Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

This month Maria Ciavarella from My Green Garden will show you how to preserve home grown tomatoes.

The session will cover the art and science of:

• bottling (jars of peeled tomatoes)
• pickling (green tomato pickle)
• making a sauce (ketchup style)
• dehydrating (dried tomatoes)
• preserving using a process that requires no electricity,  smoke or steam.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

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Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Want to be able to garden without spending a fortune? Maria Ciavarella from My Green Garden will show you how to utilise things you already have to garden and save money.

During this seminar you will discover innovative ways to create a sustainable garden without breaking the bank. Maria will share tips and tricks to help you save money while still achieving a beautiful and eco-friendly garden.

This session will cover how to:

• repurpose everyday items
• recycle organic waste
• make the most of your garden space.

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, this event is perfect for anyone looking to embrace sustainable practices and save money in the process.

As a special treat, all attendees will participate in a tomato seeding activity with a heritage or heirloom seed variety from the Bulleen Art and Garden range.

The community food, seed and garden swap takes place at 6.45pm, 15 minutes before each session.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Karen Sutherland from Edible Eden Design will talk about the best way to maintain and prune your fruit trees during winter for long lasting thriving fruit trees. 

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening series to inspire you to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Gardens are the natural habitat for all types of insects – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Integrated Pest Management aims to manage pests using a mixture of physical, cultural, and biological control methods, with low impact chemical being used as a last resort.

This session will cover:

• an introduction to Integrated Pest Management 
• being a detective – identifying the culprits
• beneficial insects versus pests
• using barriers and cultural strategies
• when to consider garden chemicals
• an introduction to companion plants to help control garden pests and diseases
• common garden pests and control options.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Join urban food garden specialist Kat Lavers from The Plummery as she discusses garden tools and infrastructure.

The session will cover:

• alternatives to pots
• stakes
• shade cloth
• nets
• buckets
• ties
• and what to look out for in hard rubbish, skips and op shops.

Kat will also cover which tools are worth investing a few dollars in, and how to look after them.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Gardens are the natural habitat for all types of insects – the good, the bad and the ugly. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) aims to manage pests using a mixture of physical, cultural, and biological control methods with low impact chemical being used as a last resort.

This session will cover:

• an introduction to Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• being a detective – identifying the culprits
• beneficial insects versus pests
• using barriers and cultural strategies
• when to consider garden chemicals
• an introduction to companion plants to help control garden pests and diseases
• common garden pests and control options

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Manningham has more than four seasons. Duncan Cocking from Leaf, Root and Fruit will deep dive into succession planning for local conditions.

Duncan will discuss the patterns that he sees in nature and how easily you can begin observing them too. Use these observations to inspire your gardening activities by working with nature rather than against it. Learn how to refine your succession planting and ripen that elusive Christmas tomato. Create your own action plan for your vegetable patch.

Topics covered include:

• the seasons of Melbourne/Manningham
• being an observant gardener
• Phenology
• timing of planting and succession planting
• growing Christmas tomatoes, creating an action plan.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

In this comprehensive program, Sustainable Gardening Australia will cover everything you need to know about preparing your garden (in Spring) for a bumper summer harvest.

Part one will cover planning, preparing, and growing your garden organically.

Topics include:

• what does growing organically mean
• designing your summer organic garden
• soil management and amendment
• organic fertilizers
• integrated pest management
• composting and worm farms.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

In this comprehensive program, Sustainable Gardening Australia will cover everything you need to know about preparing your garden (in Spring) for a bumper summer harvest.

Part 2 will cover:

• garden maintenance and preparation
• selecting what to plant and when to plant it
• summer veggies in pots
• mulching
• smart watering and managing hot weather
• introducing sustainable ways to improve productivity
• starting with seeds and seedlings
• tips for sustainably avoiding and managing pests and diseases
• feeding the soil and summer crops.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Karen Sutherland has a lifelong passion for growing her own food. In this seminar Karen will share with you her expertise in incorporating a bush tucker garden at your place.

This session will cover:

• the best bush food plants for gardens in Manningham
• which plants to pot vs those to plant in the ground
• basic growing information
• the basics of harvesting bush 'tucker'
• simple uses for both fresh and dried plants.

Start your passion for native edibles such as lemon and cinnamon myrtle, native thyme and sage, peppers, mints, fruits and berries.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Are you covered for emergencies at home?

We are holding a home insurance workshop with Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC), a multidisciplinary legal service that works to prevent problems and support community resilience.

The session will cover important topics including:

• having an up-to-date insurance policy  
• the right insurance amount for your home and contents
• what to look out for in your existing insurance policy.

Participants are encouraged to bring insurance policy documents for personal reference during the session.

It's free to register but bookings are essential. 

Please note: this repeat session of the Home Insurance workshop will be held in Mandarin. 

Are you covered for emergencies at home?

We are holding a home insurance workshop with Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC), a multidisciplinary legal service that works to prevent problems and support community resilience.

The session will cover important topics including:

• having an up-to-date insurance policy  
• the right insurance amount for your home and contents
• what to look out for in your existing insurance policy.

Participants are encouraged to bring insurance policy documents for personal reference during the session.

It's free to register but bookings are essential. 

Are you covered for emergencies at home?

We are holding a home insurance workshop with Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC), a multidisciplinary legal service that works to prevent problems and support community resilience.

The session will cover important topics including:

• having an up-to-date insurance policy  
• the right insurance amount for your home and contents
• what to look out for in your existing insurance policy.

Participants are encouraged to bring insurance policy documents for personal reference during the session.

It's free to register but bookings are essential. 

Come along to find out how you can electrify everything to improve your home environment, and ease the burden on your budget.

This webinar will explore essential transition areas including:

• why an all-electric home
• the benefits of getting off gas
• which items need attention
• how to plan your transition
• what assistance and rebates are available.

Our presenter, Ian Moxon, is a seasoned sustainability consultant with over 15 years of experience in this field. He’ll share his extensive knowledge and valuable industry insights into the benefits of changing to an all-electric home.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Bookings are essential.

As gas prices increase and more people are looking at ways to reduce their carbon footprint, the transition to an all-electric home is both financially appealing and a sure way to take action against climate change.

This information session will help you understand:

• economic and environmental benefits of reducing your household gas (and fuel) consumption
• steps to creating an efficient, all-electric home that can accommodate electric vehicles in the future
• ways to power your home with renewables, if your household is not able to have solar
• your eligibility for the wide range of rebates

All Manningham residents who attend on the night will go into the draw to win a Virtual Home Energy Assessment worth $225!

This phone assessment will be tailored to your household, helping you to plan for a cost-effective and comfortable transition away from gas. We may contact the winner to check on progress in both reducing bills and making the home more energy efficient.

To attend this event, you must have an internet enabled PC or device and be able to download Zoom. Don’t have Zoom? Download it for free. You’ll be provided with the Zoom meeting link when you book.

This free information session is brought to you by Manningham and the Australian Energy Foundation. If you're unable to make the session, you can still learn more about how to keep your home cool while saving energy on the Australian Energy Foundation website.

Do you share a home with your adult children? Whether your kids have moved back into your home, or you are sharing a space, this presentation will provide tips to maintain harmony in your household and control of your lifestyle.  Followed by a morning tea and service provider stalls. 

Bookings are essential for this free event. 

Register online or call the Manningham Healthy Ageing Team on 9840 9230 to book your spot. 

Transport and parking

If you require assistance with transport, please contact Eastern Volunteers (EV) directly for transport bookings on 9870 7822. 

Parking is available in the Civic Centre car park. 

We are funding in person energy advice consultations to help residents make the switch to an all-electric home. The sessions are one-on-one with a qualified energy adviser, and will run for 20 minutes.

 ​On behalf of Manningham Council, Caroline Burgess from Be Comfy will be delivering the consultations. ​These sessions are available at no cost to Manningham residents.

A 20 minute one-on-one advice session can help you:

• discuss ways to make the switch from gas to electricity in your home, tailored to your budget and situation
• reduce your energy use, understand your energy bill, or review your energy plan
• access basic advice on a specific energy efficiency issue.

As part of the Inspired Living Series, Jesse Glascott and Elle Paton will discuss sustainable building design and tiny homes at the Manningham Function Centre.

Jesse Glascott, is co-founder of the Sustainable Building Alliance, Director of G-Lux Builders and architect of the iconic Warrandyte Panel House. Jesse will discuss what goes into designing and building net zero sustainable homes.

Elle Paton is co-founder of the Australian Tiny House Association. Tiny homes are prefabricated, transportable dwellings that can provide off-grid, eco-friendly and low cost solutions. Elle will share her story of what its like to live in a tiny house.

Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events

The Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events showcases five insightful, not-to-be-missed evenings at the iconic Manningham Function Centre.

The series will introduce you to a diverse line-up of local and international keynote speakers offering unique insights on how we can all shift to a greener future.

Topics range from permaculture to sustainable fashion. Each speaker will inspire and motivate simple, positive lifestyle choices, connection to nature and growing a thriving community in the midst dynamic change.