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Sustainable Hepburn Association
Renewing the Earth (SHARE)
DIARY DATES summary
June 19 Community Dinner
June 21 Daylesford Dharma School Family Quiz Day Fundraiser
June 25 Hepburn Sustainable Schools Meeting
July 2 Award-Winning SolaMate inventor speaks at Members' Forum on "Greening Our Homes"
July 25 Advance notice Dr Stuart Hill, more details to come next newsletter
Aug 9 Dr Mark Diesendorf, Climate Change Expert and author, event "How Citizens Acting Together Can Save the Planet"
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Community Dinner - Friday 19th June
Solstice Dinner, music and dance, featuring local food.
When: 6.30 pm Friday, June 19
Where: Daylesford Town Hall
Contact: Hepburn Relocalisation Network
Men's Yoga Retreat - 19 - 21 June
Do you want more out of your ...Relationships? Work? Parenting?
Explore the spirit of man, Practical Yoga sessions for men, Healing through lore / law (with Ross & Wadadig), Connect with other men
Where: Rocklyn Yoga Centre near Daylesford
When: 19- 21 June
Fee: $210
Information: Phone SriRam (David Tries) 0448 904 749
Bookings: Phone Rocklyn Yoga Centre 03 5345 7434
www.yogavic.com yogarock@satyananda.net
Daylesford Dharma School Family Quiz Day Fundraiser - Sunday 21st June
Australia's first Buddhist school began in Daylesford this year. This is a warm invitation for local families to share afternoon tea, Quiz prowess, Buddhist dedication of merit, music by Flatfoot Henry, auction of Leonard Cohen's print plus great local stuff, a supervised kids activities room and solstice celebration...all in all a good time for a good cause.
Where: Innspired @ Daylesford Inn, 2891 Ballan Rd Daylesford
When: Sunday 21st June 2- 5 pm
Cost: Adults $20, Child $10, siblings $5
RSVP: info@dharmaschool.com.au or call Andrea on 5348 2866
Hepburn Sustainable Schools meeting - Thursday 25th June
A great opportunity to meet with other schools and support each other to be more sustainable. Find out what has been happening at the secondary college and their experiences with Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI).
Where: Daylesford Secondary College
When: Thursday 25th June at 3.30 pm
Further information: info@hrea.org.au or call Fiona on 5348 4822
SHARE "Greening Your Home" Forum - Thursday 2nd July
Hear the inventor of the award-winning SolaMate share 'before' and 'after' data of his home makeover and talk about products available to help reduce carbon emissions, including SolaMate solar air heating, cooling and ventilation system (as seen on ABC's New Inventors).
Where: Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre
When: Thursday 2nd July 7pm (open committee meeting at 6pm)
RSVP: info@hrea.org.au or call Fiona on 5348 4822
Mark Deisendorf Event - Sunday 9th Aug
Dr Mark Diesendorf is a leading academic and author and will be touring in August. Put the date in your diary as it promises to be a great event.
Where: Daylesford Inn
When: Sunday 9th August
RSVP: info@hrea.org.au or call Fiona on 5348 4822
LOCAL NEWS
Green Gym in Creswick & Daylesford
Volunteer with Conservation Volunteers Australia and Parks Victoria and get involved in walking track maintenance, weed control and public amenities restoration works. Transport to the various sites can be arranged.
Where : Locations include Sailors Falls, Tipperary Springs and Slatey Creek.
Contact: Gail Weston on 1800 032 501.
The Benefits of a Community Bank
Following in the footsteps of Maldon Community Bank, which fully owned by their local community, Daylesford and District is on track to establish a community owned bank for this region. Maldon Community Bank has put more than one million dollars back into the community through grants and funding since its inception.
They have initiated several projects of interest to sustainability groups. It has paid for solar panels at the local footy club, exchanged 9000 light globes in homes and businesses and established a locally legal tender voucher call Maldon Dollars. Maldon Dollars support local business to keep the money in the community. For those familiar with the Transition Towns concept this is very similar to the Totnes Pound. Daylesford and district members approached the Bendigo bank after recognising the value of having a bank owned by the community and what it could offer to local businesses, associations and residents.
The bank will proceed in this region if there is enough interest. This means written pledges of $750,000 spread across some 300 community members to invest as shareholders with a minimum share of $500 and maximum of $100,000. The committee says it is more than one third of the way towards its target.
Whilst not legally binding, the pledges do need to be in writing for the bank to act. The proposed bank is in alignment with the SHARE values and mission of cultivating sustainable community.
Yoga Ashram goes Sustainable
Visitors and regulars at the Yoga Ashram at Rocklyn enjoyed an enlightening workshop at their Sustainable Living weekend in June. As part of their monthly themed weekends their focus this time was on wise use of energy. They learnt how to use power meters to measure the electrical outputs of each appliance and identify the big energy spenders in the centre as well as to connecting with the spiritual significance of connecting with the earth.
For groups interested in hosting or attending sustainability workshops contact SHARE at info@hrea.org.au.
SHARE Website coming soon
SHARE is in the process of developing its new website which is much more user friendly which will enable us to keep members up to date with news, events, information and links for members. There will be space for local community groups to share information.
Contact Fiona on 5348 4822 if you are interested in a page for your group.
Calling for Members Comment on Climate Change Green Paper
The Victorian Climate Change Green Paper was released in early June and is calling for comment. This is an impressively wordy document but one worthy of comment if you are up for it. Submissions in response can be made up until 30 September, and there will be a number of public forums.
The closest ones are
* Bendigo - 17 July 2009, 10am to 1pm, * Melbourne - 21 July 2009, 10am to 1pm
* Geelong - 22 July 2009, 10am to 1pm.
SHARE is interested in hearing your comments. You can download the document from Victorian climate change website: www.climatechange.vic.gov.au
NEWS FROM ELSEWHERE
Federal Government Solar Rebates closed
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts closed the Solar Homes and Communities Rebate Scheme on 9th June. The rebates will be replaced by 'Solar Credits'. More information is available at www.environment.gov.au.
Renters Sustainability Guide
Are renters legally able to change their showerheads? How can you make your toilet waste less water when you don't have dual flush?
Sometimes it's not easy to find answers to these questions, so Environment Victoria has put together the Victorian Green Renters' Guide, to answer these and more.
It's full of suggestions which can be done on a shoe string budget, and the guide also includes information on government rebates, a checklist for people looking for a new place to rent, and an explanation of renting law in Victoria.
The Victorian Green Renters' Guide can be downloaded from www.envict.org.au/rentersguide/. It's free.
Developments in solar technology
SolarBotanic will introduce artificial trees that make use of renewable
energy from the sun and wind.
They are an efficient clean and
environmentally sound means of collecting solar radiation and wind energy.http://www.solarbotanic.com/
Register of GM-Free Farms, Businesses & Councils launched
Gene Ethics has just launched a new national register of GM-free goods, services and locations at http://www.geneethics.org. The google map is a work in progress and many more listings will be posted soon
Did you know???
You can get FREE low energy, compact fluorescents (CFL's) fitted in your home by Envirosaver, www.envirosaver.com.au.
The service is funded by Renewable Energy Certificates for their work, which can be sold like shares.
MACRO WHOLEFOODS ACQUIRED BY WOOLWORTHS
The eight-store Macro chain - originally founded by ''Billboard King'' Pierce Cody - will now be rebranded as Thomas Dux Grocer, a fresh grocer/deli launched by Woolworths last year, which currently operates two stores in Sydney's Lane Cove and Paddington.
Organics is not just about the food. Its also important that the economics of the industry focuses on the smaller retailer and growers so that we don't repeat the problems on the conventional food production systems; where one or two key players have major influence over the entire chain.
In Britain and the USA, there has been a large backlash again the major organic stores because of their treatment of growers, staff and local communities. Lets hope Australian organic consumers have the foresight not to repeat the same mistakes.
Support your local small businesses and keep your dollars in your community.
SHARE business
IDEAS / PROJECTS LIST
The SHARE committee have been collecting good ideas from Hepburn Shire residents. Each newsletter one idea from the ideas list will be featured. In the future, the web site will offer a way of commenting on, or developing, these ideas….until then if you email your comments to us they will be added to the ideas list
- No 1 Idea: Utilise the drop of moving water from Wombat Hill to generate power.
- No 2 Idea: Light rail service to Trentham (and eventually Glenlyon, Creswick, Ballan & Castlemaine)
- No 3 idea: Every flush toilet in the shire (the country) to be replaced with a sealed unit composting toilet.
- No 4 idea: For townies: Revolutionise our rubbish collection with one action! Put your rubbish bin out once a fortnight and recycling bin once a month, coordinate with your neighbours and preferably with your whole street and waste (and the contractor’s truck fumes, noise, and fuel consumption) is cut by 50% !
- No 5 idea: Start a CRAG group (see above).
- No 6 idea: Are there other people interested in participating in a regular veggie swap? If so contact us at info@hrea.org.au
- No 7 idea: How green is your home? Take the GreenHome Challenge at http://www.acfonline.org.au/custom_greenhome/myActionPlan.asp. Let us know if you get inspired.
- No 8 idea: Share gardening equipment with your neighbours to save money, resources & build connections with the people around you.
- No 9 idea: With the Federal Government about to give all taxpayers a $900 bonus as part of its economic stimulus package how about adding $100 and investing in Hepburn Wind?
- No 10 idea: Make good use of the net bag that your citrus fruit comes by tying it into a know and using it as a scourer for puts and pans.
- No 11 idea: Compost to Combat climate change!
- No 12 idea: Learn more and connect with others interested in living sustainably - book for the SHARE Sustainability Workshops and bring a friend.
- No 13 idea: Leave the car at home. Consider that 1 litre of petrol embodies 9.67kWh of energy. An average car uses 1 litre to travel 10km. So every time you drive 10km, you use almost 10kWh of power. For a return trip to Melbourne, that's about 260kWh of energy or 15 days of electricity for an average household! That train's looking like a better option.
- No 14 idea: Environment Victoria and the Total Environment Centre have launched a new campaign for a national e-waste recycling scheme. REBORN is calling on federal and state environment ministers to give televisions, computers and other old electronics a second life. Visit www.reborn.org.au and tell Peter Garrett you support e-waste recycling.
SHARE is a facilitator for sustainability projects in the Hepburn Shire, encouraging community co-creation of exciting sustainability and relocalisation projects (there are no shortage of possibilities). SHARE is ready for your involvement, assistance, help, and ready for our region to be part of the drive by people everywhere who are making a difference in their local areas.
The email news comes out each fortnight. To submit sustainability focused items for the next SHARE email newsletter, email to info@hrea.org.au.
Please supply the words ready to go in, don’t send a flier or poster for the team to extract the information from.
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