Macedon Ranges Shire Council is inviting local community groups to apply for grants under the Australia Day Grants program, with applications now open and closing on 21 September.
Eligible groups can apply for grants of up to $1,000 to support free community events or ceremonies that mark Australia Day in a way that is respectful of everyone in the community.
A total of $5,000 is available through the program.
Mayor Cr Cassy Borthwick encouraged local groups with ideas for Australia Day events to consider applying.
“These grants support community-led events that bring people together, foster connection and provide opportunities for people to reflect on what Australia Day means to them and their community,” she said.
“Council welcomes applications for events that are welcoming, accessible and respectful and that recognise the diverse experiences, histories and perspectives that exist across the Macedon Ranges.” Funding may be used for costs such as venue and equipment hire, catering, promotion, performers and artists, and Welcome to Country or cultural education activities.
Funded events must be free, open to the public and held within the Macedon Ranges Shire between 19 January and 2 February 2027.
To be eligible, groups applying must be incorporated, community-based not-for-profit groups operating in the Macedon Ranges. Unincorporated groups may apply through an eligible auspicing organisation.
Groups considering applying are encouraged to discuss their event idea with Council’s Community Development team before submitting an application.
For more information or to apply, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/AustraliaDayGrants. You may also call the Community Projects Officer on 0417 568 122 or email grants@mrsc.vic.gov.au. Application for grants close on 21 September 2026.

A re-elected Carroll Labor Government will cut congestion and slash travel times for people in Greater Geelong.

Geelong is growing fast and is expected to reach around 442,000 people by 2046.

We have listened to locals who are spending too long in traffic.

That’s why Labor will deliver the roads working people need to get to and from work – faster and safer.

Building Bellarine Link Stage 1 – Surf Coast Highway to Barwon Heads Road

A re-elected Carroll Labor Government will invest $237 million to deliver the first stage of the Bellarine Link.

Residents have told us that congestion south of Geelong and around the Bellarine Peninsula is slowing them down.

If re-elected, Labor will build Bellarine Link Stage 1.

The project will deliver two lanes in each direction between Surf Coast Highway and Barwon Heads Road, and upgrade existing intersections to make them safer.

It’ll save locals time and improve their safety.

It also paves the way for a future additional Barwon River crossing continuing all the way to Portarlington Road.

Planning for the upgrade would begin in 2027 and construction would start within the next term.

We can afford it because we have made commonsense decisions like:

• saving $2 billion on the SRL
• saving $100 million on public service executive numbers.

Improving Murradoc Road in Drysdale

A re-elected Carroll Labor Government will also invest $57 million to upgrade Murradoc Road between High Street and Drysdale Bypass in Drysdale.

A new industrial precinct has increased both vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area.

But the road infrastructure has not kept up, especially for pedestrians.

Labor plans will change that – our upgrade will improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

What we are doing right now

Work is underway to deliver the Stage 2 of the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade.

We are also doubling the number of potholes filled this year, from 250,000 to 500,000.

Victorians know they can’t trust Liberals on roads. They cut funding from roads the last time they were in power.

Under the Liberal-One Nation Coalition’s $40 billion cuts plan, they will do it again.

Premier Ben Carroll said:

“We’re listening to working people in Geelong. Better local roads are my priority.”

“As Geelong grows, Labor is building roads that mean less time in traffic and more time at home.”

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Paul Hamer said:

“A re-elected Labor Government will cut congestion and make journeys faster and safer.”

Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant said:

“This project will be a major step towards delivering greater connection for Bellarine, ensuring families can get home faster and safer.”

Labor Candidate for South Barwon Rebecca Thisleton said:

“This road will ease pressure on local roads, helping people in growing suburbs like Charlemont, Armstrong Creek and Mount Duneed.”

Member for Geelong Christine Couzens said:

“More and more families call Geelong home and this project will keep them moving and make our streets safer.”

Melbourne End Zone will transform Fed Square into a free, family-friendly NFL fan zone on Thursday 10 September and Friday 11 September. 

Fans can watch live NFL games on the Big Screen, enjoy free activations and entertainment with NFL-themed shows.

Melbourne End Zone builds on a huge week of NFL activity at Fed Square.

The action kicks off on Sunday 6 September with a world-record cheerleading dance attempt led by the San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush Cheerleaders.

On Thursday, fans can catch the season-opening Seattle Seahawks v New England Patriots game live on the Big Screen from 10:20am with ESPN Australia’s NFL Afters will cross live from Fed Square throughout the game.

After the final whistle, fans can enjoy a live NFL Post Game Show on the main stage featuring talent, NFL analysis, interviews, special guests and audience interaction.

On Friday, supporters can watch the Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers live on the Big Screen, followed by the NFL Post Game Show broadcast live from the main stage.

Melbourne End Zone will remain open into the evening after both games and action will continue nearby at Melbourne Park, with the NFL Kickoff Festival running from Thursday to Saturday.

The NFL Kickoff Festival will feature an NFL museum, Flag Football competitions, guest appearances and performances from Peking Duk, Hot Dub Time Machine and Grinspoon.

Almost 50 per cent of spectators at the MCG are expected to be from interstate or overseas with fans from more than 35 countries buying tickets to the game.

According to CoStar, September is on track to be a record month for hotel demand in Melbourne with CBD hotel occupancy up 39 percentage points for the night of the game.

The United States is a priority for Visit Victoria, with 215,000 visitors who spent $430 million in our state last year.

Game week is also attracting world-class business conferences to Victoria including SportNXT, the Intersekt Fintech Festival, Data Center World and The AI Summit Australia.

Minister for Major Events Anthony Carbines said:

“Melbourne is ready for the NFL and Melbourne End Zone will give fans and families a front-row seat to the action in the heart of our city.”

“The NFL Melbourne Game is a major win for Victoria bringing visitors through our hotels, restaurants and attractions and supporting jobs right across our economy.”

Quotes attributable to Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements

“The NFL Melbourne Game is attracting visitors from across Australia and around the world and Melbourne End Zone gives them another reason to stay longer and experience more of our city.”

“Melbourne will be buzzing throughout game week and beyond, with a huge six months of sport ahead – including the AFL Grand Final, the Australian Open golf featuring Rory McIlroy and the 150^th Anniversary Test.”

Fed Square CEO and Director Katrina Sedgwick said:

“Fed Square is a place where Melbourne comes together to experience the biggest moments in sport, and we’re proud to continue that tradition by transforming the Square into The Melbourne End Zone.”

“The Square will come alive as a celebration of the NFL, bringing fans, international visitors, and the wider community together to experience the excitement of the game in the heart of the city. Best of all, it’s free and open to everyone.”

Removing the age-based health insurance rebate for Australians over 65 will lead more than 200,000 to drop or downgrade their hospital cover, shift about $675 million a year onto public hospitals, and put the viability of some regional private hospitals at risk, according to new analysis by Catholic Health Australia (CHA). 

CHA’s analysis, contained in a Senate submission and presented at a hearing today, finds a financial impact on not-for-profit Catholic hospitals of up to $415 million a year. 

St Vincent’s Private Hospital Lismore will be one of the hospitals hit hardest by this change. It has cared for the Northern Rivers since 1921, is the largest private rural hospital in New South Wales, and is the only inpatient private hospital serving around 310,000 people. 

“When we talk about a policy affecting Australians over 65, we’re talking about the people our hospital serves day in, day out,” said St Vincent’s Private Hospital Lismore CEO, Peter Fahey.

“Seventy-three per cent of our admissions are patients over 65. This accounts for 79 per cent of our bed days. Our modelling says 1,200 to 1,800 patients a year would no longer be cared for at St Vincent’s Lismore. That’s $2.6 to $3.9 million in annual revenue,” he said.

Government modelling predicted 44,313 people would drop their cover entirely, but did not estimate how many would downgrade. CHA’s analysis estimates a further 165,000 will downgrade to cheaper, more limited policies, bringing the total to over 210,000 affected over-65s.

The Government expects the measure to save an average of $750 million a year over the forward estimates. CHA estimates around $675 million a year of this would return as additional cost in public hospitals, with further flow-on costs to aged care as patients wait longer for care in the public system. 

CHA also found the policy could raise the cost of maternity cover for younger families as a knock-on effect of older people downgrading from Gold-tier insurance, where maternity sits. 

“We support the Government’s objective of better funding aged care,” said Catholic Health Australia Director of Health Policy Dr Katharine Bassett. 

“We have done our best to fill the gaps in the analysis, but proper modelling by the government is needed to understand where the impact is concentrated. Knowing where the impact actually falls is what makes it possible to protect the people least able to absorb it and prepare the hospitals that will carry it, and that is worth doing before the change takes effect.” 

For further insights, you can watch CHA’s Health Matters podcast, which is streaming now.

Catholic Health Australia: Catholic Health Australia is Australia’s largest non-government, not-for-profit group of health, community, and aged care providers. Members operate 86 hospitals across Australia, providing around 30 per cent of private hospital care and 5 per cent of public hospital care, in addition to extensive community and residential aged care. CHA members provide approximately 12 per cent of all aged care facilities across Australia and around 20 per cent of home care services. Twenty-five per cent of our members provide services in regional, rural and remote parts of the country.

This content was created in partnership with Google Trends.

How Victoria’s Google search history, and Clarkes Hill’s rain gauge, both called out the Bureau’s “super El Niño” this winter.

This content was created in partnership with Google Trends.

Google Trends data has confirmed what one Clarkes Hill local Robert Grieve suspected all along: this winter didn’t just break the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecast, it broke Victoria’s search habits too. Somebody needs to have a word to the Bureau, because either their computer’s broken or Clarkes Hill didn’t get the memo.

Back in April, the story hit everywhere at once. A super El Niño was coming, they said. Possibly the strongest on record. Rivers and dams would drop, the Murray-Darling would struggle, farmers would watch their wheat crops shrivel, and the whole east coast should brace for warm, dry, below-average rainfall right through winter and into spring. It was the kind of story that gets picked up, shared, and typed into a search bar by everyone within a hundred kilometres of a rain gauge.

And it did. I pulled twelve months of Google Trends data for Victoria and it tells the story plainly enough. From September last year right through to the end of March, search interest in “el niño” sat at zero. Flat, for seven straight months. Then in the second week of April, it jumps from nothing to the highest spike in the entire dataset, virtually overnight. That’s not a slow build of curiosity. That’s a headline landing on a Tuesday and search interest across half of Victoria climbing by Thursday.

Fair enough too. The papers were saying sea surface temperatures in the Pacific had jumped more than a degree since January, the fastest swing from La Niña to El Niño since 1976. The Bureau’s own modelling was tipping a record-breaking event. If you own a dam, a crop, or a garden, that’s worth a search.

The 12-month search interest timeline for “el niño” (VIC), showing the flat line from September through March and the April spike. Caption: “Source: Google Trends.” A second panel comparing “el niño” against the recent “la niña” upticks would work well alongside it.

Here’s the bit that doesn’t add up. While all of Victoria was busy searching “el niño” and bracing for drought, the rain at Clarkes Hill was doing the exact opposite of what the story promised.

I’ve got the rainfall figures going back to 2016, and this winter just gone, the one that was supposed to be dry, delivered 459.4mm between June and August. Compare that to 353.4mm over the same months in 2016, and 318.2mm in 2025. That’s not a marginal difference. That’s roughly 30 to 45 per cent more rain than either of the other two years, arriving in the exact window we were told to expect the taps to turn off.

By the end of August we’d already had 700.2mm for the year, well ahead of where 2025 sat at the same point (469.8mm) and comfortably past 2016 too (618.8mm). If the current trend holds, we’re on track for somewhere around 1,180 to 1,190mm for the full year. That would make 2026 the wettest of the three years by a clear margin, not the driest.

So somewhere between the modelling and my back paddock, something’s gone sideways. Maybe it’s the Indian Ocean Dipole throwing its weight around, which the Bureau themselves admit can amplify or soften whatever El Niño’s doing. Maybe Clarkes Hill just sits in one of those pockets that answers to nobody. Either way, the forecast said dry, and the sky said otherwise, loudly, for three months straight. And Clarkes Hill is simply where I got the data from, all over the Central Highlands the word is damp.

And now the search data’s throwing up something else worth watching. “La niña” barely registered a pulse in this whole twelve-month stretch. One random blip back in November, then near-silence for the better part of a year. But in the last three weeks of data, it’s shown up every single week for the first time. Small numbers, 2 and 3, nothing dramatic. But that’s exactly the shape “el niño” had back before its own breakout in April. Zero, zero, zero, then suddenly everyone’s searching for it.

Whether that means La Niña’s quietly working its way back into the conversation, or just a few sharp locals starting to wonder if the “super El Niño” ever actually turned up, I couldn’t tell you. What I can tell you is that if you’ve been out fixing your gutters, topping up the tank, or watching the dam creep back up the bank this winter, you’ve got the actual data to back up what you already knew. The forecast promised us a drought. Clarkes Hill gave us a flood warning instead.

And for Robert, he says if it does become a dry year, that’s great. The dams are all full and the farmers need a dry spell. Somebody should probably tell the Bureau.

This content is part of a paid partnership with Google to promote Google Trends. It uses Google Trends data to explore search interest in “el niño” and “la niña” across Victoria over the past twelve months. Google Trends data is aggregated and anonymous. Search interest is measured on a relative scale and does not represent total search volume.

By Kyle Barnes

This content was created in partnership with Google Trends.

Google Trends has highlighted what people are searching for when it comes to the pothole problem plaguing regional Victoria, painting a picture of a state increasingly frustrated with the state of its roads.

Pothole-related search terms have risen most over the past 12 months across regional Victoria including “pothole compensation Victoria”, “report pothole”, “pothole claim”, “road damage claim”

But the sudden uptick was in “comprehensive car insurance” in relation to the pothole search which surged around February 22 when a massive tropical moisture system crossed the border that day and subsequent heavy weather went into early March. Severe weather updates from the Bureau of Meteorology warned of heavy downpours. This system eventually dumped historic, record-breaking rain across northern and central Victoria (e.g. over 180 mm in places like Ouyen and Sea Lake)

Hepburn Shire has tipped $2.73 million into road reconstruction, resealing and gravel re-sheeting in recent years, on top of roughly $3 million more in general repair works, including a $500,000 patching contract awarded off the back of a dedicated pavement defect audit. Next door, the City of Ballarat committed $3.4 million to repairing its municipal road network after a wet winter and has since launched what it is calling its largest road maintenance blitz yet, targeting more than 340,000 square metres of damaged road across the municipality.

The state government has now moved to double its pothole repair target, pledging to fix 500,000 potholes by the end of January next year, up from an earlier commitment of 250,000, at a cost of $352 million on top of the $1.04 billion already budgeted for road maintenance this financial year.

But for many regional drivers, search interest isn’t idle curiosity. It’s the first step in trying to claw back money after a costly encounter with a pothole. Of 1809 compensation claims lodged with the Department of Transport and Planning over the past two financial years, just 23 were paid out, a success rate of roughly two per cent. To even qualify, a driver’s damage bill has to clear a threshold of $1681 for the 2026/27 financial year.

Jamie Adams from Daylesford Tyre and Auto is happy to talk about where and how often these pothole punctures are permeating. “They’re just everywhere, they keep opening up,” Jamie said. “Since August 10 we’ve had 48 pothole strikes. Ballan-Daylesford Road’s been a hotspot, we had 28 in one week alone. It’s about 70 per cent tyre, 30 per cent wheels,” he said. “The wheels have got to be repaired or replaced.”

“One the worst jobs was when we had a Tesla towed in with two tyres and two rims gone, about an $1800 exercise,” Jamie said. “But the worst one was an AMG Mercedes SUV last week. Tyres and rims, about $5,300. The tyres alone are $950 each.”

In terms of pothole size Jamie says: “There’s one out near the Daylesford Cemetery that takes up the whole lane, it’s probably 15 metres long – they’re not potholes, they’re mini mineshafts.”

According to Jamie  VicRoads bumped up the claim threshold from $800 to $1681 a few years back.

“But you’ve got to prove it, and they won’t look at a claim under that. You can burn an hour on hold to the pothole hotline just to be told that.” That threshold represents the dollar figure which when you reach it you can claim any monies after that – but you have to pay the first $1681 and frontload the rest of the bill yourself and argue it out with Vic Roads to get into the aforementioned two per cent drawer.

What about the customers attitudes and the spare-tyre problem? “They’re always pissed off when they come in,” Jamie said. “Half the cars these days don’t even carry a spare, so if someone needs to get back to Melbourne, they’re stuck getting towed.”

Mechanics in other areas across regional Victoria report a surge in pothole-related work, with more wheel alignments, shock absorber replacements, worn ball joints and control arm repairs coming through the workshop door than in previous years, as the state’s ageing road network struggles to keep pace with a wet winter and rising traffic volumes.

Victorian Roads Minister Paul Hamer has acknowledged road conditions are “not good enough” and confirmed a review is underway into the compensation scheme, though he has stopped short of promising changes to the damage threshold that determines whether a claim is even considered.

With more than a billion dollars now earmarked for road maintenance across the state, and search interest in pothole compensation showing little sign of easing, the question for regional Victoria isn’t whether the potholes will keep coming. It’s whether the search bar will get them fixed any faster than the complaint line does.

This content is part of a paid partnership with Google to promote Google Trends. It uses Google Trends data to explore search interest in potholes and road maintenance across regional Victoria. Google Trends data is aggregated and anonymous. Search interest is measured on a relative scale and does not represent total search volume.

Daylesford’s own cinema is back — upstairs in the beautiful old Rex, run entirely by locals and volunteers who love a good film and better company.
Thursday through Monday every week, and all week during
school holidays.

CresFest is about the joy of live music – playing it, hearing it, watching it, dancing to it, learning it and being inspired by it – it all happens in the lovely heritage town in Central Victoria, harnessing the special warmth of the community of Creswick.
With the fifth CresFest in April 2026, audiences will enjoy three days of dance and music from a huge and diverse range of performers, from international stars to local newcomers will entertain over the weekend of Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12. With up to 18 small venues running at once, everyone is guaranteed to get up close and personal with some amazing acts.
And more than concerts, people will have the chance to participate in a densely packed program of workshops including singing, dancing and playing. Learn new skills and take part in the fabulous “Second Line comes to Creswick” extravaganza (the fifth street event of the sort, following Bollywood in ’22, Salsa in ’23, Klezmer in ’24 and Rhythms of Frica in ’25). On Saturday, April 11 the festival takes over the centre of town with New Orleans style brass bands and a host of Creswick school children supported by adult community musicians from the district.
Budding performers can enter the IGA Busking Competition for great prizes or sign up for open mic spots.
Each year local players are invited to take place in workshops, to learn from and perform with visiting professionals, in a true two-way collaboration that brings new skills and renewed enthusiasm to musicians.
It all happens in the glorious old buildings and on the streets of Creswick, the middle weekend of the school holidays in 2026.
Growing from a project of the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre in 2022 to a fully fledged not-for-profit in 2025, CresFest is proudly supported by most of the 3000-strong community, one way or another.

Daylesford artist Brian Nash will exhibit his work and also take part in a Meet the Artist at Daylesford Cider.
The Golden Shire exhibition will be on display from March 21 to June 15 from 10am to 5pm. Brian will be at the cidery on Sunday, March 22 from 4pm to 6pm to talk about his work.
Guests at this event will be the very first to experience the collection, hear the stories and inspiration behind the works, engage directly with the artist, and enjoy the exclusive opportunity to purchase their pieces before the exhibition is viewed more widely.
Brian Nash was born in Melbourne and has been painting professionally since the ’70s. His wide-ranging subjects include sensitive nudes, gracious old Australian hotels and buildings, the Flinders Ranges and historical towns, mountain cattlemen of the High Country, romantic and historical gardens, and the flower gatherers of Monbulk, Olinda and Dingley.
His subjects are executed with great strength and feeling. The colours are palpably brilliant and the images poetic.
He has had over 20 successful one-man exhibitions and has numerous awards to his name. His paintings are in collections in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, several European countries and in private collections throughout Australia.
Daylesford Cider’s Art Series is a year-round program of intimate exhibitions featuring the work of local artists.
Each unique exhibition showcases and celebrates the diversity of artistic talent, concepts, ideas, and mediums explored by different artists. All artworks on display are available for purchase, with 100 per cent of sales going to the artist.
Daylesford Cider is at 155 Dairy Flat Road, Musk.
Links: www.daylesfordcider.com.au/event/artseries | www.briannash.com.au
Words: Donna Kelly | Image above: Kyle Barnes | Right, St Georges Lake
The Golden Shire is the name of Brian’s stunning book which covers the locations and surroundings of the Hepburn Shire.
Brian says the inspiration for the paintings is the natural beauty, the elegant historic architecture and the derelict buildings of the gold rush that are all situated within Hepburn Shire.
“The shire includes the towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, Creswick, Trentham and Clunes, all nestled in either the rolling foothills of the Great Dividing Range or on the surrounding volcanic plains. This area is part of the traditional land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people.
“It is regarded as the spa centre of Australia with a large percentage of the country’s mineral water outlets located in the shire and the neighbouring area. These have been popular with visitors coming here to ‘take the waters’ since the 19th century.”

Jack Walker’ parents Emmy and Tom ran the Wombat Flat Bakery in Daylesford – and brought in a new machine which sliced bread.
Their competitors, a main street bakery, said it would never catch on. But as we know, the saying came along – it’s the best thing since sliced bread – proving them wrong!
When Jack was finished with school he became a local bank clerk, and then worked in banking in Melbourne for a while but he didn’t like the lack of real contact with people.
For a while he worked in the family bakery, then for a local drapery and the Tatts shop, which he owned. He was also a school bus driver, something he really enjoyed.
Jack has since had a distinguished career in the Daylesford CFA and was president of the Daylesford Brass Band where he played the flugelhorn.
His children have remained involved in the band and other community organisations which he feels proud of. He is fond of bullboar sausages and enjoys talking about the mining history of Daylesford.
Peace and quiet helps him to relax, and Jack and his wife Michelle, featured in both photos, have enjoyed many trips to Queensland and beyond in their caravan. Port Douglas was a favourite trip.
Jack is proud of his bakery work, feeding the community, and also his involvement with the Daylesford Brass Band, as a player and president, and loves that his children were also involved.
Jack is confident that Hepburn House is the best place to be for him and Michelle. Their goals are to maintain mobility and get more involved in the bus trips on offer.
Hepburn House is a Commonwealth Government-funded aged care facility focused on providing personalised and advanced services to accommodate the needs of all residents as they experience change over time.
Hepburn House offers nutritious freshly cooked meals, weekday visits from a Springs Medical GP, 24-hour nursing and staff assistance, an onsite physiotherapist and an eventful lifestyle program – all in a well-kept, welcoming environment surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape. Hepburn House is proud to be Rainbow Tick accredited.
Hepburn House is at 1 Hepburn Road, Daylesford.
Phone 5348 8100 or email reception@hepburnhouse.com.au

The Wombat Fight Club – Daylesford will hold its popular boxing trials on Sunday, March 22 – and everyone is welcome.
Coach and secretary Baydon Beddoe said the WFC-D was a not-for-profit incorporated community club based in Daylesford with the purpose of promoting the enjoyment of boxing and the development of boxers in Daylesford and the surrounding area.
“We are running our popular WFC-D boxing trials again this year. The trials are sparring/exhibition bouts where all the boxers in our club can demonstrate their skills in front of friends, family and the community.
“This year there will be awards for most promising boxers in the junior, women and open categories.
“We welcome everyone to come along to witness an exciting day of boxing action. Food and drinks will be available for purchase with entry a $5 donation.”
The gym is at 94 Wombat Dam Road, Daylesford and the trials start at 10am and run to noon.
Email: wombatfightclub@gmail.com
Club founder Denis Beddoe watches a couple of boxers do their thing

Image: Kyle Barnes

Hi there, I am Suki, a kitten brimming with energy and a penchant for playful antics.
My days are filled with joyful exploration and making new friends, both human and feline. My silly demeanour and friendly nature make me a delightful companion, always ready to engage in fun and games. I love life and light up rooms with my antics. I am just three months old and a really fun boy. Come and meet me at MAAWs in Castlemaine.
Microchip no. 956000018369143
5472 5277 shelter@maaw.org.au

Omnia Community Health (formerly Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health) is partnering with Veg Action Group to deliver a free hands-on food workshop later this month as part of the Macedon Ranges Changemakers Festival.
Residents are encouraged to sign up to the workshop which will help develop everyday habits benefitting both human health and that of the planet.
Nutritionist Beck O’Farrell from Big Bowl of Happy will deliver the Eat More Veg workshop at the Kyneton Community House’s Good Food Hub.
Beck, a passionate foodie, keen home cook and mum of three, runs her workshops in a fun and interactive way while sharing her knowledge in gut microbiome health.
In this two-hour workshop, participants will be guided through cooking tasty, vegetable-packed recipes before sitting down to enjoy them together.
The workshop provides participants with thrifty, practical skills they can immediately put into practice at home.
They highlight how everyday actions like eating more vegetables and reducing food waste can lower the risk of diet‑related chronic diseases while also delivering benefits for climate and household budgets.
Numbers for the workshops are limited so people are encouraged to book early. The Eat More Veg cooking workshop is on Thursday, March 26, 6pm to 8pm at 35 High Street, Kyneton and bookings can be made by going to www.sunburycobaw.org.au/eat-more-veg. For more information call 5421 1666.

For three generations Davies Dental has looked after dental care in Ballarat, Maryborough and Melton – and from next month they will be in Daylesford too.
The clinic excels in prosthetic dental solutions, specialising in full dentures, partial dentures, and implant-retained dentures. It also offers custom-fitted mouthguards for sports and other activities.
Director Ben Davies said the family company was known for the gentle touch of its prosthetists and its commitment to using the latest state-of-the-art equipment, including advanced 3D digital denture technology.
“During your consultation, we can discuss our digital technology and the options available to you. This allows us to recommend the best solution for each individual, whether that involves modern digital techniques or more conventional methods.
“Many patients have some anxiety about dental visits but our clinics are all about looking after our clients every step of the way.
“We build every denture in our laboratory so you know exactly what you are getting, and we can easily repair dentures or fix any issue that might arise.
“We also offer Immediate Dentures. This is a good option, so people don’t have to go without teeth when they’ve had an extraction. This process involves taking impressions of your mouth while your teeth are still present. Models of your mouth are then produced. Your prosthetist can then do simulated extractions on the model and place the denture teeth as close as you require to your natural setting and correct many things about tooth position that you may not be happy with at present.
“When your teeth are extracted, your new denture is ready to be inserted by your dentist, allowing you to keep your smile!”
“We are a private clinic with no referral needed. We also accept Veterans Affairs, private health and vouchers from the Victorian Denture Scheme. The Daylesford Clinic will be based in the Central Highlands Rural Health’s Community Health Care Centre at 13 Hospital Street – and open from Wednesday, April 22.
“Sophie Darwen is the face of our Daylesford clinic. Sophie began her career as a dental assistant before deciding to further her studies in Dental Technology. After completing her Dental Technician diploma, she went on to enrol in the Dental Prosthetist course at RMIT University. Sophie’s extensive dental experience has shaped her into a confident and thorough prosthetist, with strong attention to detail and a commitment to high-quality patient care.
“We can’t wait to open our fourth clinic, in Daylesford, and get to know our clients and offer them our innovative dental solutions tailored to their unique needs – along with our compassionate care. We are very excited to fulfil this dream.”
Link: www.daviesdental.com.au | Phone: 5331 1802