Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s WayOut program is on the lookout for LGBTIQA+ youth leaders for this year’s Pride Camp.
Young people who identify as LGBTIQA+ aged 18 to 25 are being sought to help plan and support the delivery of a three-day camp for rainbow young people in the Macedon Ranges.
Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health’s Pride Camp, has been running for more than 10 years and is an annual event for LGBTIQA+ young people aged 14-18 years, supporting them to build social connections and a sense of belonging, as well as developing knowledge and skills that contribute to good mental health and wellbeing.
One of the youth leaders from last year’s camp shared what being a leader meant
to them: “As a youth leader at pride camp and being a young person myself, it was
extremely valuable to be able to spend time, learn and share from and with the next
generation of young people. I felt a sense of belonging…it felt for me a big full circle
moment.”
If this is something people want to be a part of, register interest by Monday, June
12, via www.surveymonkey.com/r/YouthLeader23.
“No experience is required to be one of our youth leaders, just tons of enthusiasm,” says Mez Lanigan from WayOut.
“This is a great opportunity to learn a whole range of new skills including event planning and management as well as useful leadership skills.”
The camp will take place in October this year. Details: 5421 1666 or email healthpromotion@scchc.org.au

TAC L2P program is partly funded by Transport Accident Commission and supported locally by the Daylesford Foundation for young people aged between 16 and 21 years, sometimes up to 23 years, who do not have access to suitable adult supervising drivers or access to suitable cars in their personal circles.
The Ballarat Foundation, who manages the program, and matches young people with a volunteer supervising driver mentor along with providing access to a suitable car to help gain necessary driving practices and complete 120 hours of supervised driving.
The organisation is currently looking for more volunteers to come onboard and
help these young people gain necessary driving skills. For those who are interested to
join the program and support the needy young learner driver the requirements are
to have full Victorian Drivers Licence, have or be willing to apply for Working with
Children Check and National Police Check, able to complete L2P mentor training
and have capacity to spare 2-3 hours per week for driving with a young person.
Volunteer mentor and Daylesford resident Liz Matthews started with L2P 12
months ago when the Daylesford Foundation donated a car for the program.
Liz said she loved helping out not just the drivers but also their families and
keeping in touch with the younger generation.
“I think you become like another parent for the kids. You are a mentor but often
they are keen to chat to you about their lives as well. They are all good kids and it is
just lovely to take them out – and they are really happy for the opportunity too.”
Liz said there were currently six mentors in Daylesford helping 11 young people
learn how to drive and get their hours up.
“When they first start they can be a bit nervous but after a while they warm up.
I have a young girl who I take out on Mondays and we are going to St Arnaud for
lunch and back. That will give her four hours of driving – with a break. And I have a
couple who are nor far off getting their licences, they have 80 to 90 hours done.
“All the mentors, and we would love more, enjoy the volunteering. We are all
retired and a bit older and it’s lovely to chat with the kids and just enjoy the time
together. And it’s all about helping out locals.”
For further information or questions please contact L2P coordinator
Padma Giri on 0422 809 587.

Words: Eve Lamb. Images: Mitch Nivalis

When documentary maker Mitch Nivalis contacted The Local a little way back requesting use of an article the paper had published in 2017, editor Donna Kelly was happy to oblige.

Mitch, who resides just out of Castlemaine, was keen to include the article as part of their new doco Equal The Contest to help “connect the dots for the history of women’s football in the area.”

“I’m making a self funded documentary film called Equal the Contest about my football club The Mt Alexander Falcons in regional Victoria,” Mitch told Donna at the time.

Now that documentary is about to have its world premiere as part of the ninth annual Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival happening this month.

The film synopsis provides a taste for what Equal The Contest is all about: “When the rules exclude you, rewrite them,” it states, and continues…

“When a filmmaker joins a new local women’s footy club in central Victoria, a simple desire to play becomes a complex journey of inclusion and belonging. An unexpected turn of events means the team has to fight to play. Their campaign challenges age-old traditions and joins the wider movement for gender equity.”

The documentary’s premiere screening happens Saturday June 17 at 5pm and will be followed by a panel discussion with Mitch who also co-produced Equal the Contest with Tony Coombs.

Mitch’s role in making the documentary was initially Director and Director of Photography, but that expanded when they realised their own lived experience was a key part of the story…”So I’m not only the maker, but the participant, which was extremely challenging, confronting and in many ways healing,” Mitch said.

“During the making of the film one of our executives, Sam Henty, sent me a link to a 2017 article that had been written by Heather Mutimer and published in The Local about two women’s football teams that played two games in 1947 / 48 – The Castlemaine Woollen Mill women’s football team, and a Daylesford women’s football team which was a combination of two teams that existed in Daylesford at that time,” Mitch said.

“So that sent me on a quest to find any surviving members from the Castlemaine team. I did end up finding a woman called Mavis, who ended up becoming a much loved part of our story. So I’m extremely grateful to The Local for celebrating women’s sporting history and shining a light on some of the pioneers of our local area.”  

But Mitch saysbarriers still exist for women and gender diverse people to access and participate in sport across codes in Australia and hopes the documentary will contribute to positive change.

“I hope Equal the Contest creates an opportunity for people to understand how to create safe and inclusive spaces within clubs, particularly at the local level and to open up important conversations,” Mitch said.

“Conversations around fair and equal access to resources like gender neutral changerooms, playing and training times, distribution of club finances and allocation umpires, as well as conversations around access to safe spaces to participate for trans and gender diverse people.

“Historically, particularly male dominated sport, has focused on winning at all costs, on field aggression and making excuses for off-field incidences of violence and Equal the Contest shows how the Mt Alexander Falcons is leading by example to change club culture and provide a new model for community AFL. 

 “I’ve always been interested in documentary and I make short advocacy based doco style video content as part of my production company MDP Photography and Video.

“Equal the Contest has been my biggest undertaking to date though and the first time I’ve made a feature length film, although it comes off the back of a 35min doco called The Wonder of Improvisation that I made in 2017.

“Very quickly when turning up to the Falcons first ‘Come and Try’ day, I knew I had found a community unlike anything I’d ever been part of.

“The club and my teammates have become like a family to me and it has become a space where we are all able to celebrate each other, regardless of race, sexuality, gender identity, age, body size or ability.”

Those keen to get more information about Equal the Contest, the festival it’s part of, and to book tickets can head to: https://cdocff.com.au/2023-festival/equal-the-contest/

with Eve Lamb

The creations of Creswick artist blacksmith Ernie Terry are the sort of pieces that stop people in their tracks and start conversations. Forged from fire, steel and beautifully burnished copper – among other  metals – they’re imposing, frequently life-sized and capture a fiery elemental energy that’s been winning this local creative plenty of fans and commissions – functional and purely aesthetic – ever since he opened his Lucky Monkey Blacksmith workshop and gallery at Creswick in fairly recent times.

Eve: G’day Ernie. You’re pretty well known for your blacksmithing artistry. Can you tell me a bit about how you got into blacksmithing?

Ernie: Well years ago I bought a property with my now–ex, and on that property was an old-school forge, and I always hung on to that and thought one day I would like to do blacksmithing. So about eight years ago now there were classes being run locally in Creswick and I just went to them and started my journey from there.

Eve: I hear your background is actually in forest fire fighting and prevention. How does that background feed into your creative work?

Ernie: I think it’s the nature-based aspect of that environment. You get to appreciate nature’s beauty. I’m fascinated by eucalypts, the species and colours… A lot of energy out there.

Eve: What other subject matter inspires you in your creative work? I know your horses and whales are pretty imposing!

Ernie: Leafy sea dragons I find fascinating. Leaves. Birds. Native Australian birds. I’m working on a couple of Australian birds, brolgas in particular. Maybe it’s a shape. It just sort of seems to flow.

Eve: Are there any artists or other creatives , current or historic, that influence you?

Ernie: Nah. They’re all boring! Just kidding. Yeh there are a few artists that I really do follow. One is Kitty Woodhouse over in Perth. Amazing. Staggering work that she does with recycled materials.

Eve: What are you working on at the moment?

Ernie: I’ve got commissioned horses to do. Today is play day making leaves and trying an enamelling process which is fascinating. I’ve also got two whale commissions to make.

Eve: Blacksmithing looks like it can get a little physically challenging at times. Does it? What are the main challenges?

Ernie: Personally I don’t find it physically challenging at all. In summer when it does get really hot and windy, if I know it’s going to be a really hot day I light the fire early so I’ll be finishing the work on the forge by lunchtime. Then I’ll shape it with hand tools when it’s too hot. This is a far more comfortable place in summer with a fire going then it is at a bushfire!

Eve: And not a bad place to be, by the forge fire, at this time of year I notice! Have you sustained any blacksmithing injuries Ernie?

Ernie: A few burns. The worse one I got when I took my eye off what I was doing.Touched the forearm with mild round steel. It was black heat so I didn’t realise it was that hot and I brushed my arm against it. Got a fairly deep burn. Put my arm in the quench bucket but the water was a bit dirty so it got a bit infected…I’ve only burned myself badly twice, which is not bad.
Eve: To date, what have been the personal highlights for you in your creative practice?

Ernie: I think just meeting some really wonderful people.
Eve: Do you have any exhibitions, special events or workshops coming up that you would like to let others know about?

Ernie: I’m basically in here all the time making stuff and it heads out to the world from here.

Eve: What are the main rewards that you derive from your creative practice?

Ernie: To me it’s like starting with that bit of metal and going into that space and then coming back with something else. It is alchemy. It’s kind of a discovery as I go.

Eve: It sounds like a bit of a meditative process.

Ernie: It’s brilliant.

Eve: And you teach people as well? A few kids are learning from you at the moment I hear.

Edie: Yes. I’ve got three children who are learning at the moment… Adults as well. I’ve had one man travel over from Warragul and spend a week here.

A number of media outlets are naming Daylesford, Glenlyon or Hepburn Springs as possible contenders for the popular show.

They also say the 2024 series will focus on renovating period homes on 3/4 acre blocks. Channel 9 says it does not speculate on future sites.

The Block’s filming location for this year is Charming Street in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton East. Last year it was Gisborne.

The idea has resulted in myriad comments on social media including: “I swear to God if they get planning
and building permits before me I will scream!”

Hepburn House’s new building is going ahead in leaps and bounds with the
15-bed memory support unit for people living with dementia on track to be
finished by October 31.
And in the New Year, the 31-bed LGBTIQA+ friendly unit will also open within
the same building. There’s also a gymnasium and cinema!
Manager Dianne Jones, pictured, said staff and residents were all very excited with
the new addition and she was being kept busy checking out furniture for the new
units.
“Our first move will be opening up the memory support unit for people living
with dementia. That was a big part of the planning for this. When I first came here
there was nowhere that could support people living with dementia.
“This new unit is so purpose-built people are going to be amazed at how much
freedom our residents will have. That is a really big community need we are filling.
“And once that is up and running, we will be opening up our LGBTIQA+
friendly unit – which is upstairs.”
Ms Jones said more staff were needed for the units and Hepburn House would be
running onsite Certificate 3 in Aged Care courses, in conjunction with a registered
training organisation, next year.
No prior qualifications are needed but the right aptitude is a must, she says.
Ms Jones said while people passing by would have been watching the build, it was
inside that all the really amazing things were taking shape.
“The views are spectacular, there is so much open space and you have these
amazing balconies out the back. It is just wonderful and everyone is really excited
about it opening up and working there.”
Hepburn House is a progressive aged care centre located in Daylesford. It
offers a highly advanced, fully personalised range of aged care services for
residents. For more details about Hepburn House call 5348 8100 or head to
www.hepburnhouse.com.au

Words and image Eve Lamb

EV drivers have been well pleased to discover that the new fast charge station at Creswick is finally up and running. For some it can make the difference between getting home – or not.

The Local, using an all electric Nissan Leaf, put it to the test in recent days and found it reasonably fast and in useful proximity to the town’s supermarket across the main road.

The public PlugShare website, that lists the locations of charge stations Australia-wide and provides a constantly updating forum for EV drivers to share vital information, shows the new station has been in steady use since coming online mid-May.

One EV user commented on the PlugShare site: “very handy location especially as there are only 2 AC CCS2 plugs at RACV Goldfields”.

The 50 kW Chargefox station offers CCS/SAE type and CHAdeMO type charging with two dedicated parking spaces, and was installed beside the town’s Albert Street  visitor information centre in December.

It had been expected to be up and running by late February, but Business Development Specialist with Chargefox, Zachary Whittaker confirmed that commissioning had been delayed by a couple of factors.

“This project was delayed due to construction not being finished at the visitor centre and vandalism that occurred just prior to opening,” he told The Local.

The earlier vandalism had included the cutting of thin retractable rope guide lines connected to the charge guns, and some graffiti which had been spray painted in the general area.

The vandalism appeared random, however, and did not appear to have been targeting the new station as it also encompassed wider infrastructure in the immediate area and had since been fixed or cleaned up.

In the May edition of their new sustainable issues e-newsletter, council staff provided some information about the project:

“Council and Hepburn Energy are working together with Chargefox, the Victorian Government, Central Highlands Water and Fells Electrical to install three 50kW fast chargers in Creswick, Trentham and Hepburn Springs.  
“That will take the total number of public EV chargers in the shire to five …
“Watch this space for news on a public launch and full details over the coming months,” the council newsletter states.

Words: Donna Kelly | Image: Contributed

ABC Statewide Drive broadcaster Nicole Chvastek remains missing from the airwaves after two months with no explanation from the national broadcaster.
The show was also replaced for some weeks by Melbourne Drive but has returned with former Country Hour host Warwick Long.
An ABC media spokesperson said the matter was now before the Fair Work Commission and he could not comment.
Ms Chvastek’s lawyer, Mark Comito of Stal Employment Lawyers, said the matter was adjourned for a further conference at the Fair Work Commission on June 15.
“Discussions are continuing about Nicole’s application seeking orders to stop bullying,” he said.
On April 13, the ABC media spokesperson told The Local that Statewide Drive had been temporarily replaced with Melbourne Drive “due to operational reasons outside our control” but the show and Ms Chvastek would return.
On May 4 the spokesperson said Ms Chvastek was on leave and would return when refurbishments at the ABC Ballarat office were finished.
Ms Chvastek, a Malmsbury resident who has presented Statewide Drive from ABC’s Ballarat studios since 2012, was unable to be contacted for comment.
On a petition at change.org one person wrote: “I miss hearing Nicole on my radio every afternoon. Nicole lives in regional Victoria and she knows the issues which are important to us. She is such a compassionate person who is able to discuss very emotional and emotive issues so respectfully and with a focused and balanced approach. I miss her sense of humour and banter with guests, people who call in and colleagues. Please bring her back.”

Words: Donna Kelly

Renowned opera singer and director Christine Douglas may have had a distinguished career, and continues to do so, but she remains down to earth when it comes to describing her passion.
The flyer says Christine Douglas & her Studio Singers, accompanied by Adam Przewlocki, will perform a feast of song from Purcell to Puccini on Saturday, June 24 at Christ Church, Daylesford.
Christine says she has “a bunch of really interesting singers” and she “thought it was a good time to bring some beautiful vocal music to Daylesford”.
The musical feast will include a big range from Purcell, to Puccini, to some very comic Rossini, she says. “It’s music that people would know, a lot of highlights, and everyone is going to recognise these pieces. They are not highly esoteric, they are melodies that people are familiar with.”
The Studio Singers are people the Daylesford resident is currently teaching – some close to starting careers, others just singing opera for the love of it. They range from in age from 22 to 45 and hold down a variety of full-time careers or are studying, but are committed to juggling their time, and Christine’s, to learn their craft.
“Lots of people want to sing when they are growing up but they become accountants, or whatever seems to be the most practical thing. It’s all about money. It is very hard to support yourself as a young singer. I did a lot of waitressing, working in department stores, trying to pay bills to become a singer.
“And many of these people have gone and worked in these regular jobs and done singing on the side, but are now really starting to prioritise their singing. And you have to be quite brave to do that, but they are saying at 27 or 40, ‘I am going to pursue this’ because if not now, when?
“And one of the singers came to me thinking she could maybe just muck around with a few songs but has developed into the most wonderful singer and I have just suggested that she applies to Opera Australia’s chorus – it’s been quite a journey.”
“And, of course, sometimes, no matter how good the voice is, if the ear is not sufficiently trained it is extremely hard to get that voice right.
“Especially if someone comes to you in their 30s – we have to lay down a pathway in the brain for any skill we want to have and the older you are, the trickier it is. But some others have a wonderful talent and if they are determined, they will get there.”
Christine said some people looked at opera as highbrow and “it probably is”.
“The difficulty with opera is that it was invented in Italy so Italian in the core language and for people to learn to sing in a classical way they do have to approach the Italian language to some extent to get the vowel sounds right.”
With audiences, such as at Christ Church, Christine is also the compere and will be explaining to people what they are about to hear “to demystify the pieces”.
Christine’s own move into opera came from being born into a theatrical family with a well-known singer as a father and a dancer mother. Christine tried singing a variety of genres but everything sounded operatic. “It is just my voice.”
She trained at the Victorian College of the Arts with Dame Joan Hammond and has since sung opera all over Australia in leading roles. She also started a young artists’ program in Sydney and moved into directing.
The move to Daylesford after decades in Sydney came in 2020, renting and then buying. She and her husband have two groodles, walk them every day around Lake Daylesford and have found their tribe. “It was the best move of our lives moving here. We love it. I just can’t tell you how many wonderful people we have met.”
A Glenlyon local also got Christine back into singing. “Jenny Jordan got me to sing at the Bastille Day celebrations at the Daylesford Town Hall last July. I had been
focusing on teaching and she said ‘you need to sing’ and got me a special arrangement with the brass band. It was great and I thought, I am going to start singing again!”
The June 24 concert is the first of six concerts at Christ Church
Links: Christ Church Concerts Facebook or www.trybooking.com/events/
landing/1040691

IN A region like the Central Highlands, decayed relics, disturbed ground and old structures are never far from view and traces of the past cling stubbornly to the present.
The little village of Lyonville is a typical example. While the sound of renovations echo through the surrounding bush and grand new houses emerge upon grassy fields, the mementoes of the past are ever present.
Old tanks totter on rotting stands, fuel bowsers, long dry, rust in the rain, an old railway bed and its dilapidated bridges hark back to the era when steam trains were the height of progress. An old weatherboard school, pictured inset, speaks to us of times when such places were the centre of small communities across the state.
The stories these relics tell us are, to a certain degree, common to every regional
town and evoke familiar narratives of growth and recession.
But within Lyonville there are two buildings, overlooked and ignored, that
embody a far broader historical narrative; one that ranges from military logistics
and the vast citizen armies of the Great War to the immigration diasporas of the
20th century. Nestled between the teacher’s residence and schoolhouse are a pair of
Nissen huts. They are basic structures, sitting on wooden stumps, a semicircular roofs
curving all the way down to the ground. Tree trunks push against them, windows are
broken, paint is peeling, moss advances across cracked and decaying steps.
Nissen huts are named after their inventor Major Peter Norman Nissen of the
British Army Royal Engineers and were developed during WWI. They were an
extremely simple design consisting of prefabricated semi cylindrical steel ribs that
could be adapted to various lengths and configurations. Their austere design reflected
the restrictions of wartime material shortages and they needed to be portable and easy
to erect so they could be shifted to other places when needed. A Nissen hut could be
erected by a six man crew in 4-6 hours.
Nissentenuts were mass-produced in their thousands in use in both World Wars,
and served as accommodation for troops, storage, field hospitals and mess halls.
Following World War II, surplus Nissen huts were sold by the federal government to
state and local authorities and were used for workshops, farm buildings, storage sheds,
and even churches. I even remember my parents bringing one to our farm on the
back of a truck in the early 1970s where it served as a store room for grain and hay.
They were also used as temporary housing to house the wave of immigrants from
the United Kingdom that came to Australia in the 1950s. These new arrivals, known
as ten pound poms (the cost of their passage to our shores) often spent their first years
living in these poorly insulated structures in hastily constructed migrant camps and
suburbs such as Belmont North in Newcastle.
They served a utilitarian purpose, tiny houses to address critical accommodation
shortfalls rather than some romantic alternative lifestyle. But as housing they were
generally unloved; they were draughty, cold in winter, boiling in summer and retained
a stigma stemming from their military origins.
A hut was not considered a home and many were quickly demolished or removed
to make way for more conventional housing. Today only people above a certain age
would even recognise a Nissen hut, let alone the history they represent. There are very
few of them still standing and most are in ruins. So to have two examples of these
unique buildings sitting forgotten in the grounds of the old Lyonville State School is
significant.
They most certainly were manufactured during World War II but it is unclear
when they were transferred to the Lyonville site. However, according to Lynn
Sunderland, author of Charlie’s Book, The Life and Times of a Country Town “even after
the (Lyonville) School officially closed in 1968, the school house and its collection of
WWII Nissen huts were the venue for regular school camps right up until 1994”.
Nonetheless it would seem that their ultimate fate will be to rot into the ground
like the rest. The site upon which they stand remains “under the management of the
Department of Education pending its disposal in accordance with Government policy
(and) is not listed with the Victorian Heritage Register”.
Decay is far slower than development and visitors to the town of Lyonville will
certainly have many more years of enjoyment of these “picturesque ruins”. However
in these times of economic uncertainty, housing shortages, and exorbitant rents, the
humble Nissen hut, symbol of low cost, quickly erected expedient housing may not
be a relic of the past. They could very well represent the future.
Words & main image: Tony Sawrey
School image: Courtesy of Trentham and District Historical Society

A survey of the local business community in Hepburn Shire suggests a high readiness to implement circular economy strategies, the local council says.

The survey was part of the Hepburn Circular Economy Activation project and results are now available for download on Participate Hepburn.

The work was co-funded by Council and Hepburn Energy and identifies areas of strength and areas where there are gaps in supporting the activation of a circular economy in the Hepburn Shire.

The council recently employed a circular economy officer, Jodi Newcombe, who is an economist and strategist with 25 years’ experience in the sustainability sector. She has previously worked as Climate Change Coordinator for the neighbouring Mount Alexander Shire. 

Ms Newcombe is keen to learn what local businesses and organisations hope to see as part of the council’s circular economy programming, with locals invited to contribute their thoughts in this three-minute survey.  

There’s little doubt this Saturday evening – June 10 – will bring Fleetwood Mac fans out in force for the tribute show happening at the Palais.

Melbourne- based tribute outfit, Second Hand News is headed to the Hepburn Springs venue to do what it does best offering die-hards a night of their fav Fleetwood Mac tunes.

From 70s jams to 80s bangers, the band play all the hits spanning the Mac’s incredible career. Expect to hear those signature guitar solos and harmonies you love brought to life in songs like ‘Rhiannon’, ‘The Chain’, ‘Everywhere’ and more.

With backgrounds ranging from cabaret to folk, rock, pop, new wave, and punk, the group brings a diverse skill set to this live music experience. Detailed instrumentation, perfect harmonies and a great appreciation for the band’s catalogue make Second Hand News: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac one that big ‘Mac fans will not want to miss.

Second Hand News is a Melbourne Fleetwood Mac tribute act that formed in 2019 with a mission to bring the band’s biggest and most loved songs to the stage. Comprising Cat Sanzaro, Sean Sully, James Wingard, Freya Long, John Abougelis and Chris Thomas-Sievers, the group have performed in various tributes over the last decade, playing Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Buddy Holly, Oasis and more.

Their Fleetwood Mac tribute has toured Victoria widely, playing to packed crowds at the iconic Corner Hotel, Sooki Lounge, the Westernport Hotel, Palais-Hepburn, the Barwon Club, Cherry Bar, Prince Bandroom, and the Grand Mornington to name a few.

Hepburn Shire landholders who have gorse issues on their land are being invited to get cracking and apply for a community grant to help them control the pest species.

Information on control and community grant options (which remain open until the end of June) can be found at the Victorian Gorse Taskforce webpage. 

Thirty Hepburn Shire residents recently attended a Gorse Control workshop at Creswick where strategies were discussed, gorse ‘mulching’ machinery demonstrated, and contractors quizzed.

 A collaboration between the Hepburn Shire Councill and the Victorian Gorse Taskforce, the workshop was an opportunity for participants to explore potential treatment options. 

The Hepburn Shire Council is reminding residents not to dispose of e-waste in their kerbside general waste bins.

The reminder, contained in the coucncil’s new online sustainability newsletter, comes after the Daylesford Transfer Station tip shop recently began selling electronics in a move aimed at keeping e-waste items out of landfill and combatting problem dumping.

“E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream and must not be disposed of in the kerbside general waste bin,” council staff have attempted to remind locals in their new e-newsletter.

The Daylesford e-waste recovery pilot tests and tags re-usable electronic items. It has been popular with the community and has already diverted over 150 items.
 
More information and transfer station opening hours can be found here. 

 

The Hepburn Shire Council says it’s making solar power more accessible to low-income households through the Solar Savers program.

The program was first delivered in Hepburn in 2018, and this year marks the fifth year it has been offered to residents, reaching the milestone of 100 Solar Savers households. 

The council’s new electronic newsletter focussed on sustainability issues states that the effect of installing a solar household system is a total greenhouse gas savings of approximately 730 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions during the life of the new assets (over 20 years) – “equivalent to taking 170 cars off the road for one-year, as well as energy bill savings and improvements to residents’ comfort and health”.  

The council is now inviting Hepburn Shire locals to visit the Solar Savers website for more information. and to check online here for frequently asked questions on Hepburn’s Special Charge Scheme.