The monthly workshops at the One Planet Market have become a popular way for locals to spend an hour on a Saturday morning. We promote community education on sustainability, health and wellbeing, and the environment. Since Rachel, our new workshop coordinator took over late last year, we have had an interesting selection of presenters.

On the environmental front, The Talking Batty Team from Fauna Rescue SA taught us about the importance of flying foxes and microbats for the ecology of our native forests. These gorgeous mammals are often misunderstood as they can become pests in urban areas, but this is because we have encroached upon their natural habitat! We learned how to keep our backyards bat safe, and attendees were invited to volunteer with the team as they always need help, especially in the summer months as our harsh (becoming harsher thanks to climate change) summer heat can be deadly for these gentle creatures.

Crocheting with Carmel

Sustainability is always in front of mind at the One Planet Market, and we have many presenters who are knowledgeable about the various facets of sustainability. This year, for Plastic Free July, we had Carmel teach a small group the basics of crochet so that they could crochet a dishcloth for use at home and reduce our reliance on plastic cleaning products.

We had Kylie teach us how to use plants to make natural dyes to reinvigorate textiles and give them a new life instead of sending them to landfill. We had Martin from Earthship Eco Homes talk to us about his research and the practical applications of building a fully sustainable off-grid home as well as his educational community workshops to train the next generation of builders in sustainable techniques.

Coming up later this year we will have Darryl from Tesseract Energy coming to tell us about the pros and cons (are there any cons?) of a home solar set up, and the possibilities of PV panels and home energy storage.

Food and gardening are interconnected and inseparable when talking about sustainability. At the One Planet Market, we encourage community members to bring garden excess to share and trade and this often gets turned into something interesting like jams or pickles. Late last year Gina and Rosa from Slow Food SA came to teach us about the slow food concept which means appreciating the time it takes to grow our produce and using the whole fruit or vegetable to reduce waste. Parts that often end up in the organics bin, such as citrus peel, can be turned into tasty snacks, and things like mushroom stalks and tomato skins can be dehydrated and turned into supercharged seasonings. Waste not, want not! Rosa is

Mulch Matters with Jenny

coming back to expand upon seasonal slow food later this year. Of course, to grow these amazing garden delights, we need good garden practices. In back-to-back sessions in February, Beth taught us some basic permaculture principles which she uses in her home garden in the Adelaide Hills and Jenny talked to us about the different types of mulch and what is best for different garden areas.

Health and wellbeing are important parts of One Planet Market principles. In the past, we’ve nurtured the body and soul with yoga and meditation with Shylie Fox and early next year we will have a go at percussive meditations with Mark.

Of course, we always embrace a sustainable Christmas. Each December, we host a workshop for community members to create sustainable decorations made from natural components such as paper, twigs, gumnuts, twine, citrus peels, and spices. Bring the odds and ends you have in your garden or kitchen and come and get crafty with us.

If there’s a sustainability topic that you’d like to learn more about, or if you are knowledgeable about a subject and you’d like to host a workshop, please get in touch via email or Facebook to discuss it with Rachel.

Our educational community workshops are possible with support from the City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters.