy descent.  I for one learnt a lot from today’s interview.  A big thank you to Linda for sparing some of her time today.

If you enjoyed the podcast, please pop over to iTunes and rate it and leave a review. You can also do the same within Stitcher Radio if you use that service.  It would help me out so much, and elevate the ratings so that others can find out about the podcast and learn about sustainable living in the ‘burbs.

You can subscribe to the show via RSS or iTunes or Stitcher for your portable device.  Just use the subscription buttons below.

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Until next time, stay green and keep keen!