Community News

  • ‘Parky Pals’ offer support, hope and friendship

    ‘Parky Pals’ offer support, hope and friendship

    Castlemaine now has its own Parkinson’s support group, affectionately known as ‘Parky Pals’.

  • The Compost Conversation – Flat out for great compost

    The Compost Conversation – Flat out for great compost

    Note: We have decided to leave our article on making biochar until after the fire season is passed. There is one pro-composting tip that sets the serious composters apart from the pack. It is so simple you might not believe what a difference it can make, but if I could share only one composting tip…

  • Op shop fashion fundraiser

    Op shop fashion fundraiser

    The Kindness Collective at Kyneton is hosting an Op Shop Fashion Parade fundraiser next month to help raise funds for the Kyneton Foodbank. Amid cost of living pressures, the Kindness Collective is seeing daily increases of people signing up to use the foodbank and coming in for soup kitchen lunches. “The fashion parade fundraiser will…

  • Bag a bargain at Woodend

    Bag a bargain at Woodend

    The Woodend Whole Town Garage Sale is making its comeback on Saturday March 2. Now in its 11th year, the event saw over 40 houses register last year, proving the saying, “someone’s trash is another person’s treasure”. Woodend residents are encouraged to register their address to secure a spot on the town-wide garage sale map.…

  • The Compost Conversation – Biocharging your compost

    The Compost Conversation – Biocharging your compost

    There is lots of interest, quite a bit of hype and some pretty optimistic hope pinned on biochar and what it might be able to do to improve agricultural soil and yields while simultaneously drawing carbon out of the atmosphere for a very long time. A clearer picture is starting to emerge about the best…

  • Inspirational speaker

    Inspirational speaker

    Woodend’s Victoria Hotel will be the venue for another inspirational guest speaker for the first Birds of a Feather event for 2024.

  • The Compost Conversation: The cure for your compost

    The Compost Conversation: The cure for your compost

    It can be tempting to try to spread our compost out before it is fully cured, but there are good reasons to not rush things.

  • The Compost Conversation – Straightening the hay from the straw

    The Compost Conversation – Straightening the hay from the straw

    There is a bit of confusion out there between ‘straw’ and ‘hay’. You hear them used interchangeably but they are quite different products and play different roles in our compost piles. Let’s have a look at what makes each distinct. Hay is grass or other pasture plants that are cut when they are still green…

  • Emergency guide launched

    Emergency guide launched

    Mount Alexander Shire residents now have access to a new Emergency Essentials Guide thanks to the Castlemaine SES and input from other local emergency services.

  • Radio gives kids a voice

    Radio gives kids a voice

    A new radio program ‘Mount Alexander Kids Radio’ (MAK Radio) is giving local kids a voice on community radio station MainFM 94.9.

  • Charity lunch at Trentham

    Charity lunch at Trentham

    The Cosmopolitan Hotel will host an inaugural International Women’s Day Charity Lunch in Trentham on Friday March 8.

  • Swap keeps clothes from landfill

    Swap keeps clothes from landfill

    The Trentham Fashion Swap team is hosting the first of four clothing swaps for 2024 on Sunday February 18, in a great new location at the Trentham Neighbourhood Centre.