![[ Random Image ]](https://leanganook.org/images/image_11.jpeg)
(In memory of Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, who died in January 2022- A Letter to the Earth)
Welcome to the March newsletter. In this edition you’ll find information about:
- Nature Photography at Newstead Arts Hub
- Castlemaine Free University– March, April and May events
- Yandoit Cultural
- Renewable Newstead – Solar Farm Underway
- Bird of the Month: Australian Magpie
- Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky’s Thank You For The Welcome – 50th Anniversary Show
- Don Watson to speak at Wombat Post AGM
- Climate Action– Castlemaine parents & adults supporting youth climate action
- Deliberative Engagement and Climate-Ready Conversations
- Daylesford’s Chill Out Festival
- Ground Work: Conversations on Community Care
- Saltgrass Radio and Podcast
- Australian Conservation Foundation – Bendigo- Film Screening
- EYESEEYOU Exhibition at CASPA
- Planned ecological burns webinar and Sustainable Land Management
- Renaming of Jim Crow Creek
- Growing Abundance is Hiring
- Discovering Joyce’s Creek and Lake Cairn Curran after rains
- Seed Libraries– Hepburn and Castlemaine
- Castlemaine Institute– Work along side us
- Victorian Koala Management strategy
- Walking Together Towards Makarrata
- Repair Cafes & Funding available for community repair, re-purpose, re-use and recycle projects
- Northern Arts Hotel– Music, film and International Women’s Day
- Water Management Plan– North Central
- Regenerative Farming– Walk and Discussion & Know Your Soils Field Day
- Bendigo Sustainable Living Festival
- The Way of the Ancestors Workshop
- Hepburn Wind Adds on Solar Energy
- Market Garden Partnership or Lease in Central Vic
- Hepburn Wholefoods Cookbook
- Arisaig Healing and Wellness Retreat in Yandoit
- Castlemaine State Festival
- New Economy Network- NENA- A Well-being Economy
- Voting for nature and the climate– Bendigo ACF
- Food for Thought
1. Nature Photography at Newstead Arts Hub
What: Nature in Time- Images from Central Victoria
Where: Newstead Railway Arts Hub, 8a Tivey St, Newstead
When: Starting Saturday March 5th, 2022; every weekend in March and on the Labour Day long weekend, 10am to 5pm
Opening event: Join the artists on Sunday 6 March 10:30am.
Some moments pass too quickly, some things are too small for the eye to catch, some too ‘ordinary’ to be noticed. Photography helps us fix them in the mind, invites us to feel their unique weight. Patrick Kavanagh, Bronwyn Silver, Bernard Slattery and David Tatnall invite us to redirect our gaze at the ordinary and the fleeting in the Box-Ironbark region.
About the photographers:
Bernard Slattery: Ten years ago I took a photo of some wildflowers. It was terrible, but accidentally the camera picked up some strikingly interesting moss in the foreground. That photo introduced me to the wonderful world of bryophytes. That’s when I realised photography can reveal things even an attentive look can miss: a good picture carries a surprise, something in the frame you didn’t expect to be there. That ‘good picture’ is rare, but the search for it is what makes me go out with the camera.
Patrick Kavanagh: I live in the woodlands of Central Victoria, where I am so often amazed and moved by the natural wonders that surround me. The vastness of the night sky, the magic of a small bird safe to come so close, the other-worldly grace of an insect, the purity of refraction in a dew drop on a moss. With my camera, I try to hold onto some of these extraordinary glimpses and to share them.
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/patrick_k59
Bronwyn Silver: My interest in nature photography began through observing native plants in the bush reserve that surrounds my Walmer home where I have lived since the 1990s. Later I explored many areas of our local Box-Ironbark forests taking macro and landscape photos for social media, art exhibitions and documentary style photos for several local nature books.
Instagram:boxironbarkforests
David Tatnall: David Tatnall has been making fine art photographs in Australia since the mid 1970s. He has worked professionally as a fine art photographer since the mid 1980s. His passion is photographing the land using a large format film camera.David Tatnall’s photographs have been collected by The National Gallery of Victoria, The State Library of Victoria, Monash Gallery of Art, Australian Embassy in Washington USA, RMIT University Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam as well as many regional art galleries in Australia. David has visited this area many times and had an exhibition at the Castlemaine Art Gallery in 2003: Seeing The Forest And The Trees.He has been awarded a lifetime achievement award for ‘an outstanding contribution to nature conservation in Victoria through photography’.
Website: http://davidtatnall.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david_tatnall_photography/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidtatnall
For more details: Newstead Arts Hub web site.
2. Castlemaine Free University- March, April and May events
What: A future Without Money
When: 7pm–9pm Monday 7 March 2022
Where: Northern Arts Hotel, 359 Barker Street, Castlemaine, 3450
Who: Anitra Nelson, author Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy
A free event– No need to book, just turn up. Drinks at the bar for purchase.
Author, Anitra Nelson will pose the question: Why might we want a future without money and, if so, how might it operate? Anitra will offer a brief overview of her newly released book Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy. Then she will sketch out how a world liberated from money would operate in more socially equitable and ecologically sustainable ways than we experience now. There will a limited number of copies with misprinted headers appropriately available free. Anitra will also give out a coupon code for discounted corrected copies to buy online.
Anitra Nelson is an activist-scholar affiliated with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI) at the University of Melbourne. Many of her academic activities coincide with her political activism and philosophical passions — Castlemaine Free University being an example. Almost exactly ten years ago a collection that Anitra co-edited with the late Frans Timmerman Life Without Money: Building Fair and Sustainable Economies was released by the publisher of Beyond Money. Meanwhile she has written or edited six other books, including Small is Necessary: Shared Living on a Shared Planet (2018).
Either you repeat the same conventional doctrines that everybody else is saying … Or else you say something which in fact is true, and it will sound like it’s from Neptune.’— Noam Chomsky, Propaganda and the Public Mind
What: Cuba Then and Now: The End of the Revolution?
When: Monday 4th April 2022, 7-9pm
Where: Northern Arts Hotel
The death of the Cuban Revolution seems always on the cards but, David Deutschmann, just returned from Cuba, and Deborah Shnookal will explain the origins and significance of protests and other recent aspects of Cuba’s revolutionary project.
WHO? — David Deutschmann and Deborah Schnookal co-founded Ocean Press, and international publisher of books from and about Latin America. David advised Steven Soderbergh for his two-part bio-pic Che (2009) and has regularly travelled to Cuba for 36 years. Similarly, Deborah is an editor and writer, most recently of Operation Pedro Pan and the Exodus of Cuba’s Children (2020, University Press of Florida).
What: Legendary poet TT.O. (Pi O)
When: Monday 2nd May 2022
Whet your appetite by reading about Pi O here
3. Yandoit Cultural
Yandoit Uniting Church is now in community hands and is being transformed into a community cultural centre. This beautiful and historical church, built by Yandoit parishioners in 1872 using locally-made bricks, is nestled in the bush amongst the eucalypts. In addition to charm and history the church has excellent acoustics so it’s a perfect venue for music, concerts, theatre, story telling, film screenings and much more. The church is also available for weddings and other significant rituals. Let us know if you’d like to hold an event at Yandoit Cultural. Contact Nikki Marshall on 0432 232 073 or email nikki.marshall@mmnet.com.au
The Yandoit Clydesdale and Franklinford Community Planning Group has been liaising with the Castlemaine Uniting Church parish over the past 6 to 9 months to explore ways in which the community can manage the church as a local cultural centre, an alternative to being sold into private hands. The Castlemaine parish has been helpful and supportive.
Yandoit Cultural‘s calendar will start off with a creative audio-visual event.
What: Music from the Magic Lantern
When: Saturday March 19th, 7.45pm
Where: Yandoit Uniting Church, Uniting Church Rd, Yandoit
Who: Petrus Spronk with Ken Buddha Trio
Entry by donation to support Yandoit Cultural
In an enchanted spot amongst the eucalypts, in a small homely church, artist Petrus Spronk, in collaboration with the Ken Buddha Trio, will create an evening of pure magic. From the moment Petrus cranks up his magic lantern until he blows out the candle you will have experienced an evening of old fashioned magic and entertainment. The colours and textures of Van Gogh’s palette will be splashed like faerie dust while the Trio create music to accompany the Dutch master’s paintings.
The vivid colours of Van Gogh’s palette accompanied by the Trio’s live compositions will leave you craving for more. This creative audio visual event – Music from the magic Lantern – will colour in your evenings to follow in ways you will not likely forget.
Petrus Spronk is an artist living in Daylesford. He is best known for his architectural fragment outside the state library in Swanson street and for his burnished ceramic bowls. In addition, he writes a monthly column- the Artist’s View- for the Wombat Post.
Ken Buddha Trio: comprises Steve Kelly, Shohn Murnane and Peter McKenzie. Continuing their theme of collaborative Live Composition, with a palette of electronic and acoustic instrumentation, ‘ken buddha trio’ perform with guest artists in a way which fuses physical and spiritual elements and creates aural environments and atmospheres driven by musical investigation.
“Music is a unifying force, composers around the world operate on a different frequency to politicians. Their first thoughts are not to fight, but to collaborate, unite, band together for common causes, a life force, as opposed to a death force. ”
4. Renewable Newstead – Solar Farm Underway
More than a decade ago Renewable Newstead started working towards a project to generate renewable energy locally, near Newstead in Victoria, that’s accessible and competitively priced for use by all in our community. We want our kids and grandkids to know that right here in Newstead we made big efforts to collectively cut our CO2 output and use electricity that’s generated from renewable sources. And that we made it priced so that everybody in our area could buy it, not just ‘the haves’.
Located west of Newstead, on Captains Gully Road, the solar array will be connected to the current 22kV powerline that runs along the Pyrenees Highway, 500 metres north of the site. The solar farm will be able to power all homes and businesses in the local area. Right now we’re on schedule to build our small-scale solar farm this year. To get us to ‘go’, we need your help.
If you use grid-connected electricity in and around Newstead – Green Gully, Sandon, Clydesdale, Werona, Welshmans Reef, Yandoit, Muckleford, Strangways, Strathlea, Maldon, Guildford – here’s how you can help.Our energy retailer, Flow Power, needs to know enough locals intend to sign up to buy their energy from our solar farm. We’ll let them know if you let us know. All you need do is go to our website www.renewablenewstead.com.au, click on the home page button that says ‘Show Me The Deal’, complete the form and click submit (or click this button below). Signing this form is not binding. Off-liners can contact us by calling 0403 801 147 and we’ll complete the form with you. This tells us you’re happy for us to pass your details to Flow Power to contact you about your interest in buying your power from our farm.
Our partner, Flow Power, will build and operate the Newstead solar farm and sell the electricity it generates. To find out more about Flow Power, check who will build, own and operate our solar farm under the FAQs on our website or go to theirs here.
Renewable Newstead is a small group of volunteers and occasionally could use some extra hands to really make our project sing. Tasks range from data entry to event set-up and pack-down and letter-boxing. Tell us about your talents, ways you can help and the time you have by emailing info@renewablenewstead.com.au. Add ‘talent’ to the subject line & suggest tasks you might enjoy.
Will the Newstead Solar Farm have a battery? Stage 1 will have a 2.5MW battery. It will store energy generated during the day for feeding into the grid when needed (i.e. at night). The battery will be housed in a shipping container. How much energy will the Newstead Solar Farm generate?
Stage 1 generation capacity = 2.5MW = 5266MWh/year = enough to supply 600 households = all of Newstead, plus more, every hour, when running at full capacity.
For further info: https://renewablenewstead.com.au/ or email info@renewablenewstead.com.au
5. Bird of the Month: Australian Magpie
Bird of the month is a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. With thanks to Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District, and the Damian Kelly.
Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen): Probably the most well known bird in Australia, found across the continent in a huge variety of habitats and adapted well to modified environments, the Australian Magpie is close to the heart for many people, and feared as well. As I type the fella that’s befriended me is catching European Wasps right out side my window, and doing a fine job of it.
Australian Magpies live in social groups numbering from a pair to 20 birds, living in permanent territories which they defend fiercely. I have witnessed the local mob chasing off Wedge-tail Eagles and Square-tailed Kites. Many unfortunate cyclists and walkers have suffered attacks by Magpies during the breeding season when they have eggs or chicks in the nest, so it appears size is no deterrent to their protective instincts. However, it is interesting and perhaps heartening to note that the percentage of Magpies that attack humans is very low, though their attacks are arguably effective. If there is an Australian Magpie that gives you grief during the nesting season, the best course of action is to take an alternative route for a month or so. Remember, if you are mean to it, it can recall what you look like as they can recognise up to 100 humans!
To read more on Australian Magpies attacking humans – click here
Known to be very intelligent, both by observation of the species antics and anecdotal evidence, and hard data collected by scientists. The Conversation (online media channel) recently reported on a mob of Australian Magpies studied by Queensland University, who were fitted with very clever and very tiny tracking devices attached to a strong bird harness. The birds removed the tracking devices from all individuals fitted in the trial. The important and unique factor here, is that they removed them from each other, providing the first evidence of conspecific removal of GPS trackers. ‘While we’re familiar with magpies being intelligent and social creatures, this was the first instance we knew of that showed this type of seemingly altruistic behaviour: helping another member of the group without getting an immediate, tangible reward.’ To read the rest of this amazing article – click here
The adaptability of the Australian Magpie is also evident in their breeding strategies, and the fact they have a number of strategies may have helped their success as a species. As co-operative breeders, like the Superb Fairy Wren and White-Winged Chough, there will be several Australian Magpies feeding young at the nest. However, DNA studies have shown that up to 38% of chicks may have been fathered by different males. More unusual and interesting, is that up to 10% of young are not related to any females in the group, meaning infraspecific brood parasitism, similar to Cuckoos.
Once again the bird world amazes and confounds, but aren’t the Australian Magpies carolling calls the most beautiful sound, and what will they get up to next …?
Please, if you are feeding Magpies, NO mince or meat as it can cause severe and deadly deficiencies, especially in young developing birds. If you want to feed them, buy some dried or live meal worms from the pet shop.
Damian Kelly and Jane Rusden Black-backed Australian Magpie (photo by Damian Kelly)
To learn even more about the Australian Magpie, our contacts recommend the book ‘Australian Magpie: biology and behaviour of an unusual songbird‘ by Gisela Kaplan (published by CSIRO in 2019).
Posted by Connecting Country , 24 February, 2022 https://connectingcountry.org.au/
6. Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky’s Thank You For The Welcome – 50th Anniversary Show
Playing guitars, including the Italian chittara battente guitar, and bouzouki, Jack brings a world of musicality to Jan’s Australian sensibility. A musicologist as well as a musician, Jack plays across various musical genres, from rock, ‘Early’ music, folk to classical. In the 1980’s he travelled the Middle East and Europe, immersing himself in the music and cultures of the Middle East and Central Asia. In Thank You For The Welcome, Jack brings all these influences to bear, mesmerising audiences with his superb playing.
Wendy is a multi-talented, eclectic musician, with a background ranging from playing in orchestras such as the Australian Pops Orchestra and running her own community orchestra, The Corker Orchestra, playing violin in the Brazilian Choro band ‘Pipoca’, improvisation with the Melbourne Playback Theatre, touring with Aria Award winning Greek band ‘The Habibis’ … and much more in folk, jazz and community projects. In Thank You For The Welcome Wendy brings all the joy of her lifetime in music, playing piano, sarangi, accordion and violin. (Full bio go to www.corkerorchestra.com)
7. Don Watson to speak at Wombat Post AGM
The Wombat Post is an on-line community news publication for the Daylesford and Hepburn Springs region. The purpose of the Wombat Post is to
- inform the community of news and events that contribute to community building community and community well-being,
- promote a positive image of the local community,
- contribute to the historical record, and
- provide a medium for advertising services and trades offered to the community.
The Daylesford District Community News Association Inc. (DDNA) is responsible for The Wombat Post.
To subscribe to the Wombat Post and receive a link to the weekly edition in your inbox click on: https://thewombatpost.com.au/about-the-wombat-post/
Annual General Meeting
When: Sunday March 20th, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Where: Senior Citizens Centre, rear Daylesford Town Hall.
Tickets are free: Go here to book
Who: Best selling author and speech writer Don Watson has agreed at speak at the Wombat Post AGM on Truth and Integrity in the Media.
8. Climate Action- Castlemaine parents & adults supporting youth climate action
There’s movement at the station…. again!
A group of Castlemaine young people are planning to get back to collective climate action this Autumn ahead of the election and we’re helping with a bit of fundraising. They are trying to raise $3000 for the Autumn action. Let’s help them reach their target. (And keep your ears open and your diary ready for some collective action in the coming months).
Adults need to show young people that we care and are taking action too
A study of young people published last year showed that many don’t feel that the adults around them care about the climate crisis, and by extension, about their own future lives. Another even larger study found that young people are feeling increasingly worried and anxious about the climate crisis, and feel distressed and betrayed by governments’ inadequate inaction on the crisis. Our kids need to see us in climate action. So let’s get behind them, help them fundraise, turn up, turn out, and show them that they are not being asked to take the whole burden for action on climate change themselves.
Win great stuff! Everyone who donates will get happier young people, will help tackle climate change and be giving more agency to the youngers to change the world. Win Win Win!
9. Deliberative Engagement and Climate-Ready Conversations
A Working Group of people based in and around Castlemaine, with support from Central Victorian Primary Care Partnership (CVPCP), have been meeting for the past few months. The group aims to build capacity within our community on deliberative processes, reaching those community members not always reached in conventional consultation processes and to build local climate change adaptation.
Funding is being sought for a climate ready community conversations project. Conversations will draw on the Adapt Loddon Mallee Climate Ready Communities tool kit with targeted groups of people in a vulnerable state who are not always reached in conventional consultation. The tool kit guides a conversation regarding climate change adaptation. The data/information gleaned will then be shared with MASC, (DEWLP), the Wararack Initiatives and other stakeholders to inform local and regional climate change adaptation initiatives.
Deliberative engagement (DE) panels or citizens assemblies (bodies formed from randomly selected citizens to deliberate on important issues) can be cost prohibitive so this working group is keen to explore smaller scale and lower cost ways of deliberative engagement that ensure both broader engagement and a more random representation in decision making within our community using a range of structures and expertise already available within our community. In this project we will engage with neighbourhood networks and community groups through trusted connections and hold kitchen table conversations (KTCs) with them in small groups.
It is well recognised through the amendment of the LGA Act, and other dialogues, that more considered and deliberative ways are needed to ensure both broader engagement and a more random representation in decision making.
To find out more or contribute to this initiative email Carolyn Neilson on projects2@centralvicpcp.com.au
10. Daylesford’s Chill Out Festival
When: Labour Day weekend from Thursday, March 10 to Sunday, March 13.
Where: Assorted venues around Daylesford
The festival, which started in 1997, is the biggest regional LGBTIQA+ celebration in Australia.
A full festival timetable is available on the festival website. Or if you’re wandering around town and want a hard copy of the program, pick up the most recent issue of The Local.
11. Ground Work: Conversations on Community Care
When: Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 and Tuesday March 29th, between 4 PM – 5 PM
12. Saltgrass radio and podcast
Through it all we’ve been airing the show on two amazingly vibrant community radio stations here in Victoria, as well as around the world via the podcast. We can’t tell how many people are listening on the radio but we’ve watched the podcast numbers as people from around the world started to discover and listen to the show. It has been truly amazing! I’m so heartened by every single download.
Each one represents someone, somewhere, who also cares about all this stuff. Someone who might be doing similar things in their own region. People who are looking for small and large ways to walk lightly, to change habits, to change culture, to make a difference.
I know there are millions of stories around the world, and each culture and geographical region has different societal pressures, natural ecosystems, and weather patterns to think about. But I like to think that there are countless ways that we are the same as well. Sharing these stories from my local community can maybe offer solidarity, comfort and companionship on the road ahead.
I am currently looking at what sort of topics and issues I could cover over the next year and am also about to apply for more funding.
Like / subscribe / follow us on Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
Get your sustainable Saltgrass t-shirts, bags and hoodies here
13. Australian Conservation Foundation – Bendigo- Film Screening
Damon Gameau (of 2040 fame) has released a new documentary Regenerating Australia and it’s coming to Bendigo next Thursday. If you’re not curious yet check out the trailer here . We really need a sign of hope like this, in these troubled times.
BENDIGO SCREENING: Damon Gameu will be at the screening to meet with the community.
Date: Thursday 10th March 2022
Time: 5:45pm arrival for 6:00pm start
Venue: Bendigo Cinema
Address: 107-109 Queen St, Bendigo, VIC 3550
Under 18’s are free.
Book your tickets at this link https://events.humanitix.com/regenerating-australia-village-bendigo .
14. EYESEEYOU Exhibition at CASPA
What: Mars Drum’s New Work from “The True History Of Ned Kelly And Burka Woman”
When: Sat 5th – Sun 27th March, Hours: 10am – 4pm every day
Mars Drum will be in the gallery on the weekends
Where: C.A.S.P.A., Above Stonemans Bookroom, cnr Hargraves & Mostyn Sts Castlemaine
Artist’s Statement
“Ned and Burka help me process my own transmutations and responses within the seismic context of an imploding nation and planet. I just want to smash all the existing regressive societal constructs that limit who we are and can be.
See how Ned and Burka now merge, overlap, transition, shift shapes colours moods… uniting in heartache and love, hope and loss…the Eyeseeyou series includes eyes that see you and each other clearly as one race. We are one race. We’re the human race.”
The True History of Ned Kelly and Burka Woman
In response to the 9/11 US terrorist attacks in 2001, and the subsequent negative characterisation of Muslims being delivered to Australians by an aggressive Howard government and mainstream media, I took to wearing a burqa in public – including Melbourne’s regular street rallies, weekly art openings, CD launches, gigs, parties. In December 2001, with Australia joining the US-lead military invasion of Afghanistan, I found myself painting war scenes on small canvases… women in burqas fleeing across desert sand dunes, chased by Australian military tanks…women in black on their knees clutching their dead babies… black corpses scattered on bloodstained snow. I titled this series “A True Story”. One day in 2002, Ned Kelly suddenly landed beside Burka Woman on my canvas, and so began a new series: “A Love Story”. Both having experienced discrimination and persecution…hiding out from authorities who would have them killed for the colour of their skin, their heritage, gender, beliefs, and unyielding will to survive…. Burka and Ned spend the next two decades as inseparable companions, undertaking a survey of Australian culture in my ongoing art series re-titled in 2008 as “The True History of Ned Kelly and Burka Woman”.
ARTIST BIO
Mars Drum was born and raised on a farm in Banyena, Wotjobaluk country, Australia. Art running deep through the female bloodlines on both sides of the family, Mars knew early in life that drawing and painting was her special thing, and that Art was her guiding star. Mars left home at eighteen to spend the next few decades “living the artful life”. This included six years of art residencies and extensive travel in Europe and Asia, and many more years obsessively videoing Melbourne’s fringe arts and counter-cultural happenings, and undertaking a diverse range of experimental community and public art projects and residencies. Drum’s ongoing visual arts series “The True History of Ned Kelly and Burka Woman” is a contemporary investigation of Australia’s cultural history and identity, and has been exhibited, short-listed, and reviewed positively both nationally and internationally since 2006. Drum moved back onto Wotjobaluk country in 2012, and paints from her home studio in Dimboola.
Enquiries: ben.laycock@realhub.net.au
mars.drawingtime@gmail.com www.marsdrum.com
Insta @mars.drum
15. Planned ecological burns webinar and Sustainable Land Management
What: Upcoming online webinar on planned ecological burns.
When: Tuesday 8 March 2022 from 7 pm
Registration: click here
Cost: free
Contact: Martin Roberts (mroberts@mrsc.vic.gov.au)- Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Ecological planned burning is a land management tool applied to promote positive benefits for a local environment and certainly has its place in sustainable land management, if implemented with skill and knowledge.
Ecological burns aim to bolster growth in native plant species and prevent serious bushfires (photo: ABC News)
Ecological burns – the benefits
These benefits include stimulating dormant seed banks in the soil profile, reducing the vigour or eliminating weeds, nutrient cycling and the removal of biomass….all of which promote biodiversity and ecosystem health. There are a range of factors that influence when and how an ecological planned burn can be conducted but essential to the process is a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve and how to moderate fire behaviour and extent.
The talk will explore how ecological burning is undertaken in Local Government and how this can be applied to other contexts.
Zoom details will be sent to you prior to the webinar. To register – click here
The Healthy Landscapes project
The Healthy Landscapes: Practical Regenerative Agricultural Communities program aims to raise awareness in their community about sustainable land management practices that improve soil health, reduce exposure to climate risk, enhance biodiversity and increase on-farm productivity.
This program is being delivered as a partnership between Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Hepburn Shire Council, the City of Greater Bendigo, A Healthy Coliban Catchment project (North Central Catchment Management Authority and Coliban Water), Melbourne Water and the Upper Campaspe Landcare Network.
Posted by Connecting Country, 22 February, 2022 – https://connectingcountry.org.au/
16. Renaming of Jim Crow Creek
What: Speaking to submissions on renaming the creek at Special meeting of Hepburn Shire Council
When: 22 March 2022 at 5:30pm
As a result of the response to community consultation last year, Hepburn Shire Council will proceed with considering the proposed name change to Larni Barramal Yaluk. Council will hear from community members at a virtual Special Meeting of Council. At this meeting, community members who provided responses to the consultation in relation to the Proposed Renaming of Jim Crow Creek during the advertised community survey period in 2021 are invited to register their interest in speaking to their submission.
Here is the Request to Address Council Form . This needs to be submitted to Council by 2pm 15 March 2022.
Background
The reason behind the proposed name change is twofold:
- the recognition of Aboriginal heritage and the reinstatement of Dja Dja Wurrung language into the landscape,
- and the removal of a name that is offensive and derogatory.
The history of the term ‘Jim Crow’ is rooted in racial segregation and anti-black racism. In 1828 a US white actor Thomas Dartmouth, known as ‘Daddy Rice’, developed the first popular blackface minstrel character called Jim Crow. Rice became a hit on the world stage with his performance of ‘Jump Jim Crow’ a song and dance routine portraying an enslaved, disheveled and grossly stereotyped African American. ‘Jim Crow’ became a racist term to refer to ‘black people’ worldwide and became the foundation for the ‘Jim Crow Laws’ in the United States (1877 to 1965), making discrimination and racial segregation legal and enforceable.
Historical sources indicate that the name Jim Crow was likely first applied to the area of Lalgambook/Mt Franklin by Captain John Hepburn in the 1830’s. The term Jim Crow was used by squatters, government representatives and miners to refer to the mountain, the Aboriginal Protectorate, the ‘Tribe’, individual Aboriginal people, the creek, the goldfields (diggings) and district. There are many precedents for removing racially offensive terms in the Australian landscape. Mount Jim Crow in Queensland was legally restored to the Darumbal (Traditional Owners) name of Baga in 2018.
In Hepburn Shire, reinstating a name that re-connects our community with the Dja Dja Wurrung culture and language that spans many thousands of years, sets the standard for how we can support the Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples to reinstate language in our landscape.
The new name proposed by DJAARA (formerly the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation) and supported by Djaara Elders, is Larni Barramal Yaluk. The name translates to ‘Home or habitat of the Emu Creek’. Another translation given is ‘the resting place of the Emu’. The crater at Mt Franklin/Lalgambook had this name because the crater resembles the Emu nest. The Country surrounding this was also referred to as Larni Barramal because the springs and swamps there provided water to emu. The Creek would also provide water, therefore, renaming the Creek Larni Barramal after this area was agreed to by the Traditional Owners.
It is important to note that the name Jim Crow Creek will be reserved in the state’s geographic names register as an historic name and will remain a part of the region’s history.
You can register to speak at the special council meeting by:
• Emailing the completed form to creekrenaming@hepburn.vic.gov.au
• Submitting the online form at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/proposed-renaming-jim-crowcreek
• Completing a hard copy of the form and submitting it at your nearest customer service office
A report to council will then be made for a decision at the April council meeting.
For further information and updates refer to https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/proposed-renaming-jim-crow-creek
17.Growing Abundance is Hiring
The Growing Abundance Project Committee is inviting expressions of interest for two contract positions for an immediate start. Made possible by a Strengthening Rural Communities Grant from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), we are looking for a Harvest Coordinator and Funding and Development Coordinator. A cornerstone of the Growing Abundance Project has been the Harvest Project, which sees volunteers harvesting excess food from local orchards and yards and distributing it to community members and local organisations.
Harvest Coordinator
The Harvest Coordinator (7.5 hours per week x 16 weeks) is a community facing role responsible for coordinating and delivering the Harvest Project.
Responsibilities include: Liaising with orchard owners to organise harvest of food, liaising with community stakeholders to organise distribution of food, Coordinate harvest volunteers, participate in harvest activities, organise events, maintain database for participating stakeholders, manage online platforms including website, mailchimp and social media, attend monthly committee meetings, project evaluation, engaging with Fundraising and Development Manager as required.
Fundraising and Development Coordinator
The Fundraising and Development Coordinator (7.5 hours per week x 16 weeks) is a work from home position, and is responsible for fundraising and organisational development activities.
Responsibilities include: grant research and submission, strategic development of the organisation, project evaluation, supporting Harvest Coordinator and harvest activities as required. Assistance and direction from the committee will be provided.
Send expressions of interest, including responses to Role Requirements on a cover letter, a CV including two professional referees to: hello@growingabundance.org.au
*Both roles will be paid at $40 per hour, with some allowance for phone, internet and travel costs.
Closing date for expressions of interest: Wednesday 2nd March
Shortlisted Candidates Notified: Friday 4th March
Interview for Shortlisted Candidates: Monday 7th March (Times TBC)
Role Commencement Date: Immediate Start
For further information: Ruby Carrodus, Ph 0431 606 445
Or email hello@growingabundance.org.au
Click here for Position Description
18. Discovering Joyce’s Creek and Lake Cairn Curran after rains
(With thanks to Patrick Kavanagh and the Natural Newstead Blog)
After our recent generous fall of rain, Joyce’s Creek near its inflow to Lake Cairn Curran has become a beautiful expanse of calm water. What could be better than to paddle upstream from the bridge at the Pyrenees Highway with binoculars and a camera?
Heading upstream from the bridge, the old River Red Gums killed by the flooding of the dam show the old creek line on the right. Younger Red Gums germinated after more recent floods can be seen on the left.The old River Red Gums are full of hollows and provide nesting sites highly valued by hollow dependent species. A favourite spot for Long-billed Corellas (Cacatua tenuirostris)
White-faced Herons (Egretta novaehollandiae) also spend a fair bit of time perched on the old trees, keeping a close eye on the boat below.
Fallen trees and logs are also important habitat. Lots of Chestnut Teals (Anas castanea) are enjoying the creek at the moment. A male in non-breeding plumage watches us slip quietly past, surrounded by the tops of paddock weeds now drowned by the high waters.
Heading upstream, the channel narrows to the old stream, sentinels from past centuries line the banks.
Chestnut Teals prefer to nest in hollows 6m or more above the water, so the old trees along the creek provide great hollows for nesting. Some females will dump their eggs in the nests of other females, which explains why we sometimes see mothers with flocks of up to 17 chicks following them around. I use the plural Teals rather than Teal as apparently the use of plurals without an s is for game species. I dread to think of our beautiful birds being shot, so can’t bring myself to call them Teal.
way to explore the landscape – photo by Lee SheldenI was pleased to discover some Fairy Martin nests under the branch of one of the old trees. I usually see these wonderful structures mounted on a human made surface, so it was great to see them on a natural one. From the rings of mud on the tree, it looks like it’s been used for nests for a long time.
The old trees are also favoured perches for Australian Pelicans (Pelicanus conspicullatus) and Australian White Ibises (Threskiornis molucca)
19. Seed Libraries- Hepburn and Castlemaine
Hepburn Seed Savers meets at Glenlyon Hall every third Sunday of the month at 2pm. Next gathering is Sunday March 20th. You can pick up the seed packets for planting from Daylesford library.
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/Seedkeepers/
Castlemaine Seed Library meets at 11am on the first Thursday of each month, at Castlemaine library. Seed packets are available from the library.
For more information : https://www.facebook.com/castlemaineseedlibrary
Want to volunteer? The seed libraries are run entirely by a dedicated band of volunteers. Here are some of the tasks:
Re-stocking the seed board in the library: This entails keeping a tally of seeds borrowed and re-stocking the board every 2 weeks, (so probably most handy for someone living in Castlemaine rather than outlying towns.) Would take about an hour every two weeks.
Data entry: Adding numbers to our spreadsheet of seedpacks borrowed, and emails of new borrowers to the Mailchimp contact list. This is probably only about an hours work a month.
Seed collecting and winnowing: This is as and when we need.
Seed viability: People to grow out seed to check viability and variety for if/when we get seeds and we’re not sure what they are, or if there are not enough for seed packs and we want to grow more of them for borrowers. Best for people with lots of garden space.
If you are able to help out with any of these jobs, please contact: castlemaineseedlibrary@gmail.com or hepburnseedsavers@gmail.com
20. Castlemaine Institute- Work along side us
21. Victorian Koala Management strategy
The Draft Victorian Koala Management Strategy has been released by DELWP for public comment. This new state-wide strategy will inform long-term approaches to koala management with the objective of ensuring Victoria’s koala populations and habitat are secure, healthy and sustainable. Estimates from the first state-wide koala abundance model, which was developed by scientists from the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, are also reflected in the draft strategy. The model estimates a state-wide koala population of 460,000, with an estimated 413,000 koalas in native forests and woodlands and a further 47,000 koalas in eucalypt plantations. Koalas have recently been listed as Endangered in the Queensland, the ACT and NSW, but are not threatened in Victoria. Public consultation closes on 3 April 2022.
To have your say go to https://engage.vic.gov.au/VKMS
(With thanks to North Central CMA Chat)
22. Walking Together Towards Makarrata
With thanks to Solway Nutting and Nalderun Aboriginal Corporation
MAKARRATA – ‘coming together after a struggle, facing the facts of wrongs and living again in peace’.
The Statement from the Heart, generously offered to all Australians in 2017, contains these words: ‘Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs’. The Statement calls for VOICE to Parliament, TREATY with Government, and TRUTH about their sufferings. MAKARRATA would be ‘the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle… We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations, and truth-telling about our history.’
The Yolgnu people of Arnhem Land have used the principles of Makarrata for centuries. Firstly, the disputing parties are brought together. Each party, led by their elders, must speak carefully and calmly about the dispute. They must put the facts on the table and air their grievances. If a person speaks out of turn or recklessly, he or she is sent away and is not included any further in the process. The leaders must always seek a full understanding of both parties’ sides: what lies behind the grievance, who is responsible, what each party wants. Once resolved, the dispute is settled forever, as if it never existed.
The process of Makarrata has already begun, because the Uluru Statement tells the truth of the position of the aggrieved party. It is a call to the leaders of the Second Nation of Australians to come forward and meet. A rather different gathering began outside the political centre of Australia on 26 January 1972, an election year. Protesting about the government’s adamant refusal to acknowledge Indigenous land rights and native title, four young Aboriginal men travelled to Canberra, put up a beach umbrella on the lawns of Parliament House, with a sign saying ‘Aboriginal Embassy’. During the following weeks, many First Nations people joined the four activists, erecting tents and making clear they wanted the return of land. A five-point plan for land rights was presented to Parliament on 5 February 1972. When Labor came to power that December, some of these demands were met. Many were eroded during subsequent changes of government.
Surely IT’S TIME for a Makarrata Commission or Tribunal that would enquire into the historical circumstances in a process of truth-telling, supervise and facilitate a process of agreement-making, and oversee the implementation of the agreements made.
Nalderun Education Aboriginal Corporation is a service that supports the Aboriginal Community, led by Aboriginal people. Many people and organisations in the Mount Alexander Shire contribute to Nalderun; the name is a Dja Dja Wurrung word meaning “all together”. More information can be found at www.nalderun.net.au
23. Repair Cafes & Funding available for community repair, re-purpose, re-use and recycle projects
What’s a Repair Café? Do you have a toaster that no longer pops up, or a hem that’s too long, a bicycle chain that needs work, or a knife or tool that needs sharpening? Then, bring them along to the wonderful Repair Cafe, and one of our ‘geniuses’ will fix it for you, for a small donation! Repair Cafes are an incredible community resource with strong environmental credentials. Every item for repair is weighed as you come in so we can record how much is being saved from land-fill. Our repairers give loved and useful items a new lease of life!
Looking for more fixers: All our fixers are volunteers. They have skills to repair mechanical, electrical and digital items, as well as clothing, furniture, and household and gardening equipment. Knives and tools can be sharpened as well as bicycles repaired. We’re always looking for more ‘geniuses’ with skills in sewing, jewellery, musical instruments, shoes, digital equipment and more.
If you are interested, and would enjoy being part of a dedicated and creative group contact Nikki on 0432 232 073 or Chris on 5470 5508.
Not-for-profits, charities, community organisations and social enterprises are invited to apply for a grant through the Recycling Victoria Communities Fund, with up to $3.1 million available for projects that creatively re-purpose, re-pair, re-use and recycle everyday items. The Fund is looking for local and regional projects that will use resources in a smarter way, such as repair cafes, community worm farms, compost hubs, tool libraries and skill sharing workshops.
Community groups, not-for-profits and social enterprises have an important and exciting role to play in helping us look at waste differently, as we move Victoria towards a circular economy. A successful first round of the fund saw 23 projects share in more than $2.2 million for creative approaches to waste and recycling, including:
- a ReCycle Repair hub managed by Yarra Valley ECOSS, where young people will receive training to recycle old bicycles that will be sold or donated locally
- a St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria project that will equip 111 Vinnie’s stores across Victoria to resell donated electrical items, upskill staff and roll out an e-waste community education program across Victoria
- an expansion of Reground’s coffee ground collection service to serve another 19 local government areas and 100 businesses. Reground will also offer soft plastics collection, waste audits, and waste minimisation services.
Round 2 applications open 17 February and will close at 11:59 pm on Thursday 31 March 2022.
This program is supported through the Victorian Government’s circular economy policy, Recycling Victoria: a new economy.
Read more about Stream 1 and Stream 2.
24. Northern Arts Hotel- Music, film and International Women’s Day
Tuesday 8 March at 7pm
International Women’s Day 2022 | Bringing Voices Together Join us for this year’s annual celebration of women, and performances – music, singing and story – from some of Castlemaine’s finest. Big line-up including Acknowledgement to Country by Kathryn Coff (CEO Nalderun), presentation by Karen Milgrom, and performances by musicians and songstresses Maggie Jackson, Elizabeth Scanlon, Banjo & The Blind Dog, The Blenders, Christine McCue and hosted by Cate Mercer. Don’t miss this opportunity for a really special gathering. All are invited and welcome. Bookings and information here.
CELEBRATING THE BLUES | SEASON ONE
Four weeks of concerts and workshops presented at the Coolroom at the Northern Arts Hotel.
THE HORNETS | SAT 12 MARCH Info & Bookings here
PHIL & TRUDY EDGELEY | SAT 19 MARCH Info & Bookings here
SAT 2 APRIL | WORKSHOP WITH PETE GAVIN, PLUS
EVENING SHOW BY ALAWISHUS JONES & THE OUTRIGHT LIES Info & Bookings here
WILSON & WHITE | SAT 9 APRIL Info & Bookings here
Sound and Light Sculpture with Frank Veldze – Northern Arts Hotel
As part of Arts Open 2022, the Northern Arts Hotel and the Coolroom present Frank’s Gigantic Wall of Vision and Sound plus Another Roadside Attraction. A Multi-Function-Polis site, collegiate and open to new ideas. During Arts Open 12-20 March. Nightly
Watch A Flick with Flaus: The Next Ten.Sunday 6 March 2022 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Films shown from John Flaus’s secret list of ‘intrinsically worthy, idiosyncratically engaging’ films. Join John live this Sunday at 2.30pm for film number thirteen. The adventure continues. Entry is Free. Low Bar Open. Lounging Responsibly. And then at 7.30pm join us for another free Secret Film. John Waldie’s choice. Another film and another wonderful journey. Entry is Free. Low Bar Open. Lounging Responsibly
25. Water Management Plan- North Central
North Central Catchment Management Authority (North Central CMA) invites you to view the Loddon Campaspe Irrigation Region Land and Water Management Plan 2020-2030 – working together towards the Region’s long-term objective of “Using water for healthy, productive, sustainable irrigated food and fibre.”
The Plan is available for viewing via http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/land-and-water-management-plan-2020-2030
A summary document of the Plan has also been developed- http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au/resources/publications/land-and-water-management-plan-2020-2030-summarydocument
For further information: North Central CMA – 03 5448 7124 or email info@nccma.vic.gov.au
26. Regenerative Farming- Walk and Discussion & Know Your Soils Field Day
Walk and Discussion
Hear from the property managers about their journey in regenerative agricultural grazing. It’s a welcoming environment with walks and discussion, an opportunity to learn from each other and discuss your own properties progress. Hosted by Macedon Ranges Shire Council.
• Trentham East: Friday 18 March 5.30pm
• Heathcote: Sunday 27 March 4pm
For all the information and to register visit: https://www.mrsc.vic.gov.au/Live-Work/Environment/Land-Management/Healthy-Landscapes
Know Your Soils Field Day and Soil Pit Demonstration
When: Tuesday 22 March
Where: Salisbury West area
RSVP: Bookings are essential- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd7kFxFkKn0vT5TLflo2cJQ2GCEmTjWFv_VYpunc5ToxpD4bw/viewform
Join the Loddon Plains Future Farming group, with Rebecca Mitchell (Agriculture Victoria) and Christian Bannan (South East Soil & Water) at a field day that will
include soil pit demonstrations assessing soil health and soil structures under traditional and vegetation-covered soils. The day will provide knowledge and confidence around:
• Understanding and managing for your soils.
• Assessing soils and soil profiles.
• Soil test interpretation.
• Introduction to soil biology.
• Demonstration of taking a soil sample for testing.
The field day will be held in the Salisbury West area at a location to be advised. Call Danny Pettingill on 0490 412 430.
27. Bendigo Sustainable Living Festival
When: Sunday 27 March 2022. 10am-3.30pm
Where: Garden for the Future, White Hills.
Venue: Garden for the Future, White Hills.
Cost: Gold coin donation.
The Bendigo Sustainability Group and the City of Greater Bendigo invites businesses and community organisations to participate in a celebration of sustainability in our region. The festival aims to showcase the best sustainable living products, programs, goods, and services that are active, here, in Central Victoria. Stallholders will be able to showcase sustainable products, services, and initiatives that offer sustainable solutions for both businesses and householders across Central Victoria.
We are excited to announce two of our guest speakers. Millie Ross from ABC’s Gardening Australia TV program and Sophie Bickford from Biolinks Alliance. Millie is a professional horticulturist, garden designer, writer and broadcaster. An innovative gardener with an unconventional approach, Millie specialises in creative construction, sourcing local, low-cost materials and using plants in unusual ways. Sophie is the Executive Director of Biolinks Alliance. Biolinks Alliance has identified a unique role for itself as a partnership and capacity building organisation that will ensure that the significant momentum there is for community-driven conservation on public and private land in central Victoria is supported, coordinated and amplified. https://biolinksalliance.org.au/about-biolinks
This annual event aims to showcase the absolute best of sustainable living products, programs, goods, and services that are active here in Central Victoria. Attendees will have the chance to purchase, learn and explore many new and creative ways to live and then implement them into their everyday life at home and at work all for a gold coin donation upon entry. Throughout the day on the main stage and smaller stages, listen to the jam-packed speaker line-up informing us of their sustainable product or service. E-bikes and electric vehicles on display, food and coffee, and stalls to peruse. BYO bottles, cups and bags to this waste wise event.
Sponsorship applications are now open.
Align your brand with the core values of Central Victoria and reach over 50000 people across the City of Greater Bendigo. Please get in touch if your organisation is focused on creating a liveable, inclusive, and sustainable Victoria while protecting our natural environment, infrastructure, and heritage for future generations.
Please contact Michelle Pollard. Project Manager. E: bendigoslf@gmail.com
If you wish to apply for a stall download the Stallholders Application Form or complete the digital form
28. The Way of the Ancestors Workshop
Castlemaine based social enterprise Mirawara invite you to Join Claire Dunn and Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Aunty Marilyn Nicholls for an immersive 3 day camp in Walmer (near Castlemaine). The camp will include a cultural walk at Mt Dharrengower, how to create fire using ancient techniques, basket weaving with master weaver and Dja Dja Wurrung Elder Aunty Marilyn Nicholls, landscape ecology, bird language, nature connection activities, knot skills and tree climbing, ancestral work, kids activities and much more. Organisers will be providing two delicious vegan evening meals cooked by the Murnong Mammas.
When: Saturday April 9- Monday April 11, 2022
Where: 1272 Muckleford-Walmer Road Walmer, VIC
Cost: $417.81 – $449.46- Kids under 5 are free
What to bring: Bring your own camping gear, water, breakfast and lunches.
RSVP: via Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-way-of-the-ancestors-workshop-with-claire-dunn-and-marilyn-nicholls-tickets-264629623327?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
29. Hepburn Wind Adds on Solar Energy
Hepburn Wind is becoming Hepburn Energy and as part of that shift, we’re changing our brand and updating our e-newsletters. Plus, the Hepburn Solar Bulk-Buy is recommencing face-to-face meetings in March!
Register for the Hepburn Energy community retail offer!
We’re now taking expressions of interest from Hepburn Shire locals and co-operative members for the Hepburn Energy community retail offer. This product seeks to offer a closer link between the energy we generate and customer bills. Fill in the registration form here.
Solar & Battery Info Meeting on Thursday 3 March 6-7.30pm.
For Hepburn Shire residents, we would like to invite you to the Hepburn Solar Bulk-Buy’s upcoming info meeting, at the Daylesford Town Hall on March 3 at 6pm. As this is an indoor and in-person meeting, attendees will need to wear masks. You can register for the event here.
Postal address: PO Box 225, Daylesford VIC 3460, Australia
Phone (03) 5348 6760
International +61 3 5348 6760
30. Market Garden Partnership or Lease in Central Vic
Metcalfe mini-farm is a family-run established organic market garden property in Central Victoria between Kyneton and Castlemaine. It has awesome soil, great water access, irrigation, and some hothouses. With 12 years of hard work setting it all up and improving the soil, this farm grows organic veggies, berries and fruit organically, using permaculture techniques.
If you are looking for land to grow on yourself, or you want to go into partnership on a small organic market garden, they are calling for expressions of interest to either lease part of the garden for your own growing business, or go into partnership with the existing organic market garden enterprise,
It’s very small scale for a market garden, or very large scale if you want to grow your own produce to eat and preserve yourself – half an acre of established garden beds.
If you want to sell your produce, the farm has close access to great towns with plenty of people who appreciate organic produce, or you could even pop down the highway to sell in Melbourne.
For more information: Website : www.metcalfeminifarm.com.au
Facebook page : Metcalfe Mini-Farm
Young farmers Connect- EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
31. Hepburn Wholefoods Cookbook
Hepburn Wholefoods is making a Wholefoods Cookbook that encapsulates the HWC ethos, our community and your favourite recipes using predominantly HWC ingredients. Our aim is to have the Cookbook released by the end of 2022 as a commemoration of 10 years of operation for HWC. We have a group working on this wonderful project, if you would like to join us please get in touch. The form for submission is here: https://forms.gle/ApwTevmAkzYP6mfH7
To submit your recipes please use the digital form attached and fill in all sections. For copyright reasons we cannot publish word-for-word recipes that have already been published, however if you have altered a recipe and made it your own feel free to submit it and please indicate the source in the form. Recipe submissions close 30th June.
Are you an artist or illustrator, or know someone who is? We would love to hear from you! There will also be a paper copy of the form available at Wholefoods along with a submission box. We are looking forward to seeing all your favourite ways to cook with our wonderful produce!
Email Charlie with any questions: charlie@hepburnwholefoods.org.au
Getting on top of waste management at the Wholefoods Collective
A project currently running in the background at HWC is helping us to deal with our cumbersome wax box and foam box problem. Many food deliveries were being made in these boxes, and there is limited opportunity for reuse due to damage or soiling. There is also currently no way these can be recycled at local transfer stations, meaning foam boxes were nearly always ending up in landfill.
We have now acquired a pool of 60 heavy duty stackable and re-useable crates, funded via the Hepburn Shire’s Towards Zero Emissions grant. The crates will circulate amongst our local producers so they can package their produce and make deliveries with them. A three month trial will keep track of usage and evaluate any issues or opportunities. If successful, we hope to expand this system to a wider group of producers.
Other things we’re doing for waste management include having ongoing conversations with suppliers to advocate for minimal or waste free packaging options, composting small amounts of food scraps at the shop (larger amounts of food scraps go to volunteer’s home compost bins), sending out cardboard boxes into the community for use in creating garden beds, and recycling the soft plastics that come with a lot of the bulk dry goods. If you have any clever ideas about further ways we can reduce our waste, we’d love to hear from you.
Opening hours
Wednesdays 2-4pm
Thursdays 3-5pm
Saturdays 11am-1pm
Location: 11 Perrins Street, Daylesford,
Membership: $40 per year, $20 per year concession, FREE for volunteers
32. Arisaig Healing and Wellness Retreat in Yandoit
Knoydart building: Our main bulding is the “Knoydart” building. It is designed from the ground up to be a multidimensional space allowing for a vast array of activities to be conducted. Knoydart is nestled in it’s own secluded bush setting among young eucalyptus and acacia trees. Click here for more details.
33. Castlemaine State Festival
When: April 7th – 10th
Where: Castlemaine Goods Shed and venues throughout Castlemaine
What: Dialogues 2022 – Change Your Thinking
A curation of dynamic writers and theorists from a diverse range of fields will come together for Dialogues 2022 – Change Your Thinking, a collaborative reflection on the issues of ‘CHANGE.’ Dialogues 2022 – Change Your Thinking aims to stimulate active discourse where speakers and audiences challenge, inform, reassure and inspire each other. The program will include keynotes, panel discussions, in conversation events, literary lunches and poetic creative interventions, all designed to encourage engagement, where topical issues will be examined through dialogue and reflection.
Featuring progressive thinkers and writers from Australia and beyond (international artists will participate via digital live stream) discussing all aspects of ‘CHANGE’ and the impact of change in our community, on us as individuals, on our economy and the environmental landscape. Speakers will challenge and engage with the audience, encouraging them to instigate, embrace, reject and consider the outcomes of change along the way.
The line-up of writers and guests include Bill and Chloe Shorten, Van Badham, Claire G Coleman, Julia Banks, Tim Burrowes*, John Safran*, ArunDitha*, Ms Gabrielle Chan, Dr Anika Molesworth*, Ms Alex Kelly, Stephanie Alexander, Julie Gibbs, Ms Kristin Gill, Hayley West, Anna Lyons*, Louise Winter*, Evonne Madden, Annie Smithers, Jodi Newcombe, Jeff Sparrow, Rebecca Huntley*, Lidia Thorpe, Jon Faine, Derek Guille, Dr Gordon Parker AO*, Caroline Kell, Jeremy Forbes, Lucy Mayes, Eliza Hull, ArunDitha, Theo Kwek*, Sarah Walker, Ennis Cehic, Cate Kennedy and Jean Seizure*.
The entire Dialogues 2022 program will be live streamed allowing accessibility for audiences who cannot attend physically due to health vulnerabilities or disability. If lockdown or other significant COVID restrictions apply during the event dates, the entire project will be delivered online.
*Appearing via video link
34. New Economy Network- NENA- A Well-being Economy
2022 Professional Development Course: ‘Building a Wellbeing Economy: Foundations for Learning and Practice’
8 week course from Tuesday 19 April to Tuesday 7 June 2022
Co-hosted by NENA and Yunus Centre, Griffith University
Live classes will be held ONLINE for 8 weeks, every Tuesday, 4pm – 6pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)
After hosting highly successful courses in 2020 and 2021, NENA and the Yunus Centre are pleased to be offering our 8 week “Building a Wellbeing Economy” professional development course again in 2022.
Registrations now open
35. Voting for nature and the climate- Bendigo ACF
- active campaigning in the street
- being a presence (street theatre, holding signs in public)
- talking to friends and neighbours
- Letter Writing – politicians and the media
- arranging media releases
- taking climate conversations to local events
- joining talk-back radio conversations
- admin tasks for the group
- running information stalls
- make posters
- distributing Climate Action Now signs
There is also training and support for conversations about climate for the less confident who may be hesitating about getting out there.
36. Food for Thought
36.1 Commons in a Wellbeing Economy, (NENA- WEAll briefing paper) examines the inadequacies of our two dominant systems of resource governance–the market and the state–and argues that a better model of resource governance lies in one of the oldest human systems: the commons.
Read WEAll’s briefing paper here
36.2 Cutting Through the Greenwash- The Guardian
Finding a decent energy retailer can be a challenge, especially with so many companies greenwashing their products.
