The Beanstalk Organic Food

The Beanstalk is yet another amazing Newcastle/Hunter community initiative involving 150 residents. The Beanstalk was established in 2004 by three friends who were concerned at the lack of access to healthy and safe food for the community. Most people they knew cited affordability as the reason they could not eat organically. There was also very little support given to farmers practicing environmentally sound agriculture in the Hunter region, with certification and transportation costs the main issues for small farm businesses. A dialogue began with a farmer and The Beanstalk was established. From its humble beginnings on a veranda to its current location in East Newcastle, the organisation has flourished. Members now have access to affordable, healthy and local produce and it supports at least four local and sustainable farmers each week. In their words – “This benefits the Hunter Valley farmers, our urban community and ultimately, our earth”.

The objectives of the Beanstalk are:

1. To develop direct links between the sustainable organic farming communities and the urban communities of the Hunter Valley
2. To offer farmers fair prices and support them through difficult periods
3. To build consumer awareness of sustainable agriculture and empower the community to consume ethically
4. To minimise resource consumption and packaging
5. To foster community skill sharing
6. To create a viable and sustainable community organisation.

For more information, visit their great website - The Beanstalk Organic Food is an initiative that could happen anywhere!

Big Help Mob

this youth initiative of Youth Tree, an organisation based in Perth. Big Help Mob is a 100-strong rent-a-crowd of young people who get together to do superhuman acts of awesomeness for non-profits and communities in Perth. In their words -"One day it's planting 10 000 trees in a few hours, the next it's renovating a community centre or cleaning up a place that's been forgotten and trashed. Nothing is too big for Big Help Mob and we're not afraid to get our hands dirty... all 200 of them. Once the hands-on mission is accomplished with near-lightning speed, we celebrate with enormous, ridiculous flash mobs in public, using our superpowers to draw attention to good causes that need it."
For more information, check out the following websites Big Mob Help  and Youth Tree.

Tinghar Doing it Tough

The NSW town of Tingha has a very colourful history, but today faces many socio economic challenges. Once supporting 8000 residents, the town’s population is less than 1000. Statistics show it is the third most disadvantaged town in Australia, and it experiences three times the national unemployment rate. BUT this is a town focused on implementing the most successful regeneration model in Australia. Its renewal efforts is driven by Tingha Regeneration Incorporated.

To discover more of their interesting approach Click Here. In particular, discover more of their unique Code of Common Unity which ensures all community meetings are focused and productive .

Friday Flicks - Building Social Capital

Click here for a great example of building social capital from Townsville, Queensland - Friday Flicks - free community movie nights under the stars with a free barbeque. All about getting to know neighbours.

Beechworth Ghost Tours

One of the best heritage tours discovered lately is Beechworth Ghost Tours created by the youthful Adam Wynne-Jenkins. His historic guided walking tours begin every night after dusk in the former Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum in Beechworth, Victoria.

In the words of Adam – ‘Our ghostly tours will share with you tales of the eerie past, spine tingling stories that will have your imagination working overtime.’ Adam has certainly created an incredible rural enterprise.

Check it out next time in North East Victoria or check out Adam's website.

Click on the following links (1) (2) (3) for three great newspaper stories about Adam.

Kickstarter

Here are details of a great internet site where artists, writing, journalists and entertainers can pitch their ideas and seek investors. Ideas could be replicated in any country or region.

Click here to check it out.

Opotiki Young Person's Mural Project

Thanks to the Newsletter of Inspiring Communities in New Zealand for sharing the wonderful story of a youth Mural project in the the community of Opotiki.

Click here for details on the Project, and a great PowerPoint presentation collection.

Mary Valley Scarecrow Festival

Thanks to Libby Ozinga from the Sunshine Coast Council for alerting us to another great initiative from Mary Valley. Click here to see and read about the finalists in this innovative arts and tourism regional project involving towns in the Mary Valley.

Sydneysiders urged to shift inland Poll tells all

This is a real positive for rural communities.  The attitude is changing we hope.

Poll: Would you consider leaving Sydney to move to regional NSW.
Yes  61%     No    39%          Total votes: 5452

Sydneysiders are being urged to ditch their urban lifestyles and shift inland, and it appears not all city slickers are dead against the idea.

One in four Sydney residents would consider moving to regional NSW, according to a survey which marks the beginning of a government campaign encouraging people to relocate from the state's capital.  Click her to read the full story in the Sydney Morning Herald

Supporting Teenagers with Education Mothering and Mentoring

This is a program being run in Queensland to support pregnant girls and young mothers in a safe, non-judgemental environment with individual support plans developed by trained case managers.
Each girl will be given the opportunity to develop Lifeskills, Parenting, Self Worth, Healthy Relationships, Pre and Post Birth Plans.  In Partnership with Education Queensland, TAFE and the University of the Sunshine Coast, girls will be able to engage with learning pathways towards certified outcomes.  All girls are given the opportunity to develop their Mothering Skills through access to a variety of experts involved in Materntity Services, Breastfeeding and Child Health.   Girls are individually matched with carefully selected and trained mentors.
This is an interesting project something totally different from others that have been run for young women.

The Shiny Halo

Central NSW Councils have set up a blog the Shiny Halo Blog - an initiative to encourage action for a more resilient future.  They have some really interesting things that are going on in their councils and are sharing them in this blog.  You can read about what Organisations, councils, individuals, community groups, businesses and schools are doing for a more resilient future.  Items of interest include:  Electric Vehicle Challenge, Tree Xchange, Totally Local & 100 Mile Diet, Zero Emissions Agriculture.  Read about individuals like Charles Dalglish and his Electric Vehicle. Or community group Central West Permaculture "permablitzes".  "Central Tablelands Water takes a stand against bottled water!" read this story and more at the above link.  They also want to hear from your community.

Inspiring Communities Website

Although this site is based in New Zealand you may like to take a look, it has some items we discussed at the conference on it.

"Inspiring Communities supports communities of place to achieve their vision and goals by:

* Promoting the power of working together across sectorsalt
* Supporting leadership and learning for community-led development
* Linking people, projects and places
* Developing and sharing resources, tools and new knowledge
* Being a catalyst for change in communities of place"

Click on the above link and see what you can find.

How to get your community walking

This is a website to get Victoria Walking.  Some great ideas on it.  It reads

"Encouraging walking is a great way to change your neighbourhood for the better.  When you walk, you meet your neighbours, get healthy, save money and save the planet.  We've found the best, most practical tools to help promote walking so take a stroll around the site."

"Victoria Walks has all the tools, information and support you need to make your neighbourhood safer and more walk-friendly."

Click on the link above to get some ideas for your community.

Pigs Will Fly - the can do community blog

The opening sentence on this great website for information relating to Communities.  Worth a look.
"We’d love you to join our conversation about sustainable living, where we share the successes and pitfalls faced by grassroots small business, volunteers and community groups around Australia".

The MAD (Make a Difference) Project

Connecting people who want to make a difference with those who already are!
This is an exciting community initiative by Arcadia in Maleny, Queensland. They through a newsletter and regular breakfasts link people who want to make a difference with those who do. Click here for more details.
Their collection of archived newsletters give you an impressive range of initiatives that they have enacted.  Click here for the Newsletter Archive. Click here for an example of Arcadia’s newspaper columns about “Stop Complaining”- the wonderful story of Rev William Bowen who challenged his congregation to go 21 days without complaining model that could work in any community!!
There is some interesting information here that I think other communities could easily implement.

Cow Parade Margaret River - Artistic idea for your community

The world’s most famous public art event, CowParade, is coming to Margaret River in 2010 and there is only a few more weeks left to view the herd! Don't miss your opportunity to see the beautiful bovines on parade before 27th June 2010!
It is a free event for art, charity and fun!
Click above to read more or post a comment.

Bank of Ideas Website - Ideas for Communities

This is a website that has lots of different ideas about what can be achieved in a community.  You might like to take a look and get some ideas for your community.

Story on the Wilcannia Community and its revival

It is cold and wet in Wilcannia. Wind is blowing through town as about 20 locals gather around a park bench on the Barrier Highway to sign time sheets proving they have worked the hours to earn a government allowance.

Click above to learn about the drive through gallery being constructed by the local indigenous people of the Wilcannia community and how it is creating a revival in the town.