Visitors learn sustainable way of life

Sustainable House Day is a national event coordinated regionally by Geelong Sustainability in conjunction with the City of Greater Geelong and was held last Sunday October 15.

The unique event gives the public an opportunity to tour exemplar sustainable homes, chat directly with homeowners and get free advice from local experts.

Locals Leon Smits and Karin Leahy located in Drysdale opened their family weatherboard home adjacent to the Bellarine Rail Trail on Princess Street, which is readily identified by its quirky garden art.

Visitors last Sunday were invited to wander around the garden and learn how to create a no-dig veggie box.

“It was really lovely, we had never participated in a Sustainable House Day event so it was exciting to try something new,” Leon said.

“We have a yard that’s right on the Bellarine Rail Trail so we have people going past our house all the time either walking, riding bikes or on one of the many trains travelling through the Bellarine.”

The weather brought out hundreds of participants across the region for Sustainable House Day, with a Drysdale property on Anderson Road needing to create a queue for their tours.

“On the day we received 157 signatures, one per every group we had visit the property, so we had hundreds seeing how we were doing things and many asked questions of myself and my wife Karin,” Leon said.

“Everyone was of similar mind. Some just wanted to see the house or just the garden or both, but everyone had a great attitude and it was great weather too.”

Leon confessed it was his wife who was more passionate about the garden but loved how they had built something so sustainable together.

“Sustainability to me means to not waste anything and use what you’ve got. As a young boy I was one of seven kids and you used whatever you had, never throwing anything out,” he said.

“With pricing continually increasing on everything in the supermarkets, it makes sense to make do with what you have and grow things yourself.

“I picked some asparagus for our visitors so they could see what was possible. The asparagus had grown to just past half a metre. We do buy some plants though because not everything you plant works out and if we end up having too much we usually give it to our neighbours or any visitors we have.”

The large garden has 20 no-dig garden boxes supplying year round veggies. Chooks forage in and help fertilise the garden, while multiple water tanks store over 40,000 litres, sufficient for both house and garden.

As a former chef, Karin also preserves excess produce and makes her own salami and sauerkraut.

“In total I think the property is about three quarters of a hectare. It started 12 years ago when Karin and I moved in together and she wanted to plant some citrus trees, while I wanted a shed,” Leon said.

“From there, we built potato boxes under the trees that meant when we watered the potato boxes, the runoff would then water the trees too. We now have garlic, onion, tomatoes, lemons and olive trees just to name a few!

“We tried to get creative and fun with our garden too. Getting the idea from Van Loons Nursery we created a garden in old pants, hanging them on the fence, filling them with succulents and flowers just for something different.”

Leon had some thoughtful but humourous advice for anyone thinking of starting their own productive garden.

“There’s no ‘I’ in team. You both have to want to make the commitment to sustainability. Plan, plan, plan and plant in season, and finally, expect nothing and you’ll never be disappointed!”

For more information on Sustainable House Day and other events run by Geelong Sustainability visit, geelongsustainability.org.au.