COFFEE POD RECYCLING IN FULL SWING

Contributed by one of our young urban farmers:

At St Laurence’s College urban farm, we have started to recycle used coffee pods. We collect the pods from staff rooms around the school, take the coffee grinds out, wash the empty pods and then send the pods off to Terracycle, who collects and recycles almost any form of waste.  We store the coffee grinds and occasionally add them to the worm farm and the compost. This project helps to reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill.

PROTECTING THE HONEY BLUE EYE FISH

The Honey Blue Eye fish (Pseudomugil mellis) is a small freshwater fish about 3 cm long, with characteristic blue eyes. This species is endemic to Queensland.   It is listed as Vulnerable in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992) and nationally (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). It is ranked as a critical priority under the department's ‘Back on Track’ species prioritisation framework. 

The Urban Farm was visited recently by Mr Peter Johnson, a representative of the Australia & New Guinea Fishes Association (ANGFA), who approved our site for the inclusion of Honey Blue Eye fish. The fish were added to the water garden that was already under construction, along with some native water plants.  In keeping with the goals of urban food production, edible Watercress and Vietnamese Mint have also been added to the water garden, and they are thriving.  It is expected that these native fish will breed in several weeks’ time, and we are very proud to contribute to the protection of its population.