Haigh's chocolate is not just chocolate

I work a part-time job to pay the bills and so that I can truly spend MY time working towards a sustainable future. Afterall, David Suzuki did say we needed to slow down, and slow down I have, no longer am "I heading towards a brick wall at 100 miles an hour."

What makes my part-time job tolerable is my manager. She understands my motivations in sustainability and lends her support to it. Bless her as my actual work and the organization I work for is far from accepting to environmental sustainability. An organization with offices nationwide and abroad, it's quite disappointing they are without a sustainability policy. This is something I hope to change... but will leave that for another blog post.

Anyhoo, with Easter drawing near, my manager gifted a Golden Murray Cod to my team in-place of Easter Eggs. No, it wasn't literally a slimy fish but a chocolate shaped fish from luxury chocolatier Haigh's. Such a lovely gesture. You see the Murray Cod is an iconic fish. It is the largest freshwater fish in Australia, growing up to 1.8 metres long and has an estimated life span of over 100 years! But it is now in danger. Numbers are in great decline and it has been classified as a vulnerable species. So what Haigh's has done is produce a Chocolate Murray Cod made in honour of the native Murray Cod. Part proceeds from the sale of every Haigh’s Chocolate Murray Cod goes to Healthy Rivers Australia (previously known as The Waterfind Environment Fund). This not-for-profit organization works to improve the health of Australia’s river systems and support the survival of our precious native fish species.

A lovely gesture as my manager did not just give me chocolate, she gave her support to a vulnerable specie.

click the above image to find out more on
Haigh's Green scheme

Garage Sale Trail hits Melbourne via a Roller Door

mX - Melbourne

ABC News


Green Magazine

Roller Door Cafe is a local of mine and one of the very first in Melbourne to jump on the Garage Sale Trail. Fair trade coffee, biodegradable coffee cups when you forget your KeepCup, organic goodies, free range eggs, weekly organic food boxes and rooftop honey, plus the added bonus of being super fly makes this green chick mighty giddy to have it as one of her locals!

Added bonus, Matt the barista aka the early riser aka the caffine saviour did come in second as serving the best drop of coffee in Melbourne, amongest the likes of St Ali, Brunettis, Julio's and Caffe Remo.

When it all fits, it really does fit.

Green Chic booyah!

Who is Green Chick?

I often receive offers to have a "proper" photo taken. Not because I am drop dead gorgeous but because of my headless profile picture. FYI, that's not even me, it's a photo taken by the Satorialist during Paris Fashion week 2009. Everything about the photo encapulates what green chic is all about.

But it does bring up the question of who is green chick? Well I thought I'd let you in on who I am. No face but that's cos green chick is not about what I look like, but rather the life I lead. Hence, anyone can be green chick.

This is my bike - I use it to get from A to B. I ride slow and I hum when I ride.

This is one of two of my solar powered lamps - I used them to ease myself to sleep together with a good read

These are my retro furnishings - I dump my bag and everything else I don't want dumped on the floor on them

These are my soy candles - I like the smell of caramel and the light it gives. The soy tealight candle is citronella which keeps the mozzies away!

These are my memories - I am happy when surrounded by things that have been gifted and are personal to me - music/art/beach

A place called Commonground

The 2011 Sustainable Living Festival may have wrapped up a month ago, but the team behind the Festival continues to live and breath the magic as they plan for 2012.

2012 planning kicked off with a weekend away at Commonground in Seymour. A magical place that fosters collaboration in the mist of serenity and nature.

"Commonground is an Intentional Social Change community established in the early eighties. The founders were a small group of social activists exploring their best collective contribution to the creation of a just, nonviolent and sustainable world."

Commonground is a place that fosters the "keep it real" movement. The place seems to put me at ease, where social norms are no longer a priority. Getting in touch with nature, getting in touch with the people around you, and quite simply just breathing. And to think all this is found in our own backyard. I can only hope this kind of community spirit continues to thrive. It may have taken years and much blood, sweat and tears to achieve what they have, but the outcome, well it sure makes me wonder why one would ever doubt magic. Think, a place made from recycled materials, a place where resources are shared (co-housing), a place where the pool is the damn that is warm from the natural sunlight. Make it what you want. For the crazy Festival kids, 3 words: Royal Rajasthan Discotheque.

The Atlantic - Ocean to Plate with a game to play

The Atlantic at Crown, the latest addition to Crown's monstrosity, has been in the works for a number of months but as we were told by one of the visiting managers, it was only a couple of weeks ago that it officially open. While the place looked beautiful, I do question whether it has been all smooth sailing (excuse the pun).

Even though I may call Crown a monstroscity, I am however rather curious to find out if what the Atlantic prides itself on, "a team who hand selects an unrivalled selection of wild and sustainable fish, unique oyster varieties and pristine shellfish", truly justifies the price and the hoohar surrounding its arrival. I do give it the benefit of the doubt since the intention to be sustainable is there, right?

Conclusion, overated. Quality, decent but for the price and teamed with inexperienced staff makes this over priced dining experience quite laughable. Seriously. Watching my brother get taken on a tour of the restaurant unintentionally, taking away the place setting when we were still waiting on one, placing the napkin on all laps but mine, watching bimbos juggle plates, even with all this, the piece of resistance was the game we played or rather I played. Counting the number of times dishes went back and forth from table to table, an unintentional game of musical dishes perhaps?!

This of course has nothing to do with chef Donovan Cooke. The menu is crafted with great thought and does cater for all. Those with acquired taste to cashed up bogans who not surprising will alway pick the seafood platter (at $85 per person and requiring no skill at all to cook..hmmm...). The unfortunate thing however was we had to send a plate back for it was undercooked.

On a better note, desserts were of a fine selection. Much to choose from, I wanted them all! But if given a choice, I could probably do without them, as my heart still belongs to Dai Noi.

This is a place to be seen and possibly the "green" intention is there (though I am not fully convinced). Sadly these two factors just doesn't cut it in my books. Billy Kwong can you please come to Melbourne... pretty please.

Sweet Lochie

I am the second child as is Lochie, the second grandchild, the second nephew, the second everything. My point is we both are not the first. Not that he and I are bitter about it but let's face it, shall we say the novelty wears down after the first. I love nephew number 2 as do I love nephew number 1, but I am a bad aunty for it was Lochie's birthday on 13th January and it is only until now that I blog about it. The intention was always there but not so the urgency.

So what "green" gift do I give a one year old? To start him on his green path, a Baby SIGG bottle of course. With removable handles, good habits aka sustainable behaviour are instilled in this bub from get go!

Happy Birthday Sweet Lochie!

While you may have started life differently to most, you have however ended up being the most gorgeous, sweetest bub ever.

Earth Hour - some candles are bad eggs

Tonight is Earth Hour.

At 8:30pm, Earth Hour will sweep around the globe as people switch off their lights and celebrate a worldwide commitment to protect our planet

Initally, the idea behind Earth Hour was to make a bold symbolic statement about the critical issue of climate change and to engage Australians in taking action. 2007 was the first year of the campaign with approximately 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses in Sydney taking part, switching off their lights in a clear signal to government and industry that there's a demand and a need for change.

Since then, Earth Hour has rapidly gained momentum and burgeoned into a worldwide, community-driven sustainability movement.

Those switching off their lights may opt for candle light. But there is a catch. If we are doing this for the purpose of saving the environment, we need to make sure the candles we use are made from soy/natural beeswax/vegan and NOT paraffin. Paraffin candles in fact does more damage than turning on a light as paraffin candles produce a number of byproducts when they are combusted, including greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. Paraffin is also a petroleum product, making it a nonrenewable resource and adding to pollution through oil spills and other issues associated with the oil extraction process.

SOY CANDLES are BEST!