Michael Mobbs
Cucumber farming in the street

Story by two US interns, Michael Miniotas and Will Brandt, who are growing cucumbers in a Sydney street.

Cucumber farming in the street
Michael Mobbs
Make a more natural nature strip

Here’s a simple, low cost , low tech design which keeps rain water where it falls to make a self-watering nature strip.

Let’s put nature into the ‘nature’ strips of our cities. It’s easy.

Make a more natural nature strip
Michael Mobbs
23 years off grid for water in the centre of ...

What does the data tell us about living off-grid for water in the heart of Sydney?

Analysis of water quantity by an American intern in Sydney, Jillian Meehan.

23 years off grid for water in the centre of Sydney - what the data says
Michael Mobbs
Aircon for on and off-grid houses

Here’s how to have aircon and be on or offgrid for electricity. Cool!

Aircon for on and off-grid houses

Urban Heat Island

Straw house

Straw house

“Outback Australia can sometimes be a difficult place to call home – it’s far from city services, it’s scorching hot in summer months, and can wear down spirits when droughts take hold. It is also a challenging place to create a home when tradies are few and far between and suppliers don’t ship that far inland.“ Anika Molesworth

A cool day for Curl Curl - Pt 2

A cool day for Curl Curl - Pt 2

After seven months of persistence and teamwork, Curl Curl’s journey towards zero waste has taken another almighty step. This seat will make composting easier for Curlys Café and spread the word across the Curly community, that composting at home or as a local business is easy to do, financially and environmentally rewarding, as well as a source of natural beauty.

Cooling a city block project: the new ice block

It has been a pleasure working with Street Coolers, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished, the positive changes we’ve made in Newtown, and all the friendships we’ve developed along the way.

There’s still a lot going on, and we’ve begun stage two of the project. If you’re interested in what we’re doing, visit our Facebook page for the latest news and contact me at mariannaverlage@gmail.com or 0406-270-138 to get involved!

Here are a few highlights from our first six months of cooling a Newtown block!

ecoPOPPING cools our cities

Since I arrived in Sydney and began working with Michael Mobbs, counteracting Sydney’s heat and implementing projects to cool the city has been one of my main goals. Now, Michael and I are selling an amazingly unique, self-sustaining garden called an ecoPOP that’s designed to cool public areas and provide an interactive, educational green space that builds community.