Alicia Bales

Faculty Ecological Sustainability Project Officer

North Coast TAFE

PO Box 528 Port Macquarie 2443

P: +61 2 6586 2263 f: +61 2 6586 2333 m: 0439 882 809

e: alicia.bales1@tafensw.edu.au w: northcoast.tafensw.edu.au

It has been a big week for Transition Bellingen. The fully booked “Jam and Conserve Making” workshop organised by Olivia was described as “very inspiring” and the “Nap-In” organised by Thea received international support and was reported by the Coffs Advocate. Great fun but with a serious message. Have a look at Solveig Larsen’s beautiful photographs still on display in the Bellingen Library.

We do not spend enough time reflecting on events that have taken place. We will include in future, a section on achievments – very short but will also be happy to include longer reports as attachments or links.

We like to provide information on events from whatever source, if relevant to Transition Initiative ideas. We admire the work of other groups in Bellingen, do not claim any ownership but like to pass on the information.

For instance we are in awe of the work being done at North Bank Community Gardens – they have just installed a bank of solar panels and they receive support from many individuals and businesses, including generous help from Norco. They will always need donations to keep their work going.

Transition Bellingen News

Free Market Sunday 3 July at the Bellingen Showgrounds 2-4pm.

Reskilling Workshops Sunday 24 July 2011 – Compost Making 9am – 1pm

Learn the art of making black gold! A hands-on workshop that will allow you to discover the magic of compost making. We’ll cover different methods of making and maintaining a happy and happening compost heap. for more details go to http://tbworkshops.blogspot.com/

New Link – Sustainability 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNzZ-qin1Bk

Other News

Biodynamics in the Home Orchard 3 July 2011 – better hurry phone 6655 0566 . (see attachment)  Orchard W-ShopFlyer

Earthworks – a retreat for young people 15-17 July 2011 – Reconnecting to Earth, Creating Community, Inspiring Change

EarthWorks

A retreat for young people (16-26 yrs)

Reconnecting to Earth, Creating Community, Inspiring Change.

15th-17th July

Chrysalis School, Bellingen

$60 * (covers food and accommodation)

Join us for a fun weekend of exploration and connection to earth, community and self. Together we will look at our personal story within the context of the broader global story, using creative group work, meditation, storytelling, and nature awareness exercises. The weekend will provide an introduction into Joanna Macy’s powerful work into social and ecological spirituality and Deep Ecology principles.

Workshop facilitators Claire Dunn and Olivia Bernardini have a wealth of experience working with young people, both currently working with the Bellingen Environmental Youth Experience (EYE). Claire has a background in environmental campaigning and writing, and has recently been studying and teaching wilderness living skills. Claire has been facilitating Earthworks retreats since 2005. Olivia is a yoga teacher, social ecologist and community activist, currently working with Transition Bellingen, and brings over a decade of experience studying and facilitating personal and social change work.

“Earthworks was a beautiful weekend that made me feel renewed, re-energised and reconnected,” Alice Blackwood, student.

“I have a new and profound perspective on myself and the ways I can be in this world. I feel as though I will be a different person for the rest of myself because of Earthworks,” Sarah Blakemore, student

*The fee covers retreat expenses. Claire and Olivia follow the age-old Buddhist tradition of ‘dana’ (generosity): The teachings are given free of charge, and we invite participants to support us by a suggested donation at the end of the retreat.

All the projects organised by Transtion Bellingen rely on support from volunteers and donations. If you would like to help, please reply to this email and help Bellingen become resilient. The Transition Bellingen web site address is http://www.transitionnetwork.org/cms/bellingen

Transition Bellingen is part of the world wide Transition Initiative. For up to date information on progress of the network, click on the Transition Bellingen link above and click on “home”

Links to Other Groups

Coffs Coast Local Food Alliance http://coffscoastlocalfood.ning.com/

Bellingen EYE is a group of inspired youth from the Bellingen Shire http://www.bellingeneye.com/

Bellingen Seed Savers http://bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com/

Food Sovereignty Alliance – receive a lot of information by subscribing to

http://mail.foodsovereigntyalliance.org/mailman/listinfo/chat_foodsovereigntyalliance.org

North Bank Road Community Garden Face Book – http://www.facebook.com/Northbank.Community.Garden

Bello Food Box – http://www.bellofoodbox.org.au/

Bellingen Community Gardens Association Face Book – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellingen-Community-Garden-Association/128326590578311

http://sites.google.com/site/bellingenenvironmentcentre/enviro-groups#TOC-Dorrigo-Bellingen-Urunga-Bike-Users – which has links to other groups too doing good work

Remember the rain at the Vision fair 2009 – footage on you tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAsTeIq3DwM

Thanks to those who alerted us to the discussion on Radio National Bush Telegraph about Transition Towns. It is available as a download (5mb) if you Google it.

The rain has finished but the postponement of events continues, so we are repeating some previous information with new dates.

As Charlie Brennan explained at the Organic gardening workshop, the rain leaches nutrients out of the soil and it needs to be replaced Some of the workshops below (*) are run by experts who know how to improve your soil.

Transition Bellingen events

Jam and Conserve Making Sunday 26 June 2011 at North Farm 9am – !pm – ring Olivia 0448 457 536 to see if there are still vacancies.

Learn to make your own Jam, Chutney & Sauerkraut with local and seasonal produce.

Come along to the next Transition Bellingen re-skilling workshop and enjoy a relaxed Sunday morning learning new recipes. You will leave with some delicious conserves to enjoy during the winter months & much inspiration.

Sunday the 26th of June, from 9 am to 1 pm

$20/12 concession

Registration essential. Limited places available.

Nap In Tuesday 28 June 2011 – see flyer  Nap In

* Compost Making Sunday 24 July 2011 at North Bank Community garden – 9am – 1pm

Learn the art of making black gold – a hands on workshop, covering different methods of making and maintaining a happy and happening compost heap.

Other events

* Rescheduled date for Biodynamics in the Home Orchard workshop on Sunday 3 July 9.30am – 4.30pm at North Farm (see flyer) Orchard W-ShopFlyer2

Northbank Community Garden, non chemical weed treatment demonstration – will be rescheduled. For more info call Ann on 66559354.

All the projects organised by Transtion Bellingen rely on support from volunteers. If you would like to help, please reply to this email and help Bellingen become resilient. The Transition Bellingen web site address is http://www.transitionnetwork.org/cms/bellingen

Transition bellingen is part of the world wide Transition Initiative. For up to date information on progress of the network, click on the Transition Bellingen link above and click on “home”

Links to Other Groups

Coffs Coast Local Food Alliance http://coffscoastlocalfood.ning.com/

Bellingen Seed Savers http://bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com/

Food Sovereignty Alliance – receive a lot of information by subscribing to

http://mail.foodsovereigntyalliance.org/mailman/listinfo/chat_foodsovereigntyalliance.org

Dear Friends,

As usual, much is happening in Transition world!

Please find below & attached information about a few upcoming events:

Organic Gardening Workshop

Sunday the 22nd of May from 9am to 1pm @ the Northbank Community Garden.

Join us for a relaxed Sunday morning in the garden and learn to grow your own seasonal veggies: how to prepare a garden bed, what works best in this area, how to address common gardening challenges and much more. Morning tea included, children welcome. Unless the weather is extreme (torrential rains & floods, sandstorms, tennis ball-size hail etc) the workshop will go ahead. There will be some tools to share, but please BYO as well. Cost: $20/$ 12 concession. Registration essential as places are limited. (To register, please reply to this email). See attached flyer for more info.

And here is a retreat I warmly recommend to anyone who would like an opportunity to reconnect, replenish and find inspiration (at an amazing venue):

STILLNESS IN ACTION RETREAT 6th – 10 July Mt Hyland Wilderness Retreat, Dorrigo, northern NSW

Stillness in Action develops wisdom, calmness, courage and clarity to sustain a life of freedom and integrity in challenging times.

Take the opportunity to:

Learn a simple meditation to still the confusions of the mind – allowing wisdom and compassion to arise, and freeing your intellectual, emotional and creative intelligence;

Renew your spirit for restoring a sustainable environment, for building a just and equitable society, for participating in healthy and creative communities, for personal and social healing;

Strengthen confidence, kindness and joy – and your power to make a difference – through processes of deep ecology, systems science and ancient earth wisdom

Use practical tools to clarify your values and intentions and move them into action;

Learn how to build sustaining communities of friendship.

Nurture and refresh your body and mind through walking, yoga, journalling and silent contemplation in the beauty of nature.

Mornings of quiet reflection teach the sacred art of presence. Each afternoon, creative group work reveals fresh paths to personal and social change – inspired by Joanna Macy’s work – see www.joannamacy.net Evenings sharing stories, poetry, music and laughter, enliven and deepen community. Each day unfolds a new perspective on a journey to reconnect our lives with our world.

“Go forth on your journey for the benefit of the many, for the joy of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, for the benefit and joy of all beings.” The Buddha

Retreat Leaders

Bobbi Allan is a Buddhist teacher in the Insight tradition. She brings to this work over 30 years of Buddhist practice and social action, and a professional background in management training, facilitation and communication / conflict processes. She has worked and trained with Joanna Macy since 1984.

Claire Dunn has worked as an environmental campaigner, and has recently been studying and living wilderness awareness and survival skills. Claire has also trained with Joanna Macy.

Olivia Bernardini is a social ecologist, yoga teacher, and community activist, currently working with Transition Bellingen and Bellingen EYE.

Swami Shakti Mudra, a Satyananda Yoga teacher, will prepare delicious vegetarian food.

Cost: $370 – $480 on a sliding scale according to income. Fee covers accommodation, food and associated costs: teachings are additional – by donation. Some part scholarships available.

Venue: Mt Hyland Retreat Centre, Dorrigo: http://www.mt-hyland.com/

For further info and bookings: Claire Dunn 0466523326 / clr.dunn@gmail.com Flyer available at www.stillnessinaction.net

Finally, please find attached flier for upcoming Symposium in Coffs Harbour, led by Jonathan Cassell, Sunday the 29th of May from 9.45 am to 4pm, at the Community Village in Coffs Harbour. “An opportunity to engage with crucial questions and issues relating to nature, the environment and the changes happening to the planet and human society.”

Waking_the_Dreamer_Poster_JonathanCassell

Have a great day,

Olivia

Hi everyone,

Please visit our site. Become a member of BCG, make comments, leave pictures & links.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellingen-Community-Garden-Association/128326590578311?ref=ts&sk=wall

Bless,

Aleasa

One of the PDC students last month forwarded a link to this website. Productive yields documented, practical projects explained!

Please forward and spread the WORD! PERMACULTURE!

http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/

Angelo’s urban oasis in the north – Local News – News – Moreland Leader

Its owner, Angelo Eliades, can’t hide his passion for the backyard paradise, a permaculture experiment which blossomed into a thriving productive garden.

Deep Green Permaculture

The Sustainable Organic Gardening Guide for Self-Sufficient People

My Garden

This section details the design and construction of my garden, which I can happily claim is the very first demonstration Permaculture urban food forest in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia!

By “demonstration garden”, I mean that it is a proven working concept, from design all the way through to implementation. I do provide hard facts and figure for how much this garden produces (which you rarely find on many gardens) spanning the life of the garden since its creation, to prove my claims of how productive this garden really is.

If it all looks pretty impressive on paper, or a web page, seeing is believing! Literally hundreds of people have visited the garden, as I open the garden regularly to the general public and to permaculture groups for garden tours and presentations, and the feedback is always that the work is inspiring, which provides further encouragement for me to do more and teach people how to do the same with their garden, which is the primary purpose of this website.

This design proves that you can grow an intensive food forest in an inner suburban backyard, without pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers, produce more food than you ever imagined was possible, with less water and less work, by letting nature do what nature does best, grow forests!

The only difference is that we get to choose what goes into this forest, the types of trees and plants that we use. Just like a forest, it grows without all the usual chemicals and human effort, and it really can be done, and it does work. And here is the proof, read on and I’ll reveal how I did it!

Here is a quick glance of the garden as it was at the end of 2008, a few months after I just finished building it.

Click on the pictures to see the larger images.

This garden was rebuilt as a demonstration project of what an urban permaculture garden in an average sized block in an inner suburb of Melbourne, Australia could produce sustainably and organically. The intention was to not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, to rebuild the soil (which was leached and lifeless) and construct a self-supporting ecosystem.

I’ve used a range of organic and sustainable gardening techniques, such as no-dig, plant stacking, succession planting, composting, mulching, vertical gardening, companion planting as well as some modern design principles such as square foot gardening and backyard orchard design.

The garden utilises every square inch of free space and then some – container gardening, aquatic gardening and hydroponics. Yes the hydroponics ain’t sustainable/organic, but that’s another experiment…

Don’t think for a moment that this garden was designed to produce maximum yields of fruit and vegies to prove a point. There are about two dozen fruit trees packed into this garden (most of which are too young to really produce much at all), along with lots of berries, close to a hundred medicinal and culinary herbs, aquatic plants, and a wide range of ornamental plants, including flowers, scented plants, bonsai, carnivorous plants, cacti and succulents.

This project was commenced in October 2008, and I will follow it through a whole year, taking you through each season, trying different techniques and plants, and seeing how it all goes. This garden took all winter (3 months to build on my own), is approximately 80 square metres in size, and you’ll see just how much such a garden can produce, and what we can learn from such a project, as we follow its progress from month to month.

I’ve numbered each entry in sequence so you can follow it in chronological order. Hope you like it! I welcome any questions or feedback, so feel free to comment!

Next Page – 01. How It All Started…

“The First Oyster Picnic on the Bellinger River”

(Or Maybe “The Last”?)

At Mylestom Picnic and Swim area

between 11am and 2pm

On Sunday the 1st May

Alma Doepel Park, Mylestom

By the River Pool

Fresh Oysters, Sausage Sizzle and Music!

Please bring your own picnic rug or chairs.

Sorry no dogs near the food

Message from Bellingen Environment Centre and the Resident’s group

Dear Friends,

The Bellingen Environment Centre and the Resident’s groups speak with one voice, and are calling for “No Pollution in the River”, and for the laws that protect our waterways to be clarified and strengthened.

You can support the campaign by writing letters to the Editor, and also by writing to your local MP.

Please put Sunday May 1st aside and show your support by attending the “Oyster Picnic”, where we hope to raise some funds to cover costs.

(See our stunning attached posters from Jenny)  Oyster poster 2 B&W A5

Open Letter sent from Caroline, Pat and Carole, to members of the community interested in “No feed pads on the floodplain”.

Presentation to Councilors and Staff of BSC by qualified speakers

Raleigh Dairy Holdings

Landcare and Catchment Management Objections

Effluent and the River

JRPP Update and Yellow Rock Application

Delegations

Fundraising

1.Update on presentation to inform Councilors by qualified Local speakers

Submissions closed for Yellow Rock on 23rd March the team have worked long hours to prepare for a presentation by our qualified speakers, most of whom were local to the area of the developments. The meeting was held as a closed session with Councilors and staff and you would have been proud of the everyone as the presentation was flawless.

· Councilors need to understand that a third pond and a lid on the effluent pond will not remove salts from the effluent that will inevitably build leach into the river and adding further contamination to its already ailing status.

· Council keeps responding to complainants’ regarding formal complaints about pollution in the river by saying, “There is no problem with pollution in the River” Councilors are saying that they are forced to approve North bank as it is agreed by one and all that it is in a “Woefully inadequate state” When the question was asked, If there is no problem with pollution in the river why are you forced to approve the proposal?” Councilors resorted to protocol which protected the planning staff and we were not able to illicit a response to this question.

· Councilors felt that the developments were within the law and therefore they had no legal grounds to reject the proposal. We believe there may be remedies to be found in Sepp 14 of the Planning Act to protect Coastal wetlands and the Environmental Protection Act.

· There was a concentration on the outcome of testing by the Premier’s taskforce which revealed Human, faecal contamination in the Kalang however there were Animal coli forms found in the Bellinger by the taskforce. The risk of effluent and nutrient levels causing further pollution from these proposals will be raised by 246%.

· The whole Northern Region is over supplied with milk. There are complex difficulties for smaller dairies to meet extra standards which could be applied to stop effluent from going into the river as further costs may send them to the wall. Norco says it does not need the extra milk. We need to know if this is just for the Raleigh factory or Norco regionally? Many small dairy farmers are working with Council to fence their properties from the river. They cannot afford to compete with low milk prices and stay in the race. If we cannot help small sustainable dairies the alternative is the monopoly that is the goal of RDH.

· The Oyster industry is poised on a knife’s edge and believe this will kill this clean and green industry if the proposals are approved. It will not help the Oyster industry in our area to publicise pollution in the river. We need to demand the protection of this local industry.

· We felt thankful to Councilors and staff for giving their time and the two hundred or so people who were helpful in bringing the presentation together. We also thank the Bellingen Environment Centre for initiating this request to put forward another perspective.

There were three hundred individually written submissions to Council, and the staff have needed lots of time to process those and to register the huge number of signed preformed letters of objection.

2.Raleigh Dairy Holdings

RDH met professional consultants met with Councilors and a contingent of media three weeks ago and confronted the Councilors with the point, that even if Councilors did not approve the proposal to improve Northbank they were within the law by having 790 cows there anyway without any improvements.

· A number of the old DA consent conditions approved by the then Bellingen Council 1998 were neglected and remain so to this day. The current development applications have highlighted a continuing deep anxiety from the community about the inability of the governing authorities to adequately monitor and supervise consent conditions, and monitor pollution on the Estuarine floodplain.

· A group of people formed a delegation to visit Luke Hartsuyker’s office recently, and informed him of their concerns regarding this development, including community health and welfare and environmental concerns and he told them he would speak with A Stoner MP for Oxley.

3.Update on pesticide use in aerial spraying by RDH of Trojan insecticide without proper notification near a local school.

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) was or is still investigating the spraying of “Trojan”, which was not properly notified to DECCW. DECCW has been effectively disbanded by the incoming State Government, we are waiting on an update regarding the status of the investigation.

· Bellingen Shire Council has always reported to any questioning about this incident that all the proper precautions were taken. A BSC officer was present on the day of the spraying. DECCW was the consent authority. RDH did NOT meet their obligations under the pesticides act.

· Whilst claiming, in the media as well as to Council, to ‘set the record straight’, Mr. Brander continues to spread misleading information about the placement of the effluent ponds above the 1-100 year flood level, which according to the EIA put forward by his consultants, is blatantly untrue.

4.Landcare and Catchment Management Objections

The lack of honest Community Consultation is still a major issue for consideration. Local indigenous families at Yellow Rock are surrounded on three sides by RDH and were not consulted. The original presentation by Raleigh Dairy Holdings in the Courier Sun in 2009 described a state of the art, environmentally sensitive concept in collaboration with Landcare and Catchment Management. These organizations have registered objections to the developments with Council and the JRPP.

There are six Feedpad/lots Farming systems in NSW and two of these are situated on Floodplains. However none of these is, or should be, situated over an Estuarine Floodplain. As the water table on this floodplain is only 1m under the surface of extremely porous soil, part of the river is just beneath the area where the effluent is to be spread. This intensive dairying operation proposal, situated OVER AN UNSEEN PART OF THE RIVER and less than one hundred meters from the open Bellinger River, creates a high risk to Oyster and Shellfish production, sea grass meadows and fish nurseries, and last but not least, to human health.

5.Joint Regional Planning Panels Update and Yellow Rock Application

At the March 23rd meeting of Council, the Senior Planner, who is one of the two representatives for Bellingen Council and the Community on the JRPP, requested that she be relieved of this responsibility.

· The Senior Planner cited a conflict of interest between working on the recommendations for Council and the JRPP and being part of the decision making team.

· Does this may set a precedent for the future matters to be decided by JRPP process

Councilors voted unanimously to replace the senior planner with a person to be chosen from the pool of

the JRPP possibly a Councilor from Nambucca Heads.

· We understand Coastal Councilor rep is still representing Bellingen Council and the Community on the panel however it remains unclear if he will have voting rights for North bank to be decided by Bellingen Shire Council. We loose one of our elected representatives if this is the case.

· It is our understanding that the JRPP (*see expected changes below) will meet first to consider the Yellow Rock application, and this will be followed by Council’s consideration of the North bank Rd operation. As of yesterday it remains unlisted.

· The government is silent on the removal of JRPP’s and have only announced that they will not accept any more proposals for Part 3a developments. We will write to the Minister for Planning and the Local Government and Shire’s Association about the obvious flaws in the process of JRPP’s .

6.Visit to Andrew Stoner and Luke Hartsuyker

Now that the election is over, we are awaiting the ongoing support of Andrew Stoner, MP for Oxley and Deputy Premier of NSW, following his encouragement of our campaign during the lead up to the election.

A group of people formed a delegation to visit Luke Hartsuyker’s office recently, and informed him of their concerns regarding this development, including community health and welfare and environmental concerns.

7. Fundraising

Yes its already happening and we thank the Armidale residents group for their support and hope to raise more funds at the picnic. If anyone wants to donate to assist with costs please call Caroline for banking details.

· We are looking closely at the legal aspects of these developments.

……

The Bellingen Environment Centre and the Resident’s groups speak with one voice, and are calling for “No Pollution in our Rivers” and for the laws that protect our waterways to be clarified and strengthened and to support and protect small Sustainable Dairies in our shire.

You can support the campaign by writing letters to the Editor, and also by writing to your local MP. Please put Sun May 1st aside and show your support by attending the “Oyster Picnic” between 11am and 2pm at Mylestom near the pool.

See You at The Healthy Bellinger River Picnic!

Caroline, Pat and Carole for the team.

People for NO FEEDPADS ON THE FLOODPLAIN

–

People for NO FEEDPADS ON THE FLOODPLAIN

Smaller Sustainable Daires for the Future

nofeedpadsonthefloodplain@gmail.com

Dear Friends,

Please find attached flier for the upcoming Edible Streetscape event: a late afternoon of football (a serious match organised by the Football Club and a mellow one, for people of all ages who just want to kick a ball around), music by Fabric and other fantastic local bands and a 3 course 100 % Local Food Dinner, prepared by chef Nathan Walker from True Local. You can buy tickets for dinner from Hearthfire Bakery and Kombu Wholefoods for $15. Booking essential.

From 4 pm until dusk, come along and celebrate the new citrus trees planted along Connell Park. Bring your friends, your children, your football shoes or dancing boots. Also, a rug or chair to sit on.

Hope to see you there,

Olivia ♥

Dear Friends,

Transition Bellingen is pleased to invite you to be part of The Great Re-skilling, our next community adventure. We will begin with series of workshops on food, reconnecting with the skills and knowledge we need to grow, harvest and conserve produce. From building your own solar food dehydrator to learning about keeping bees, from growing your own vegetables to conserving them, the workshops will be a fun and productive way to spend a Sunday morning each month.

Starting Sunday the 27th of March, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m at the North Bank Community Garden, 100 North Bank Road, the first workshop will teach you how to build and use a solar food dehydrator, using recycled materials. You will go home with your own solar food dehydrator, ready for years of happy drying.

Cost : $20 if you bring your own window (glass and frame) and wood or chipboard for the frame, $40 if you would like us to provide you with the materials. Morning tea included.

Registration essential. You can register by going on the Transition Bellingen’s website

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/cms/bellingen; click on WORKSHOPS and enter your details. For more information, please contact Olivia by emailing transitionbellingen@gmail.com .

Please have a look at the attached flier for more info.

May you be happy ♥

Olivia