More about Living Here
What Can I Feed The Worms?
The worms will eat both raw and cooked food and vegetable scraps from your kitchen. Coffee grinds, tea bags, dust from vacuum cleaners, crushed eggshells, shredded newspaper and soaked egg cartons can all be added. DO NOT add meat, dairy products or starchy foods such as bread, pasta or rice as these can attract vermin. While many experts advise not to add onions, citrus peel, spicy food or tomatoes as these are very acidic, small amounts can be added as long as they are well mixed in with other food. The key with any food you add is to shred or cut it up into bite sized pieces. In the words of Richard Thomas from Wormlovers who installed the worm farms, “To a worm, a whole apple is going to look like a skyscraper!”.
It is a misconception that worm farms smell. You may notice some small gnats or flies at times if you open the lid. These are not uncommon in the initial set up stage and will settle down with time. Addition of some shredded newspaper will assist to balance this, as will mixing the food scraps through the existing soil matter in the worm farm. If you notice any small flies or gnats feel free to contribute some shredded newspaper which will assist to create a balance in the worm farm.
Worm Farms
Located in Plane Tree Way and in the C Block Lane. Residents are invited to contribute food scraps to the worm farms which will help to both minimise food waste in our bins, and provide an excellent compost for our garden. These worm farms create both ‘worm castings’ and ‘worm tea’ which will be of great benefit to our garden in providing nutrient to plants ensuring the garden looks great. The worm farms installed at City Gardens have lids which cannot be lifted by a rat or possum.
How can I stop the possums eating my garden?
Possums are a protected species and part of life at City Gardens. If the right approach is taken we can definitely live in harmony with them. The most important thing to remember is to never feed possums, as human food can be dangerous to possums and cause serious dietary imbalance. Additionally, overfeeding possums can lead to overpopulation, aggressive behaviour, and can negatively impact the local environment such as overstripping of trees.
Here are some links to information about possums:
* [Ringtail and Brushtail Possums factsheet (PDF, 1.1MB)][0]
* [Possums and the law][1]
* [Department of Environment and Primary Industries][2]
Possums
Possums are a protected species and part of life at City Gardens. If the right approach is taken we can definitely live in harmony with them. The most important thing to remember is to never feed possums, as human food can be dangerous to possums and cause serious dietary imbalance. Additionally, overfeeding possums can lead to overpopulation, aggressive behaviour, and can negatively impact the local environment such as overstripping of trees.
Here are some links to information about possums:
Ringtail and Brushtail Possums factsheet (PDF, 1.1MB)
Possums and the law (Department of Environment and Primary Industries)
There is some helpful signage located above the worm farm installation. Further information about what to feed the worms can be found on the FAQ page.
Surveillance Cameras
The ABC garage has a surveillance camera system operational in the garage. The fob system also has an activity monitoring system.
ABC Car Park
Please be aware that cars parked in the ABC Garage without permission from an owner are liable to be towed.
Bee Hives
Four honey bee hives were installed at City Gardens in December 2015 on the roof of C Block. This great joint initiative with support from City of Melbourne helps dwindling urban bee populations move around and pollinate local flora within a 5km range, increasing flower and fruit production. City Gardens Honey is available in limited quantities though out the year.
Rubbish and recycling
There are various ways to dispose of rubbish and recycling at City Gardens. Making sure you dispose of items correctly will ensure we keep City Gardens clean and a great place to live, as well as contributing to a sustainable Melbourne.
Rubbish, recycling bins and green topped food waste bins are located in rubbish corrals around City Gardens for residents’ use for domestic rubbish and recycling only. If we all make an effort to dispose of our rubbish correctly this will help to cut down the amount of unsightly trash around the grounds and minimise smells and pests at City Gardens.
Signage at corrals indicates what kinds of materials can be recycled. Further information of what can be placed in recycling bins within City of Melbourne is available on their site. Rubbish should be bagged and placed into the dark green bins. Recyclables however must be placed in the yellow recycling bins loose - do not place recyclables in bags. Cardboard boxes can be folded or squashed to be made smaller, and placed into recycling bins to ensure your neighbours also have space for their recyclables.
Many types of food scraps can now be disposed of in the new worm farms in Plane Tree Way. Meat and cooked food waste should go in the green topped food waste bins located in our rubbish corrals and in the ABC garage. For further detail on what kinds of food scraps are appropriate, please read Worm Farms above.
Hard Rubbish
The ABC Committee provide a hard rubbish disposal area. This service is only available to residents of ABC Apartments. Please do not dispose of building waste, asbestos, carpet, vinyl flooring, large furniture items, chemicals, batteries or car tyres. The council will not take these items, and the cost of disposal is then born by owners. There are surveillance cameras in the ABC garage.
95% of electronic waste can now be recycled in the City of Melbourne. This includes items such as fridges, televisions, mobile phones, household appliances, printer cartridges and computers. Further information on electronic waste can be found here.
Photo by Jonathan Morton
Tree maintenance
One of the great things about City Gardens is its beautiful trees. They provide shade and are a home to many different species. Trees on common property at City Gardens are not to be removed except by the gardening team.
If you have an issue with a tree and the tree is on Council property please contact City of Melbourne. If the tree is on common Owners Corporation please contact The Knight Alliance.
If the tree is on private property please contact the owner of the property on which the tree stands as it is a matter between owners.
If you require assistance mediating a tree related dispute with a neighbour, further information can be found here.
If you wish to plant an item on common property you must first seek permission from the gardener onsite to ensure it will be appropriate.
Noise at City Gardens
Inner city living provides a great lifestyle however it is important to remember how your activities can affect others in your immediate area. Particularly in apartments, it is crucial to remember your neighbours and how your noise level might be impacting them. Remember, everyone at City Gardens has the right to enjoy living here undisturbed by unreasonable noise.
Unreasonable noise can make a large impact on others’ well-being and you may not realise it is a problem until they are feeling the impact of it. Please respect others and keep noise at a reasonable level, whether inside your apartment or while using common areas of City Gardens. This may apply to listening to music, as well as renovations or social events such as parties. The best way to avoid upsetting neighbours if you are planning to carry out renovations or to hold a social event is to notify your neighbours ahead of time and minimise noise as soon as you can.