Community News
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Prepare for the inevitable with purpose
As part of the national Dying To Know campaign this August, local independent death worker, end-of-life consultant and artist Hayley West will be giving talks at the Kyneton and Castlemaine Libraries on the topic of ‘Reimaging Death’. Dying To Know aims to inspire you to begin to prepare for the inevitable, not with fear, but…
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Where is YIMBY in mid 2025?
Back in early 2020, the idea for a community compost initiative was born around a kitchen table in Castlemaine. In the five years since, YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) compost has grown to a thriving, distributed community of composters, their contributing households and a small but dynamic coordination team. Recently YIMBY passed the milestone…
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Busker off to Brazil
Gisborne’s beloved busker, Melvyn Cann, who was recently honoured by the Melbourne Composers League, has received another distinction. He is off to Brasiliá to a performance of the Orchestra of Claudio Santoro, formerly The Brazilian National Orchestra. Melvyn is one of two local composers selected to write works for this orchestra. He has been acting…
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Let there be art: Little Gallery’s Winter Show draws hundreds of visitors
The Little Gallery’s 2025 Winter Art Show’s opening night was a huge success, bringing in hundreds of visitors to Trentham within its first week. In minutes of opening the doors, punters flowed through the doors eager to get a glimpse of the new art on show. The gallery was at full capacity with guests spilling…
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The amazing water-holding capacity of good compost
When our soils are healthy, active with soil life and rich in well-decomposed organic matter they can hold many times more water than the same type of soil in poor condition. Research from the University of Sydney has tried to quantify this effect and found that increasing the organic carbon content of a soil from…
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Come plant with us!
National Tree Day is coming up on Sunday July 27. National Tree Day is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the environment. To celebrate, Connecting Country is partnering with the Friends of Campbells Creek and others to bring you a community planting day and nature…
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A welcome to babies
Dhelkaya’s Aboriginal Health Liaison team partnered with Mount Alexander Shire Council to bring a much-anticipated event to Castlemaine – the very first Welcome Baby to Country ceremony, held last Wednesday at the Botanic Gardens during NAIDOC Week. The Maternal and Child Health staff, along with the Midwifery Group Practice staff, all contributed to this cultural…
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A different ability
Mel Stephens has zero vision and no complaints. If someone offered to restore her vision, she would tell them to “go jump in the river and don’t come out”. “I had (vision). It was fun. If I could see with my iPhone screen, that’d be good. But I don’t need it and I don’t want…
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Humus, magic or myth?
Gardeners who are tuned in to the benefits of healthy soil probably know the term ‘humus’ and likely have a sense of what soil with this quality feels like; rich, moist, almost ‘greasy’ in quality. The problem is, it is possible humus, as a substance, does not exist at all! In the early years of…
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Macapella to screen on world stage
A short documentary created in Castlemaine has been officially selected for The Women’s International Film Festival in New York City, hosted by Women in Media – Newark. Created by Lucy Armstrong, Fred Farquhar and Rich McLeish, Macapella first premiered at the 2024 Castlemaine Documentary Festival. What began as a local story rooted in the heart…
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Reconciliation for Hepburn
Hepburn Shire Council is officially launching its Reconciliation Action Plan INNOVATE (RAP) as part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, marking a significant step in its commitment to truth-telling, respect and meaningful change. The launch event will be held on Friday, July 11, from 1pm to 3pm at Hepburn Pavilion, Mineral Springs Road, Hepburn Springs. Community members…
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Cow manure. Great, if you can get it
Cow manure is one of the best manures for our compost pile and many early compost recipes recommended cow (dairy) or cattle (meat) manure as one of the major ingredients in a good compost recipe. The question is, can we still get our hands on a good source of it? Sir Albert Howard, the father…