Santa’s changed his suit from red to green and has a sack full of sustainable ideas like:

• Organising a ‘secret Santa/Khris Kringle’ with family and friends, and buying for the person who’s name’s pulled out of a hat
• Growing a native rainforest tree in a pot to decorate as a Christmas tree - Bonewoods are great
• Giving appropriate fruit trees and herbs to people (that’s ones that are suitable to Wollongong and that people want, so they will be looked after!)
• Giving gift vouchers for activities people can enjoy, like movie tickets rather than things,
• Giving presents that are: made from more sustainable or recycled materials, ethically or organically produced, minimally packaged, quality products that will last and be well used, memberships or gifts to organisations making positive social and environmental change, like the Australian Conservation Foundation, Oxfam etc
  
• Making Christmas cards from recycled cardboard and pictures from old cards, magazines etc
• Using the bright coloured pictures from old calendars as wrapping paper
• Supporting local and organic food producers, and enjoying a yummy veggo Christmas dinner!

And so our adventure in urban sustainability begins! A cute little 1950's commission house, a good-size north/north-west sloping block with few trees...sure there's a huge swimming pool and a garage that could be a second house, and the previous owners had a love affair with concrete to rival our love affair with sustainable living and sharing home grown organic food, but haven't we got plans! A healthy and eco friendly home, vibrant organic vegetable gardens, a grove of subtropical fruit trees, ponds, rainwater tanks, grapes growing up the back veranda ... let the fun (or is that work?) begin!!!!!