The Ballarat City Council has endorsed a new strategic direction for the regional city’s airport.

The council adopted the Ballarat Airport Strategy and Master Plan 2024 at its recent scheduled July meeting, setting out a clear vision ahead for the Ballarat Airport.  

The document outlines key strategic objectives for the airport including plans to:

• Pursue revenue opportunities
• Ensure safety and compliance
• Plan for infrastructure upgrades
• Identify development constraints
• Safeguard airport operations; and
• Consider emerging aviation technologies

During earlier consultation the council had heard that the community and industry are supportive of improving the airport’s capability to allow for increased services for the region, but cautious to ensure noise levels are not impacting nearby residents.  

The council also requested a future report considering the alignment of existing heritage overlays with future plans for the airport huts.

The full Strategy and Master Plan can be read on the City of Ballarat’s website. 

Clunes residents are being encouraged to start thinking about what items they may like to discard – or instead donate to their nearest tip shop – ahead of the town’s annual hard rubbish collection.

The well-patronised annual household clean-up opportunity is set take place from Monday September 9, prompting the Hepburn Shire Council to begin publicising it on their social media site.

Residents of the town are being advised to place items for hard rubbish collection out on their nature strips by 6am on the morning of Monday September 9 – but not before Saturday September 7

Items collected items include scrap metal, e-waste and white goods and also green waste.

Not collected items include recyclables, concrete or rubble, household rubbish, chemicals, motor oil and batteries.

The council is urging residents to “please consider if the item you are putting out might be able to be used by someone else before placing it out for collection”.

Those who make use of the annual opportunity to bid farewell to broken items and unwanted clutter are also being urged to ensure clear access to their nature strip so the council team can easily collect and load the material

A flyer with full details would be delivered to residents’ letterboxes ahead of the collection, while more information could also be obtained by looking up the council website.

Through friendly conversations with community members, Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade, based just out of Bendigo CBD, has seen an injection of 12 new young and diverse recruits in the last twelve months.

You would not be mistaken if you thought you had heard the words Give Us a Hand around Kangaroo Flat recently, as the local brigade were presented with a special assignment.

An initiative led by Captain James O’Brien saw him simply task his members to engage with their friends, colleagues and broader networks.

“We did a targeted recruitment campaign, and at the beginning I asked all my officers and members to recall people they know who have once asked them about CFA before,” James said.

“They might have had a cousin or a friend’s husband who has casually queried them, wondering what it is like to join CFA, or what they enjoy most about driving the truck.

“Having already expressed passive interest in the past, I wanted them to revisit those engagements to encourage them to action those thoughts and sign up.”

Since then, an impressive 12 people have registered to become brigade members, with eight of them currently enrolled in CFA’s General Firefighter Course to become operational.

“I’m really proud to see so many new faces in the brigade, particularly because it’s probably the most diverse we’ve been as a group, so I’m really pleased,” James said.

“One member is a teacher from my children’s school, and he also happens to be a lecturer at Latrobe University. He brought two international students with him over from the uni, one is a refugee from Burma and the other is of African descent.

“Further to this, 50 per cent of our recruit intake are women – so it’s great to get a whole range of different perspectives, ideologies, and background experiences in our team.

“We’re really excited about the future of our brigade, and for those looking for help, I encourage them to casually engage with acquaintances beyond their circles and ask the question.”

Local solicitor, Sarah Swayn, 25, who became operational last September, has already turned out over 120 times with the Strathfieldsaye and Kangaroo Flat Fire Brigade’s.  

“I think I’ve been averaging about one call-out every two days, which is a lot on top of full-time work, but it keeps me very stimulated,” said Sarah (pictured above left).

“It is a challenge to balance it all, but I’m very lucky with my work that I’m able to work from home and I am allowed to turn out during work hours when I don’t have appointments on. I also get some emergency services leave on top of that.

Having her partner so heavily involved in CFA opened Sarah’s eyes to what role she could play helping the community.

“I love trying to encourage other women to step up into volunteering and letting them know that door is open. We’ve recently had a number of new women sign up which has been fantastic.”

Words & Image: CFA

A number of early morning walkers in Daylesford will have seen the sign advertising an application to Heritage Victoria on behalf of Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens.

Until this application is finalised, the full detail of plans and siting cannot be determined. The current proposal is a wooden seat and shelter in the style of a botanic garden’s traditional pavilion.

A similar one existed on the other side of the gardens until the 1980s. The main purpose of the structure is to provide a small, sheltered seat to enjoy the view to the south and east.

The rustic timber cladding has been preserved from the dead giant redwood felled in 2021, whose stump remains a little further up the bank above the seat.

Ararat police have charged a man following an alleged aggravated burglary in Ararat last month.

It is understood a man gained entry to a parish on Barkley Street about 11pm on Wednesday, 17 July.

The male allegedly demanded money from a priest and fled the scene with approximately $1000.

The priest was not physically injured.

A 55-year-old Heidelberg Heights man has in recent days been charged with aggravated burglary, theft and criminal damage. He had been bailed to face Horsham Magistrates Court.

It was impressive to hear multiple school children reeling off the names of famous Indigenous Australians through history as they gathered for a special event in the Creswick Neighbourhood Centre hall.

Hundreds of children from Creswick Primary School, Creswick North Primary and St Augustine’s attended the special NAIDOC event that took place last Wednesday (July 24) following the earlier national event that had coincided with the school holidays.

“NAIDOC week should be a month. It’s worth celebrating,” said musician and music educator Cocosounds’ Stella Savy, who taught the children some Indigenous songs and accompanying moves.

The children also learnt about time-honoured Indigenous traditions like respect for Elders, Welcome to Country, and Acknowledgement of Country – and the difference between them, as well as what the acronym NAIDOC actually stands for – National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee.

Outside the hall it was a chance for the children to launch the finished results of a special arts project to which they’d all contributed, along with preschool and playgroup children.

“There are at least 400 shapes in the mural that were made by the local men’s and women’s sheds and the children have then decorated them using Indigenous style art and colour and they’ve all been curated on the panels by local artist Dale Oliver,” CNC manager Chrissy Austin said

Words & images: Eve Lamb 

Last issue l tempted you (photographically) to venture into the world of vertical gardens – a place of many advantages and few, if any, disadvantages.

For a start, all growth is up and outwards in two directions – and it’s usually along a wall or fence. lf they are kept neat and tidy, even an adult fruiting plum or peach tree, if managed correctly and regularly, shouldn’t take up any more than a metre in width if all growth is encouraged up and laterally along supporting walls or a trellis.

So, if you have a bare wall or ugly fence alongside a driveway, or one covered by a rampant climber threatening to overbalance and topple the fence, the obvious answer is go espalier.

Or even if you just want to grow a couple of fruit trees that without going espalier could mean losing most, if not all, of the kids’ play space, or the car wash space.

It is simply a method of gaining bigger, healthier crops, in far smaller places and providing heaps more space for entertainment.

It also has the branches equally open to sun, wind and water giving the whole crop an equal chance of ripening together, to say nothing of depriving lurking pests of shelter from predators.

Your choice of a suitable espalier plant should be simple. Everyone else is looking to find a well-rounded, multi-branched compact tree, leaving the lanky flat-sided specimens to the suckers.

But they are blissfully unaware that these make for the best start for the bottom branches of the espalier outline.

After removing any foliage or branches on the side chosen to face the wall or fence (obviously the least attractive side) and, leaving the best ones likely to be grown into a large fan shape, cut the rest back to about 10cm.

With ornamental trees and shrubs, espaliering is quite simple, all you need to do is select a plant that is already flat and one-sided to start with and you are halfway there.

lf not, the branches can be tied back in a fan shape against the wall or supported on horizontal wires but most plants will respond to merely having the front branches removed and the side growth encouraged to spread along the wall.

Although it may be necessary to keep pinching and snipping off wayward branches in the early stages of growth, that will probably be all that is necessary.

The espalier method of pruning allows you to grow a wide range of deciduous fruit trees, especially apples, plums and pears.

They respond quite well to this treatment, as do most shrubs. Roses, especially the ramblers with their flexible canes, like the one pictured above, Wedding Day, in my garden, are fantastic.

It is probably a marginal espalier as it was one of the struggling remnants of our century-old garden and popped up under my new post and rail garden fence along with that beautiful as-yet unnamed heritage rose, at its feet.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden gmail.com 

Chloe Dridan is loving working at Hepburn House’s new Memory Lane Unit.

The personal care assistant has been at Hepburn House since she left school at 18 and “likes caring for all people but I love the elderly”.

“I love working in the dementia unit because we are very people-oriented, rather than task-oriented. Every day is different and the clients all make their own choices.

“If they want a sleep in, they sleep in, if they want breakfast at lunchtime, they have breakfast at lunchtime, it is exactly as it should be, they are in control of their choices. They can have lunch outside in the sunroom.”

“And they are all wonderful. I don’t have favourites but we do have one man who thinks I am like his granddaughter and he gets really excited when I am on and enjoys my company.”

Chloe said it was also great to be working in a purpose-built unit. “For example, we have a woman here who loves the outdoors and we have a secure garden so our clients can go outside anytime they like. Or they might like to do a little cooking in the kitchenette.

“And they are also free to walk around the unit which means they are not getting lost – which sometimes happened in the Homestead area. Hepburn House is all a great place, but this unit is just seeing our clients thrive.”

Chloe said with the staff offering breakfast and lunch, with plenty of choices from the bain marie, some clients were “putting on a little weight, which is a good thing”.

“I think they are all eating a lot better, and we offer food all the time, and they are just enjoying their lives here. It’s also a bit quieter which is nice.”

Chloe said there were also puzzles and lots of different activities available during the day which clients could join in, or not.

“We are all enjoying the personal care we can offer here. And the unit is also fabulous with great views over the back paddocks. We count the kangaroos in the morning.”

Chloe said her own path to Hepburn House came after “hating school” and watching her mother, who also works at Hepburn House, involved in elderly care “forever”.

“Mum said I could leave school if I had a job so I did the training and started work. I had a break for two years but I came back because I missed it!”  

By Donna Kelly  

I received a media release last week from Central Highlands Rural Health  saying that they are partnering with the council to provide free access to  puberty education resources.  

As part of that they are also giving primary school students, in grades five and six,  two pairs of reusable period underwear and a wet bag.  Wow.

As a middle-aged woman I was a bit gobsmacked, one that we are talking  about this, and two, how does this underwear work?

I feel like I grew up in the last century, well I did actually, and when I was a kid  we never talked about periods. To the extent that when I got my first one, at age 11, I  had no idea what was going on.  

The adverts for pads and tampons were really subtle. It was all about riding horses  and surfing. I thought that if I got my period it just meant I would suddenly have  some sporting prowess.

I told Mum what had happened and she asked if I hadn’t already worked it all out. No, I said. No idea. She got some pads from the top of her wardrobe shelf and  handed them to me.

“There you are,” she said. Dad wandered by about this time and  asked what was going on. “Our little girl has become a woman,” Mum said. So Anne  of Green Gables. Dad kept walking.  And that was pretty much my introduction to something that would happen  every month for another 40 years or so.

The pads were awful things, huge and lumpy,  with a tendency to spill over at any time. So bathroom checks were constant. It’s  almost post-traumatic thinking about it.  

Change came a few years later, aged about 16, when a friend of mine said I should switch to tampons. She had made the move when she was just 14, she said. It  happened after she had sex in a football ground in Frankston with a random stranger.  

She decided “if that can fit in, a tampon can”. Practical girl.  

Not much else changed, so the research that most tweens and teens will continue to use the first sanitary products they were introduced to for most of their menstruating life, seems to be pretty true.  

Luckily, for me, I had very heavy periods and got popped onto a Mirena IUD  device, for both birth control and to help out.

It worked so well my periods stopped  altogether – which I was pretty pleased about.  I had a hormone test a few years back and it came back as nothing left in the  tank. All gone.

I told Kyle whose only comment was “that’s a bit sad”. I asked what the sad bit was and he said “you can’t have children”. Hmmm. I think at 55 that  horse had long bolted – especially after the conversation that we did not want kids  about 25 years earlier. Maybe he forgot that bit.  

True story. We used to have people tell us we would have made great parents but  I think you really want to have the children first. And I have had many nightmares  where I am pregnant, only waking up to a huge relief that it was just a bad dream. All  power to those of you wanting, trying or having children. Just not us.  

Anyway, it is great that periods, something that happens to 50 per cent of people  throughout the world, and should be understood by the other 50 per cent, are out of the closet and into the discussion.  

Mind you, the research bit where pads containing plastic and tampons ultimately  end up in landfill means it’s time to swap to reusable period underwear might be a harder sell. Cloth nappies again, anyone? Just sayin’  

We are heading off to New Zealand in a few weeks, for my dad’s birthday.  The old bugger is turning 80 so we can’t really say no.

We had thought it would  be nicer for the entire family to head to the Gold Coast or somewhere warm but Cliff  was keen to stay home – he doesn’t like to travel much anymore.  

Nothing really wrong with him, no medication at all so far, not even blood  pressure or cholesterol like most middle-aged people, just can’t be bothered going  overseas.  

Mind you, he doesn’t mind travelling in his own backyard. Just bought a huge  campervan earlier this year. Upgraded from a van with a sort of homemade bed in the  back and a shower system hooked up off the back somewhere to swivel-front chairs,  and a small kitchen and bathroom. Sheer luxury.  

I worry about Cliff, now and again. He is your kind of “rip, shit and bust” bloke  who would rather climb on a roof and nearly fall off than call someone younger with two working knees.  

He also has a small fishing boat which he takes out a few times a week. By  himself. No life jacket. I once bought him a life jacket and was amused, not, to see it draped over a kitchen chair every time we Facetimed him. It never even made it on  the boat.  

At 80 Cliff is no longer working but often talks about all the taxes he has paid over the years, which I find funny because I don’t recall him paying tax after he was about 45, he’s a bit of a wheeler dealer. I don’t know if he has ever paid taxes.  

He is also a bit of a strange dad because rather than being pleased with achievements, he likes to talk them down.

Actually, he doesn’t even do that, just talks  over them with things he has done over the years. Even if that is 50 years ago. I hear a  few people get stuck with narcissistic parents – I guess it’s just the luck of the draw.  

Donna used to live in The Range when she was growing up in Frankston and she always thought the words to that song, Home on the Range, were “seldom was heard,  an encouraging word”. True story.

Bet was horrified when she sang it to her one day.  “We always encouraged you,” Betty apparently told her. “Why did dad call my BA  degree, Bugger All?” she asked. “He was just having fun,” she replied. Funny bugger.  

Anyway, we head off to Auckland and then up to the Bay of Islands for a night at  the local bowlo, and then the following night at Cliff’s.

A few friends and family are  coming along and some are staying in their vans in the yard, others in the house.  Donna and I are in a nearby motel. She learned long ago to never stay with  family. Just doesn’t work out well. I think she told me she likes her own bathroom.  

And very early on I told Dad that. So the one time we did stay, in a little attached  bungalow, Cliff was very proud to show her the room had its own toilet. Yep, a full- sized toilet, not plumbed in or anything, just with a cartridge inside the base – and a  curtain.

I think that is when the “no staying with family” rule kicked in.

Or it might have  been at my mum’s house where we got to sleep on cushions from the lounge suite, on  the floor but behind the actual lounge for privacy.  I am sure it will be a fun-filled weekend with lots of strolls down memory lane.  

I have made up a very nice video which we will finish with a rousing rendition of  Happy Birthday. Should we try for 80 candles on the cake? Could be fun.

Or we  could start an friendly argument with a pavlova cake. Kiwis think they invented  them. Lots of ideas…  

And then the next big one is Donna’s next year. Sixty. How the hell did that  happen? Just wondering? Getting older, rant over  

The Australian Sheep and Wool Show took place in Bendigo over the  weekend of July 20. It is the largest event of its type in the world showcasing  the mighty Australian sheep.  

Over three days, thousands of people braved chilly weather to experience what the  industry has to offer from food, fashion and fibre to everything in between.

Spread  across the Bendigo Showgrounds, visitors could watch sheep dog trials, weaving and  yarn spinning displays, fleece judging and sample a diverse range of arts and lifestyle  inspired by the wool industry.  

The event attracts craftspeople from everywhere including Ian McColl of OxArt  Pottery, Taradale. Ian or ‘Ox’ to his friends has made objects out of clay for as long as  he can remember and once shown how to use the pottery wheel he was hooked on a  lifelong journey.  

OxArt produces a wide variety of pottery products designed to be used on a daily  basis including mugs, plates, platters, teapots and yarn bowls.  

Popular with weavers everywhere, yarn bowls are, for the benefit of the ignorant,  soup bowl sized vessels with a curl cut into the side. The weaver’s yarn, placed inside,  is drawn through the slot smoothly and evenly.  

I guess you could put a lid on it too which would prevent cats from upsetting  things. But do weaving folk even let cats get near their work? Perhaps that’s a story for  another time.  

“The yarn bowls we have at this stand,” says Ian “were derived from a specific  request we got a good few years ago at a market. Someone asked if we made yarn  bowls.

“I said ‘I didn’t know’ because I didn’t know what they were, but from then on  I’ve been making a lot of them. That’s how I came to be taking part in this event. A  friend and fellow stall holder suggested that it would be really good for us to come  along because of our wool bowls.”

Together with his partner Leanne, Ian has been based in Taradale for the past four  years where they have a large studio, workshop and gallery. Originally a roadhouse  on the old Calder Highway, the couple have transformed the site into a nexus of  creativity.

“We were looking for a place somewhere around Central Victoria where we could  run a studio. We went past it and thought we should probably have a look at that  one. Three days later we bought it.  

“We’ve got three big electric kilns and a big gas kiln plus all of the equipment that  you need to run a proper gallery space and workshop. Besides our own work we have  a base for a variety of pottery classes and small school group workshops which we run  on a regular basis.”  

In recent years it would seem that there has been an enormous growth in the  popularity of handmade and unique craft objects including functional ceramics.

In  response, small businesses have emerged all over Victoria that specialise in creating  handmade bespoke items from clothing to homewares.

Events such as The Lost Trades Fair and the Australian Sheep and Wool Show  have shown great support for this growth and proven to be enormously popular  as people look to alternatives to cheap mass-produced product.

And Ian, who has  worked in the industry long enough to have seen its highs and lows, agrees.

“We’re really finding that people are wanting a connection to handmade, to hear  the story of how and where something is from. With my work people love to learn  about clay, what the glazes are and people are simply wanting to use hand-thrown  pottery again. It’s really lovely.”

Words & images: Tony Sawrey  

Glenlyon mum Claire Clifton could not be prouder of her son Jonathan Smith who took out first place in the Northern Shears Senior Competition at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo last weekend.

Jonathon, who plaits his substantial beard so he can see the sheep and stop them chewing on it while being shorn, also placed third in the Sports Shear Victorian State Final Senior Competition.

Claire said shearers were judged on speed and technique as well as gaining penalties for second cuts – short pieces of wool left on sheep to be shorn off – and any cuts on the sheep. The lowest point score wins.

“As an industry, farmers want as much wool staple as they can in the best possible quality to get best prices. Therefore, shearers need to be clean and accurate and with often many thousand sheep to get through, time is of the essence.”

Claire said Jonathon, who lives in Inverleigh with his wife and two children after growing up in Freshwater Creek, has had a lifelong passion for shearing, working mainly in the southern and central districts of Victoria with occasional sheds further north.

“Like many shearers, he continues to battle back injuries and after several nerve block procedures, is preparing for surgery in the coming months. Of course, he is adamant to fit in the surgery around his shearing competitions and shed work.”

Jonathon’s next major competition will be Royal Geelong Show in October.

Main image: Claire Clifton

Last month’s French National Day event held in the Daylesford Town Hall has raised over $5000 for the Daylesford Community Brass Band to purchase new instruments.

Organisers say the result was made possible by the strong support of the local business community and their many different ways of contributing.

In a public statement of gratitude they said those who generously contributed to the event had included: Albert Street Butchery, Bar Merenda, Belle Property Daylesford, Bendigo Bank, Beppe Restaurant, Blake Family Grocers, Blooms Pharmacy, Brian Nash – artist, Cellarbrations, Clayfire Gallery, Cliffy’s Emporium, Coles Daylesford, CWA Daylesford, Daylesford Bakery, Daylesford Brewing Co, Daylesford Cidery, Daylesford Community Op Shop, Daylesford Home, Timber & Hardware, Daylesford Meat Company, Daylesford Seafood Bar, Daylesford Shoe Co, Daylesford Trading Co, Double C Jeanery, e Casa, Enki Apothecary, Frances Pilley, George & Matilda Eyecare, Gewürzhaus, Harry & Me, Harvest Café, Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, Hepburn Brewing Company, Hepburn Distillery, Herbal Lore Liqueurs, Himalaya Bakery, Istra Smallgoods, Jodele, Lake House, Larder, Lavandula, Magic Pudding, Manteau Noir, Marcella Q, Mineral Springs Hotel, Officeworks Ballarat, The Palais-Hepburn, Paradise Bookshop, Portal 108, Rijk Zwaan Seeds, Rubens Restaurant, Sailors Falls Estate, Sault Restaurant, Spice of India, Springs Medical Centre, Sweet Decadence at Locantro, That Bargain Place, The Local, Tonna’s, Walters Café, Winespeake Cellar and Deli and Wombat Hill Florists.

Organisers issued a special thank you also to the Daylesford District Community Bank (Bendigo Bank) “for their considerable and continuing support”.

They’ve also especially acknowledge dand thanked “those wonderful people who came along on the night, bought tickets, raffle tickets and auction items and took part wholeheartedly in the spirit of the evening”.

with Eve Lamb

Woodend photographic artist Deborah Mullins draws plenty of inspiration from the landscape, including frequent trips to the Outback and also from her own 1.6-hectare garden on the stunning 16-hectare Hesket Farm property where she and her husband Tom reside. Deborah’s work has been displayed in many galleries in Melbourne and the Central Victorian region. Some of her latest work will be part of Little Gallery’s winter fundraising show launching in Trentham this-evening Friday, August 2.

Eve: I can see why your surrounds inspire a lot of your work.

Deborah: Yes. We’ve been here for 14 years now and just absolutely love it. We have never regretted our move from Melbourne for a minute.

Eve: Your garden here inspires quite a lot of your work doesn’t it?

Deborah: It does, and the animals and birds within the garden itself. I also do quite a bit of still life photography as well. It’s a hard genre and not everybody likes still life but I enjoy doing it, and it is suited to winter.

Eve: Can you tell me a bit more about your process of creating images and the way you use the term photographic art or digital art, as distinct from ‘photography’?

Deborah: I like to push the boundaries. I have a huge library of photographic images that I have taken over the years and I do a lot of composite work. I do a lot of Photoshop work. I use the images I have taken using a digital camera to create new landscapes and scenes. I suppose it’s a bit like a digital collage. I use photographic images in a similar way so you could call it digital art. At the moment everything I create is of photographic origin. There’s no AI in it. I take the photos and mix them up and overlay and combine to create some sort of new image.

Eve: How did you get into photographic art?

Deborah: I did an advanced diploma of photography, finished in 2011 and pretty much started with straight landscape photography.

Eve: What work are you planning to exhibit as part of the Winter Show?

Deborah: I’m leaving it until the last minute to decide. I’ve got a couple of different series I have been working on recently. One is a series I’m doing called Entice which involves urban landscapes and the figure of a child…and another landscape series focusing on the colours of the landscape. We do a lot of outback travel. I draw a lot of inspiration from the Outback. The textures, colours, the birdlife. I also do aerial photography.

Eve: Do you use a drone for that?

Deborah: Yes. Tom drives the drone and I tell him where to go so I can focus on getting the image.

Eve: Have you ever worked in any other area besides photography?

Deborah: Yes, I was a physiotherapist and then a health educator. I managed health education programs.

Eve: What do you shoot with? And what sort of lenses do you use?

Deborah: A Canon R5 mirrorless and a standard DSLR, a Canon 5DS R. If I’m doing a lot of bird photos I use a 100-400mm telephoto lens with an extender that gets it out to 600mm. I also use a fixed 50mm lens which is an absolutely brilliant lens, a 100mm macro lens, and a very wide 11-24mm rectilinear wide angle lens.

Eve: Besides Little Gallery’s winter fundraising exhibition, do you have any other upcoming exhibitions on your radar?

Deborah: I have got work on display at Verdure in Romsey and I will be a feature artist at Art For All which is a major fundraiser for Fairfield Primary School in Melbourne over September 6-8. Then I will also have some work in the Kerrie Hall Art Show over October 18-20.

Eve: What do you enjoy most about your work as a photographic artist?

Deborah: I like the challenge of creating something new. I like trying to turn something that might be seen as quite bland into something that might be considered more interesting. As much as I can I try to create a bit of a story in my images. I think that lends itself to interpretation a little. I don’t like to spoon-feed people. I like to leave it a little more open to interpretation and it can be very interesting to see how differently various people interpret the same image.

Are you an artist or do you know an artist who might like to feature in The Local? Eve would love to hear from you. Email editorial tlnews.com.au

Central Highlands Rural Health has partnered with the Hepburn Shire Council to provide grade five and six students across Hepburn Shire primary schools with free access to important puberty education resources.

To coincide with the continuation of CHRH’s successful puberty education program in primary schools, two important initiatives with the council will further educate and prepare the youth of the shire.

From July, Hepburn Shire libraries in Clunes, Creswick, Daylesford and Trentham have a display stand of 13 books recommended by CHRH as part of its puberty education program.

Students and parents from Hepburn Shire primary schools will have access to the books to learn about the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty.

In addition to the library resources, the council and CHRH have partnered to deliver the Reusable Period Products Program in all Hepburn Shire primary schools.

Following the recent success of the council’s Reusable Voucher Program, the Reusable Period Products Primary School Program recognises the significant waste to landfill that period products generate.

The program aims at an early intervention education, to offer students who menstruate an opportunity to utilise reusable period products from the beginning of their menstruation journey.

As part of CHRH’s yearly primary school puberty education program, grade five and six students in need of period education will attend a 60-minute session to learn about all things related to getting their periods and how to manage them.

Students who attend will receive two pairs of reusable period underwear and a wet bag to keep, supplied by a business based in Kyneton called Darlings Downunder.

Research shows that most tweens and teens will continue to use the first sanitary products they were introduced to for most of their menstruating life.

Unfortunately, this tends to be pads containing plastic and tampons that ultimately end up in landfill.

Clean Up Australia data suggests that over the course of a lifetime, a single menstruator will use somewhere between 5000 and 15,000 pads and tampons