Green Connect in Wollongong, New South Wales | Shopping & retail

Green Connect

Locality: Wollongong, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 4243 1537

Address: 37 Princes Highway, Unanderra 2526 Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.green-connect.com.au

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25.01.2022 Its been a tough year for all of us. Lets take a minute today to connect with our friends and family and ask "R U OK?" They might not be. Listen with an open mind and ask follow up questions like What would help take the pressure off? For more conversation tips and where to go for help, visit https://www.ruok.org.au/

24.01.2022 We pride ourselves on organic, fresh-grown produce at Green Connect, so this wooden fruit bowl is a rarity for us! Our dedicated knick-knack nook is home to a wide range of home decorations, from on-brand wooden fruits to cookware, mugs, and more, but these are only available while stocks last. Our op-shop is open from 9am-4:30pm Monday-Friday and 9am-2pm Saturday. We are accepting donations during business hours!

24.01.2022 Meet Annie Burbrook, our Engagement and Support Manager, who is celebrating her one year anniversary at Green Connect today. Annie recruits, onboards and supports all of our staff and volunteers, and works with each part of our organisation to create opportunities for our team to increase their skills, experience and confidence. She sent a beautiful message to the team today that was too good not to share... "I am so grateful and thrilled to be working with such a wonderful... group of humans. Thank you for making every day of work a joy! (Even the tough ones!)" Thanks Annie. Right back at ya!

24.01.2022 A corporate volunteer day is a great way to build staff morale in your business and the perfect way to spend time together (1.5m apart) since weve been working from home for so long now. Let us tailor your day in the dirt to your needs, everything from the time frame to the activities that you want staff to try their hand at. We host groups on our farm of up to 20 people (whilst following all COVID-safe guidelines), and pay our staff (young people and former refugees) to w...ork alongside you. Learn more at: https://green-connect.com.au/get-i/corporate-volunteer-day/

23.01.2022 This week we’re talking with Eh Moo about how he came to Australia and how his community cooked with the banana tree when they were living in a refugee camp.

22.01.2022 What an honour to be featured by 2040!

22.01.2022 Working with Nature Saturday December 5th 1:30pm-5:00pm Take inspiration from the natural world to design and create your garden as an interconnected ecosystem! Jacqui Besgrove will combine theory and demonstrations to help you bring together the separate elements of your garden to achieve sustainability and longevity. Learn more - ... https://green-connect.com.au/product/working-with-nature/ See more

21.01.2022 We love our veg box customers! It’s such a privilege to grow food for people who are willing to support fair food locally, and who are keen to get creative and courageous in the kitchen with the seasonal veg our farm dishes up. This week, bunches of our wild harvested doc and exotic Shungiku are finding their way into homes throughout the Illawarra.

21.01.2022 Only 9 days until our Monthly Farm Tour (for adults) 10am on Dec 5th $24.00 pp . On this 75-minute tour, you will see how our market gardens work, our food forest that is slowly producing fruit, and meet the free-range sheep, pigs and/or chickens who love a good feed. On the tour, we’ll talk about Green Connect as a whole, what running a social enterprise entails, and our plans for the future.... . Bookings essential https://green-connect.com.au/product/monthly-farm-tour/ See more

21.01.2022 Were still celebrating Youth employment this week as we reflect on how our communitys young people are making things possible for us every day. At the farm were especially grateful for all the work our young people do - the quality produce in our boxes each week is testament to how much they help us!

21.01.2022 This weeks Principle of Permaculture is about as aligned to our business model as it gets! Green Connect was set up to provide employment in the Illawarra whilst feeding as many households as we can reasonable reach with the vegetables we grow. We share the rewards of our labour - our seasonal yield grown on our 11-acre permaculture farm with you - via veg box subscriptions. Your subscription makes a huge difference so please share and like this post with your local friends. And keep telling us what you love about our veggies! The more people who know, the more we can grow (quite literally!) https://green-connect.com.au/green-connect-shop/

20.01.2022 Not buying new clothes is surprisingly easy. Op shops (including ours), markets and online options abound. Good for your wallet and great for the planet. If you aren’t already buying second-hand, this weekend’s Garage Sale Trail is the perfect opportunity to start! https://www.smh.com.au//two-years-ago-i-swore-off-buying-n

20.01.2022 Not a bad spot for a planning meeting! Thanks for joining us yesterday, Sarah (Popes Produce) and Berbel (Food Fairness Illawarra). Maybe we should have more of our meetings out here...

19.01.2022 Our op shops spring sale is now on! From today until Wednesday 16th, all of our clothes are half off -- that means all adult clothes are $3 a piece and all kids clothes are just $1.50! At Green Connect, were big on upcycling and recycling old belongings to give them a new home, so why dont you come down and see what clothes we have just waiting for you to take them home? Find us in the big purple warehouse at 37 Princes Highway, Unanderra from 9:00am to 4:00pm Monday-Friday and 9:00am-2:00pm Saturdays. #opshop #thrifted #thrifting #clothesforsale #resale #secondhand #affordable #wollongong #illawarra #thegong #wollongonglife #wollongongbusiness #welovethegong #clothing #menswear #menstyle #fashionable #womenswear #childrenswear #kidswear #womensstyle #fashiongram #recycle #reuse #upcycle #reduce #repurpose

19.01.2022 It is no secret that 2020 has been a difficult year. One of the casualties of COVID-19 has been festivals and large events, which means that our Zero Waste arm has no work. While we look forward to Zero Waste services starting again when festivals do, our team cant stay on hold forever. After exploring a range of options and in discussion with our Zero Waste Manager, Jacqui Besgrove, we have made the difficult decision to deem the Zero Waste Manager role redundant. Jacqui ha...s been with Green Connect for 6.5 years, leading teams of young people and former refugees to manage waste at events and to recycle and compost as much as possible. About finishing up in this role Jacqui said: My heart goes out to all my wonderful colleagues working in the event and entertainment industry who are doing it so tough right now. The last 6.5 years have been the hardest work in my 20 year career, and entirely worth it to support the amazing former refugees and young people who work for Green Connect. I have been humbled to be able to work alongside so many hard working, dedicated, intelligent and good humoured people who have all enriched my life and understanding of this world for the better. But this isnt farewell, Ill be staying closely connected to Green Connect and were part of the same permaculture community. My parting zero waste words are wherever possible refuse, reduce and compost, saving recycling as your last resort. Keep up the good work you waste warriors, salvage saviours, upcyclers, bower birds, scavengers, op shoppers and bin chickens - the world needs you more than ever! A huge thank you to Jacqui for her passion for zero waste and her leadership of teams no matter what the weather, waste or sudden change of plans. There arent many people who can tackle a field of rubbish and tents after 15,000 partygoers have gone home, and make sure our staff on site are safe, clear on what they need to do, and committed to keeping waste out of landfill.

19.01.2022 One of the most common things we get asked by people visiting the Green Connect farm is: "How do you control pests without resorting to chemical sprays?" The answer is that we use a mosaic of different strategies, coupled with a lot of hard work and diligence. We have a range of preventative strategies, including constantly improving soil health, crop rotation and companion planting. But when these measures don’t work or we have had a particularly harsh season, we use a rang...e organic traps to curb their population, plus a few other out-of-the box strategies that we’ve been testing out. One of these is the use of parasitic wasps, who feast on the whitefly that typically cause damage to our brassicas. These guys are not harmful to our local ecosystems and releasing them in our kale and cabbage patches seams to really be controlling the whitefly population. The more we build our local biodiversity, the more these kinds of relationships will happen naturally, hence our enthusiasm in rehabilitating our native rainforest along our creek lines. The goal is not to eradicate the pests, but to balance the agro-ecosystem out, so that we have multiple insects doing their thing, rather than a few exotic pests dominating the ecosystem. We’re hoping our veg box customers enjoy the work these bugs have done on their kale and cabbage this autumn!

19.01.2022 Our General Manager Kylie Flament is a passionate social enterprise advocate. Kylie sees power in social enterprises working together for the benefit of the community and the sector. Now, Kylie has taken on a role on the Board of Social Enterprise Council of NSW & ACT (SECNA). In this volunteer role, Kylie hopes to help social enterprises connect with each other and build the sector. "Social enterprise is the best of both worlds - business and purpose. I'm inspired every day... by the work that social enterprises do and it has been an honour and a privilege to be a small part of getting SECNA off the ground so we can connect, promote and advocate for social enterprises across our state and capital territory," Kylie said. Congratulations and well done on the new role Kylie. https://www.facebook.com//a.146260880217335/216018933241529

18.01.2022 The warm season is now truly upon us. In the coming months, our veg boxes will reflect a transition away from Winter veg to Spring herbs, leafy greens and seasonal flowering veg. What are you planting in your garden this Spring?

16.01.2022 Our July Tree Planting day was such a success, weve decided to do it again! Sponsors who can give $100 or more, will be invited to visit Green Connect Farm on October 1st at 10.00am to plant the tree yourself! Springtime is a gorgeous time on the farm so come along to help us put saplings in the ground whilst offsetting your carbon footprint the tax-deductible way. Your tree will be contributing to soil health and helping us minimise pests, weeds and maintenance (as well ...as feeding our Green Connect community!) Its easy to sponsor a tree - just jump on the website: https://green-connect.com.au/product/sponsor-a-tree/

16.01.2022 As permaculture enthusiasts, we have animals on our farm to support the ecosystem and when everything works together - the crops, soil, animals, and people - the results are amazing for everyone involved. This month we sold out of our free-range pork in one week, but were happy to announce that after getting up early to see Lachy @cleaverandcomeats in Gwynneville, we have 2 more 5kg packs available. We love being able to offer quality produce to as many people as possible a...nd were looking forward to selling the extra packs to 2 more members of our ever-growing Green Connect community! Check out our packs & FAQs here: http://ow.ly/C0dd50B6XdU

15.01.2022 Grants for gardens at schools, daycares and community spaces are back! We hope some Illawarra sites can get a bit of garden love with this money this year - and have staff who can help design and build them if you need (for a small fee). Best of luck to all the applicants.

15.01.2022 Were very excited to be finalists for the Illawarra Business Award for Excellence in Workplace Culture this year!

15.01.2022 Do you know someone really organised, who loves streamlining processes and making sense from chaos, and who wants to put those amazing skills to good use within an award-winning social enterprise that employs young people and former refugees to do work that helps the environment and the community? Great! Please let them know about this job. Applications close 8am Wednesday 7 April.... https://green-connect.com.au//staffing-solutions-coordina/

14.01.2022 Last weekend we were pleasantly surprised to find 3 new baby goats at the farm and a baby lamb too! People attending our monthly farm tour last weekend got to see them up close and our entire Green Connect team cant stop talking about how cute they are. Our farm manager put it well in saying that the arrival of these kids feels like a good omen for Green Connect as we enter spring and try out new ways forward at the farm. to keep updated about the Farm, check out our fair food blog here: https://green-connect.com.au/fair-food-blog/

14.01.2022 On the Green Connect farm, we apply self-regulation to our systems so that they function smoothly and produce great veggies. The feedback from our winter veg this year was that better compost in the market gardens was required to improve the soil. . Our new market garden coordinator Rod Logan set up several hot compost bays (pictured) from steaming piles of fish guts, horse poo and green leaf matter - he even uses hand-made tools for the job of aerating the compost heaps! . A couple of months on and the team are planting new beds with the excellent soil. Well done Rod for helping the farm to apply self-regulation and get great results!

14.01.2022 Workshop coming up! Saturday December 5th 1:30pm-5:00pm This workshop will have everyone getting their hands dirty by learning to dig a swale to capture and store water and making your property a giant, living water tank resilient enough to survive the summer drought.... You'll also learn to recognise and creating microclimates, the important role of windbreaks and how to design one, urban corridors and their benefit to native animals and beneficial insects. This workshop is one of 4 workshops running the weekend of Dec 5-6th. To book all 4 at a discounted price just $273 or $91 each. Learn more: https://green-connect.com.au/product/working-with-nature/

13.01.2022 Our op shops spring sale ends today! Hurry in and dont delay for half off all our clothing - thats only $3 an item for all adult clothing and $1.50 an item for all childrens clothing! Find us in the purple warehouse at 37 Princes Highway, Unanderra -- were open from 9am til 4:30pm today so dont miss out on your bargains! #opshop #thrifted #upcycle #recycle #reuse #repurpose #sustainable #ecofriendly #wollongong #illawarra #welovethegong #wollongongbusiness #secondhand #preloved #mensclothing #menswear #mensstyle #mensfashion #womensclothing #womenswear #womensstyle #womensfashion #kidsclothing #childrensclothing #kidswear #childrenswear #kidsfashion #childrensfashion

13.01.2022 This week we're harvesting the last of our Bok choy crops for our veg boxes next week. Bok choy grows during the cooler months and the leaves begin to wilt as it gets warmer. So it's time to cook up some stir fries, soups and salads with this Asian green before it's gone!

13.01.2022 When we ask kids (big and small) what they like best about our farm tours, the answer is always the same - the animals! Well we have some good news... there are piglets at the farm for the school holidays! Farm tours will run twice a week. More info and tickets on our website: http://ow.ly/nUOY50EcZgM

13.01.2022 Spring has sprung! This mama goat just gave birth to 3 kids and we cant wait to show them off to visitors this weekend. Our kids farm tour is sold out already but there are a few tickets left for the grown ups only tour at 10am. On our tours we explain why we keep animals on the farm. Animals like goats produce great manure to replace the nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus that our crops need to grow in. The goats are also a sustainable weed and pest management system that ...mean we dont need pesticides and petrol-powered lawnmowers. Plus, theres no limit to how much veg a goat can eat! All our farm animals turn left-over veg into nutrient-rich manure, closing the loop on food waste. We rotate the animals around the farm, building the soil profile at the landscape level as they go. Bookings now open for school holiday farm tours: https://green-connect.com.au/learn/farm-tours/

13.01.2022 Trekking through the mud here on Green Connect farm, Shay Reh skillfully balances bales of freshly harvested vegetables on a bamboo beam across his shoulders. These are the veggies he then washes, ready to be packed into this week's veg boxes. Shay Reh joined the Green Connect Farm team after being referred to Green Connect through local organisation (@scarf.refugee.support) and has now been with us for around 5 years. . Speaking about his experience working on the farm, he ...says that Green Connect is great for refugees and Karenni people because we can do anything; it’s very hard for us to speak a new language but Green Connect gave us a job. That means everything to us. . Shay Reh says I probably know 80% of the other Karenni at Green Connect from the refugee camp I grew up in. He beams as he tells us this; it makes him incredibly happy to get to work with people he has known his entire life, in a new country and living a better life than the one they once knew. . Read more of Shay Reh's remarkable story on our blog. "Getting to know Shay Reh" https://green-connect.com.au/getting-to-know-shay-reh/ See more

13.01.2022 Every year on September 17, Australia welcomes thousands of new citizens to our shores as part of Australian Citizenship Day. Australia is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world; since 1949, we have welcomed over five million new citizens including former refugees like Pleh Me (pictured here with her extra large broccoli!)

12.01.2022 With spring rolling in, there are a couple of changes happening with our veg boxes In our ongoing mission to be better for our customers and employees weve decided to change up how we pack and deliver our boxes. Weve listened to your feedback that our current late-week deliveries can pose a challenge when it comes to planning the weeks meals and weve taken this on board!... So from Monday the 28th of September, we will be delivering all of our boxes a day ahead: - Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays for our southern illawarra deliveries - Wednesdays instead of Thursdays for our northern illawarra ones. So if you know anyone whod love to order boxes with us but couldnt get past our delivery day, let them know about the change!

12.01.2022 This made our day - a photo of a stool-making workshop held by Illawarra Woodworking School at Denbigh farm in Cobbitty. The owners of the hayshed where it was held, Ian and Susie, donate location fees to not-for-profit organisations and chose us this time around. Thank you so much! It looks like a fun day too.

12.01.2022 A great initiative to connect top sportspeople all over the world with genuine opportunities.

12.01.2022 Spring is here and so is our op shop spring sale! From Saturday 12th until Wednesday 16th September, all our clothing prices will be halved: thats $3 per item of adult clothing and $1.50 per item of childrens clothing. Come in and grab something new for your wardrobe, just in time for the better weather. Find us at 37 Princes Highway, Unanderra in the big purple warehouse from 9:00am to 4:30pm Monday-Friday and from 9:00am to 2:00pm Saturdays! #opshop #thrifted #preloved #thrift #sale #wollongong #illawarra #welovethegong #wollongongbusiness #clothesforsale #thriftfinds #thriftedstyle #fashiongram #wollongongbusiness #thegong #welovethegong #clothing #apparel #clothes #streetwear #menswear #womenswear #childrenswear #babywear #kidsclothing #kidsclothes #mensclothing #mensclothes #womensclothing #womensclothes

11.01.2022 If you love hearing someone's life story, what motivates them and inspires them (and the odd tidbit about a childhood in rural New Zealand, falling in love with a Frenchman, and why social enterprise rocks), have a listen to this What She Did Next podcast episode with our GM, Kylie Flament. https://whatshedidnext.com.au//31/kylie-flament-greater-g/

11.01.2022 This week we're mixing up our Monday live and introducing some of the young people that work at the farm. Cliodhna, Alyssa-May, and Ryan are all valuable members of our team and they each contribute something different. When working with young people, there are many barriers that they can face and a lot of the time we find it's just a matter of building confidence and experience. Cliodhna works closely with our market garden, keeping it beautiful and managing any pests, as ...well as doing deliveries for our veg boxes Fortnightly. And we love to hear about the futures we inspire in our young people as they fall in love with outdoor work. We look forward to seeing Alyssa-May working as a Ranger and to see Ryan pursue work in bush regeneration or market gardens! See more

10.01.2022 Green Connect is looking for a very special volunteer! Do you love hand, garden and power tools? Are you highly organised? Do you enjoy cleaning, maintaining and repairing tools? Would you like to help us set up a tool record and maintenance system at the Green Connect farm in Warrawong?... If you answered YES to all these questions or even most of them, we’d love to hear from you! Ready to apply? https://green-connect.com.au/volunteer-with-green-connect/ (Add the words TOOL SHED to your application)

10.01.2022 With spring comes juicy veggies like cucumber and zucchini and we love using the flowers in our cooking too. Stay tuned for cooking and gardening tips on our FB monday lives and in the lead up to Christmas, make sure you're eating healthy produce that enriches every festive meal!

10.01.2022 Congratulations Clarence! What a legend. See you in a couple of weeks for your native plant nourishment workshop at the Green Connect farm. Just 2 tickets left! https://green-connect.com.au/prod/native-plant-nourishment/

10.01.2022 "For sustenance, health, well-being and enjoyment of life, human beings depend on biodiversity. We derive all of our food and many medicines and industrial products from the wild and domesticated components of biological diversity" - Dept. of Agriculture, Water & Environment. September 2020 is Biodiversity Month! We think its the perfect time to stop and appreciate the complex web of life that surrounds and sustains us.

09.01.2022 Do you know someone who would be great at running their own gardening and landscaping business, and who would love to do it with and within a social enterprise? They can contribute to social and environmental change, be part of an established team of hardworking, value-driven human beings, and access lots of business support (HR, IT, marketing, finance) so they can focus less on the finer details of invoicing and more on working with young people and former refugees to do garden blitzes and commercial garden maintenance. Let them know we're hiring a Gardening and Landscaping Coordinator and would love to hear from them! Applications close 8am Wednesday 7 April. https://green-connect.com.au/get-involv/garden-coordinator/

08.01.2022 Its Fathers Day this Sunday and if youre like our team, you want to get your father or father-figure something sustainable. Here are a few ideas... 1. A jar of honey from the Green Connect farm (https://green-connect.com.au/product/green-connect-honey/) 2. A farm tour this Saturday (https://green-connect.com.au/learn/farm-tours/) 3. A second-hand shirt, glass, DVD, record or something else you know hell love from our op shop in Unanderra 4. Sponsor a chicken or a tree, or ...make a donation on his behalf (https://green-connect.com.au/donations/) 5. Spend some quality time with him and let him know he matters See more

07.01.2022 Staff, volunteers, customers and visitors are welcome to wear masks in our shop, office and at the farm. This video from the World Health Organisation has good information about how to do so safely.

07.01.2022 We're still delivering veg boxes over December and we want to invite our community to spread the Christmas spirit by donating a box of fresh produce to someone in need. In the middle of this year we received a large donation which we used to bring a smile to 17 nominated individuals by sending them 4 week's worth of boxes. When we asked some of the recipients what the boxes had meant to them, one said it "meant having fresh food on the plate and smile on my face when deliver...ed " and another said "it felt like such a loving generous gesture!" So we encourage you, during the Christmas and New year period, to donate and nominate someone who could use a smile and some generosity. Check out our donation options here: https://green-connect.com.au/product/donate-a-veg-box/

05.01.2022 All books in our op-shop are just $2 each, unless otherwise marked! While its time to stay inside, its never been easier to find a new favourite or an old classic to read. Our op-shop is open from 9am-4:30pm Monday-Friday and 9am-2pm Saturday. We are accepting donations during opening hours!

04.01.2022 Farm tour for grown ups at 10am today! A great way to celebrate the start of Spring. Theres just a handful of last minute tickets still available (until 8am sharp )- link in bio

03.01.2022 The modern food system is designed to rely on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. So, when we try to grow things without these chemicals - and in a way that rehabilitates the land where we work - we need to get creative! One of the ways that we stop malnutrition, pests, disease, and competitive weeds is through crop rotation. ... We do this by separating the crops that we want to grow into different vegetable families (Vegetables that belong to the same family have similar strengths and vulnerabilities). For example, this week were celebrating the Apiaceae vegetable family that evolved in Eurasia and includes herbs like parsley, dill and coriander; stem vegetables such as celery and fennel; and roots such as carrot and parsnip. The amazing thing is that all these veggies originated from the same wild plant, that has been cultivated for different purposes (e.g. roots, leaf or stem) by humans over centuries.

03.01.2022 In the spring of 2014, we launched our veggie box product. And we were stoked to get even ten customers to back a true fair food option. This winter, we had weeks where we were packing 240 boxes per week and although its now sitting around 175, its more than a step up from the original ten! While trying not sound grandiose, this growth has changed peoples lives. Some of our staff have gone from unemployment to being permanent employees and for the hundreds of people who... have passed through as casual workers or work experience participants, many of them have used Green Connect as a platform t secure employment elsewhere, or to study and follow their passions. There are businesses who prioritise looking after their customers, and there are charities who prioritise looking after the people or causes they support. One of the great challenges of being a social enterprise is that we have to do both of these at the same time.

02.01.2022 Want to be more sustainable? Here's how you get started. (Great article, Phoebe Shields, congrats!)

01.01.2022 On a very wet site, some areas are just too damp to grow conventional vegetable crops. The Chinese water celery and Taro however, absolutely love these conditions!

01.01.2022 "Make the best use of natures abundance to reduce our consumptive behaviour and dependence on non-renewable resources." -Permaculture Principles. At Green Connect Farm, we loved building part of our new structures using renewable materials - sand, clay, water, straw and human hands. This technique is called cob and always gives beautiful, long-lasting result. Embedded in the walls are old glass bottles (that will catch the sunlight pettily), second-hand bricks and rubber... tyres that had reached their end of life. Come see these quirky walls and the rest of our new development by joining this Saturdays 10am grown ups only tour. The kids tour is sold out, but tickets have just been released for the school holidays. Bookings essential - https://green-connect.com.au/learn/farm-tours/

01.01.2022 This week were celebrating the work our farm staff have done on the bamboo fence in our kids garden. This project has been a successful combination of youthful enthusiasm and Kareni wisdom as our former refugee and youth employment teams have shared knowledge to create a stunning fence around the new garden. We couldnt be more impressed and wanted to share this story with our Green Connect community. Every week our veg boxes include an update about the farm and veg box subscribers can find out more about our bamboo fence from their veg box insert!

01.01.2022 By valuing and making use of all the resources that are available to us on the Green Connect farm, we ensure nothing goes to waste. Not one lettuce leaf is wasted, nor a carrot top if it can be fed to a farm animal. Read more about how we produce no waste and the other 12 Pricniples of Permaculture in our latest blog post written by volunteer, Mel Barnes. If youve heard about permaculture and are wondering what its all about, then her blog post is your brief introduction! ...https://green-connect.com.au/heres-your-guide-to-the-12-pr/ Photo: Jacalyn Radonic