Northcote Stationeers

14/04/2026

The recent rain has brought beautiful green lushness to our garden this autumn. It’s also brought a lot of unwanted w**ds especially along the edges of our beds. A group of enthusiastic w**ders tacked the removal job on Sunday - resulting in several green bins full of w**ds. A successful day in anyone’s assessment. But alas, Mother Nature has other ideas, so we’ll need to be back at it in the near future in order to regain some control.

06/03/2026

Fifteen volunteers participated in our 11th consecutive Clean Up Australia Day, mainly concentrating on some basics of garden maintenance. And with a bit of extra help from Mother Nature, our garden is looking very green and refreshed. There was less rubbish this year, mainly due to our continuous pickup throughout the year, but the cleaning of the agapanthus walk still produced 7 green bins of dead leaf matter. The long triangle gardens got their annual tidy up ….. and the difficult job of cleaning up the gutters in the underpass resulted in a few loads of mulch, a tidier pathway and hopefully less chance of clogging gutters and flooding during a heavy downpour. The walkways on the Hartington side have also had the treatment from the blower vac with finishing broom work, leaving them with a sharp garden defining edge. And finally, we have finished the massive job of mulching the last of the poas.
We all agreed that these are not our favourite jobs, but they are rewarding when finished and you can see a “job well done”.

25/01/2026

A Month of Sundays…….
And what a month it’s been. Our volunteers have been extra busy this month - over the last 4 Sundays in January, sixty six volunteers worked for 231 hours w**ding, mulching, watering and generally tidying up the “park” surrounding Northcote Station. Some of our volunteers attended all 4 working bees!! We’ve made the area more accessible, more welcoming, more loved and more prepared for whatever weather is to come. We met neighbours, train travellers, dog walkers, bike riders - many of whom had a smile, a thank you and a thumbs up for our work. Above all , together we enjoy the cameraderie, support and fun that happens when we get together!!! What a group!!!

23/01/2026

A BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE

This formerly battered eucalyptus has rewarded us with these two beautiful flowers. One of our volunteers photographed them this morning. The tree was vandalised several years ago and left to die. Fortunately a neighbour saw the vandalism and called police who arrested the vandal a little later.
We had been trying to save the tree with lots of tlc but it seemed unresponsive.Just as we were about to remove “the remains” we noticed a tiny green shoot so we persisted.
Today is a wonderful thank you and tribute to the species.

18/01/2026

11/01/2026

The Northcote Stationeers have started 2026 on a high note - a month of Sunday working bees. The turnout so far has been fantastic - volunteer numbers in the high teens, aiming to get on top of some of those pesky garden jobs that seem never ending - w**ding, mulching and watering, especially after the temperatures we experienced last week. The garden is looking well loved - and that’s because it is. And the cherry on the top - the number of community admirers that stopped today to thank us for our work!!

22/12/2025

It’s that time again….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Northcote Stationeers. We had a chance this week to sit back, relax and celebrate another great year at our garden. We also took time to thank our business supporters George Halls Auto and Travs Trees for their generous donation of water and mulch throughout the year to keep our garden thriving. After close inspection by our Quality Control Manager Murfee, we visited Steve and Trav to deliver our Christmas hampers, filled with homemade goodies and donations from our volunteers.
Thanks to all of our volunteers for their hundreds of hours of work throughout the year and their continued and unwavering support. The garden is thriving and providing a safe, welcoming and beautiful oasis in our inner city suburb.

24/10/2025

Thank you to our local member Kat Theophanus who in her her speech to Parliament on October 16 praised the history of environmental activism in her community in the inner north.
In describing our community as one “that knows and understands the moral obligation and the existential imperative to safeguard our natural environment for the future, she praised groups such as supporters of Darebin Parklands, Climate Action Now and “the quiet diligence of our many Stationeers along the rail lines”.
Thanks for your acknowledgement and support Kat. It is much appreciated!!!

23/10/2025

The underpass at the station has flooded again. It is impassable so please don’t try to walk or ride through. Metro has been notified that it has happened and is a public safety issue. Hopefully it will be repaired by the time heavy rains come over the weekend.

16/10/2025

We’ve been MOWN! After our huge effort on Saturday, it was great to see Metro’s Horticulture Team at the garden undertaking a badly needed mow. After a couple of months of inattention, the “lawn” (and w**d) areas have finally been tamed. Thanks for a lovely job - it certainly helps with keeping the w**ds out of our garden beds.
A Question: Where have the potatoes come from??

11/10/2025

THE GREAT SPRING CLEAN UP
Yesterday Northcote Stationeers joined forces with the Northcote Community Garden and The Thin Green Line in a massive clean up around the Hartington Street rail corridor. Over thirty volunteers, many from our own ranks, but joined by interested locals, picked up rubbish, collected trolleys, w**ded, mulched, pruned and gathered up dead green waste, both in and around the areas that link our three gardens. A fabulous collaboration of community spirit which we celebrated with a lavish morning tea. Thanks to Darebin Council for agreeing to pick up our numerous bundles of green waste. And a special thanks to our local Darebin Councillor Julie O’Brien, who spent the morning not just getting to know us but also pitching in with the tools!
Let this be the beginning of a great community partnership!