Yesterday morning Dan had the honour of facilitating a second mass VEG-style wicking bed installation in conjunction with Maribyrnong City Council.  Last time we hit Pitt St in Footscray, this time nearby Eldridge st was our target.  What a wonderful morning – the thunder storm held off and by the end it was sunny.  In about four hours about 15 keen street residents with help from VEG’s Dan & Sarah from council had another five wicking beds up and running on the kerb.  Each bed will be managed by a family with several shared beds being managed in partnership. 

The nearest water tap we could access was about 180 metres away but luckily Dan had a huge roll of pipe we used to span the distance. There was much running back and forward to get it working but we prevailed in the end!

During the morning heaps of street residents came for a sticky-beak or to get involved, with a huge diversity of ages & cultures – always nice to see some beautiful saris in the mix!

I tell you – if you have to work on a Saturday, getting to do something like this is a blessing – it is so much fun it doesn’t feel like work at all!  We had some sand, pea-gravel and soil left over at the end which we were able to take to a community garden in a nearby church in Ascot Vale where street resident Ben (smiling chap in blue shirt on the right above) runs a youth community gardening class.  This wicking bed in public spaces thing is a pilot project and if successful the council may well roll out more – if you live in Maribyrnong and are interested – track down Jennifer Witheridge at council to ask for more information

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