Finally tackling an extremely unpleasant mistake

I have an extremely unpleasant mistake in my backyard that’s been haunting me for three years. For my NEW action today I finally confronted it and created the solution to move forward … thanks to Blue Mountains Garden Groupies.

We all make mistakes. Even with the best of intentions.

When Charlie came into our lives I was determined to do the best I could, so I set up a compost bin to deal with his poos.

He’s a big dog so it filled relatively quickly.

Three years later it is still there. Full to the brim. Despite layering it with garden clippings it has barely sunk or been broken down in that whole three-year period. I’ve been so shocked, that I just walked away and tried not to think about it …. until the challenge of #AYearInADay.

Just under a week ago I stopped using plastic bags when I walked Charlie, taking a bucket and trowel on my walks instead. This meant, however, that I was bringing poo home that I really didn’t want to send to landfill. That, of course, made me think about my big mistake again.

Blue Mountains Garden Groupies generously came to my aid, posting lots of wonderful solutions when I called for help.

Because I have a number of spare garbage bins and an area set up for a Community Compost Hub, I was immediately attracted to the solution shared by Heather Soane. Today I finally took an hour to set it up. I am sooo chuffed.

Basically, I dug a big hole near my other compost bins. Then my husband helped me cut the bottom of the bin off and drilled holes 3/4 of the way up the sides. Worst case scenario I can always pull the bin out and cover it with soil, but according to Heather an occasional sprinkle of lime will help decomposition and it’s working well for her two large dogs. I can’t wait to take Charlie for a walk again!

You can check out all the other suggestions on Blue Mountains Garden Groupies here

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Planetary Health Community Compost Hub

This week our Permaculture Students also set up a Compost Bin behind the Barbecue at the Old Katoomba Golf Course. We’re hoping to turn that into a Community Compost Hub as well. This one will be for food scraps.

If you don’t have a compost bin but would like to join a Community Compost Hub you can join up here.

Join #AYearInADay Citizen Science Project

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Our first step is to record 365 new actions. Our second step will be to aim for 365 new actions in one single day. Imagine if we could do it every day of the year! You can subscribe to receive a daily action from us here