Over 300 eager locals pinned their Good to the Good Hood map, entering themselves in the draw to win one of three envy-inducing prizes. While there were literally hundreds of worthy entries, this trio won due to their creative and inspiring actions.
Joshua’s upcycled lamp
claims he’s an upcycling amateur, but his seriously vibrant flat tells another story. His recycled wooden table with lime green legs and re-upholstered yellow chairs perfectly match his winning entry. Josh’s plywood city skyline cut-out, fashioned into a mega bedroom light and artwork, was the winner in our Reuse and Recycle category.
Joshua says he often keeps a beady eye out for discarded treasure at council clean-ups, but hadn’t expected to find gold in his apartment building’s garbage room. His plywood prize was a lucky find, and with an adorable grin exclaims, “It was love at first light!” Inspired by his recent recycling wins, Joshua reckons it would be pretty handy to have an online swapping system for used furniture within apartment buildings like his, because “with a little bit of love, old items can be given new life and turned into something amazing”. We wholeheartedly agree.
Joshua’s prize is a beautiful locally upholstered chair from Cloth Fabric, upcycling mavericks from way back.
Gual’s two wheel mania
Gual from Holler in Redfern has cycled his way to victory in the Green and Go category and won $1,000 of GoGet travel for his creative agency. Gual explained that a recent office relocation to Redfern encouraged a whole bunch of newbies to take-up two wheels. It’s now simply more convenient to cycle to work, so about half the office cycles, the other half walk and only a couple drive – pretty good stats for a medium-sized office.
What are Gual’s favourite things about cycling? The morning’s fresh air, it makes for simple exercise, and cruising the streets gives you a glimpse into some of the lesser-known parts of Sydney you might otherwise miss. The GoGet funds will come in super handy for the office, as they already use car share for staff meetings in faraway locations.
Gavin’s super sustainable balcony garden
For someone who claims not to have a green thumb, Gavin makes balcony gardening look easy. His basil and bok choy are bursting and the mint is mountainous. No seriously, it’s huge. Gavin has long been inspired by the local food movement, but he never had a large outdoor space to grow plants. Now, equipped with a big and sunny balcony, growing his own was easier than ever.
He’s picked up a few tips from his dad (best tip: catnip is a great natural mozzie repellent) and grabbed some broad bean seedlings from the Great Crate, but apart from that, his gardening greatness has been entirely his own. There’s a bit of trial and error involved. “A lot of plants have died,” he says, frankly. What’s Gavin’s best tip? Grow what’s in season – your produce will sprout easily without too much help from you. Sounds ace to us.
Gavin has won the Made and Grown category prize – a dinner for 20 friends at Tablefor20 and to stay true to the Good Hood, he’s asking guests to come dressed in their favourite shade of green.
Now, don’t fret if you’ve just thought of a Good to pin, the Good Hood will live on and we’d love to see more Good deeds pinned to the map. You can always take an online stroll about the Hood and remind yourself of all the Good in Sydney and perhaps find out something new.
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