Seeds of change: planting out our future

Introducing Hepburn Seeds Savers

"The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness." -Henry David Thoreau

Introducing Hepburn Seeds Savers, the newest member of the HRN family. 

The Hepburn Seed Savers's charter is to help take responsibility for our Shire's local food supply. It will operate out of the Daylesford library, where it will have a permanent installation consisting of small packets containing seeds for vegetables and herbs that grow and thrive in our bio-region. 

The day to day loaning of the seeds will be managed by the Hepburn Shire Council library staff. 

How the Seed Library works:

• Borrowers check out the seeds, then
• Grow the seeds in their gardens
• Use the crops to provide food for their family + friends
• Allow some plants to mature (to produce viable seed)
• Save and dry the seeds
• Return the seeds to the library to be repackaged
• The beautiful cycle of life continues…

Before the seed library can get up and running, organiser + seed enthusiast and down right wonderful woman Brenna Fletcher is putting a call out for seeds, and volunteers to be involved in this life honouring new project. 

Please email Hepburn Seed Savers to make a donation of seeds and to get involved.

* * *

Daylesford Extinction Rebellion Second Meet Up

We had Jane Morton (Extinction Rebellion Melbourne) come out and give an inspiring presentation last Tuesday on the climate emergency and what we can do about it. Now we're meeting up again to come to a decision on the best way forward for the emerging Daylesford Extinction Rebellion group.

Tuesday September 24

7pm - 8.30pm
Senior Citizen's Room (rear of Daylesford Town Hall)

We'll be deciding what form we would like our local XR group to take, and what works best for us (i.e. do we want to do a Non-Violent Direct Action training, more workshops, local protests, and what role will Daylesford play in the International rebellion in October?)

This is a free event and everyone is welcome to attend. We'd love to see new faces who couldn't make it last week, and if you can't make it this time, feel free to post ideas on the event page and we'll bring them up at the meeting.

Coffee and tea will be available. BYO snacks/bikkies to share if you would like.
Just a reminder that all HRN events are waste-free. No single use plastic please.

RSVP here.

Thank you to Hepburn's Brenna Quinlan for facilitating the XR group. We love your gutsy energy!!

* * *

Introduction to Natural Dyeing

Discover some of nature’s hidden sources of colour! Plants have been used to dye fibre and fabric for thousands of years and a beautiful natural palette is still available to you without the need for harmful chemicals. Local weeds or kitchen off-cuts can offer harmonious hues in a range of values and intensity. 

This hands-on workshop with Ilka White introduces a selection of local colour possibilities, as well as discussing fibre types, mordanting options and safety of dyes. A shibori technique will also be used to produce patterned cloth.

Sunday 29 September

10am - 4pm

Community Kitchen, 30 Templeton St. Castlemaine

Cost - $95
Details – www.lkawhite.com.au/intro-to-natural-dyeing-castlemaine
Bookings - ilkajanewhite@gmail.com

* * *

Screening of 2040

For those who haven't seen it yet, Hepburn Wind is putting on a free screening of 2040.

The film captures a positive vision of our future where environmental challenges are faced with practical solutions available to us now.

Before the film screening, a panel will discuss how the Hepburn Shire is implementing its own vision to protect our planet and reduce emissions through local projects and the Hepburn Z-NET project.

Thursday October 17

6pm – 9pm

The Palais, 111 Main Road Hepburn Springs

Free screening but bookings are essential. RSVP here.

* * *

Wild Fennel's inaugural workshop

50 people turned up to the first Wild Fennel workshop. 50!! A sure sign that our community is ready to learn about the plants that surround us and to take responsibility for our own health.

A huge thank you to Rosie Cooper and Ali Grace for facilitating the workshop and sharing their knowledges so generously. Have a look at Brenna Quinlan's stunning illustration of the workshop:

Larger version here.

Details for the October Wild Fennel gathering here.

* * *

Mazel tov Hepburn Shire!

Congratulations to Hepburn Shire Council for fessing up to what's happening on our planet and declaring a Climate Emergency at last Tuesday's ordinary council meeting. 

If you'd like to know more about what it means when local councils declare a Climate Emergency you can read more here: www.climateemergencydeclaration.org

From the HSC FB page: 

...Council unanimously resolved to join a growing global movement and declare a climate emergency. This further supports the proactive actions Council is already taking to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, by reducing our own emissions and assisting the community to reduce theirs. With initiatives like the Towards Zero Emissions Roadmap and Z-NET Hepburn Shire, Council and community are at the forefront of localised emissions reduction action.

Wild Fennel's inaugural workshop

Working with our herbal allies

At our recent Wild Fennel dinner it was decided that this exciting new community group will meet on the third Saturday of each month.

Please join us:

Saturday 21st of September

9.30am -12.30pm

Senior Citizen's Kitchen, rear of Daylesford Town Hall

At the first Wild Fennel gathering we will have:

• an introduction to harvesting, processing and storing herbs
• a look at the foundational actions and how to use our physical senses to discern medicinal properties of plants
• a closer look at calendula; medicinal actions, uses and how to make a calendula infused oil

Please bring along with you:

• pen and paper to take notes
• any herbs, plants, seeds or homemade remedies you would like to share at the end of the workshop 

This is a free gathering and everyone is welcome.

Each month, under the tutelage of herbalist Rosie Cooper, Wild Fennel will look at different aspects of herbal medicine and focus on a particular plant, with the intention of reclaiming herbal medicine as an accessible mode of healthcare for ourselves and our community to bring us into closer connection with the land and plants where we live.

We will continue to meet on the third Saturday of each month. For those who are on FB, here is the link to the Wild Fennel group:
www.facebook.com/Wild-Fennel-Hepburn-Shire-Community-Herb-Group-103437367707758

And here is the link to the September event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/601137177081022/

* * *

Some reminders re upcoming events:

Tuesday Sept 17: Extinction Rebellion workshop and info session in Daylesford
Wednesday Sept 18: Daylesford #ClimateStrike Crafternoon
Friday Sept 20: Global Climate Strike, Melbourne
Saturday Oct 5: Daylesford Culture Club
Saturday Oct 12: Daylesford Community Food Gardens monthly working bee
Saturday Oct 19: Wild Fennel
Sunday Oct 20: Daylesford Repair Café

Spring beginnings: our sap is on the rise

The Hepburn Relocalisation Network was established over 10 years ago by Su Dennett and Maureen Corbett with the aim of encouraging local community members to take responsibility for their carbon output and ecological footprint by organising skill sharing workshops, public events, local food dinners, speakers and film nights. HRN's aim has always been to empower people through knowledge sharing, up-skilling, personal accountability and community collectivism.

While HRN supports any action that attempts to put an end to carbon intransigence on a governmental level, we do not encourage households to take a 'business as usual' approach while hoping the government takes action on our behalf. We are not victims unable to take responsibility for ourselves.

Our mother earth is suffering and it is everybody's responsibility to attend to her healing: to embed our hearts, actions and families in the local much more than the global, to reduce our carbon outputs by riding our bikes, walking, taking public transport more and only flying if we really have to, to divest from institutions that fund fossil fuels and destructive projects, to boycott companies that put profit before people and biotas.

We are endorsing the grass roots Extinction Rebellion movement and the Global Climate Strike while we continue to work at the household and community levels.

Extinction Rebellion Hepburn Shire information session

Extinction Rebellion (XR) is an international socio-political movement whose aim is to use civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to protest against climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.

Citing inspiration from grassroots movements XR aims to rally support worldwide around a common sense of urgency to tackle climate breakdown.

Please join us for an XR info session + workshop:

Tuesday September 17 

7pm-9pm

Senior Citizen's Hall (behind the Daylesford Town Hall)

Please bring a plate of supper to share.
This is a free event.
You can RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/429235334356188/

* * *

Global Climate Strike

We celebrate, cherish, honour and respect this beautiful planet of ours. It's time to let our government know we will not tolerate pollution, destruction or disrespect of our world any longer. Let us unite in our voices and march for the sake of every living being now and to come.

Friday 20 September

2pm - 4pm

Treasury Gardens, Spring Street, Melbourne

Jen Bray has created a FB page called Daylesford will be there! Sep 20 Climate Rally 

We have a goal to see over 140 people from Daylesford attend this rally. This figure represents 3.5% of our population, which has been said to be the tipping point number for peaceful protests to start to make real impact on government decision making. In March 1.6 million Australians rallied for the climate. This Strike aims to take that figure to a whole other level.

Students have invited everyone to join them for the biggest ever global #ClimateStrike on Sep 20, three days before the UN Emergency Climate Summit in New York. 

Can you help us reach our target of 140 Daylesfordians (and district) at the Climate Rally on 20 Sep? 

Make a sign! Catch a train! Bring your friends! Have a fun day while we collectivise our voices for the sake of our planet.

* * *

Daylesford Crafternoon - #ClimateStrike

HRN is hosting a crafternoon session to make banners and signs for the September 20 #GlobalClimateStrike!

Wednesday, 18 September 2019

3:30pm - 5:30pm

Daylesford Dharma School (prep class room)

90 Daylesford-Trentham Road, Daylesford

Join us for a creative, fun and purposeful afternoon in the prep classroom of the Dharma School.

BYO paint, brushes, cardboard and other banner materials you may need.

Entry by gold coin donation to the Dharma School's Plant a Tree fundraiser.

Thanks to Fe Porter for running this crafty session.

* * *

Asking Hepburn Shire Council to be truthful

This Tuesday night at Hepburn Shire Council's ordinary meeting in Trentham, HRN co-facilitator Meg Ulman will be asking two questions:

1. The former NSW fire chief, Greg Mullins, recently said in relation to climate change, the horse has truly bolted. 50 fires were burning in NSW in the first week of spring and it's not even an El Nino year. 14,000 homes burnt in California last summer, 9,000 the year before. This new reality is upon us too. Hepburn Shire is rated as the second most fire prone region in the state. Does Hepburn Shire Council unanimously agree that there is a climate emergency?

2. For the sake of our children, future generations and for the sake of life itself, will Hepburn Shire Council stand with over 1,000 other councils around the world, representing over 222 million people, and formally declare a climate emergency?

If you would like to send letters in support of Hepburn Shire's climate emergency declaration, please email shire@hepburn.vic.gov.au to let them know.