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.

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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!!

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

The Song Keepers

Doesn't this film sound wonderful?

If you would like to attend the screening, we encourage you to join our car pool. Whether you are offering or seeking a lift, please meet at 5.30pm on Friday at the Albert St community garden (beside the library). We will leave at 5.45pm to arrive in Kyneton at 6.15pm in time to park, get our tickets and settle into our seats. Hope you can join us!

Living the Change film screening & Q+A

Exciting news! Jordan and Antoinette from Happen Films will be visiting our shire later this month. During their stay we will be screening their latest film, 'Living the Change', and will have a Q+A with them afterwards, followed by a shared supper. Entry is 5 bucks.

Here are the details:

Here's the trailer: (If you are reading this in your inbox, you can click through to the trailer here.)

No need to book, just come along, but having said that, best get there on time as this event will sell out. We hope you can make it.

Deep Listening / Dadirri - A Documentary For Our Time

Friday July 17th , 7.30 at the Daylesford Town Hall
Yes, This film has been a while in the organising but it is really happening this time, and meet and discuss with the film maker/ director, Helen Iles (of Living In The Future .org), so be  sure to let your mates know about the film... send this poster around to help us get the word out about this once off opportunity. Helen, from Wales has been living in Australia with her partner, a medical researcher for just over a year and is coming back from the Northern Territory soon where she has been further documenting one of the aboriginal communities/people there and will be heading back to the UK in the near future so this is truly a rare opportunity. Book now for the early bird ticket

Milpirri - winds of Change

                                   

The Chikukwa Project

Our next film showing at the Savoia Thursday June 12th 7.30pm is

The Chikukwa Project

Where once the people of the Chikukwa villages in Zimbabwe suffered hunger, malnutrition and high rates of disease, this community has turned its fortunes around using permaculture farming techniques. Complementing these strategies for food security, they have built their community strength through locally controlled and initiated programs for permaculture training, conflict resolution, women’s empowerment, primary education and HIV management.

The Chikukwa Project - Trailer from Gillian Leahy on Vimeo.

Now they have a surplus of food and the people in these villages are healthy and proud of their achievements. Their degraded landscape has been turned into a lush paradise.
A brother and sister team travelled to Zimbabwe and made this film which shows why this project has been so successful.

Last year, John Seed and David Holmgren did a fundraiser for this remarkable project that has existed for the last 20 years. The villagers  wanted to replicate their programs in further villages with the help of Ulli & Eli Westermann and now this is happening.
HRN is fundraising for Permaculture Aid Yolanda in the Phillippines so your $5 donation will go towards the people trying to rebuild their lives post typhoon
Click to enlarge the report

Degrowth & Dirt

Research & Degrowth, (R&D) is an international association dedicated to research, training, awareness raising and event organisation around degrowth. The members of R&D are not only dedicated to the study of degrowth but also see themselves as actors in a process they define as a voluntarily chosen path to reduce production and consumption in order to achieve environmental sustainability, quality of life, freedom and social justice.

With its work, R&D intends to encourage researchers, practitioners, activists and representatives of civil society to jointly develop proposals for a sustainable reduction of growth. In the video below, Federico Demaria and Filka Sekulova of R&D speak about the need for declining growth and about the difference between degrowth and a recession. They also explain how the crisis could be an opportunity to rethink our concept of wealth and to build a society in which we consume less and share more. 

(If you are reading this as an email, you will have to click through to watch the film on the website.)

You can read more here.

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Don't forget our 50th HRN film night is this Thursday: Dirt! The movie with heart and soil. Hope to see you at the Savoia at 7.30pm.

Our 50th Film Night!

Come along and help celebrate our 50th HRN film night, and you just might win a special door prize. Hope to see you there.

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Film night #49: Ecuador

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Here's the trailer:
(If you're reading this in your inbox, you may need to click through to the blog to watch.)

Roots, Leaves & Seeds

Adam Grubb (VEG, Permablitz) and his girlfriend Annie Raser-Rowland have just released the excellent Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia.

HRN is selling copies at the reduced rate of $18. Please email us to order your copy.

The book reveals how to distinguish a tasty sandwich-filler from its dangerous look-alike, which weeds are among the most nutritious vegetables ever tested, and how you cook with delicious nettles without fear of being stung

It will forever change your concept of where to go looking for lunch.

* * *

Community gardener Brett Adamson has just returned from 6 months in Afghanistan with Médecins Sans Frontières. He is just about to head over to South Sudan for a 3 month mission and is seeking donations of organic seeds to help revitalise the local community food system and seed bank over there. To make your donation, please bring your seeds to the next Daylesford Community Food Garden working bee this Saturday Nov 10 at the Albert St garden between 10am and 12pm.

The working bee also coincides with the Daylesford Harvest Swap Meet, so don't forget to bring your excess garden produce to swap.

* * * 

Another community gardener Patrick Jones has just made a gorgeous little film about how (and why) he makes dandelion coffee:

Reminder & Retrofitting

Hi all, this is a reminder that if you're interested in doing the beer-making workshop this weekend, please let us know ASAP as we don't yet have the numbers.

* * *

There was a great article in The Age a few days ago about retrofitting the suburbs that focused on David Holmgren's vision for what the 'burbs can one day be again:

"...places where people can grow more of their own food, work at home and meet their needs while consuming far fewer resources...You can minimise your costs by slowing down, going fewer places and being more productive with the underutilised fixed assets you've already got."

For further reading, the journo, Michael Green has some other interesting articles on his website.

If you're interested in reading David's full report, Retrofitting the suburbs for the energy descent future, you can download it from the Simplicity Institute website.

You can also watch a fantastic talk that David gave on the same subject at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne: 

More Weeds, More Wool

Hope to see you all this Thursday for our 48th film night:

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And some photos from today's Wool Spinning & Carding Day: 

Wool & The Wonder of Weeds

BYO wool project, a spinning wheel if you have one and a home grown/home cooked contribution for a shared lunch.

We also have another film night coming up: The Wonder of Weeds (BBC4) on

Thursday July 26th at the Savoia Hotel at 7.30pm. Dinner bookings on 5348 2314.

Unfortunately due to lack of numbers we have had to cancel the shoe-making workshop. If you've paid, please contact us for a refund. We intend to restructure the workshop and will possibly offer three separate components. We will also be applying for funding to bring the cost down.

Hope everyone is keeping nice and snug. Looking forward to seeing you at the wool day and/or film night.

Events Aplenty

Come and join us for:

a day of wool spinning and carding in the back room of the Daylesford Town Hall.

What better thing to do on a winter’s day than to spend time with others in a warm place, chatting and playing creatively with wool??
 

There was lots of interest shown at the Good Life Festival for a group to get together regularly. Join us for the first of these on

Saturday June 23^rd from 10am to 2pm

This is a free event. Please BYO lunch to share. 

also:
come and celebrate the Winter Solstice with us.

Call 5348 3636 or email us to book for the shared dinner at the Town Hall on 21st June.

also:
we have been awarded a small grant from Hepburn Wind to assist with keeping our resilience workshops affordable. If you are interested in learning how to make your own shoes (with Duncan McHage) make sure you phone or email to book as there are limited spaces available.

also:
if you missed Nicole Foss in Daylesford, here's your chance to catch up; the Trentham Sustainability Group is holding a film night showing Nicole Foss'

“A COMPASS FOR TURBULENT TIMES”

On Tuesday 19 June at 7.30 pm at the Trentham Neighbourhood Centre.
 
Entry by donation. Stay and have a chat afterwards. Supper provided.

The Hermit's Masterpiece

Hi folks, we have another exciting film event coming up:

The Hermit's Masterpiece
 
Thursday 24 May 2012
Conti House, Hepburn Springs 
Local & organic dinner available from 7pm. $15
Bookings essential: 5348 3636 or email HRN

Film starts 8pm

Hope you can make it

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A New We

Hi folks, we have another exciting film night coming up:

A New We - you can watch the trailer here.

Thursday 3 May 2012
Savoia Hotel, Hepburn Springs 
Dinner available from 6pm (bookings: 5348 2314)
Film starts 7:30pm

Hope you can make it.

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 In other news, we are busily preparing for National Permaculture Day on Saturday May 5: a festive day of activities, workshops, music, food and stalls at Rea Lands Park. Then on Sunday May 6 there will be tours of some inspiring local gardens.

We will be putting a call out for volunteers soon, but if you'd like to get in first please feel free to email Meg with your offers of skills, and availability to help out before or on the day.

Growing Change

Thursday 12th April 2012
Savoia Hotel Hepburn Springs 
Dinner available from 6pm (bookings: 5348 2314)
Film starts 7:30pm

Hope to see you there!

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Dinner and Decadent Film Night

On Thursday 22nd March we will have our first sustainable eating out dinner of the year followed by a screening of the film Decadence. Please join us at Conti at 6.30pm for our usual organic/wild tucker and see the film afterwards. Bookings essential on 5348 3636 or email us.

In other news, the lovely Ro has been busy making kefir and has some excess grains she is offering to HRN members free of charge. If you're interested, please contact her. And if you'd like to know more about all the wonderful benefits of kefir, there is some great info here.

Old Is New Again, Transition Conference in Melbourne, Rod Quantock in Daylesford & film night this Thursday

Well, just take a look at the Automatic Earth blog: October 30 2011: Reviving the Department of Subsistence Homesteads and discover 'the solutions' from the States to the1933 great depression...anything look familiar?

You can watch Nicole Foss explaining finance - highly informative but give yourself a free evening and a nice snack before you settle in. Or shall we do a film night so we can talk about it?

You may be interested in this MAV Transition Conference but if you can't get there (or it is a stress on the finances), contact a Councillor or Shire officer to suggest they go.

SHARE is hosting Rod Quantock again so if you want to join us on the HRN table, let us know. The cost is $19/head.

Oh, and don't forget film night this Thursday and in preparation, think about what seeds you have or could collect to swap/gift this year.

Garden Party

This is just a reminder about the Garden Party this Sunday at Rea Lands Park.

The weather is forecast to be 20˚C and very spring-like, so bring a picnic and rug, your loved ones and come on down!

There was a bit of a rush on the seedlings we had for sale yesterday so not everybody got what they needed. Florian will have a seedling stall at the Sunday market this week so maybe you could pick some up some from him then. Alternatively, please order some (see list here) through HRN and they will probably be here next Wednesday with bulk foods.

Don't forget that this Thursday, November 3rd we'll be watching Juliette of the Herbs at the Savoia at 7.30pm. Regular menu available.

See you Sunday, folks!