EarthChat

Euroa Arboretum - Growing Back the Bush for over 30 years!

Euroa Arboretum workers, Bronte Haines, Charlotte Langman, and Nelly Watson join Ruth Yeatman to talk about the wonderful conservation work of the ‘Arb’, its many offerings, and why they love working in this truly beautiful natural environment.Spanning 27 hectares, the Euroa Arboretum offers a unique experience to spend time in the natural environment of northeastern Victoria. Working with traditional owners, from the Taungurung Land and Waters Council, the ‘Arb’ is restoring the natural environment to ensure it is preserved for future generations.Established in 1990 the Euroa Arboretum has become a beloved destination for visitors wanting an outdoor experience as well as being a leading service provider of ecological restoration supplies and information. Originally the depot site for the freeway work to by-pass Euroa, the land was handed over by VicRoads to the local community. A volunteer Committee of Management transformed it to a beautiful park of woodland and wetland environments, walking tracks, picnic areas and an indigenous plant nursery.From 2000, with the help of Natural Heritage Trust funding, the ‘Arb’ established the on-site Seed Orchard to provide an accessible and sustainable source of indigenous seed for regional revegetation. From then on the ‘Arb’ has generated income from plant and seed sales, growing approximately 60,000 indigenous seedlings per year including providing seed to the Goulburn Broken Indigenous Seed Bank at Dookie which, in 2019, moved across to the Arboretum where it is now run from.In the ensuing 24 years, the ‘Arb’ expanded its many Conservation initiatives offering a myriad of wonderful innovative services including environmental education, running field days and workshops to promote awareness of and research into local habitat protection and restoration activities; a bush kinder; lovely walking trails; actively managed grasslands; a bush crew you can hire; and, you can even go canoeing and fish (with a licence) for Rainbow Trout!. The ‘Arts’ are also included with beautiful steel sculpture panels produced by local artists. So far, 98 bird species have been sighted. Birders, see if you can add to this list! There’s so much more to be found at this very special and thriving Arboretum. Check out these ‘highlights’ : https://euroaarboretum.com.au/highlights/ On sale are a wide variety of native plants for purchase at very reasonable prices so you too can provide food and habitat for birds and insects in your garden.Volunteering is also possible at the ‘Arb’:                                                                              https://euroaarboretum.com.au/volunteer-at-the-euroa-arboretum/ 

Being a Friend of the Earth

This week Tim Budge and Peter Lockyer chat with the legendary Cam Walker about forests, climate change, supporting Traditional Owners and his enduring love of the High Country.Cam is the campaigns co-ordinator with Friends of the Earth in Melbourne.Friends of the Earth (FoE) is a grassroots, community-based environmental organisation and Cam is responsible for co-ordinating the various campaigns and projects of the organisation. FoE takes a community empowerment approach to its campaigns. He has worked for decades on grassroots environmental campaigns, starting with the Franklin River in 1982, and with indigenous communities, trade unions and civil society groups.In the last three years he has focused on identifying forests of high conservation value in the Victorian high country and campaigning for their protection, and working towards an early end to native forest logging across the state. A long community campaign led to the Victorian government announcing it will end all native forest logging in the east of the state by January 2024.He is an active volunteer firefighter, received the National Emergency Medal for his efforts during the Black Summer fires, is a high school teacher by training, with a background in terrestrial ecology. You can read his blog here, read more about Friends of the Earth here.
 

Community Energy and Council energy - good electrification happenings in Mitchell Shire

This week on EarthChat, John Thompson president of Mitchell Community Energy joins Narelle Liepa from Mitchell Shire Council on EarthChat to share some of the good work happening in community renewables in Mitchell Shire. What is happening?   - A Solar farm at the tip- Jeff's work on the old courthouse- Our proposal for a solar carpark at Chittick Park and Community Batteries- The proposed Energy Hub- And what about the FERA windfarm?
It is an energising conversation, so listen in! Learn more about Mitchell Community Energy here.  On this program, we played Ann's Song and Wind in my Head. We don't have the rights to put them on the podcast, but you can find them on Spotify.

The Heart of Activism

Join Tim Budge and Jessica Morrison as they chat about Jessica's involvement in peace and social justice issues. Jess has been a passionate advocate for working towards peace in situations such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine and has been outspoken in her opposition to war. She discusses the impact of the war on Gaza on innocent people and how Palestinians (and Lebanese) are suffering. She was Executive Officer for the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) for 13 years.
Jess now works for Quakers Australia.
Other topics we discuss include the problem of burnout and how the climate movement needs should be addressing the trauma of fighting for climate action. See here (by Jessica and others) and here (by Charlie Wood) for good articles on this topic.
We also discussed her work with Pay The Rent. Paying the Rent is about non-Indigenous people honouring the Sovereignty of Aboriginal people; it is a somewhat more just way of living on this stolen land.
 

Performing Arts Benefit Planetary Wellbeing, S24, Ep38

Ruth chats with creative team members of the Seymour Performers Workshop (SPW) to explore the far reaching benefits of the performing arts, along with exciting news of their latest production and the creation of a Community Choir.
They explore how creating music theatre along with the act of singing creates social, physical, and mental benefits, not only for the performers but also for the audience who is invited to interact and reciprocate through their attention, engagement, and reaction. This inclusive co-creation allows a collective exploration of new ways to look at the world - an opportunity that can ultimately benefit all species and potentially foster planetary wellbeing.
Using the ‘Visual and Performing Arts to encourage Pro-Environmental Behaviour’, edited by David Curtis, (first published in 2020 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing), provides evidence that artistic methods provide valuable tools to enhance communication about the environment and degradation, and create empathy for nature. Artistic methods can also help us find new ways of looking at a problem, to express solutions, and facilitate community processes. These authors show that the arts and artists are an important part of changing our society so that we exist more sustainably into the future.
Peter Read and Caitlyn Trotter from Seymour Performers’ Workshop join EarthChat for this interesting conversation when we’ll also hear the latest SPW news.About Peter Read:Peter began his working life in the theatre. After many detours and moving to the Seymour district in the mid 1990s, he began performing again, first in Broadford then starting the Seymour Performers Workshop with fellow local performer, Kerry Hogan.Over the past 20 years, Peter has been an actor, writer, director and president of the Workshop as well as a drama teacher in both Seymour and Broadford.
About Caitlyn TrotterHaving graduated in A Bachelor of Music (voice) at Monash University in 2018, Caitlyn returned to her rural roots to pursue a career in music and performing arts education. Government projects like 'The Song Room' as a Teaching Artist in rural primary schools, along with becoming a Voice teacher at Notre Dame College, Shepparton has led her to specialize in teaching Voice performance. In addition to performing herself with local theatre and singing groups, Caitlin enjoys the role of choir director for local community choirs. She looks forward to bringing her experience and knowledge of Music and the performing arts to the Seymour area. Read more about the Seymour Performers Workshop here
 

Managing growth, caring for the environment, S24, Ep37

Listen in to this week's EarthChat where Marie Gerrard and Ruth Yeatman chat to Wallan environment advocate Claudia James about managing growth while caring for the environment. They look at the challenges and opportunities for improving amenities particularly in our high growth areas and focus on the connections between health, wellbeing and nature and practical ways of planning these connections in new developments.Claudia will also be involved in the jointly organised Natural Treasures Walk, to take place on Sunday 6th October, at Hidden Valley Rail Reserve. More details here: www.beam.org.au/eventsRead more about the Wallan Environment Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/992752334090457/

Good Coffee and Climate Action - S24, Ep36

Tim Budge and Peter Lockyer chat with Andrew Mahar, AM about taking practical steps to support climate action around the world. Andrew is an internationally recognised social entrepreneur, having spent the past 35 years seeding, nurturing, and mentoring over 15 successful social enterprises, both in Australia and Timor-Leste. This includes working with Timorese farmers to produce and market delicious coffee.Andrew was awarded an AM (a Member of the Order of Australia) in 2013 and has also been recognised internationally, including winning the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award in 2001. Andrew has been working and advising on developing social enterprises in Timor-Leste since 2003. Read more about his work, including purchasing carbon credits at https://withoneseed.org.au/ or you can buy some of that delicious Timorese coffee at https://cornerstorenetwork.org.au/.

Birds in our region with local twitcher Peter Sawyer S 24, Ep 35

Peter Sawyer is a Seymour resident with a passion for watching birds. Birds in town, on the Goulburn River and recently at Borroloola in the Northern Territory. On EarthChat, Peter Lockyer teases out some of the delights of Peter’s birdwatching, and of threatened species still about, and what we all could do to assist in their conservation. It's been a wet year and birdlife is abundant.You can find Rainbow Bee Eaters along the Goulburn River, or a Red-Browed Treecreeper on stringybark trees in the Tallarook Forest, or Wedge-tailed Eagles cautiously eyeing of smaller creatures and roadkill.Peter Sawyer’s interest in birds stems from a life outdoors and curiosity about what is out there.  Birdwatching is something you can do anywhere and is complementary to his other hobbies/passions of golf, cycling, kayaking, camping and fishing.With his brother Ron, Peter has made thousands of contributions to eBird and are credited with adding 2 birds to the Australian list as the first people to see these birds in Australia.BUT WAIT, THERE IS MORE! This month, EarthChat is giving away a copy of the wonderful book "Sand Talk" by Tyson Yunkaporta. To be in the running, just message BEAM on Facebook or email info@beam.org.au with the tag #sandtalk and your name will be in the hat.
 

Treaty for Victoria Update S24, Ep34

Ruth and Phil welcome Levi Power and Jarvis Atkinson from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria who bring us the latest Victorian Treaty news. Treaty is an opportunity for First Peoples to have a greater say and control over matters that affect them. It is an opportunity to secure meaningful structural reform to ensure First Peoples make the decisions about their communities, their culture, and their country. Australia is the only Commonwealth country without a Treaty with its First Nation’s People but this is about to change with the State of Victoria leading the way.The First People’s Assembly of Victoria is the independent and democratically elected body to represent Traditional Owners of Country and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Victoria.Having conducted a careful and thorough consultation process over the last 7 years with Indigenous people across the State, The First Peoples’ Assembly have announced they are now ready to commence Treaty negotiations with the State Government of Victoria.The assembly will continue to bring Communities together around the State to decide what priorities they should focus on during the first round of negotiations. This will also help empower the diverse Traditional Owner groups in Victoria to start negotiating Treaties in the areas that reflect their specific aspirations and priorities.For more information go to firstpeoplesvic.org where there is plenty of great information and an invitation to non indigenous Victorians to walk with them on the path to Treaty.About Levi PowerLevi Power is a proud Yorta Yorta man of the Dhulanyagan clan, born, raised and living in Shepparton. He has worked in the Treaty space for the last four years, engaging with Community across the State and is now one of four North East Representatives with the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria.“I want to see a Victoria where the oldest living culture in the world is embraced and celebrated, and the right history is being taught in schools. A Victoria that values Aboriginal Community skills and knowledge.”About Jarvis AtkinsonJarvis Atkinson, a Yorta Yorta man from Shepparton, recounts how his educational experiences led to involvement with the criminal justice system. He describes overcoming addiction, and now he works as one of the NE Engagement Officers with the First Peoples Assembly, promoting Treaty and self-determination in Victoria.Also, this month, EarthChat is giving away a copy of the wonderful book "Sand Talk" by Tyson Yunkaporta. To be in the running, just message BEAM on Facebook or email beamenvirogroup@gmail.com with the tag #sandtalk and your name will be in the hat.

Granite to Goulburn group tackles landscape restoration

On this week's EarthChat, Vanessa and Ruth talk about landscape restoration and the pilot project Vanessa has coordinated this year with the Granite to Goulburn group (G2G), under the umbrella of the New Futures for Victorian Landcare program. Listen in and learn lots!