Sustainable House Day

Five homes in the Cairns region will open for Sustainable House Day on Sunday 13 September. They are at:

1. Joan Crescent, MAREEBA
2. Black Mountain Road, JULATTEN
3. Portsea Crescent, KEWARRA
4. Solager Street, MANOORA
5. Sperring Street, MANUNDA
The event gives people the chance to get a real-life look inside houses that have been designed, built or fitted out with sustainability in mind and talk directly to the owners to find out about their experiences.

Houses will be open to the public between 10am and 4pm, and entry is free.

For a full listing of homes open for Sustainable House Day visit www.sustainablehouseday.com

The house pictured is in Sperring St and displays a working Aquaponics system.  This is a blend of hydroponics and aquaculture for backyard food production.

Roy is Solar Powered

Roy is solar powered and very mobile!  This racey little machine is charged by the sun and will travel 80 km on a full charge.  Wouldn't it be great to see us all getting around like this.  Less noise pollution, no fossil fuels and living life in the slow lane for a change.  It gives the term "sunroof" a whole new meaning.

Fruit Fly Season

It's that time of year again as the tropical fruits begin to ripen and the fruit fly prepare to breed.  The female fruit flies sting the fruit and lay their eggs inside, while the male fruit flies do not harm the fruit at all.  We have products such as 'Wild May' & 'Fly Bye' which are liquids that can be placed in the bottom of a simple trap made from a soft drink bottle.  The liquids attract the male fruit fly, helping to reduce the population while also allowing you to monitor the level of activity in the area.  The Eco Naturalure trap has a poisoned wick which attracts the male fruit fly and the dead flies are collected in the trap.  There are no liquids which is an advantage and replacement wicks are purchased seperately.  It is best to use these traps all year round.

Eco Naturalure is an organic certified product which is sprayed on fruit trees, attracting both male & female Qld fruit fly.  They will feed on the spray and die.  All of these products are available in packs suitable for backyard use or for commercial orchards.

To reduce fruit fly problems you should remove windfalls from the ground and damaged fruit from the trees, as this will atttract fruit fly.   Queensland fruit fly is a native species and exists in balance in the forests, however our mono-culture orchards are a breeding ground which allows an unnatural population of fruit fly to exist and become a pest.

Growing for Nutrition

We now have a range of DVD's available on a range of topics, including Permaculture and growing food for nutrition,  If you don't have time to do a biological gardening course then this may be the answer for you.  DVD's are $ 29.95

Santuary Issue 8 Out Now

Santuary is now a 90 page quarterly magazine.  Issue 8 is out now with 50 pages of sustainable homes and special features on bathrooms, recycled timber and homewares and still only $ 9.95.  This is an essential guide for anyone planning a new home or renovating.  "Sustainable Living with Style" 

PEST FREE

The winter months brings with it those beautiful warm days and also a few furry and unwelcomed guests move into the ceiling space. Rats and mice move into suburbia seeking food, water and a warm place to sleep but how do we get rid of them.
Poisonous baits are often picked up by family pets or the rats die in the ceiling space causing a very smelly and unpleasant situation.
An Australian company have developed a patented electric pest control system called the Plug-In Pest Free. It is the only electromagnetic pest control device to be scientifically tested and proven in a leading Australian University to be effective against rats and mice. It has been independently tested and consumer tested since January 1995.
The pulsating operation of the Pest Free, alters the background of the existing Electromagnetic Field already contained within a buildings structure. The Technology will not affect cats, dogs, birds, computers or the electricity flow in a building. It is family safe, environmentally responsible, long term cost effective and maintenance free. The Plug-In Pest Free will result in the reduction of the use of poisons in the future for our children and the children of generations to come.
 

Fluoride Filters

Available in 2 weeks, we will have a 15 litre free standing water filter which filters the water in 2 stages.  the first stage Royal Doulton carbon filter will remove  95% of Chlorine , 99.999% of Amoeba,  98% Suspended Solids,  99.999% of Giardia,  99.999% of Cryptosporidium, & partical reduction

 • 0.9micron>99.99%
• 0.5micron>99.9%
• 0.2micron>98%. 

The second stage A-2 Fluoride/Arsenic Reduction Element filter works in conjunction with the first stage  filter to reduce the fluoride level by more than 95%. This element will filter 1000 litres before it needs to be replaced.  The A-2 filter element uses activated alumina that has been especially prepared for the reduction of fluorides in drinking water, to below 0.5 ppm. The activated alumina has been treated for water leachabillity which also enhances the removal of arsenic.

These filters are just $ 345.  the only other way to fully remove all fluoride is the use of a reverse osmosis filter, which waste 6 litres of water for every litre which comes out the tap.