This was a sad sight to see, Lake Alexandrina in South Australia. I remember when the water used to be all the way up to the vegetation. Lake Alexandrina is at the mouth of the Murray River.  It’s my opinion, that if we had federally managed rivers and water allocations, that the Murray River ecosystem would be healthier.

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I camped in National Parks in NSW, ACT, SA and Victoria and went on a huge road trip (almost 5 thousand km!).

More photos from my trip are on flickr.

-Katie

If you want to find out more about recycling in Wagga, or anywhere in Australia, then have a look at Planet Ark’s website Recycling Near You.

In other recycling week news, the Wagga City Council is hosting The Wagga Wagga Swap Party. For more information visit the facebook event page.

On Thursday at 10:30 am, the Wagga City Library will be launching new energy audit kits that will available to be borrowed by the community (keep up with more library news by becoming a fan of their facebook page).

At this very moment the bikes are in the capable hands of the automotive department of Riverina TAFE – Their Outreach program has generously offered to fix the bikes up for us! But it doesn’t end there – We have some great ideas to get this project on the road and would LOVE you to get involved!!

This is what it is all about:

We want to provide an alternative mode of transport for students of CSU that is:

1. Environmentally sustainable
2. Convenient
3. Available for students who do not own cars
4. Safer for students travelling between residential blocks and across campus
5. Promote healthy lifestyles that include outdoor activities and exercise
6. Encourage students to be more environmentally aware and become responsible community members
7. Recycle a form of “rubbish” to create an asset for CSU students
8. Decrease emissions from fuel-based transport systems
9. Initiate / enhance cooperation and relationships between various aspects of the community:
   • CSU administration
   • CSU students
   • Riverina TAFE
   • Wagga Wagga City Council
   • Kurrajong Recyclers

If you are into bikes, or want to get into bikes, or simply agree that this is an awesome idea and want to know what happens next, email:
Alyssa cellar_tears [at] hotmail.com  or  Dave (enviro [at] rivcoll.com)

The poor veggies suffered a little over the break, they really needed more water to reach their full potential and quite a few things went to seed before providing much edible goodness (broccoli, radishes and cauliflower mainly) but there is a heap of lettuce there for the taking, as well as coriander!

The carrots are still plodding along and should be ready towards the end of the semester.

So far the veggies I have picked have been distributed amongst some eco active members, everyone is welcome to use produce – It is well worth going and having a look at the garden anyway.

In the future hopefully there will be a more decent crop and the veggies can be sold or made into yummy food to sell as fundraising for either Eco Active or charity. This year the garden went well, thanks to the dedication of a few Eco members as well as the support of the uni (Thanks to Will Adlong, Will Pollack, Peter Bell, Nigel Urwin and many others) but NEXT YEAR I want to see a whole heap more people getting involved – With a bit more work we could have 4 or 5 beds growing beautiful produce! Here are some ideas to get started on next year:

- Compost bins/heaps
- A drip watering system
- A mural for the shed wall adjacent to the garden or other decorations
- A picnic/working bee as well as a recruitment drive to get some new ressies excited about the garden!

So if you are yet to see the fantastic achievement that is the Veggie Garden, please go and have a look, munch on some lettuce, smell the french lavender, pick some oregano and corriander for dinner and admire the broccoli trees.

Alyssa