Michael Mobbs
Make a more natural nature strip

Here’s a simple, low cost , low tech design which keeps rain water where it falls to make a self-watering nature strip.

Let’s put nature into the ‘nature’ strips of our cities. It’s easy.

Make a more natural nature strip
Michael Mobbs
23 years off grid for water in the centre of ...

What does the data tell us about living off-grid for water in the heart of Sydney?

Analysis of water quantity by an American intern in Sydney, Jillian Meehan.

23 years off grid for water in the centre of Sydney - what the data says
Michael Mobbs
Aircon for on and off-grid houses

Here’s how to have aircon and be on or offgrid for electricity. Cool!

Aircon for on and off-grid houses

Trial drain garden being installed in footpath

Drain garden being installed

Last Friday the first trial drain garden was installed in the footpath outside 13 Oxford St, Newtown as part of Kylie Ahern's off-grid renovation.

The drain garden has these components: a sump into which water drains from the road gutter; two long pits with plants and grates over through which the plants may grow; an overflow point for when the pit fills; capacity to harvest over 29,000 litres of road water a year. 

It's designed to bring previously wasted road runoff to irrigate the tree roots below the surface.  The aim is to increase the tree height and canopy and to thereby cool the street.  If we harvest previously wasted road stormwater to irrigate trees we can cool our cities by several degrees and increase the health of the air we need to live and that's needed by all that's living in cities.

We'll monitor and report on its performance, particularly the accumulation of sediment in the first sump; there's a removable 'pot' to enable easy removal of sediment.

The cost to Kylie of this trial drain garden is $2400. With simpler design and multiple production we expect this to halve. 

We're seeking rate rebates and exemption from stormwater levies for Kylie from the local council and the local monopoly water provider, Sydney Water. We're asking governments to give rate rebates to farmers and householders who conserve water and energy on their land and provide a public benefit beyond their boundary.  We'll keep you informed about this, too.

Unfortunately, in the brutal way only governments can be, the local council imposed a $3,000 developer levy on Kylie's renovation approval for it to carry out stormwater works; an act of silliness but that, too, is a work in progress as Kylie is seeking a refund.

Anyway, hang on sad tree, water is on its way to you.

Councils and state governments waste millions of dollars on infrastructure

Tomorrow we build the first 'Streetgarden" in the footpath outside the Kylie Off-grid renovation project.  The local council has approved the trial which is being paid for by Kylie Ahern.

Each year the drain garden will divert over 20,000 litres of water from the street gutter to irrigate a sad, unhealthy tree that is presently denied that water due to the road design.

We'll monitor and report here on the sediment that accumulates in the streetgarden and the impact of the water on the health and height of the tree.

During the construction we'll review the design and cost to make and install the streetgarden and report on that, too.

There's a huge potential to cool our cities by irrigating street trees with stormwater from the road, to clean the air we breath and to improve the value of our infrastructure by reducing the wear and tear on it from stormwater.  The Sydney Morning Herald wrote a highly critical article of current government waste of money and water caused by their design and maintenance practices.  

Michael goes off grid for power: part 1

The sun has powered electricity in my three bedroom inner Sydney house since March 2105.

It’s been six months since the wires from the poles carrying mains electricity in the street outside my house were disconnected.

Now, with useful data on costs and energy use, it’s possible to pass on the lessons I’ve learnt.  You can use the data to go off grid yourself and avoid my mistakes.  The data enables you to compare my experience with yours, and to compare the fifteen or so other off-grid battery and inverter products on the Australian market, with more coming.

Cooling a city block project: the new ice block

It has been a pleasure working with Street Coolers, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished, the positive changes we’ve made in Newtown, and all the friendships we’ve developed along the way.

There’s still a lot going on, and we’ve begun stage two of the project. If you’re interested in what we’re doing, visit our Facebook page for the latest news and contact me at mariannaverlage@gmail.com or 0406-270-138 to get involved!

Here are a few highlights from our first six months of cooling a Newtown block!

ecoPOPPING cools our cities

Since I arrived in Sydney and began working with Michael Mobbs, counteracting Sydney’s heat and implementing projects to cool the city has been one of my main goals. Now, Michael and I are selling an amazingly unique, self-sustaining garden called an ecoPOP that’s designed to cool public areas and provide an interactive, educational green space that builds community.

Buying group solar

We started out with the goal to obtain a discount on solar systems by buying in bulk. Our aim was to have 30 households sign up with the one supplier to achieve a negotiated 15-20% discount on all components and installation of a solar system. The project began with a meeting at Michaels house that involved a presentation, much discussion, and a few bottles of wine.