Smart Living Ballarat
A free monthly workshop series looking at ways to live smarter.
Lower your carbon footprint and your cost of living!
Sponsored by the City of Ballarat. Hosted by Ellen Burns
Smart Living Ballarat 2024
BREAZE is very proud to announce our Smart Living Ballarat workshop program for 2024.
All workshops are presented live by host Ellen Burns and guest speakers, while also being streamed live to the Smart Living Ballarat Facebook page where recordings are available for viewing after the session ends.
To watch the recordings of past sessions, just click on the name of the session and it will take you to the Facebook recording.
Suitable for homeowners and renters, learn more about quick, cheap and often temporary things that you can do to cool down your house in summer.
The session covers how to use insulation, ventilation, shade and moisture control to lower the temperature on a hot summer day. Ellen also shares some bonus recipes for meals that don't require cooking, keeping your kitchen and belly cool!
Local gardening expert John ‘Ditchy’ Ditchburn shows how to grow and save your own seed. By saving your own seed, you can grow your favourite plants over and over.
A lot of the plants that are easiest to grow this way (greens, herbs etc) are very expensive to buy and have a very short shelf life. By growing these plants at home, you can save a heap on your grocery bill and reduce the food waste in your home as well!
Find out how to slash your grocery bill and eat cheaply!
Host Ellen Burns covers a wide range of tips and techniques, such as: how to shop smarter, how to lower your food waste, which food to grow at home for the lowest input and biggest impact, and how to get food for free!
Is cohousing the solution to our housing crises? This panel discussion features residents of Victorian cohousing communities. The session explores the wide range of cohousing examples, both local and global, and the triumphs and challenges.
A lively panel discussion about the robust economy that exists beyond money! Trading, sharing, volunteering...there are so many ways that we can give and get back, strengthening our community and enriching our lives without any money changing hands.
Free Ways to Stay Warm
Wednesday July 17
10:30-11:30am
Wendouree Neighbourhood House
AND
Wednesday July 24
12:30-1:30pm
Sebastopol Library
Back by popular demand! Host Ellen Burns will be sharing her top tips to lower your power bill and stay warm this winter. This session will focus on quick, easy and free things that anybody can do using what is already in their home. All tips are renter and budget friendly!
ReCranked
Wednesday August 28
12:30-1:30pm
Join us for a tour of ReCranked, next to Wendouree Neighbourhood House. ReCranked is a Y Ballarat initiative specialising in giving unwanted bikes new riders. They take old, unwanted, unused, broken or forgotten bikes and revamp them into safe and serious modes of transport for those without wheels.
Composting 101
Wednesday Sept 25
12:30-1:30pm
Sebastopol Library
Come and learn the basics of composting and how to turn your waste into garden gold! Composting should be easy but is often misunderstood, so come and find out all the tips to troubleshooting your compost patch, the best ways to compost, and what to put in or leave out!
Gardens for Wildlife
Wednesday Oct 23
12:30-1:30pm
Sebastopol Library
A garden is not just for humans! Come and learn how to create a garden that gives food and habitat to wildlife and pollinators. Gardens for Wildlife is a local community group founded by Stephanie Davison that promotes native plants and plants that support biodiversity.
DIY Cleaning products
Wednesday Nov 27
12:30-1:30pm
CoLab kitchen space - upstairs at Ballarat Central Library
Making your own cleaning products can be surprisingly quick, easy and cheap! As the cost of cleaning products rises like crazy in the supermarkets, come and learn how to make your own at home for a fraction of the price.
