December 2024 newsletter

 All ethics so far evolved rest on a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts.  

The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or, collectively: the land.

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

Our tools are better than we are, and grow better faster than we do. They suffice to crack the atom, to command the tides. But they do not suffice for the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.

Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest.

Recreational development is a job not of building roads into lovely country but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind.

Conservation, without a keen realisation of its vital conflicts, fails to rate as authentic human drama. It falls to the level of a mere utopian dream.

Aldo Leopold, from The Essential Aldo Leopold, published by University of Wisconsin Press

 

Welcome to the December edition of Localising Leanganook ‘s e-newsletter. Enjoy our feature article: ‘Creating Happiness in a World of Polarities’ prepared by Laurel Freeland.   The newsletter also includes regular updates on upcoming local events for the month of December, plus activities that contribute towards localisation.  We hope you enjoy it.

Cheers, Nikki, Keppel, and Laurel

Note to Contributors and Readers

Localising Leanganook’s e-news continues to grow from strength to strength, reaching more than 700 subscribers. The monthly newsletter  includes an ever expanding range of localising events, programs and creative initiatives  in  our central Victorian region.  If you’ve got items for inclusion in future editions, let our editing team know – nikki.marshall@mmnet.com.au. To help our editing team, please email through information you’d like included in the following format: program/project/event name plus date, time and location if relevant; summary of event/issue/program, in word format; accompanying photo as a JPEG or PNG only.

December’s edition includes:

1. Feature Article:
2. Arts and Culture
3. Food Growing, Farming and Food Security
4. Ecology and Environment
5. First Nations
6. Sustainable Living Resources
7. Building Community
8. The Spirit and the Sacred
9. Local Government News
10. Workshops and Courses
11. Letters
12. Food for Thought

1. Feature Article: Creating Happiness in a World of Polarities

Nine years ago Castlemaine and surrounds hosted an un-conference for people interested in creating real and sustainable change to ensure that local and global communities and ecologies can recover and thrive.  It was a phenomenal program that filled every venue in town with multiple events over three days in October 2015.  It was called Local Lives, Global Matters.  The reality is that we are all connected – globally, locally, and inter-dimensionally.   Whist many people are turning off mainstream media, the attention market and excessive consumerism,  it pays to have some awareness about the impact that world events have on us locally and the impact we make on the world.  This was part of the awareness-raising of the original un-conference. 

I was privileged recently to attend a private online event with Dr. Julia Kim, who is the International Program Leader for the Gross National Happiness (GNH) Centre  in Bhutan, through The Great Turning, Findhorn.  Prior to living in Bhutan, Dr Kim worked as a medical doctor and HIV researcher in Africa and Asia, before serving with the United Nations in New York. She is an associate of the Presencing Institute and an Executive Committee member of the Club of Rome.  It was a fascinating talk.

Dr Kim covered a lot of ground from a systems perspective in her short talk, sharing emerging lessons from Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH), and research of wellbeing and leadership.  She shared with us how GNH came about and how it is going now.  She also took us through the four pillars of GNH: good governance, sustainable development, preservation and promotion of culture, and environmental conservation, as well as the Nine Domains of GNH. GNH is a powerful juxtaposition and perhaps an antidote to measuring our success with Gross Domestic Product.

It was a deep dive into how some countries are addressing the material and spiritual wealth of their nation.  Hence the reference to Local Lives, Global Matters conference. 

Dr Kim’s talk was  about shifting the dial to happiness, wellbeing and connection. Most people want to be happy, especially when the world looks like it is heading deeper into troubled times in a polycrisis of ecological, social and spiritual disconnection.  Shifting the nation to a Gross National Happiness focus, over a Gross Domestic Product focus is an exemplar of how we might shift our dial towards greater individual and collective happiness, wellbeing and connection in Australia.

She shared the importance of inner and outer transformation, some indicators of wellbeing and happiness, and emerging lessons from Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness program.  Her work is firmly embedded in a systems approach, looking at wholes – a framework for seeing inter-relationships, rather than things; patterns of change rather than static snapshots; seeing root-causes rather than symptoms.

How GNH Began

Dr Kim shared the story of how Gross National Happiness began: ‘It begins with a visionary king, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the fourth king of Bhutan, who came to the throne as a young man in the 1970s. And he was asked by a reporter, what is the GNP, the gross national product, of Bhutan? Instead of giving a number, he said that gross national happiness is more important than gross national product, thereby coining that phrase. And it’s really interesting that around the same time, a young senator, Robert Kennedy, was on the campaign trail and gave a very famous speech where he noted that GNP actually ‘measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile.’

Defining Happiness

Dr Kim quotes the first Prime Minister of Bhutan when he was defining happiness. He said: “True abiding happiness cannot exist while others suffer and comes only from serving others, living in harmony with nature, and realising our innate wisdom.”

This profound definition of happiness brings together the three disconnects that Otto Scharmer refers to in his work on U-theory – the disconnect from self, from others, and from nature.   This is what we see and experience, but it is only the visible part of the iceberg.  A lot is going on underneath; structures, paradigms of thought and sources of inspiration that aren’t immediately apparent.

These two pieces of information from the King and the Prime Minister gave me such pause for thought: that a person of power, the King, announced a new measure – happiness –  for the good of the whole nation.  Such a courageous and visionary act to initiate structures of policy and governance that supported social and ecological awareness and equity.  Then backed up by the words of the Prime Minister about what brings about true abiding happiness, it made such a deep impression on me.

In making happiness – the foundation of human needs – a goal of societal change,  I couldn’t help but speculate how we could do this in our nation.  Individual happiness, collective happiness, national happiness.  What structures and practices set the conditions in Australia or even just in our local communities?   What spiritual awareness, values and mindsets contribute to happiness?  We see snatches of this in evolving our community sovereignty, our deepening connections, degrowth education and practices, permaculture, regenerativity, indigenous wisdom, community sovereignty, local projects.

GNH is fundamentally about balancing both material and spiritual development

• Outer systems change, new measurements and new policies, and
• Inner transformation, the shift in consciousness, the values and the mindsets for what should be really propelling an economy and society.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and what it counts

GNH can be juxtaposed with GDP, which emerged in the 1940 after the great depression and world war.  ‘It was never meant to be taken as a reflection of a country’s success or progress and has always been problematic for three reasons:

1. What it counts is basically only marketed economic activity. And all of this is counted as positive, even if it leads to more pollution or illness.
2. It fails to count many of the activities that actually enhance our sense of wellbeing and happiness, but are not part of the formal market economy. And a lot of these came forward during the COVID pandemic. The unpaid care that happens in households, the strength of communities.
3. Even though the GDP number can continue to go up, it is often covering up uneven growth and rising inequalities in countries. And yet it’s still taken as a measure of how countries are doing, and politicians feel under a great pressure to show how GDP is increasing.

The GNH Survey values the importance of outer transformation that is intended to create an enabling environment for wellbeing.

The survey aligns with the vision for Bhutan – happiness and wellbeing of all life, and the purpose of the economy.

It measures across 9 domains and 33 indicators.  The 9 domains are seen as interdependent and balance both material & intangible factors for wellbeing (e.g. Time use, community vitality, cultural diversity, resilience).

It enables as many people as possible to meet sufficiency thresholds and pick up those who fall behind.  It counters the belief that more and more GDP is either desirable or possible.  The vision is happiness and wellbeing of all life, and this is the purpose of the economy.

The infographic shown depicts nine domains and the 33 indicators from the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS) which conducts the national GNH survey.   Dr Kim shared a simplified adaption (mini GNH survey) so we could rate our own experience on each of the domains. It was an enlightening process to measure individual ratings on a spider chart.

The Earth Charter and the Wellbeing Economy

Dr Kim also refers to The Earth Charter: ‘Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions and ways of living.  We must realise that when basic needs have been met, human development is primarily about BEING more, not HAVING MORE.’

It was boldly stating the obvious yet it made an impact.  This is the missing piece in our first world culture: how we are being, not what we’ve got. 

However, in order to shift towards a wellbeing economy, there are challenges, both structural and in relation to mindsets and culture. Dr Kim sees this as requiring a willingness to reclaim our attention and detox from a constant barrage of advertising, distraction and manipulation, and to shift towards 7^th generation thinking and living into our highest human potential, whether that’s the culture and the aspiration of bodhisattva in the East, Ubuntu – ‘I am because you are’ – which comes from southern Africa, seventh generation thinking, or ego to eco consciousness, expanding our sense of self, and seeing ourselves as part of the whole.’  As she notes, we are living at a time when neuroscience research and the practices of ancient wisdom traditions are converging, and can point to possibilities to meet these challenges, and support individual and collective wellbeing.

Reclaiming our attention: 4 Pillars of Wellbeing (from the Healthy Minds Framework, Centre for Health Minds, University of Madison-Wisconsin)

• Awareness – being present
• Connection – appreciation, kindness, compassion
• Insight – how our minds work (e.g. the narratives we tell ourselves)
• Purpose – values, principles, motivation amidst challenges

Perception and Reality

Dr Kim mentioned the tendency of outsiders to see Bhutan as a Shangri-La, even though the country is facing its own challenges, including rural-urban migration, globalization and exposure to consumerism and social media, growing youth unemployment and out-migration.  In many senses, GNH is better viewed as a journey rather than a destination.  As the first PM of Bhutan noted, the country is still struggling to meet the basic needs of its people.  But as he pointed out,  ‘what separates us is that we have made happiness – the foundation of human needs – a goal of societal change.’

She recounted what some of Bhutan’s policies have prioritized:

• The lack of billboard advertising, the sacredness and abundance of nature, 60% forests, a ban on mountaineering in the country
• The first and only carbon negative country in the world
• High value, low impact tourism
• Prioritised free basic health care and education
• Teachers and health care workers the highest paid civil servants in the country
• Meditation and GNH values are incorporated into education
• All while advancing key social indicators – reducing poverty and infant mortality, rising life expectancy and primary school enrolment

It’s an impressive list for a small country with a small GDP. 

Dr Kim also drew on the work of Otto Scharmer and U-Theory, Donella Meadows’ systems thinking, Joanna Macy, The Wellbeing Economy Alliance, Kate Raworth, the Centre for Healthy Minds, and a quote from Buddha:

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.”

I see Bhutan as world leaders is this regard and want to encourage our government and citizens to start creating the conditions and measuring what really counts. 

I have reflected a good deal on the condition of happiness. Individually it’s a feeling. It might be a fleeting smile as I pass a stranger, a bigger smile if they have a dog. It may be a feeling of satisfaction if I’ve done something that is right for me or someone I care about, even when I may have initially felt reluctant. It can be generated internally with a deliberate decision, but it is certainly easier to be happy if the conditions of my life support that state of being:  if enough of the 33 indicators in the GNH survey align with my life; if I have sufficient time, resources, housing, income, friends, support networks and I am sharing those reciprocally; fresh clean air, trees, clean water and fresh food. Some things I don’t recognize that contribute to my happiness until they are in short supply. I am sure it is different for different folks but autonomy, integrity, agency, being true to self, authenticity, and personal and community sovereignty are up there for me. I have family and friends.  It is safe to speak up. When I did the mini GNH survey activity during our session, I found two domains were wanting: Time management and financial wellbeing. I had to look where my time was being hijacked, what boundaries I had not made clear, and where and how my finances have been eroded.  It made me sit up and pay attention.  Personal responsibility yes, but I can see structural disconnects in my world.  I can see how creating structural and policy supports for material needs and allowance for spiritual practices support the conditions for happiness.  They certainly can make a difference to the social and ecological equity for all beings.  As a first world country, I believe that in Australia, we can collectively improve conditions for all life on this continent.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Matte Porte and team at Findhorn Foundation,  The Great Turning- https://greatturning.net/  for hosting such an enlightening series of speakers and discussions.  It is a brilliant program.

Author’s Note The notes in italics are my thoughts and reflections.  Any mistakes are my own in transcribing my course notes and quotes from the presenter.

References

This  article  is a compilation of a talk by Dr Julia Kim about Bhutan’s GNH approach from  a recent online talk for Findhorn Community: Islands of Coherence in A Chaotic World

Links: The Great Turning- https://greatturning.net/   GNH Centre Bhutan – https://www.gnhcentrebhutan.org/   https://www.gnhcentrebhutan.org/our-facilitators-and-speakers/

For Dr. Kim’s current bio go to  https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-kim-36873644/?originalSubdomain=ca

https://donellameadows.org/systems-thinking-resources/

https://weall.org/what-is-wellbeing-economy

https://earthcharter.org/education-sustainable-development/

https://www.u-school.org/theory-u

https://workthatreconnects.org/dimensions-of-the-great-turning/

https://www.kateraworth.com/

2. Arts and Culture

Corker Concert

 

 

Castlemaine’s own community orchestra with Mainesong Choir.

When: Sunday December 1 2024 at 2pm

Where: Newstead Community Centre

Cost: $12 cash at the door.

More info: www.corkerorchestra.com

 

Radius Art Gallery

Funk’n House Dance Night

 

Get your boogie shoes on for a night of retro tunes!

When: Saturday 7th December 8pm ’til late

Where: Radius Art Gallery, 76 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs

Cost: $10 tix at the door

 

 

 

Mellow Out Market

What better way to end 2024 than a community celebration.  Mellow Out Market will be a fun filled day of connection and good vibes.

> Locally created gifts / arts / crafts

> Little Theatre (Kids & Adults shows), face painting, live portraits

> Live music & DJ’s

When: Saturday 14th December 11am ’til late

Where: Radius Art Gallery, 76 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs

Cost: free

For more information visit https://www.radiusart.com.au/market

ENCORE EVENT Monday December 2 2024, 6pm-7.30pm, Northern Arts Hotel

 

 

What: Join with Degrowth Central Victoria and Friends Troupe: An Encore Words in Winter Performance – a journey of song, story-telling and poetry feeding the soul.  Come and compost your mind.  Be transported to other realms!  Join in communal singing.

Who: Kirstie – Curator, Kirsten – Acapella, Peter – Storyteller, Anitra – Poet, Maddie – Musician, Noa – Poet, Taylor – storyteller, Derry – Poet and Muso, Ryan – Musician

Free, purchase drinks at the bar.

 

Newstead Live Music Festival January 2025

Australian folk-roots music festival in the historic country town of Newstead.

Newstead Live Music Festival takes place over the last weekend in January, when a range of diverse and highly regarded international and national artists perform in live music venues, concert spaces, workshops, impromptu sessions, spoken word performances and open-mic sessions. Music for all ages and a variety of genres.

Newstead Live is managed by a voluntary body of members working together to develop their community.

When: January 24-27, 2025

Where: venues around Newstead – see program on website for details

More info and bookings: https://www.newsteadlive.com/

Daylesford Museum

 

 

The Daylesford Museum holds a wonderful collection of artefacts, photographs and rich historical records related to the local community.  In 1914 Daylesford and district communities sought to raise funds for the Belgium people so badly impacted by the war. A doll named Sylvia was displayed in Tyler’s drapery store, raffled at 6d a ticket and won by Mrs Hoath of Sailors Hill.  The doll was damaged during a robbery at the museum but now repaired and on fine display. More information about the exhibits here: https://daylesfordmuseum.net/

The Museum is operated by the Historical Society, a not-for-profit and entirely volunteer based organisation.

Open Saturday 11am-3pm 100 Vincent St, Daylesford. Adults: $5  Children: free

 

 

Newstead Arts Hub

Newstead Artist Market

Young Writers Holiday Writing Program 

Want to learn more about the art of writing, and work on your own writing project? Newstead Writers invites senior secondary students to a summer holiday writing program.  Award winning local writer Cate Kennedy will host two workshops at the Newstead Arts Hub during the school holidays. Working with you, Cate will explore the principles of great writing, how to release your inner creativity and support your holiday writing goal.

When: First session Dec 14, 2-4, January check in online, Session 2 – Feb 15. (dates and times TBC)

Contact Leni Shilton leni.shilton@me.com or 0466612972 for all queries.

More information for all events and programs: https://newsteadartshub.org/whats-on/

Northern Arts Hotel

The Northern Arts Hotel is a wonderful place to gather for workshops, events, and film screenings. It is developing a growing reputation for The Coolroom program of regular music, spoken word, and film events. See the ongoing program of community events.  359 Barker St Castlemaine.

This month’s acts include:

Friday 6th December at 7.30pm: The Anticlinal Fold: The Carol of the Bells (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre fundraiser)

Saturday 7th December at 7.30pm: Peter and the Wolves: Summer Soiree

Saturday 14th December at 7.30pm: Maggie Jackson NY Jazz Trio: Maggie Sings Christmas!

For more information and bookings, visit https://northernartshotel.com.au/the-coolroom/

 

3. Food Growing, Farming and Food Security

YIMBY Composting

 

YIMBY is a community-run backyard composting project based in Castlemaine, Victoria.

Yimby aims to reduce methane emissions by diverting organics from landfill and using localised transport; to close the loop on (re)cycling food organics in our local community and to grow the availability of good soil, with compost; and to build community resilience by connecting people in neighbourhoods and building skills.

To our knowledge there is no other program like this in Australia.

For more information: https://www.yimbycompost.com/

Next workshop: Continuous Hot Composting: Saturday 1st February 2025. More information and bookings here.

 

Food Pantry- Castlemaine – The CCH Food Pantry is open for anyone and everyone!

This initiative aims to complement the existing services provided by The Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul in the Shire of Mount Alexander, addressing the increasing demand for food relief in our community.

No appointments are necessary, simply drop into Community House, see our friendly reception staff for directions to the pantry, and then help yourself.

When: 9.00am – 3.00pm, Monday to Friday
Where: Castlemaine Community House, 30 Templeton St.

Donate: Want to make a contribution?  Cash donations go a big way to supporting this free community service.  If you are in the position to help, we greatly accept good-quality non-perishable food and toiletry item such as: Pasta, noodles and rice, Canned fruit, vegetables and soups, Tea, coffee and spreads, Flour, sugar and sauces, Long-life milk and breakfast cereal, Shampoo, tooth paste and sanity products etc, Dog or cat food

Harcourt Food Crew

Remember the launch of Fruit Crew, our volunteer exchange program, for the 2024/25 season!

Joining Fruit Crew will give you a chance to learn fruit-growing skills, connect with your local organic farm, and have fun outdoors with a team of like-minded people. We ran the program in the 2023/24 fruit season, and it was hugely successful!

Mt Franklin Organics

 

I will be at Daylesford Sunday market this week with lots of seedlings,  seeds and the first lot of berries as well as garlic . Got a huge range of tomato plants especially well suited to our region. For those of you who can’t  make it to the market, I will be around on Saturday between 1.00 and 3.00pm, please text or ring first:  0412 517 013

Address is 180 church Rd, Mt Franklin, come down the driveway and park at the shed.

Two Fold Bakehouse

See them every Sunday atat the Daylesford Market from 8am – 3pm, or check here for other pick up points: https://twofoldbakehouse.com/

 

4. Ecology and Environment

Natural Newstead Blog – Recent Raptor Highlights

 

 

Photographer Geoff Park shares some more of his exquisite bird photos in this latest post, this time of hunting raptors including the Spotted Harrier and the Black-Shouldered Kite.

The post and photos can be viewed here, or visit his homepage here to view older posts and Geoff’s reflections on local bird life and ecology.

 

Plant Selector- choosing indigenous plants for your garden

Calling all gardeners in the Mount Alexander Shire! Plant Selector is your essential tool for choosing indigenous plants that will not only thrive in your garden but also support local wildlife. With expert local plant knowledge at your fingertips, you’ll be able to confidently select from 100 native species adapted to the unique conditions of our region. Start growing a garden that meets your needs and benefits nature.

This tool was created by Dr Cassia Read at the Castlemaine Institute. Local plant experts Frances Cincotta (Newstead Natives) and Ian Higgins (Friends of Campbells Creek) rigorously reviewed the tool and provided local insights about growing these plants.

All plants included on this website are found growing naturally across Djandak (Dja Dja Wurrung Country). We acknowledge the work of Dja Dja Wurrung in caring for Djandak over millennia and we hope that Plant Selector will support the essential work of healing this upside-down Country.

To use the tool visit: https://ci.org.au/plantselector

 

5. First Nations

International Mountain Day by DJAARA December 11, 2024 9.30am-1.00pm

When: Wednesday, 11 December, 2024, 9:30am – 1:00pm
Where: Lalgambuk (Mt Franklin),
between Castlemaine and Daylesford, Hepburn Shire, Victoria

The day will include a smoking and welcome ceremony,
storytelling and truth telling around the campfire,
cultural activities to connect with Country
including a nature walk, cultural demonstrations,
sensing Country and mindfulness.

For more details: https://djadjawurrung.com.au/projects/imd/

International Mountain Day walks

There are several walking tours being led by Barry Golding for International Mountain Day exploring the cultural heritage of sacred mountains around central Victoria. These include:

6 Dec: Mount Koroocheang

7 Dec: Lyanganuk balluk (Mount Alexander)

8 Dec: Dharrung Gauwa (Mount Tarrengower)

9 Dec: Mount Greenock

10 Dec: Nyaninuk (Mount Beckwith)

All walks are free, registration required. For more info and bookings, visit: https://www.gdt.org.au/events

6. Sustainable Living Resources

 

7. Building Community

8. The Spirit and the Sacred

Yandoit Sacred

When: Saturday December 14th, 2pm

Where: Yandoit Uniting Church, Uniting Church Rd, (off High St), Yandoit

Join with others from around our district to explore the sacred and the spirit in our lives.

Yandoit Sacred is a sanctuary, a place for stillness and silence, a place for ceremony, prayer, song and ritual. It is an ecumenical place of connection beyond religious or philosophical divisions, where we foster curiosity about how to live in the world with love and joy and wisdom as we face the challenges and big questions for humanity and other species at this time. Yandoit Sacred is a gathering place where our hunger to share the deepest movements of our hearts can be fed. It is a community beyond denominations, open to the mystery; a community where our gifts are nurtured and appreciated; a community open to wisdom teachers, past present and emerging.

Yandoit Sacred meets every 6 weeks.

Enquiries: nikki.marshall@mmnet.com.au or 0432 232 073

 

Christmas Carols at Yandoit with Castlemaine Choir

Join us at Yandoit’s old Uniting Church in the bush and sing your heart out with an evening of Christmas carols led by Jane Thompson and James ….and the Castlemaine choir. Castlemaine Parish Minister, Sarah Tomilson, will share a little of the Christmas story as well . Families and children especially welcome.

When: Friday December 20th, 7.00pm

Where: Yandoit Uniting Church, Uniting Church Rd, (off High St ) Yandoit

The Castlemaine Johannine Community at the Grail Chapel

It’s one week until the beginning of Advent and you might like to start preparing.

Among the foundational purposes of incarnation is transformation and personal and spiritual development, yet these are increasingly uncommon pursuits. My regular message is about our need to consciously reconnect to the realms of the numinous, and the timeless methods are still meditation and prayer.

We need to take time out from the busy-ness of material existence and the freneticism of the ‘silly season’ and devote some time to reverent contemplation and the cultivation of an inner life. Advent is a time that is especially potent for attuning to the heavens. To help focus your devotions this season, you might consider the creation of an advent altar, with an advent candle to burn daily, and/or an advent wreath with its four (plus one) candles, some flowers and perhaps a nativity scene.

Sunday 1st December Advent Eucharist 11 am followed by shared lunch

Midnight Mass Christmas Eve beginning at 11 pm

New Years Eve Meditation 7pm

All enquiries to Ken Killeen – Johannine@hotmail.com    https://www.grailcommunity.com/

9. Local Government News

Hepburn Shire – Hepburn Life November 2024

Congratulations to new New Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors

Cr Don Henderson, Cr Brian Hood, Cr Lesley Hewitt, Cr Tony Clark, Cr Tim Drylie, Cr Pat Hockey and Cr Shirley Cornish were sworn in as Councillors on 14 November in front of the CEO, Bradley Thomas, friends and family, and Council staff.  Congratulations to Cr Don Henderson for being elected Mayor and Cr Lesley Hewitt Deputy Mayor for the first year of the new Council term. The election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor took place at a Statutory Meeting of Council this week. We wish Cr Henderson and Cr Hewitt well in their new roles serving the people of Hepburn Shire.

Find out what else is happening around Hepburn Shire in Hepburn Life Newsletter.  It’s comprehensive and informative. Follow this link: https://mailchi.mp/hepburn/november-2024?e=cd0bb68021

Mount Alexander Shire

Congratulations to new Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors

Councillor Rosie Annear is the new Mayor of Mount Alexander Shire Council, after being elected by Councillors for a one-year term at the November meeting of Council. Cr Annear, who represents the Barkers Creek Ward, was elected to Council in October 2020 and most recently served as Deputy Mayor for the 2023/2024 term.

Councillor Toby Heydon, who represents the Forest Creek Ward, was elected Deputy Mayor for the 2024/2025 term. Cr Heydon joined Council in October 2024.

New and returning councillors elected in October’s local government elections include Cr Annear (Barkers Creek Ward, Cr Heydon (Forest Creek Ward), Cr Lucas Maddock (Moonlight Creek Ward), Cr Bill Maltby (Campbells Creek Ward), Cr Phillip Walker (Coliban Ward), Cr Matthew Driscoll (Loddon River Ward), Cr Tony Cordy (Calder Ward) and Cr Rosalie Hastwell (Tarrengower Ward).

We wish Cr Annear, Cr Heydon and all the new and returning councillors all the very best in their new roles serving the people of Mount Alexander Shire.

Find out what else is happening around Mount Alexander Shire by visiting their news page: https://www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/Council/News-and-updates

10. Workshops and Courses

Introduction to Band weaving – Inkle loom workshop with Ilka White

When: Saturday, December 7, 2024 10:00 AM
Sunday, December 8, 2024 4:00 PM

Where: Uniting Church Hall, 12 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine, VIC,

11. Letters

12. Food for Thought

Environmentalist. Conservationist. What’s the difference? A fascinating interview with a biographer of the influential US conservationist Aldo Leopold.

US Lawmakers urge Biden to pardon Assange to send ‘clear message’ on media freedom (The Guardian Online) Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Patrick McGovern write a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to pardon the Australian publisher and activist.

And  finally, for the holiday break, here are some varied but worthwhile podcasts and blogs for you to explore, writing on degrowth, simple living, resacralisation, sensemaking and peacemaking

Nate Hagens: The Great Simplification – Youtube channel with a rich array of episodes interviewing scientists and thinkers on diverse topics including degrowth, climate crisis, economics and rebuilding community

Paul Kingsnorth – Substack blog – writes on relocalisation, simple living and resacralising our lives

Daniel Schmachtenberger :The Consilience Project and countless interviews – sensemaking, education vs propaganda, meeting the existential crisis of our time

The New Enlightenment with Ashley: interesting Youtube channel with economist Ashley Hodgson exploring paradigm shifts in economics, governance and knowledge

Glenn Greenwald ‘System Update’  news and analysis channel – free speech, censorship and the military-industrial complex

Samer Sinjilawi and Gershon Baskin on X (Palestinian and Israeli peace activists) – new initiatives for peace in Israel – Palestine