Trial drain garden being installed in footpath

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.

Alan Jones AO speaks at the launch of Kylie's off-grid house

Described by many as the nation's greatest orator and motivational speaker, Alan Jones speaks to launch attendees about the brave steps that Kylie is taking to stand up against council in her off-grid journey and deems her a heroine. 

Kylie's passion for sustainability

Kylie talks to launch attendees about her passions and what motivates her to go off-grid.

I introduce Kylie Ahern at the launch of her off-grid house

Kylie is passionate about sustainability and exercising her right to decide where she gets her energy and water from.  I'm happy to support her on her off-grid journey, and the launch was a complete success!

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.  

Rain water safe to drink at Kylie Off-grid project

The lab test in today shows the rainwater in the rain tank at Kylie's Off-grid house is safe to drink.  

Nil faecal coliforms detected (an indicator of harmful bacteria), and nil results for lead and mercury.

As the lab tests come in I'll convert them to a trend graph showing the results over time.

Re-using lime mortar from cleaned bricks

Watch how to re-use waste lime mortar from cleaning bricks to break down clay soil at the building site

Excuses! Excuses! Don't let people tell you that you can't install insulation.

I show how to install insulation under new and existing timber floors, walls and ceilings.

Insulating your house

In this video we look at floorboards and insulating them along with your walls and ceilings.

Turn building food waste into your garden soil

In the first video I show you how to prepare the compost bin for your building site. In the second video, I show you the compost bin on site ready to go to work.