looking for fellow Canberra guerrillas

[grassnerd]

Calling all shiny bums with green thumbs...

If you're keen for some guerrilla gardening between productivity dividends, let's hear about it! 

Hoorah for the bush capital! 

Love the Grassnerd
(think Kangaroo rather than Crab)

[Yellow Buttons]

I'm with you!!  (Moving the conversation from a squillion emails in the last two hours to the blog now that I can log on since my new spanky spam software works really well).  Next Saturday night, we need to check the site out first, maybe work from one end to the other over subsequent weekends as the space is kinda large.

For the info of others reading this, we've come up with a path that runs between houses, from a road to a shopping centre, with DIRT and WEEDS on either side that I've had the urge to pretty up for a few years now.

I think I can get some family involved too...

[grassnerd]

I've been finding a bunch of little spots around Braddon on my walk back from lunch - the possibilities are endless!!

the trees on Condamine St (extension of Barry Dr...) could do with some de-shagging down the bottom and then there would be little spaces to plant stuff...

and there are plenty of lonely trees in the middle of dirt patches around too!!

mini-guerilla action...

[Chicken]

Sounds good - there are plenty of ugly places here in Fyshwick too... be nice to spruce something up around here.

But yes we need to have a plan of action for next weekend.

Hey Yellow Buttons join up on Facebook so I can make you an officer & give you a title... any requests??

[Yellow Buttons]

Captain.

[Isuru]

Wow okay. Here we are. We need our own blog, that can be put together on the weekend I suppose.

[Isuru]

I'll take Strategic & Communications director and Hole Digger as my title. I'm good at digging holes with my paws.

[grassnerd]

I've got a spare hay bale.

make of that what you will...

[Isuru]

What are we going to do with hay?

[Isuru]

So who was going to put together the obejectives & Principles statement? Very simple 1 pager saying stuff like, we aim to beautify urban spaces etc and we will only use native Australian species, we will observe fire safety, urban planning regulations, blah blah blah.

[Yellow Buttons]

Hay is for horses.  Or mulch, if there aren't any horses.

Could the blog be on the facebook page?

Let's get drunk and write the O&P Statement.

[Isuru]

Sounds like a good idea. As far as Braddon goes, the prevalence of the 5-0/Fuzz/Blue Boys/Pigs in the area means it needs to be left until later, when we have the support of the public.

[Isuru]

I think the Cook mission should be conducted in the late afternoon/daytime as a sort of non-violent protest against the neglect in the area. That way old ladies will say we're good kids and what not.

[grassnerd]

dead of night I say...

fair call about the 5-0 and mafioso headkickers

hay is for mulch

[Isuru]

Dead of night is just not practicable and we are for more likely to get away with it in broad daylight to be honest.

[grassnerd]

dead of night is the whole point methinks - as long as neighbors (a church and a house) are informed.

planning meeting and general debauchery

saturday night turkish

my place

y'all can help me plant a couple of seedlings (not many, don't worry) in the moonlight to test out the night vision, and we can do a sneaky reco raid on the site to take 'before' pictures

what say you troops?

[wombat]

G'day Grassnerd, I am the Mornings Presenter at ABC Radio in Darwin.

I want to do an interview on GG...lord knows there's plenty of work to be done in the Top End.

It would make a great chat.

If you're interested can you drop me a line at compton.leon@abc.net.au


Thanks

Leon Compton

[grassnerd]

Hey Isuru - looks like you have your first task as media communications officer of the ACT guerilla gardners.  Can you please wear a balaclava as you type?

[Isuru]

1) It's going to be about - 5
2) Planting the seedlings in a frost will likely kill the poor little as
3) Lurking around in Jamison at night will attract at the very best attention from police and at the very worst attention from drunk, angry, violent, violent, bogans staggering home from Wests who if they don't damage us, will damage the plants.

The danger here is to focus too much on the cloak and daggerishness and "guerilla" aspect of it all at the expense of the wider and, what I believe to be the primary objective, which is to make places that currently look like shit look livable and vibrant.

[grassnerd]

well you know - a little from colum a, and a little from column b...

the seedlings have been sitting in that frost for the past week, you can't get out of it that easily... 

in terms of the attention - I think you expect far too much excitement from the Cook population.  we're a quiet, humble people.

I'm all about the plants baby, I just also like the idea of a geeky horticultural night raid...

[Isuru]

I think we need to identify the first 5 tasks for the group and work out who will do what, that would be a good start as a subsitute to idle speculation. I would also venture you haven't been to Wests and out of it around Jamieson at midnight Saturday night have you?

[Isuru]

What we have done

- Facebook group

What we need to do

- Add content to facebook group (All)
- Invite more canberrans to join (All)
- Start a Blog - (Isuru)
- Evaluate resource requirements - ?
- Design area for first raid - ?
- Evaluate equipment needs - ?
- Consolidate equipment - ?
- Stock larder and cellar - (All)
- Purchase/inveigle plants and other materials for first raid - ?

What are your thoughts?

[grassnerd]

I'm not proposing to do any digging near Jamo saturday night - I'm just saying come round to mine, we'll order turkish and write out a botannical manifesto, come up with a plan of attack, plant some seedlings in my back garden and wander down for 5 minutes to look at the area we'll eventually beautify.

That way we can finally put to rest the day/night debate, as it is likely I'll whinge and complain about the cold the whole way, and then you can feel righeously vindicated and we'll sit down and drink beer in frony of the heater, resolving to only do said large-scale digging activities when the sun shines in full in May.

And in the meantime, I'll have been able to live out a little bit of my dream to do night raids on areas of less than humus soil quality.

Hey yellow buttons, my yellow buttons out the back are going great guns.  I think we should put the gathering of yellow button stock on the agenda.

[grassnerd]

how come he gets to be a 'chatty troop'?

[Yellow Buttons]

I have - our blind friend once had to lead my partner home because he's more used to being blind.

Isuru, you are gloriously organised and far more law-abiding than I took you for.

Agree with the tasks, though right now I'm struggling just to keep up with posting on this blog, as some of us are also trying to be at work!!  However, this weekend I'll be very much up for planning, plotting, scheming and preparing, in time for ACTION the weekend after.

Isuru, it was decided you were the media spokesperson - reply to Wombat!!

[Yellow Buttons]

Based on your number of posts, your rank goes up.

We should harvest seeds from the yellow buttons - do they have any yet?  They're such a local species, they'll go great guns.  I've seen ones that've self-seeded in people's nature strips - they're great.  And happy little flowers.  Yay.

[Chicken]

Hey I'm up for a planning session on Sat (unless a certain gentleman returning from o/seas wishes to see me before Sun)... us girls can organise details tomorrow?

Maybe I should change Isuru's title to great & glorious leader?? 

[grassnerd]

Bring certain gentleman along!!

I wonder if cracking 10 will make me 'chatty'
I am all for harvesting yello buttons - they have flowers but no seeds as yet.

OMIGOD I just had an awesome idea.

there are two self seeded banksias in my yard because the woman across the side lets the seed pods keep growing on her big tree. there are plenty to be harvested.  have to be careful about where to put them, but potentially tres cool.

Have a look saturday...

[grassnerd]

woooo hooooo I'm a chatty troop!!!!

 

[Chicken]

Certain gentleman will most likely be too tired, although he is staying the night in Canberra... not with me.

[grassnerd]

ok, hammer time it is then...

[Chicken]

yay - hammer time!

[Chicken]

Hey my neighbour has native bluebells growing in his lawn (self seeded) - should I dig them out? 

[Yellow Buttons]

OUI banksias! 

I'll check about free local tube stock when I see my "contact" next Tuesday.

I'm soooooo excited!!!!

[Yellow Buttons]

See if you can tap tap snaffle some bluebell seeds.  That would go with the yellow very nicely methinks.

Trying to increase my rank...

[Chicken]

Hmmm tap tap... they will be small specks like in Horton Hears a Who - which is a COOL movie.

[Chicken]

10 must be the magic number to increase rank to chatty.

[grassnerd]

Horton Hears a What??

hey, check it out, I think I can make this thing glow red!!

[grassnerd]

I have to go away now and teach.  see you saturday evening, any time really... bring an apetite for Sujuk and yummy veg dishes...

 

[Yellow Buttons]

Grass is a dag as well as a nerd.

Horton IS a cool movie!!  Loved it.

I'm having trouble logging on to facebook to join our group on there, cos I'm at work.

I'll have to start a guerilla gardening guerilla facebook support group.

[Yellow Buttons]

Yeah I have to go too - time for kung fu fighting.

See you tomorrow morning to scheme what we'll scheme on Saturday night...

[Yellow Buttons]

Hey I clicked the setting to hide my email address from the public, but I think you can see it if you hold your cursor over the picture - can you guys see it?

[Isuru]

Goodo, I will be in Sydelly this weekend, but you guys come up with the manifesto and I'll take a look at it when we get back. As far as media goes, I suggest we DO something before we speak to the media if we want to rate at a level of seriousness above 1st year Arts students who "liberate" garden gnomes.

[grassnerd]

looky here sonny jim, I can handle accusations of champagne soam when it comes to my politics, but when gardening is concerned, I think you'll find I've mulched and pruned my way into postgrad studies at least.  when was the last time you took two trailers full of carbon matter to the greenwaste place eh??  when was the last time you bought PEA STRAW??

[Isuru]

That's fine, good work with the pea straw, I love it, I love you, I love youse all. But relative to the task at hand we actually need to demonstrate we are effective before we talk to the media otherwise instead of being a quirky story for a morning program, which is what we want, we'll be an opportunity for some journalist to decry the moral decay of the young folk who vandalise things, which is probably what our friend Leon from Darwin wants.

[grassnerd]

sure, no probs.

today I harvested seeds from lomandra longifolia and another similar plant (will probably need someone to identify them).  Do you lot know if they'll grow in native potting mix or seed raising mix?  I have both along with many little pots and we can do them tomorrow.  grassnerd uber excitement.

[grassnerd]

Hmm, looks like propogating Kangaroo grass is going to be a little more involved than I thought at first.

"Kangaroo Grass Themeda triandra is widely grown throughout Australia, but there is a trick to collecting the seed. It is important to cut the seed stalk at the base at the end of December, put the seed stalks in a hessian bag and store them in a cool, dry place for a year. There is a long after-ripening period with the seed."

oh well, my banksia seeds opened after an hour in the oven at 125

woo hoo!!

[Kulfi]

Hi Grassnerd and co,

I'm up for some guerrilla gardening and live near Jammo. What's the plan for the mission? I'm keen and can be a decoy bogan too.

[Isuru]

That's wonderful Kulfi, if you've joined the Facebook Group attached to our efforts post up there and signify your desire to help out. I believe the first draft of the manifesto was drafted on Saturday night, I would be keen to know how it went, we're likely top be doing some radio on the ABC in the next few weeks and haveing that document at hand would let us get our key messages down pat.

[Isuru]

Another consideration we need to make, and one that has been flagged by a few people I have spoken too is aesthetics, I am firmly committed to the idea of keeping it native for environmental reasons, but our designs and combinations of foliage need to be pleasing in order to meet our objective of bringing beauty to neglected urban spaces. Like to get your thoughts on this one.