A state-of-the-art skin cancer clinic has opened in Woodend, offering appointments to patients without the need for a referral from a GP.

Skin cancer doctors Ashvin Arul, Loshna Devamany and Bronwyn Edmunds live locally and recognised a critical need for a purpose-built skin cancer clinic in the Macedon Ranges.

“We frequently detect skin cancers,” remarks Ashvin, stressing the prevalence with which Australians encounter such conditions.

“Seventy per cent of Australians will face skin cancer at some point, making early detection crucial.”

Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including full body photo mapping and dermoscopy enhanced by AI-driven camera systems, the clinic aims to revolutionize early detection.

“Our goal is zero deaths from melanoma,” asserts Ashvin.

Loshna advises regular annual skin checks, even for those unconcerned about specific spots.

“It’s prudent to be aware,” she explains, “as early intervention can be lifesaving.”

Bronwyn advises: “The duration something has been present doesn’t guarantee its safety. I’ve diagnosed melanomas in cases where people have said, ‘That’s been there for 10 years,’ which can be concerning.”    

She stresses the importance of early detection.

“Our aim is to identify these issues before they become apparent to the naked eye.”

Open Monday through Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, the clinic welcomes appointments.

For more information or to schedule a visit, contact Skin GP Woodend at 03 9969 5000 or visit www.skin.com.au    

This new facility promises to be a vital resource in the fight against skin cancer, combining expert medical knowledge with cutting-edge diagnostic tools for the benefit of the local community.          

A large number of CFA members have participated in a major multiagency training exercise over last weekend, tasking crews to respond to a simulated aircraft crash and grass fire at the Bacchus Marsh aerodrome.

Around 80 personnel from CFA, Victoria Police, SES, and Ambulance Victoria, with support from the Moorabool Shire council, took part in the training. 

District 15 Commander Gavin Hope, who oversaw CFA’s response, said multiagency training exercises are vitally important to ensure crews are ready for real-life emergencies.  

“Bringing all agencies together and working as one is an invaluable experience, so when or if something does happen, we all understand each other and know how each agency operates,” Gavin said.   

“It tests our interoperability to communicate through our radio networks so we can coordinate seamlessly and efficiently.” 

The training exercise situation centred around a small plane making an unplanned landing at the Bacchus Marsh aerodrome.

It inadvertently crashed into another plane, causing both planes to catch fire, along with a subsequent grassfire nearby.  

Pentland Fire Brigade Group 4th Deputy Group Officer Daniel Williams, who acted as CFA incident controller, said CFA broke response efforts into two sectors because of the two separate fire incidents.    

“Because life is the priority, resources were directed to the aircraft initially, then as other units came on the scene, command directed them to the grass fire risk,” Daniel said. 

“Once crews had extinguished the fires, the incident was handed to Victoria Police.” 

Brigades were briefed on the situation in real-time to ensure the simulation remained realistic.   

“A lot of work went into ensuring the drill accurately represented a situation that crews would face in the real world,” Daniel said.  

“Overall, the training went very well. We got to work together with the other agencies, tested our response plans and gave some new members valuable experience.  

“Every agency held a debrief after the exercise concluded and looked at ways we can improve, and that’s the main idea. 

“If there are any issues, we want to iron them out in training, not during real-life incidents. 

“We’ve all taken away some really valuable lessons from this drill.”

Words: CFA

Armed Crime Squad detectives have charged a 42-year-old man after two licensed venues were allegedly robbed at gunpoint earlier this month.

It’s alleged the man threatened a female staff member with a firearm at a Hicks Street licensed venue in Lara about 5.40pm on 15 August.

During the second incident it’s alleged the man threatened a female staff member with a firearm at a Mollison Street licensed venue in Kyneton about 9.20am last Friday.

The man had escaped with cash during both incidents, and neither staff member had been physically injured.

Detectives arrested the Woori Yallock man at a Clarendon Street hotel in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday morning, August 26.

He was charged with two counts of armed robbery, three counts of possess/carry/use handgun, possess testosterone and possess cocaine.

He had been required to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.

There’s little doubt that the blokes at the Daylesford Men’s Shed could whip up a nifty set of gates, a neat kitchen table or some handy signage.   

However, what goes on in this enthusiastic local shed is way, way more than that, as anyone strolling by the Shed in Victoria Park on a Monday mid-morning could tell you.   

It’s then that the shed’s music group gets together and the result is sufficiently impressive that it’s been known to lure in complete strangers eager to hear more.   

More than one of these ‘strangers’ has then gone on to become a regular participant in the Shed’s Monday music group where guitars and ukes feature quite a bit.

Regular sessions also take place on Thursdays at the Shed that’s been going since 2008. But it’s a far cry today from the early days when they used to occupy a disused chook shed that was kindly made available by the Agricultural Society.

These days the Shed is actually a set of three well-equipped and interconnected sheds. It’s also an independently run member of the Australian Men’s Shed Association and adheres to the organisation’s guiding principles.   

Inside, the Shed hums with chit-chat, enterprise and the sort of useful machinery that sees members turn out everything from fountain pens to street furniture. They’ve even turned out a set of xylophones for school kids.   

“Yes our members can make things, but it’s really more about the talking and the bonding that takes place in the process,” Shed secretary and one of the shed’s founding members Andrew Azzopardi, says.   

Andrew says that while many of the Shed members have the sort of practical backgrounds that mean they’ve got valuable trade skills, it’s important that they don’t get too bogged down by orders for this, that or the other.

Instead, he says, it’s the friendships that are made here and the unofficial networking and gasbagging that takes place that makes the shed so valuable for the 33 or so members that are currently on the books – plus the occasional ring-ins.

He says some of the Shed members are contending with things like social isolation, health challenges and personal trauma in their backgrounds and that’s where the Shed can really come into its own.

“Some guys have got real loneliness, loss or trauma issues,” says Andrew, a teacher by profession.   

Another of the shed’s founding members, Colin Dunlop says that with his not-so-nice background of negative workplace issues, the Shed has made a great positive difference in getting on with life today.   

“I was an airport firefighter and I got bullied out of the job. I had a bit of a breakdown,” says Colin who, besides regular Thursday sessions, brings a background  as a folk singer and guitar player to the Monday morning music group.   

The music group, which has become increasingly popular since it formed with just a couple of shed members about 18 months ago, has gone on to entertain in public at Christmas party gigs and Hepburn House.

“The blokes love it. Oh, and we need a keyboardist and a drummer,” Colin says.

Keen member of the music group and accomplished woodworker at the general Thursday gatherings, Georgio Buscema, sums it up  succinctly. “It’s the camaraderie basically,” he says.

“It’s great to be part of a group of men who have a common interest. It helps us get on with our lives with purpose.”

The shed has even started providing women’s woodworking classes on a Tuesday, working in conjunction with the local U3A.

Georgio is one of the Shed’s several tutors for these popular classes that are proving so in-demand that there’s a waiting list.

Generally, by the time Shed members have chin-wagged away a massive portion of their regular Thursday gatherings, maybe made a bit of progress on a constructive project or two, they’ll have worked up a fairly healthy appetite.

And that’s where the Shed’s self-appointed volunteer cooks come in.   

“We’ve got a range of guys, including our president, who are really, really good cooks,” Andrew says.   

Members can pay $5 extra to enjoy their talents in the kitchen of a Thursday Shed session lunch time. “No-one goes hungry.”   

Andrew says the Shed is keen to welcome new members and will be well represented at the upcoming Positive Ageing Expo, featuring a range of different community groups, at the Creswick RACV Forest Resort on October 10.

He says they’ll have a stand at the event, complete with musical performance featuring in-shed guitar talent, and be warned, they’ll likely also be bringing their ukes.

Further information about joining the Shed can be obtained by checking out the Shed’s website at www.daylesfordmensshed.com   

Words & images: Eve Lamb   

Multiple musicians and community musical groups will be performing at the Commercial Hotel in Kingston as part of this Saturday’s global Play Music on The Porch Day.   

A world-wide event, every year musicians in more than 70 countries and more than 1000 cities across the globe participate, and are encouraged to register their location at Play Music on The Porch Day – A worldwide celebration of peace and music.

The Commercial Hotel (pictured above) will once again host a wide variety of live musical performances starting at noon and running through to 4pm on August 31.

Musos lining up to help give the local pub’s “porch” a good shaking include Creswick Drum Circle, Skedaddle featuring banjo, guitar and fiddle, Bec Matthews and Jamie featuring kora, guitar and banjo, The Roundabout Folk Band, Hands On Drum Group, Stella Savy with her guitar, plus Ballarat’s Thursday Night Choir and the Creswick Chorus.

All are invited to get along and catch the live music at the Kingston pub, but to participate in Play Music on The Porch Day all anyone need do is get outside and make music.

Participants are invited to also share a video of themselves making music on the day on social media using the hashtag #playmusicontheporchday.    

Hepburn Shire Council has just recently endorsed its  first Arts and Culture Strategy with the aim to provide  a strategic framework for artists, art organisations,  businesses and visitors to ferment a healthy arts culture.  

It was compiled with the assistance of community feedback,  surveys and interviews with relevant bodies such as regional  museums, Daylesford Macedon Tourism and most importantly for sector support and funding opportunities, Regional Arts  Victoria.  

Regional Arts Victoria was formed in 1999 from the bones  of the old Victorian Arts Council. It is an independent, not-for-  profit organisation with over 700 members across the state.  

They work in long-term partnerships at every level of  government, encompassing all art forms of creative practice and  artistic experience.

Due to their efforts regional art networks are  growing stronger, giving cause for optimism among creatives  outside of the big smoke, a trend being repeated here in our own  shire.

Today, as demographic changes continue to reshape country  Victoria and many local economies shift from predominantly  primary industries such as logging, mining and agriculture to  include tourism, lifestyle and services connected with population  growth, creatives are becoming more assured about their place  within those communities.  

Jo Porter, academic, consultant and current CEO of Regional  Arts Victoria, explains further: “I think there is a  growing sense of confidence in being a regionally based artist and  the understanding that one’s art form may be informed by its  context but not be defined by that context.”  

Jo has been involved with theatre production for many  years from Circus Oz to executive producer duties at Malthouse Theatre and more.  

Over the years much of that work has included touring  programs across regional areas of Australia where she was  and continues to be “inspired by the specificity of experience  that feels available and possible in places where the natural  environment is more immediate and people say hello in the  street”.  

With their focus on regionally based artists, the organisation  is continuously engaging with the question of what creative  practice means outside of metropolitan life.  

And while the city/country divide may have become  distinctly blurred over the years, the notion that regional simply  means everything that isn’t in a city remains.

“However, when you are a practitioner in a regional setting,” says Jo “you acquire  a very clear understanding of the granular diversity there is across all these little  towns, big towns and all those areas where there are no towns at all.”  

Having grown up in the bush, at a time when there were no mobiles or internet, three TV channels and one rubbish-littered two-lane highway passing through to the  capital cities, I just assumed that anything interesting only happened in those places –  be it theatre, painting exhibitions or whatever.  

Maybe age changes your perspective on things but it certainly seems that  opportunities have improved for bush-based artists over the years. Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps I’m not seeing the complete picture?  

“Nearly all of RAV’s staff are regionally-based.” says Jo.

“Eyes on the ground,  you might say and some of them are specifically tasked with supporting people’s  capabilities and helping their network make connections.  

“I think that one of the things that’s changed is the sense of feeling closer to  audiences and marketplaces.

“Today connectivity has become something that is taken  for granted but it has only really come about in the past 15-20 years.”  

As mentioned there is fresh resolve in the regional arts landscape and among its  community for the arts to be supported from touring and promotion to assistance  with professional development and employment.  

And in doing so to dissolve the usual ingrained perceptions of some kind of  disparity between urban and regional arts practice.  

“You may have a different work context or a different set of ideas to explore  because you walk out the door and see very different things, but it does not, or should  not denote hierarchy. I do think that we are stepping away from that.”  

Creative practice outside metropolitan life  If anything acts as a stumbling block to the development of a meaningful arts  environment in Hepburn Shire it is the ever-familiar argument about what should be  prioritised with limited budgets, especially when the council is a fair bit into the red.  

Why should we throw money at public sculpture or a youth arts space when our  roads are in disrepair? Why should we spend money on venues when we need public  housing? And so on.

“Traditionally there has just been focus on some hierarchy of needs,” says Jo.  “That garbage collection and fixing the potholes should come first. But I would like  to just move away from those binary conversations.  

“If you are not investing in the whole system, then just fixing the roads or rubbish collection is not enough.

“No one is going to move to the regions if they can’t get a  doctor and why would a doctor want to move here if they can’t send their kids to a  school where there is a music teacher?”

 Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Contributed    

Funding from Telstra’s Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal is enabling the Hepburn Shire Council to host ongoing free sessions for local residents to learn how to make better use of their devices, stay safe online and improve their tech knowledge.

Interested locals are being invited by the council to: “just turn up with your devices to learn about scam awareness, getting the most out of your phone or tablet, staying safe online, trouble shooting, and the shutdown of the 3G network”.

The sessions have been designed to be fun and social and are open to all participants, regardless of age, experience or the type of device they are using.

Sessions begin on 2 September at the Creswick Hub on Mondays 10am-12pm, The Warehouse – Clunes on Mondays 2pm-4pm, Daylesford Library on Tuesdays 10am-12pm, The Mechanics Trentham on Tuesdays 2pm-4pm. 

Just in time to catch the first stirrings of spring, a very special tree planting  took place in the famed Avenue of Honour at Kingston on Saturday, August  10.

The newly grafted elm that was planted on Saturday replaces a mature elm that  had reached the end of its life and, on arborist’s advice, had been removed with a new  hole dug for its successor.

The original elm tree – and now its new replacement – honour and remember  one Clarence Albert Norman, a former young Newlyn blacksmith who served in both  World War I and World War II.

Descendant members of Mr Norman’s family travelled from far and wide for  Saturday’s special replacement planting organised by the Friends of Kingston Avenue  in partnership with the Hepburn Shire Council.  

“Clarence Albert Norman was born in 1893 and he was a blacksmith in Newlyn,  married, who at 21 years of age enlisted on the fifteenth of July in 1915,” says Claire  Rowlands, vice president of the Friends.  

“Clarence Norman’s name is on the Newlyn Primary School Honour Roll.  Clarence was discharged from the army on the fifth of April in 1919. He later served  in the Second World War, and he died at the age of 68 in 1961.”  

The former Shire of Creswick Avenue in Kingston was heritage listed in 2015 and  has become a much-admired feature of the local landscape.  

“It’s one of the most significant Avenues in Victoria,” Claire says.  

If Clarence was looking down on Saturday’s tree planting he would have seen  his family represented by his three grandsons, three of his four granddaughters, and  other family members all proudly thinking of him.  

The day was also significant as, being August 10, it was the very same day that  way back in 1918 the local community came together to plant the original 225  Avenue trees to commemorate WWI men and women associated with the former  Shire of Creswick.  

And then in 1919, an additional 61 trees were planted on August 9, making a  total of 286 trees in the historic Avenue.  

Kingston Friends of the Avenue president Julie Baulch says the new young elm  was planted with the assistance of a state government Restoring Community War  Memorials and Avenues of Honour grant.

It was also planted with an application of  beneficial microbial inoculants.

 “Eight other trees have also been removed, having reached their usual life  expectancy, and will also be replaced in the near future as part of our Tree  Management Plan,” Claire says.  

A tree to honour Clarence at Kingston Ave  With these additional replacement plantings planned ahead, the Friends are now  seeking family connected to the other eight trees.

They are family of: L.E. Coulson,  F.F. Crisp, S. McGard, C.J. Finlayson, W. McPherson, E.E. Owens, C.R. Toll and  R.W. Waddington.  

Families of the above listed soldiers honoured in the Avenue are being invited to  contact kfoa gmail.com  

Words: Eve Lamb  

A young Clunes girl has won silver in a major international jiu-jitsu championship event held in Florida, USA… and then chased it up by taking gold in the Australian Nationals.

In American last month 11-year-old Leiarnna Ferguson bettered many talented and bigger competitors in her division to come away from the 2024 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Pan Kids’ competition with the silver medal.

Leiarnna’s division is the yellow-belt girls’ division for her weight range, and flying to the US to compete was an amazing life experience for the young local who was accompanied by her dad Jay Ferguson and two younger brothers.

“She’s very happy with her result,” Jay says following their return home.

“She was up against some really tough competition, all bigger than her too. She did really, really well.”

The family even worked in a trip to Disneyland and spent some enjoyable hours poolside as well with Leiarnna also participating in valuable training opportunities during the almost three weeks they spent in the US.

Getting such an excellent outcome was the result of countless hours of hard work, practice and dedication and followed Leiarnna’s becoming Victorian State Champion in her newly promoted division of yellow belt back in May.

The trip to compete at international level was generously supported by many in the community who pitched in to the family’s online GoFundMe fundraiser to help make the dream opportunity a reality.

Back on home soil, a couple of weeks ago, Leiarnna competed in the Nationals held at the Sports and Aquatic Centre in Melbourne and won gold in her division – again against heavier and larger competitors.

“I feel really proud about that. I really enjoyed it,” says Leiarnna who also describes how she experienced nerves before facing the international competition in Florida, but how they faded away once she stepped up to the mat.

The Creswick Primary School grade six house captain now has her sights set on the regional Pan Pacific Kids competition in October.

Words & Image: Eve Lamb

Daylesford hospital’s new operating theater has officially opened and has already started being used to provide locals with much-needed procedures, with the hospital also putting on new staff.

The new theatre, funded with a $6.14 million grant through the state’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund, has started being used gradually from last month with 21 patients from across the local region undergoing scope procedures there.

Last Tuesday it was officially opened with a visit from the state’s Minister for Health Infrastructure, Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas and delighted staff, board members and management from the local hospital and wider Central Highlands Rural Health Service of which it is part.

Central Highlands Rural Health acting CEO Phil Catterson says that initially the long-anticipated new theatre will be used to provide scope procedures, such as endoscopy and laparoscopy.

He says it will also be used to  deliver eye procedures, a strategic niche area for the local health service to pursue.

Mr Catterson says the range of procedures able to be provided at the new theatre is ultimately planned to increase.

Director of Nursing Meagan Harding says that currently the new theatre is providing an average of seven procedures a week, on Fridays, with this number also expected to increase into the future.

A total eight new permanent staff and 12 additional casual roles have been created at the health service as well, with expectations that more staffing hours will become available into the future.

The new theatre represents the first major upgrade to the hospital’s operating theatre space since the late 1980s and is being very much welcomed by staff and management – as well as locals keen to have procedures done closer to home.

“It has taken over 12 months to build,” Mr Catterson said.

“SJ Weir did the work and they’ve been wonderful.”

He said work to secure the state funding some 16 months ago, had began about two years prior with the community raising $100,000 for a master plan.

“It’s great for the community. Safer, and we’ve also got new equipment and new staff,” Mr Catterson said.

The works have also included upgrades to the patient waiting area, recovery and admission areas, as well as the sterile stock storage area and the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) processing area – replacing ageing patient monitoring and CSSD medical equipment.

The upgrade is now supporting the hospital’s dedicated doctors and nurses to deliver more surgery and get more locals off waiting lists and into surgery and treatment, sooner – and closer to home.

Words: Eve Lamb

The City of Ballarat is inviting public input and suggestions on how best to improve walking and cycling corridors across Ballarat and linking to surrounding areas, including Creswick.

Opportunities are being explored to address key safety issues in some important walking and cycling corridors after locations have been highlighted by the community as requiring safety improvements.  

The City of Ballarat is now inviting feedback, as to how these links could be improved for everyone’s safety and accessibility, with public input expected to assist future planning and budget opportunities.  

The City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said feedback from the people that use cycling and pedestrian links already will be vital in developing a plan to make them safer.  

“As Ballarat grows, it is important that both locals and visitors can get around safely and comfortably, whether they are walking, cycling or driving,” he said.  

Wendouree Parade

Lake Wendouree is a busy area for visitors and residents alike. The Lake Wendouree Masterplan identifies some key principles that will be investigated in this consultation. They include:  

• Pedestrians and cyclists should be given priority on the Lake foreshore.  
• Paths should be safe and well connected.  
• Connections to Victoria Park, Wendouee Railway Station and nearby schools should be explored.  

Creswick Road

It is a busy arterial route, that includes at the northern end an off-road trail which is popular for walking and cycling.

However, in sections with service roads these are discontinuous for cyclists due to the current layout. This project is seeking opportunities to make this route safer and more convenient for people walking and riding a bike in and out of the CBD to the North.  

Link from Gilles Street to Lucas  

The current off-road cycling path along Victoria Park finishes at Gilles Street, and people travelling west towards Alfredton and Lucas then have a disjointed journey, via service roads, and some that are one-way preventing a safe and continuous journey.  

The project aims to utilise existing service roads where possible, considering safety improvements such as crossings, speed management, wayfinding and other interventions.  

Feedback is now open for all three connections on the City of Ballarat’s Mysay page until Thursday 5 September 2024.

Forest Street  

Feedback on the Forest Street Active Transport Corridor project was collated in March and April this year, to determine what opportunities there were to make the Wendouree connection more accessible and enjoyable for people walking and cycling.  

Forest Street is a key transport link in Wendouree for residents to get to local businesses, shops, schools, early learning centres, community facilities and Lake Wendouree.  

Now the concept designs have been developed based on the first round of community consultation, the community is invited to view the designs and let us know what they think.  

Feedback from this round of consultation will help finalise the concept designs. The City of Ballarat will share the final designs with the community in the new year to ensure the designs reflect what the community needs.  

Sutton Street Shared Path

The construction of a 1.2 kilometre shared path, extensive tree planting, priority raised crossings and other improvements from Victoria Park past Morshead Park, via Sutton Street will commence construction shortly.  

This is the first stage of a new trail network connecting through the southern suburbs linking Victoria Park to Doug Dean Reserve and ultimately west to Kensington Creek Reserve and Delacombe Town Centre. It is part of the Trails and Connections project.  

The project aims to create safe and healthy connections for cyclists, walkers, runners and pedestrians across Ballarat’s open spaces.    

It is anticipated to be complete by the end of the year.  

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will invest $3 million in a new five-year soybean breeding program that will be led by the University of Adelaide and aims to deliver new elite soybean varieties to Australian growers.

Since 2012, GRDC has invested over $5 million in soybean breeding that has developed new varieties and advanced breeding material.

Worth $6 million in total, the new breeding program will accelerate the delivery of new varieties to growers by ‘speed breeding’ using new technology to improve germplasm evaluation and other key breeding processes.

GRDC genetic technologies, biosecurity and regulation general manager Juan Juttner says GRDC and the University of Adelaide had joined forces in a quest to deliver higher yielding soybean varieties suitable for a broader range of growing environments.

“The important new, national soybean breeding program will build on previous investments GRDC has made in this area that have delivered significant gains for Australia’s soybean growers,” Dr Juttner says.

“This program will focus on delivering improved varieties for the existing soybean growing regions in Queensland and New South Wales and work towards expansion for new regions such as Central Queensland and Southern Australia.”

GRDC oilseeds and genetic technologies manager Allison Pearson says the investment would evaluate breeding material with the goal of improving yield potential and ensuring that new varieties meet the quality parameters of domestic and international end users.

Australian soybean production is around 40,000 tonnes per year. Its expansion has been limited due to inconsistent and unreliable production, exacerbated by environmental factors, crop price and variety choice.

Within 10 years, Soy Australia wants to increase annual production to 150,000 tonnes per year – equating to $75 million – by improving production in existing areas and expanding soybean into new regions.

The national soybean breeding program will focus on improved varieties for the existing soybean growing regions in Queensland and New South Wales and work towards expansion for new regions such as Central Queensland and South Australia.

“This significant joint investment of approximately $6 million from GRDC and the University of Adelaide will draw on the state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure at the Waite campus,” University of Adelaide Professor Jason Able says.

Words & Image: Agriculture Victoria

The tranquil private garden of Gibbards Crossing at Redesdale is opening this October as part of Open Gardens Victoria.

The garden is part of “Gibbards Crossing” – a 40 acre property growing grapes and olives that sits besides the Campaspe River.

Because the garden is nestled within the undulating hills of the landscape, the stacked stone walls help to create beautiful individual areas of mass plantings.

There is a paved labyrinth with citrus and herbs and a nearby bed of vigorous caperberries.

A young orchard does very well here and produces copious amounts of fruit and pomegranates The lovely Buddha Pond overlooks a small Casuarina Forest. There are lots of quiet areas to sit and wonderful views of water and dams.

Visiting is a chance to enjoy standing on the monticule (little volcanic hill) with a pergola on top with stunning views over Redesdale.

The garden is set to open on the weekend of october 19-20 and there will be a local artist’s botanical photography of the flowers from this garden on exhibition and available for purchase.

In addition, the owners own Gibbards Crossing wine and extra virgin olive oil will be available for sale. 

Some of the proceeds from this garden opening will be donated to both the Redesdale CFA and the Redesdale Recreation Reserve Committee (RRRC). 

Two other Redesdale gardens will also be opening under the Open Gardens Victoria scheme over this same weekend: Coliban Springs and Rocklands.

Agriculture Victoria Land Management Extension Officer Clem Sturmfels, is encouraging farmers to think carefully before considering cleaning out sediment from their dams.

“Cleaning out dams at this time of the year can be difficult, dangerous and expensive. Handling wet dam sediment requires specialised equipment,” he said.

“Using a bulldozer to remove this sediment is slow and tedious work and excavators usually don’t have the reach to do this work efficiently,” said Mr Sturmfels.

Dams with fresh deposits of soil, manure, and other organic matter are more likely to grow algae and bacteria. Allowing these deposits to dry out over summer allows the material to be removed using a scraper or bulldozer.

“It’s important to closely monitor the dams while waiting for them to dry out to avoid any animal health issues.

“Dams with older sediment are less likely to have water quality concerns and a metre or so of sediment will have little impact on dam capacity.

“Assessing the depth of sediment in a dam can be difficult. Farmers can make an estimate by measuring the depth of the dam and comparing that to the dam’s dimensions.”

A depth sounder or Damdeep measuring device can be used. See video of making and using Damdeep.

Farmers are encouraged to consider the following when undertaking dam cleaning activities:

• the sides of dams can be slippery and pose a risk to humans, stock and plant operators
• dam sediment should be placed in a location where it cannot re-enter the dam or other waterways
• steepening the sides of the dam can result in erosion and further sedimentation
• avoid any works which impact the structural integrity of the dam or associated outlet devices.

Property owners are also being advised to contact the local rural water authority in their area prior to commencing sediment removal works, as a permit may be required.

Words: Agriculture Victoria. Image: Supplied

The City of Ballarat has joined forces with Compost Revolution to provide residents with rebates delivering up to 40 per cent off the retail price of compost bins and worm farm products.

Composting provides an additional solution for those wanting to reduce food waste going to landfill by turning their food scraps into rich soil and fertiliser for their home gardens.

Compost Revolution offers a large range of products including worm farms, bokashi and compost bins to help residents start composting at home.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson (pictured above) said the rebate initiative will enable residents to recycle their food waste into compost and free up space in their general waste bins.

“Composting enables residents to nurture their soil to grow lush green gardens and delicious food,” he said.

“Food waste makes up more than 40 per cent of our household waste, which adds up to an estimated 9,500 tonnes of food that is thrown out by our residents every year and ends up in landfill.

“The City of Ballarat is committed to reducing waste going to landfill and creating a circular economy, that keeps materials in use for as long as possible.”

The initiative will complement the introduction of the City of Ballarat’s new weekly Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) kerbside collection in 2025.