A Learning Experience

 I worked with the Hornsby Chinese Community Group on a well-received Sustainable Living project last year, which included 5 workshops on a range of sustainability topics. This year, when I regrouped them for a casual meeting of evaluation and consultation, I was utterly amazed by the amount of things they remembered and the amount of changes they have made since then.

 

Due to popular demand and the recent enrolment of many new members, Sustainable Living Project 2013 was launched for this group with natural cleaning, composting, no-dig gardening and a field trip to Turramurra community garden being the chosen topics for further exploration. It is my hope that after the workshop series, the group’s interests in composting and gardening will be raised, as a nearby community garden space can use some hands to thrive. 

 

 

 

When I reviewed the 3 workshops we had in the past 2 months, the most magical moments lwere in sharing experiences and ideas among the group. I was truly heartened by the fact that many participants are not only doing something, but also starting to think and create in their most unique and brilliant ways. 

 

During the natural cleaning workshop, we were excited to test out many green cleaning recipes. When talking about using vinegar or diluted vinegar as a multipurpose cleansing agent, I shared my practice of washing vegetables and fruits with a few drops of vinegar to get rid of the pesticides. However, one participant offered an even better observation. She believed that many chemicals, like vinegar, are acid, so the alkaline bi-card soda should do a better job when it comes to “neutralise” the acid toxic residues. Most participants turned their heads and were on the brink of clapping their hands on this wonderful “discovery”. Afterwards, a heated discussion on finding greener substitutes broke out among the group.  

 

As for the composting and no-dig gardening workshops, I was warmly greeted by quite a few garden lovers among the participants already. The Hornsby Council kindly offered some lovely seeded plants and a wonderful Composting Revolution Program for the group to join. Mary Zhang, one of the participants, shared her unique “vertical composting” practice. This vertical composting system is very easy to build and only requires some wildly available materials, such as plastic bags and bamboo sticks. If you are hooked, please refer to the story written by her within this newsletter. I am sure you will be amazed by her wild imagination and brilliant execution. 

 

A participant told me that she can’t wait for the next workshop, because she enjoyed learning new information, sharing stories and experience, and feeling more engaged and included in her local society. I guess these are the reasons that I enjoyed being a bilingual educator as well. They all lie in the stories we share, the changes we witness and a better future that is getting so close that we can almost touch it. 

 

By Grace Lu, Mandarin Environmental Educator