News
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Walk for wellbeing
Castlemaine-based suicide prevention charity HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) is gearing up for its second annual HALT Community Wellbeing Walk and is inviting interested participants to join in the 2020 challenge. Registrations are now open for the 2020 walk which will take place over six days from March 30-April 4. In 2019 the inaugural walk…
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Fill birdbaths for wildlife
The recent wildfires throughout southeastern Australia have had tragic impacts on people and wildlife. While the Macedon Ranges and its environs escaped devastation during these latest fires, our region’s sensitive natural habitats are still subject to chronic rising temperatures and declining rainfall, posing threats to long-established wildlife populations. In light of the immense damage suffered…
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Upskill in weed control at Woodend workshop
A workshop in Woodend next month will provide landholders who have waterway frontage with the skills and knowledge to improve weed management along waterways. Organised by the North Central Catchment Management Authority, the workshop is an integral part of projects that are improving the health of waterways in the upper Campaspe and Coliban catchments. Riparian…
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Devastation and hope
Dedicated local wildlife carers Scott and Nikki Medwell of the Red Box Wildlife Shelter at Elphinstone have been doing what they can to support stricken fellow wildlife carers in Victoria and beyond. Scott made the trek north earlier this month to offer assistance to fellow carers and friends Sara Tilling and Gary Henderson of the…
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Railway maneuvres
Victorian Goldfields Railway volunteers have begun dismantling the old Castlemaine-Guildford railway track before re-using the rails to upgrade the Castlemaine-Maldon tourist railway. The project that started last week opens up interesting questions as to the future of the Castlemaine-Guildford corridor and, more pointedly, the currently disused Castlemaine-Maryborough passenger line that it’s part of. Starting at…
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Reclaiming the Campaspe River
Campaspe River landowners are taking the health of the river into their own hands by commissioning independent scientific monitoring of the waterway. The residents fear waste from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant will continue to pollute the river, as Coliban Water faces 11 criminal charges relating to the illegal discharge of thousands of litres of…
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Fierce forest fire
A thick layer of smoke has blanketed parts of the Macedon Ranges after lightning sparked a fierce blaze in the Cobaw Forest near Pipers Creek about 4pm Sunday. About 40 CFA, Forest Fire Management and Parks Victoria crews attacked the firefront that threatened farming properties. Emergency warning alerts were issued as winds spread embers over…
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A home of their own
Providing secure, affordable and accessible housing options for local people with intellectual disabilities has been one of two major priorities for the Mount Alexander Shire Accommodation and Respite Group since it formed almost a decade ago. Over the past three months, MASARG has been consulting with local groups and businesses about their ‘A Home of…
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Castlemaine ceramicists inspired by the natural world
A trio of local ceramicists are sharing their beautiful handmade works with the public as part of a new gallery and working studio space at The Mill Castlemaine ‘Studio Su’. Artists and friends Ann Ferguson, Kaori Fujimoto and Anna Read explain that ‘Su’ is a Japanese word meaning nest and ‘being one’s true, authentic self’.…
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Don’t be under insured
The keynote speaker at a Fire Ready Victoria session in Lancefield on Saturday evening emphasised the importance of property owners being “paid up” and having the appropriate amount of insurance cover needed to rebuild their homes if they were destroyed by fire. Chewton Fire Brigade’s community safety officer Rob Reid Smith pointed out that flowing…
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Know your bushfire survival plan
In the event of major bushfire or emergency in which you must evacuate your home, it is important that you have a plan in place for where you will go. When you decide to leave is the most important decision you will make. Driving in a bushfire is extremely dangerous and can be fatal. A…
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Castlemaine event to connect a community …
The unprecedented fires impacting Victoria and other states, and the underlying issue of climate change, is upsetting not just for those directly involved – but for the wider community. It’s a strong awareness of this that’s prompted local muso and editor and publisher of national health and wellbeing magazine The Art of Healing, Cate Mercer,…