POW

Reading Landscape with David Holmgren - film screening hosted by POW as part of NSF
2025-02-07 19:00 - 22:00 UTC | Seddon Uniting Church, Gamon & Mackay Streets, Seddon, Victoria, 3011, Australia
Kicking off 2025, join POW for the first film night for the year, Reading Landscape, which invites you to walk with David Holmgren (co-originator of permaculture) across Djaara Country, as he shares his insights and discusses his unique approach to reading landscape, a wealth of knowledge and wisdom developed over forty years. David’s approach contributes to re-embedding reading landscape into our cultures as a known and fundamental human capacity, providing an opportunity for humans everywhere to deepen their connection to place.

You can check out the trailer below.

Bring along snacks to share and we’ll have a discussion about the film afterwards. Please register your attendance through Humanitix at https://events.humanitix.com/reading-landscape-film-screening-with-pow.

The venue is anticipated to be accessible. To confirm this please contact us via info@pow.org.au

This event is hosted by Permaculture Out West, event partner of the National Sustainability Festival 2025

POW Reboot Workshop
2024-06-15 10:00 - 13:00 UTC | Yarraville Community Centre, 59 Francis Street, Yarraville
If you live in the inner west of Melbourne and are interested in permaculture, urban agriculture, sustainability, self-sufficiency etc and if you would like to practice these things with like minded people, come along to our POW Reboot Workshop.
In its heyday, Permaculture Out West had hundreds of members. We ran regular working bees, workshops, skill shares, food swaps, community drinks and more. We even had a playgroup and nursery and we ran campaigns.
Lately things have been a bit quieter, but a few remaining members would love to get things going again – maybe the same things, maybe new things. It depends who shows up and what you want to do….

Date: Saturday 15th June
Time: 10am-1pm (including shared lunch)
Venue: Yarraville Community Centre, 59 Francis St
Bring: Your excitement, imagination and a plate of food to share for lunch
RSVP: info@pow.org.au (free event – registration required for the room booking)

Note: You do not need to know much about permaculture – we are all learning together – but we do want people prepared to step up and make the magic happen!

POW @ MCC's Living Future Expo
2024-06-02 10:00 - 15:00 UTC | The Line, 2 Yewers Stree, Footscray, Victoria, 3011, Australia
Join us at Maribyrnong City Council’s inaugural Living Future Expo, a celebration of sustainability in the City of Maribyrnong on Sunday 2 June.

We’ll be there to talk all things permaculture, spruik upcoming events, and give away some free seeds!

Other highlights of the day will include:

Tim Forcey discussing his new book My Efficient Electric Home Handbook
David Spratt from Safe Climate Australia with his eye-opening presentation on the Climate Emergency
The Good Car Company with a range of electric vehicles to trial ride
E-bike test rides thanks to Rilu- E-Bikes and Melbourne Powered
An electric garbage truck demo thanks to Cleanaway
Footscray’s own DIY HI FI Solar Sound System
Very Edible Gardens showing us how to identify edible weeds and make the most of their medicinal properties
and free smoothies by Bike n Blend for the first 400 visitors.

Bring the whole family down for a fun day filled with entertainment, food, kids’ activities!

The Expo will take place at the Footscray Arts precinct and span from The Line on Yewers Street, across Moreland Street and into The Footscray Community Arts Centre.

For more information about the Expo, visit: https://www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/News/Living-Future-Expo

#LivingFutureExpo24 #Sustainability

GWEFO Nature Strip Blitz
2024-02-17 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | GWEFO, 16 Gwelo Street, West Footscray, VIC, 3012, Australia
We will undertake a nature strip garden blitz in Gwelo St. This workshop will allow for information exchange, skill & knowledge sharing, fun and some hard work. We’ll hear from local enthusiasts and Maribyrnong Council on their new policies, so you can implement a project in your street. The recipients of this blitz are so grateful and we hope to kick-start a blitz series so efforts can be reciprocated!
Please bring hats and water bottles. Come for the day or whatever you can. Snacks and drinks will be provided.
Participation in the blitz is free but registration is required at https://events.humanitix.com/gwefo-nature-strip-blitz.
This event is hosted by Permaculture Out West as part of the National Sustainability Festival.

Yarraville Food Swap
2022-03-06 09:45 - 11:30 UTC | Blackwood Street House, 114 Blackwood Street, Yarraville, Victoria, 3182, Australia
This is the first of what we hope will be monthly food swaps* at YCC’s Blackwood Street House (adjacent to Beaton Reserve), taking place on the first Sunday of each month.

We’ll also host a conversation before the swap starts, on gardening, permaculture, sustainability and related topics. These talks will run from 9.45am for a 10am start. The swaps will run from 10.30-11.30am.

The focus for this month’s discussion is on SOURDOUGH BREADMAKING, led by Sarah Rickard and others from POW (Permaculture Out West) and YOBBO (Yarraville Organic Baking & Brewing Outfit).

There’ll be some sourdough starter available for you to take home – and please bring your starter if you have any. They each tend to have their own characteristic flavour and behaviour!
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Please note that this event is being held at the Yarraville Community Centre on Blackwood Street – NOT the one on Francis Street.

*To find out more about food swaps – what they are and how they run, head over to https://localfoodconnect.org.au/food-swaps/.

This event is hosted by Permaculture Out West with the kind support of the Yarraville Community Centre and the Seddon Community Bank, Bendigo Bank.

POW monthly catchup (online via Zoom)
2021-04-20 19:30 - 21:00 UTC | Victoria
New and familiar faces welcome at our monthly POW meeting for permaculture practitioners and enthusiasts.
Share tips, ask questions, learn from each other – everything and anything from gardening through to retrofitting your home and exploring the permaculture design principles.
This is also an opportunity to plan upcoming events, like YIMBYs (open garden tours in our local back yards), permabees (working bees), workshops and social events.
We generally meet every third Tuesday of the month (online or, where possible, in person). Please check the event on the day for any changes. You can also keep up to date by following us on Facebook – like our page (https://www.facebook.com/powland) or join the discussion on the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/powland).

POW monthly catchup & seedling/produce swap
2021-01-19 19:30 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | The Convent, 36 Essex Street, Footscray, Victoria, 3011, Australia
New and familiar faces welcome at our monthly POW meeting for permaculture practitioners and enthusiasts.
Bring your excess harvest, seeds and seedlings to swap. Share tips, ask questions, learn from each other – everything and anything from gardening through to retrofitting your home and exploring the permaculture design principles.
This is also an opportunity to plan upcoming events, like YIMBYs (open garden tours in our local back yards), permabees (working bees), workshops and social events.
We generally meet every third Tuesday of the month, in person whenever possible. Please check the event on the day for any changes. You can also keep up to date by following us on Facebook – like our page (https://www.facebook.com/powland) or join the discussion on the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/powland).

Pollinate the West (Stage 2): Cycling seeds to growers
2020-11-15 10:00 - 13:00 UTC | Melbourne’s inner west
This is stage 2 of POW’s ‘Pollinate the West’ initiative where cycling ‘pollinators’ deliver the seeds and seedlings that were donated during Stage 1.
If you’d like to o join one of the ‘pollinator’ cycling groups, or if you’d like to get your gardening gloves on some free seed/lings, register here by 5pm Tuesday, 10 November:
https://bit.ly/3mSNYrh
We’ll confirm details with cyclists by email on Friday evening, 13 November. Each group will be capped at 10 cyclists.
Growers will be contacted earlier that week. Once the donation day (on 8 November) is over, we’ll be busy cataloguing what we’ve received and will send you out a list of available seed/lings so you can place your ‘order’ ahead of the Sunday pollination day.
Details will be confirmed by email, so be sure to register early!
If you’re looking for more info about Stage 1, head over to the separate event page here or on our Facebook page.
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NOTE:
This is the first time we at POW have organised an event of this type and scale, so please bear with us if there are any bumps along the way. We are relying on the generosity of POW members and community volunteers across the Inner West. Thank you all in advance for your participation!

Pollinate the West (Stage 1): Seed & seedling drop-off
2020-11-08 12:00 - 17:00 UTC | Melbourne’s inner west
This is stage 1 of POW’s ‘Pollinate the West’ initiative where donors drop off their seeds and seedlings at the ‘hives’ located across the inner west.
If you’d like to share your seeds or seedlings, or if you want to offer your home as a drop-off ‘hive’ site, please register here by 6pm on Friday, 6 November:
https://bit.ly/3mSNYrh.
We’ll email hive participants by 10 pm on Friday, 6 November, to confirm arrangements.
If you’d like to participate in the Stage 2 Pollination event (15 Nov), see below.
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STAGE 2:
You can register via the above link to join one of the ‘pollinator’ cycling groups to help disseminate the seed/lings in your local areas on the following Sunday, 15 November. We’ll confirm details with you by email on Friday evening, 13 November.
Registration is also essential if you’d like to get your gardening gloves on some of these free seed/lings. Once the donation day is over, we’ll be busy cataloguing what we’ve received and will send you out a list of available seed/lings so you can place your ‘order’.
A separate event for Stage 2 has been created on this website here as well as on our Facebook page.
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NOTE:
This is the first time we at POW have organised an event of this type and scale, so please bear with us if there are any bumps along the way. We are relying on the generosity of POW members and community volunteers across the Inner West. Thank you all in advance for your participation! See less

Pollinate the West (Overview)
2020-11-08 - 2020-11-15 | Melbourne’s inner west
POW is taking seed/ling swapping to the streets. All residents in Melbourne’s West are invited to participate. You can fill out this short survey to join in: https://bit.ly/3mSNYrh.

You can sign up for one or more of the following roles:

DONOR, as a donor of seeds or seedlings.
HIVE, by offering your home or other place as a drop-off site to coordinate distribution.
POLLINATOR, by joining a small group of cyclists to help deliver the seeds and seedlings to your neighbors.
GROWER, by expressing interest as a grower who’d like to get their gloves on some seeds/seedlings.

This event is staggered over two weekends: seed and seedling donations are taking place on 8 November, with pollinating cyclists hitting the rode on 15 November. Event pages have been set up on our Facebook page:

Stage 1: Seed and seedling drop-off at https://fb.me/e/goF5sLF6s
Stage 2: Cycling seeds to growers at https://fb.me/e/32n1Ayt3J

Note: registration is via the bit.ly link above, not facebook. All participants who register will be contacted by email to confirm details.

Note that this event is based in Melbourne’s inner west* and is free. Our success depends on the generosity and participation of POW members and volunteers in our wider community. Wee thank you all in advance!

If other permaculture or gardening groups are interested in holding similar events, we’d be more than happy to share our learnings. You can get in touch via email.

COVID-Safe guidelines will apply to limit the size of cycling groups, and to ensure contact-less exchanges.

Excess seeds will be dispersed to local seed libraries/exchanges and non-profit organisations.

*MELBOURNE’S INNER WEST includes suburbs located in the following council areas: Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Moonee Valley, Brimbank and Wyndham.

POW catch-ups and skill-shares
2020-02-04 19:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | venue tbc, Footscray, 3011
Come meet like-minded permaculture enthusiasts and practitioners for a quarterly catch-up. We’ll discuss all things permaculture, share some skills – think brewing, composting, managing chickens.

Permaculture Victoria Picnic & AGM
2018-11-25 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | Downs Estate, 190 Old Wells Road, Seaford, Victoria, Australia
This is an open day for anyone interested in Permaculture. Bring your picnic blanket and basket, be entertained while you enjoy your lunch, join a workshop, check out the marketplace, hear what other Permaculture groups are doing.
A day for Permaculture Vic members and groups to connect and share.
Live entertainment – Workshops – Talks – Site tours – Weed Walk – Games – Produce/Seed Swap – Buy Swap Sell Table – Scything – Basket weaving – Dancing – Demonstrations
Local groups are encouraged to bring promotional information for the Local Groups information table and will be invited to share at the AGM what your group is doing.
AGM for Permaculture Victoria will be held. We invite all members of PcV, members of local groups and anyone interested in Permaculture and their family & friends,
Please bring your excess harvest and seeds to swap… & your dancing shoes for an afternoon of fun!
Anyone interested to offer a workshop or to put up a stall at the marketplace can contact newsletter@permaculturevictoria.org.au

RetroSuburbia Book Club - Session 2: Managing Waste (Chs 9, 16 & 29)
2018-10-22 18:30 - 21:30 UTC | Victoria
We’re about to tackle the issue of waste – from composting toilets to composting food, reducing packaging and minimising waste. Skim through all or bits of Chapters 9, 16 and 29, and feel free to post any additional resources (websites, videos etc) you have found useful.
We’re meeting at 6,.30pm to cook up some dinner together – bring some veg or other bits you have, or let us know if you plan on trying out or using a recipe and the sort of ingredients you’d invite folk to bring. We aim to start the discussion around 7.30pm or so.
Let us know you’re coming so we can be sure to send you the address. You can email us or get in touch via our Facebook event and send a message to Fiona. And please let her know about what time you plan on coming.
CHAPTERS FOR THIS SESSION:

GREYWATER AND HUMAN NUTRIENT RECYCLING (Chapter 9). If this chapter heightens your interest in humanure, and you can’t wait to hear first-hand from Mal about his backyard experiments, you can dive a bit deeper into Humanure HQ (http://humanurehandbook.com/index.html). And if your interest is in nitrogen-rich “liquid gold”, local permaculturalist Adam Grubb reveals all in this episode (at around 15:50) of Greening the Apocalypse: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/greening-the-apocalypse-rrr-fm/greening-the-apocalypse/e/48000439.
BUILDING AND MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY (Chapter 16) covers multiple ways to manage your food scraps while improving your soil – from hot composting and worm compost through compost teas and biochar.
SUSTAINING AND SUSTAINABLE DIET (Chapter 29) goes into ways to reduce generating waste by buying in bulk, reducing packaging, wild foraging and gleaning, and ways to use surplus foods.

If you’ve any questions, please email Michelle at info@pow.org.au.

This event is hosted by Permaculture Out West in collaboration with Transition Town Maribyrnong. We’d love you to join these groups if you haven’t already, and hope to also see you at RetroSuburbia Community.

RetroSurbia Book Club: Session 1 - Laying the Ground Work (Chs 3-4, 14 & 34)
2018-10-08 18:30 - 21:30 UTC | private address – rsvp via Facebook for details, Seddon, 3011
We’ll be kicking off the book club by laying the ground work for each section of the RetroSurbia book, crossing the Built, Biological and Behavioural fields. The group will then decide on the topic and chapters for the next session.

The first session will cover:

* Chapter 3: (Setting the scene) Where & how we live

* Chapter 4: (Built field) How to assess a property

* Chapter 14: (Biological field) How to assess a garden

* Chapter 34: (Behavioural field) Decision-making, interpersonal relations & conflict resolution

The plan is that we meet on a fortnightly basis, alternating houses between Michelle’s place in Seddon and Elena’s place in West Footscray. To get to know each other and ease into the night, we’ll start at 6.30pm with a cook-up. Bring whatever veg or bits you have and together we’ll make a soup or other dinner treat to share. If you can’t make it then, that’s fine – come along as soon as you can. We expect to start the discussion by 7.30pm or so.

Let us know you’re coming so we can be sure to send you the address. You can email us or get in touch via our Facebook event and send a message to Michelle .

If you don’t have a copy of RetroSurbia yet, you may be able to check out the book from one of the local libraries. You can purchase a copy for $85 plus postage from https://www.retrosuburbia.com/. (If there’s sufficient demand, we can bulk buy and get a 35% discount – let us know asap if you’re interested in this option.)

If you’ve any questions, please email us at info@pow.org.au.

This event is hosted by Permaculture Out West in collaboration with Transition Town Maribyrnong. We’d love you to join these groups if you haven’t already, and hope to also see you at RetroSuburbia Community.

RetroSuburbia Book Club for Melbourne's West - planning session
2018-09-19 19:45 - 20:30 UTC | Footscray Park Bowling Club, 1 Hoadley Street, Footscray, Australia
Want to get together with other fans of David Holmgren’s Retrosuburbia, taking it chapter by chapter to see what changes we can make or celebrate (and share) in our personal contexts? Come join Permaculture Out West (POW) for a planning session so we can work out the details – how often, when and where we meet etc.

Check out RetroSuburbia Community and the Files tab, where Steve Burns has generously posted his book club notes for others to use or adapt. That will give you an idea of how we might approach things, or where we might step off from.

We’ll meet at the Footscray Park Bowling Club at 7.45pm for a brief chat til 8.30pm. Other groups will be using the space for their meetings as part of the Community Assembly (a monthly gathering of groups & individuals). The get-togethers are open to all – so feel free to drop by earlier. (Eg, there’ll be an information session from 6.30pm for anyone interested in joining the Melbourne Repair Cafe (Inner West) as a fixer or helper.)

RSVP welcome here. Email inquires can go to POW.

Feel free to bring something to nibble on and share. Drinks will be available at bowling club prices. Parking for bikes and cars are on-site – use the entrance off of Hoadley Street. The venue’s address is 1 Hoadley St, Footscray.

Sustainable House Day 2018 (hosted by the Alternative Technology Association)
2018-09-16 | Australia-wide
For more than 17 years, Sustainable House Day has provided a great opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people to visit some of Australia’s leading green homes – ones that are not only environmentally friendly, but cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in.
Sustainable House Day gives visitors a chance to inspect firsthand houses that have been designed, built or renovated with sustainability in mind as well as the opportunity to talk to owners and receive unbiased advice. Register here to attend Sustainable House Day on Sunday 16th September 2018 and to receive information in advance of the day. Once you have registered there is no need to register in subsequent years. (house addresses will only be displayed in full 2 weeks prior to the open day)
In 2017 29,049 people visited 206 homes across Australia. Online and print media stories reached a targeted audience estimated at over 159,000,000 million (based on circulation/readership figures-see report for details).
Gold coin donations raised from homes open reached $12,060.85 which went to charities chosen by individual homes. Individual charities can be found on each homes profile pages.
Sustainable House Day is an event of the Alternative Technology Association (ATA). The ATA is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. Established in 1980, the organisation provides expert, independent advice on sustainable solutions for the home to households, government and industry. The ATA also produces the high-quality magazines, Sanctuary: modern green homes and ReNew: technology for a sustainable future to provide ideas and inspiration on how to make your homes and lives more sustainable all year long.

Permablitz Altona! (edible garden working bee, hosted by My Smart Garden)
2018-09-09 10:00 - 16:00 UTC | (address provided after booking), Abbotsford Convent - Convent Bakery, 1 St Heliers Street, Altona, Victoria, Australia
Join My Smart Garden as we transform this Altona backyard into a productive permaculture garden that will grow food for community organisations! This hands-on event will include mini-workshops, a delicious lunch and plenty of festivities. Attendance at this event will also count towards having a Permablitz at your place!
Please note: as the venue is a residential address location details will be only provided after booking is completed. This is a free event but bookings are essential. Please feel free to bring any surplus produce, seeds, cuttings, plants, gardening magazines etc to swap and share!

POWer bee in St Albans - come help Mick & Terri prep the garden for Sustainable House Day
2018-09-08 09:30 - 13:30 UTC | Private residence, St Albans, Victoria, Australia
Mick and Terri are opening up their house for Sustainable House Day in mid-September and would love POW to come a week earlier to help prep the garden. POW will also be there on SHD (on 16 September) to promote the group, prompt people’s curiousity about permaculture and encourage people to become committed permies. You’re most welcome to come for the POWerbee and return for the SHD festivities!
ABOUT MICK & TERRI’S PLACE
Mick and Terri have recently installed a large PV system with batteries which they’ll be showcasing along with their permaculture garden. This is where you come in…
Imagine this: nestled under the power lines in St Albans is a delightfully overgrown garden on a large block complete with fruit trees, vines, chickens, bees, worms and veggie garden and even a large greenhouse growing a variety of aloes and other plants. A veritable oasis of Permaculture.
Well…actually…that’s what it should be. In reality, the weeds have taken over and the veggie patch has seen better days. So the cunning plan is to come together and help Mick and Terri do a bit of a tidy up, fix up the veggie beds, plant a few more fruit trees and lay out a bit of mulch. The tasks for the day: tidying, planting, mulching and planning for Sustainable House on the following week.
Along the way, you can learn about beekeeping, planting and maintaining fruit trees and any of the aspects of the property including the chooks, greenhouse, irrigation, renewable energy and a host of other topics.
If you can bring a shovel or a wheelbarrow that would be very helpful. Lunch will be provided but you are also invited to bring a plate. Kids of all ages are welcome and feel free to relax afterwards with us for a pleasant Saturday afternoon.
Register here to attend the (free) POWerbee so that lunch catering can be organised: https://powerbee-2018stalbans.eventbrite.com.au.
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY
For more than 17 years, Sustainable House Day (SHD) has provided a great opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people to visit some of Australia’s leading green homes – ones that are not only environmentally friendly, but cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in. SHD gives visitors a chance to inspect firsthand houses that have been designed, built or renovated with sustainability in mind as well as the opportunity to talk to owners and receive unbiased advice.
SHD is an event of the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), a not-for-profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. Established in 1980, the organisation provides expert, independent advice on sustainable solutions for the home to households, government and industry. The ATA also produces the magazines, Sanctuary: modern green homes and ReNew: technology for a sustainable future, to provide ideas and inspiration on how to make your homes and lives more sustainable all year long.
Sustainable House Day takes place on Sunday 16th September 2018 and visitors can register here to attend to receive information in advance of the day.

POW @ "Growing Food The Italian Way" (author talk & book signing, hosted by Hobsons Bay Libraries)
2018-09-04 18:30 - 20:00 UTC | Altona North Community Library, Millers Road & McArthurs Road, Altona, Victoria, Australia
Permaculture Out West will be joining other community and council initiatives – My Smart Garden and Transition Hobsons Bay – at the Growing Food the Italian Way event featuring Fabian Capomolla, passionate grower and gardening author, and previously one of the duo who formed the Little Veggie Patch Co.
Fabian took his family to Italy to reconnect with his Italian heritage and has written this book to promote eating seasonal, locally grown food is what Italians have always done. Growing Food the Italian Way is about providing for your family and your community. Fabian shares his background and passion for good food and gardening. Sales and signings will be available.

Spring into summer with POW - seed/ling swap, blitzes and bees, sustainable house day
2018-08-15 18:15 - 20:30 UTC | venue tbc, Footscray, 3011
Come along and meet other permaculture enthusiasts and practitioners and:

Swap seeds, seedlings, cuttings and all that grows!
Plan future working bees and permablitzes in the West!
Plot some inspiring and delightful ways to spread the permaculture word at one of our local permie’s “open house” event during Sustainable House Day!

And stay to check out some of the other groups and individuals in the community who are gathering on the same night as part of the monthly Community Assembly (hosted by Transition Town Maribyrnong and IWCE Inc.).
We POWsters gather at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start and run until 7.45pm when the socialising begins with the other folk who’ve come along to the Assembly.

BYO your good selves and a neighbour/colleague/friend/family or curious passer-by. Light refreshments will be available, courtesy of Alfa Bakery. The Club will open the bar for us, so drinks available at bar prices.

GETTING THERE: The Footscray Park Bowling Club is at the corner of Hoadley Court and Ballarat Road (west of Victoria University). Parking for cars and bikes is off of Hoadley Court, through the Club’s gates.
