FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

Here's an update of what's been happening in the City of Burnside this month from CEO Chris Cowley, as well as a look at what's to come! Exciting updates include:

✅ Water Smart Burnside website launches (bit.ly/WaterSmartBurnside)
✅ Work progressing on shared use path at the bottom of the freeway for the Crafers Bikeway
✅ New wellness space open in the Burnside Community Centres
✅ Council elections closing Thursday 10 November
✅ New LED parking signage at Waterfall Gully and Chambers Gully coming soon.

To find out more information and receive the latest updates about what's going on in Burnside, sign up to engage.burnside at www.engage.burnside.sa.gov.au

The Glen Osmond Institute had its grand opening in 1877 and was an important part of the community, housing a library of over 1,000 books and a reading room that was open to the public some evenings during the week. The institute building was also used for a number of social gatherings including concerts and lectures, with the schedule for evening events planned around the phases of the moon due to the darkness of the unlit roads.

In 1965, the foundation stone of the Glen Osmond Institute was removed. Underneath the stone were two glass bottles that contained documents and items from the time. One bottle was opened, while another remains closed to this day! The opened bottle included a photograph of Elizabeth Boothby, who was the owner of The Glen in Glen Osmond at the time. It also contained coins and pen nibs, as well as a lead bullet (not pictured).

The bottles were initially put back under the foundation stone, along with souvenirs from 1965 in a large brass cylinder. They were, however, recovered again in the early 2000s and added to the Burnside Local History Collection. These items and others are on display in the Burnside Treasures cupboard in the Local History Room in the Burnside Library.

Photos: Left - Glen Osmond Institute, circa 1904. Right - Message in a bottle items on display in the Local History Room at the Burnside Library

Grow It Local is a year-round program for councils and communities which supports Council’s key objectives relating to food waste diversion, positive sustainable living behaviours and local food systems, community engagement and capacity building climate change resilience, health and wellbeing, leadership and innovation.

This free online platform allows members to connect with other like-minded local growers who are passionate about all things home grown. Members can share knowledge, swap produce or seeds and discover new recipes. Free membership also gives growers access to an extensive library of online resources and workshops about growing their own produce. Members can receive free expert advice on topics such as composting, how to grow food in pots, veggie patch design and how to grow from seed.

Grow It Local’s annual impact report helps to quantify the impact of the platform on communities across the country. The impact report for 2021-2022 has just been published and provides a fascinating insight into the positive outcomes being achieved through the platform, which was established in 2012.

According to the 2021-2022 impact report, Grow It Local has 18,130 members nationally, 3,420 registered veggie patches and 868,897m2 under cultivation for growing food. More than 90,000 hours a week are being spent in the garden nationally and 26,008 kg of food waste is being diverted from landfill each week. The majority of members (83 per cent) are female and 15 per cent male (3 preferred not to say their gender). The majority of members (96 per cent) were interested in sharing their excess produce with others. The majority (95 per cent of growers excluding those ‘not growing yet’) said growing their own food provides a greater appreciation of the value, time and resources required. Respondents further noted that it also provides a sense of food security.

On a national level, the top five reasons for members getting involved are to learn more about growing edibles; to live more sustainably and positively impact climate change; to eat locally grown produce; to improve health and wellbeing and to connect with other local growers.

The top five reasons that members grow food include to grow healthy, chemical free food; to live more sustainably and positively impact climate change; for mental health and wellbeing; to reconnect with nature and because they just love plants.

Members are predominantly growing vegetables, fruit trees, herbs and ornamental flowers. Members are mostly growing this produce in their backyards, front yards, verge gardens and community gardens.

As of 17 October 2022, the City of Burnside has 302 members, 27 registered patches, and a total of 110 m2 under cultivation for growing food. In Burnside 214 members are either composting or worm farming, and 492 kg of food waste per week is being diverted from landfill.

The successful online platform is growing at a rapid rate, with an 81 per cent increase in members from the previous year (2020-2021). With 33 local government partners nationally (including the City of Burnside), the sky is the limit for Grow It Local.

City of Burnside residents can sign up on the Grow it Local website at https://www.growitlocal.com/register and register their veggie patch. It is important to provide as much detail as possible about your veggie patch, so that this data can be captured by Grow It Local in the year’s impact report.

Supported by Green Adelaide.

Images attributed to Green Adelaide.

Do you recognise this busy Burnside street? Pictured is a view of Glynburn Road back in 1913.

At the time, this road was actually called Beaumont Road. How things have changed in just over 100 years!

Image: Beaumont Road (now Glynburn Road) in 1913. State Library of South Australia, B 21061.

In celebration of Christmas and the summer and holiday season, we are holding a 2022 City of Burnside Christmas Card Competition with the theme of 'What makes an Australian Christmas?'.

We’re calling all of our talented Burnside school children in Years 2-3 to get creative and put your thinking hats on to take part in our competition to design the City of Burnside's official Christmas card.

You can draw, paint or do any form of design. The winning entry will be printed onto the City of Burnside Christmas Cards with the student’s name, year and school printed on the inside of the card and there will also be prizes for the winner and two runners up.

The competition is open from Monday 17 October 2022 and closes at 5 pm on Wednesday 16 November 2022.

View terms and conditions and how to enter.

First Falls at Waterfall Gully is one of the most beautiful and iconic natural spaces in Adelaide and has been a popular site for many years. Here is a photograph of First Falls dating back to 1937, and today the site remains nearly identical to how it looked 85 years ago!

Thanks to our biodiversity team, this waterfall has been taken care of over the years and is just as enjoyable to visit now and it was back then. With a number of walking trails commencing from First Falls, including the well-travelled Mount Lofty Summit Hike, there's so many reasons to visit Waterfall Gully this spring!

Image: First Falls at Waterfall Gully, 1937. State Library of South Australia, B 23711.

More than 50 people attended the Burnside Town Hall on Sunday 9 October as part of the Grow It Local Festival. They heard from Grow It Local co-founder, author, broadcaster, chef and master grower Paul West. Paul shared his thoughts and beliefs on why growing food is such a powerful force for good, how it can help address so many of society's big systemic issues and how anyone can start to grow a bit of their own food. Paul is an avid lover of all things homegrown and is on a mission to turn everyone into a gardener.

“I’ve never met a gardener I didn’t like” said Paul, addressing Burnside growers ranging from beginners to master gardeners, “so you’re all in the good books already!”

According to Paul, “gardening makes the world a better place” and everyone can start right now to make the world healthier, happier and more delicious. He believes that through getting your hands in the soil and growing a bit of your own food, it’s a great thing for yourself, your community and the planet.

“You don’t need a quarter acre of land to be a gardener,” said Paul. In fact, even if you just have a pot of parsley growing on your windowsill, you’re a gardener.

Some lucky residents even walked away with free seed packs and one resident won a signed copy of Paul’s latest book. Homegrown: A Year of Growing, Cooking and Eating. Residents also shared some plants, seeds and knowledge with one another at this exciting event.

Darryl Nichols, co-founder of Grow It Local, shared with Burnside residents some interesting statistics that show how Grow It Local is making an impact across LGAs all over the country. According to Grow It Local data, almost a million square metres of private land are being used across Australia for growing food. These private gardens are all contributing to providing food security, sequestering carbon and fostering community spirit across the country. Grow It Local currently has over 19,000 members nationally and members are diverting just under 40,000 kilograms of food waste from landfill per week.

The meet up left Burnside residents feeling inspired to get stuck into their gardens and gave Grow It Local Members a chance to meet and have important conversations about growing, sharing and eating food.

Sign up to the Grow It Local online platform for free to gain access to a suite of resources delivered by master growers such as Paul West, Sophie Thomson and Costa. Monthly live online workshops allow members to ask experts questions directly in relation to their own gardens and receive answers and advice on the spot.

You can grab a copy of Paul’s new book Homegrown at any good book store in Adelaide.

Pic L – R: Nat Giffney from Green Adelaide, Darryl Nichols, Paul West, Ella Coleman, Community Engagement Administration Officer and Sarah McConaghy-Beasley, Council’s Environmental Sustainability Officer.

Get ready for two big weekends of garage sales held simultaneously around the nation on 12-13 and 19-20 November. In preparation for these two big weekends there are a number of FREE workshops, tutorials and presentations during October and November. Bookings essential at www.garagesaletrail.com.au/City-of-Burnside

Morialta Uniting Church at Magill has held an annual Christmas market for almost 20 years. This year they are running it as part of the Garage Sale Trail weekend on Saturday 19 November. Office manager Nicole Charrison says all funds raised will support the Church mission. “We will have a book stall, bric-a-brac, toys, plants and lots of items donated by people who are downsizing or just cleaning up,” she says. “We have people baking cakes and propagating plants to sell. Everyone is welcome.” There will also be a barbecue and a visit from Father Christmas.

The Church is located at 26 Chapel Street Magill and is open every day. www.morialtauca.org.au

Pic: L – R: Minister Bob Hutchinson with Violet, 8 and Nicole Charrison with Zoey, 6.

The annual Glenside Lions Art Show is back. Opening night is Wednesday 26 October from 7 pm to 10 pm in the Burnside Ballroom. Tickets are $45 and include an open bar and canapes. Burnside Council CEO Chris Cowley will officially open the show and announce the winners for 2022. The show runs until Saturday 29 October (10 am – 5 pm). All art is for sale and can be purchased at any time. Funds go to support local charity Catherine House. There will be a preview of some art at Burnside Village on Thursday 13 October.

Pic: Art Show Director Cathy Greven with two examples of art which will be for sale. Hibiscus Beauty, Di Vanstone, watercolour and Victor Vista, Lyn Robins, acrylic.

Find out more at https://glensidelionsartshow.com.au/

The City of Burnside recognises extraordinary citizens and their remarkable and diverse contributions to our community each year on Australia Day.

Help us celebrate what is great about our community by nominating someone you know for:

• Citizen of the Year Award (aged 16+) - The most outstanding Citizen for Burnside.
• Young Citizen of the Year Award (aged under 30) - The most outstanding Young Citizen for Burnside.
• Community Event of the Year Award - A person or group who has staged the most outstanding community event.

Check the eligibility below and give someone the opportunity to be recognised and rewarded for their outstanding contributions to the Burnside Community.

It could be a local organisation who helps bring together our community, or a leader who is always giving others a helping hand.

Nominations close Friday 18 November.

Nomination Form