Mail - Lilydale Star Mail - 12th October 2021

Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

Lilydale

Mail

Disgraceful acts of Vandalism on memorials

Yarn bombing boost spirits in Montrose

Lilydale Youth Hub helps mental health crisis

How to help wildlife in breeding season

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A Star News Group Publication

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Return to school

By Mikayla van Loon

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Mount Lilydale Mercy College captains Melinda Virgona and Sam Green were excited to get back to school and be around their classmates for their final weeks.

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After weeks of remote learning, Year 12 students have finally returned to campuses across metropolitan Melbourne to spend their last few weeks of school life with their friends and teachers before heading into exams.

For Year 12 students at Mount Lilydale Mercy College (MLMC), getting back to onsite learning on Wednesday 6 October was not only about having face to face contact but also about reviving their motivation.

School captains Melinda Virgona and Sam Green said had the lockdown only been a couple of weeks, they think their fellow classmates would have coped better but when it kept getting extended, that’s when motivation teetered off.

“I felt like I was really motivated through last year’s lockdown and early this year as well.

I was so productive and everything and happy with where I was at, unlike a lot of other people in our year level,” Sam said.

“But even myself towards the end of lockdown was just losing all motivation and not being able to complete any tasks properly or anything.”

These Year 12 students have had a rough two years completing their final and most important years of schooling at home.

As most high school graduates would say, the final year of school is one of the most challenging but fun years to go through and Sam and Melinda said they do feel like they have missed out on some of those milestones that Year 12 offers.

“It’s nice to be back and I’m really happy that we even just get these few weeks to make up for it somehow,” Melinda said.

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NEWS

Horrible act of vandalism

By Mikayla van Loon A number of war landmarks have been graffitied and vandalised in the last week, leaving war veterans utterly disappointed by the lack of respect.

The light that shines on the Australian flag of a night time at the war memorial park at Mount Evelyn has been stolen, while a storyboard about Sir John Monash has been graffitied at Lillydale Lake.

Mount Evelyn RSL vice president Roger Boness said on either the night of 28 September or the morning of 29 September someone has used a crowbar to break into the lightbox.

Not only has the light itself been stolen but Mr Boness said all the electrical wiring had been cut.

“It is very disappointing. Mount Evelyn RSL has spent a lot of time and effort on the memorial park,” he said.

“It should be respected and it usually is.

This was a real shock to everyone.”

Lilydale RSL president Bill Dobson said nothing of this nature has happened before at Lillydale Lake but graffiti has appeared on the Lilydale cenotaph.

The storyboard marks the location of a militia camp that was set up in 1914 for soldiers to train.

“That’s a tribute to Monash and Monash is the greatest general and is also a scholar outside of the military and an engineer and to see something defaced like that was very disappointing,” Mr Dobson said.

“Like all monuments it’s a sacred site I suppose and no one should be writing on sacred sites. That’s just my view, whether it’s Monash or anybody else. We need to look after sacred sites because they remember people’s sacrifices.”

Unfortunately this is not the first time war memorials have been targeted, with Mr Boness saying 11 years ago the Mount Evelyn flag

The Sir John Monash storyboard at Lillydale Lake was vandalised with a rest in peace message for someone who had passed away.

Picture: SUPPLIED and flagpole was stolen completely and five years ago someone was caught graffiting the monument.

Mr Boness also said roses that had been specially propagated in Morwell to replicate the Flanders Field poppies were stolen twice after being planted and replaced.

RSL’s work to keep the memory of the fallen alive by passing on the history of wars and conflicts to younger generations.

“The war memorial is a place for primary school kids to learn about conflicts and the effects of those conflicts and the migration that

happens afterwards,” Mr Boness said.

“It is a special place. All of Mount Evelyn’s fallen are named on the monument.”

The light was installed in Mount Evelyn a number of years ago with the help of the Lilydale Rotary Club to ensure the Australian Flag could fly at night.

The protocol for the Australian flag to be flown at night requires it to be illuminated by light.

Mr Boness said the light has also become a safety feature in Mount Evelyn as it is automatically activated at dusk and is connected to

the toilet block.

Mount Evelyn RSL received an influx of community support, with a number of electricians offering to replace the light for free.

Yarra Ranges Council have since stepped in to replace the light and repair the lightbox, with an OH&S approved and energy efficient system, as well as removed the graffiti from the storyboard.

Victoria Police have also been notified and are investigating. Mount Evelyn RSL are asking anyone with any information to please contact the police.

Getting back to school FlexiRide has arrived From Monday 4 October, the new on–demand bus service FlexiRide will help residents in Chirnside Park, Lilydale, Mooroolbark and Croydon get to and from work, local shopping centres and transport hubs. FlexiRide will replace Telebus routes 1,2,3 and 4 and Route 676.

FlexiRide has no fixed route and only operates when booked.

Passengers can book a trip from their nearest physical or virtual bus stop and travel to and from the designated travel hubs within the same zone.

PTVH5663/21

To find out what designated travels hubs are in your area visit ptv.vic.gov.au/flexiride

From page 1 “Our teachers are already trying to make things as fun as possible. We had macaroons this morning and our teacher brought cake to class, so it’s just nice that we’re all back together.”

MLMC’s Year 12 coordinator Andrew Leaumont said the feeling among staff and students is really positive and everyone is pleased to be back at school.

“We’re very proud of them, not just myself but all the staff here at the college, they’ve done a fantastic job. It was great to see them yesterday and today and it’s something that we have certainly been looking forward to,” Mr Leaumont said.

Keeping students in the routine of school was important for MLMC and that’s why the structure of classes remained in place.

“Just to keep that routine and the expectations and to try and keep them in those habits and not fall into bad habits of sleeping in, to keep them lesson by lesson, focusing on it like they were at school, so trying to keep that routine as normal as possible in a really difficult situation,” Mr Leaumont said.

Year 12 students have two weeks of classes before they head into exams and while normally this time would be spent dedicated to revision, Mr Leaumont said it will also be about figuring out what students still need to cover.

“This time of year, it’s usually all about revision but normally, you will have seen

them for the entire year so you’d have a little bit more, I suppose, understanding of where revision needs to be, whereas now it might be going back and trying to fill in a few gaps as well as revision.”

Melinda said being back on campus has made her and her classmates more focused on their learning because being around their peers and teachers makes it that much easier to do the work.

Both Sam and Mr Leaumont agreed that the Year 12s will most likely use the school facilities to their full potential while studying for exams to break up the mundane feeling of being at home.

“I think those last couple of weeks, or even the week of exams, where students have the option to come into school and study they might be more inclined to do that, to focus on their learning rather than staying at home,” Sam said.

“Last year, and what I’d imagine this year as well, they will prefer to get up in the morning, put their uniform on, come to school and study by themselves, with their peers and seek out their teachers,” Mr Leaumont said.

But being back on campus, around their friends, with the support of their teachers, has made this Year 12 cohort grateful for the ability to learn and what going to school provides.

“It kind of just makes us grateful for school and being able to go to school and everything, rather than being stuck at home trying to learn.”

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MLMC students were looking forward to catching up with friends.

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

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NEWS

IN BRIEF Woman dies in Bayswater North

Million dollar vax

A woman has died following an incident in Bayswater North on the night of Saturday 9 October.

Emergency services were called to a Huntingdon Avenue property just after 7.30pm.

A man and woman were located inside the property with life threatening injuries, the female died at the scene.

The man has been transported to hospital in a critical condition.

Both are yet to be formally identified but both parties are believed to be known to each other. The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated.

By Gabriella Payne

Search for bike owner Mooroolbark Police are seeking the owner of a blue Repco bike that was handed in by a member of the public which was found in a reserve area off Hull Road in Mooroolbark.

If you are the owner or know who owns the bike please contact Mooroolbark Police Station on (03) 9725 9999.

Proof of ownership will be required.

Clandestine lab located in Yarra Glen

Australians who are fully vaccinated can go in the draw to win a million dollars thanks to the initiative.

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Covid cases rise in Yarra Ranges

By Renee Wood Health officials are urging residents in the eastern suburbs to be vigilant of Covid-19 as cases rise in the region.

The daily press conference has highlighted a spike in cases in the east, including 10 in the Yarra Ranges, 14 in Knox and 14 in Maroondah part of today’s 867 cases from the last 24 hours.

The 10 new cases for Yarra Ranges are from the following postcodes 3160 – 3 3137 - 3 3116 - 2 3796 – 1 3138 – 1 This brings the active case number for the LGA’s to, 32 for Yarra Ranges, 64 for Knox and 54 for Maroondah.

There is yet to be any new exposure sites listed in the area.

Vaccination numbers have also risen, allowing Greater Melbourne to see restrictions ease on community sport like golf and tennis from midnight tonight.

This is part of the State Government’s road map out of lockdown, as we hit the milestone for 80 per cent single dose.

Fire preparedness for carers

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To protect Victoria’s vulnerable population this fire season, CFA and Carers Victoria have released a new e-learning module to support carers with bushfire planning.

The module, Bushfire Planning: You and the person you care for, was developed for anyone who provides care or support to someone living with disability, mental illness, chronic health issues or age-related conditions.

This week marks National Carers Week (10 – 16 October), and CFA encourages anyone who provides care to someone, to complete the module and keep them safe and prepared.

The module is part of CFA’s broader Preparing Vulnerable People (PVP) project.

The PVP project is a three-year CFA-led initiative aiming to improve bushfire preparedness planning for people who are vulnerable.

Covid cases have risen in Yarra Ranges by 10 in the last 24 hours.

Picture: FUSION MEDICAL ANIMATION ON UNSPLASH Health officials are maintaining the message for Victorians to get vaccinated to slow the spread.

Other areas that have seen a spike in case numbers have been praised for their swift vaccination take up.

“Other outbreak areas that have exceeded the state average growth in the past week include Wyndham, Milton, Dandenong,

Mitchell, Cardinia, and Casey,” Health Department Deputy Secretary Kate Matson.

“So again, I thank all of those residents for coming forward for vaccination as we all know that is the best way through the other side of this outbreak.”

Vaccination rates in Victorians over the age of 16 are currently sitting at 48 per cent double dose.

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Three people arrested on Tuesday 5 October, after a series of warrants were executed across Victoria, have now been charged.

A 36-year-old Brighton East man, a 38-yearold Clyde man and a 35-year-old Brighton East woman have all been charged with traffick commercial quantity of drug of dependence.

Warrants were executed at residential, commercial and rural properties in Yarra Glen, Brighton East and Cheltenham.

Detectives from the Clandestine Laboratory Squad located a large clandestine laboratory at the Yarra Glen property with commercial quantities of unknown liquids, believed to be liquid methylamphetamine and precursor chemicals.

A quantity of methylamphetamine was also seized directly from two of the people arrested.

Police also seized cash, false identification, and a number of high-end stolen goods, including two allegedly stolen BMWs, drones, racing bikes and industrial equipment.

The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

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As well as the major million dollar prize (which will be drawn on Friday 5 November), 3,100 Ultimate eGift cards (valued at $1,000 each) will be given away each day throughout the month of October.

The ’Million Dollar Vax’ promotion is open to all Australian residents aged 18 years or older who will be fully vaccinated by Monday 13 December.

The people behind this new incentive said that they hope the lottery will encourage un-vaccinated Australians to get their jabs as soon as possible, so that the country can move away from lockdowns in the near future.

“This initiative has been created by the ‘Million Dollar Vax Alliance’, a group of generous philanthropists and corporations, to accelerate Australia’s Covid-19 vaccination program in a safe and secure way,” a statement on the Million Dollar Vax website read.

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NEWS

Montrose yarn bombers

By Mikayla van Loon For what appears to be quite a small town, Montrose always has something happening to bring the community together and bring some joy to people’s lives.

The most recent has been the phenomenon known as yarn bombing, a type of street art that covers poles, trees, bollards and bench seats in knitted objects.

Montrose Township Group president Chelsey Cooper said the idea of yarn bombing Montrose came from a new member of the group who had seen it happen elsewhere.

After contacting a person they knew who was a passionate knitter, more and more people came out of the woodwork, leaving their knitted creations around town.

“We put a call out and just got a massive influx of people that enthusiastically said yes,” Ms Cooper said.

“We don’t know everyone because it was a bit of a secret who participated but the oldest person we knew was 88 years old, who did quite a bit. The youngest was 10 and we know we had both men and women contribute to the yarn bomb.”

Traditionally yarn bombing is a secret movement that just appears but Montrose Township Group actually took responsibility for it and approached Yarra Ranges Council for approval.

“They were really supportive and did all they could to get it through really quickly but that was also an agreement that we had it up for a certain amount of time,” Ms Cooper said.

“So what’s been created will be up for a month but I’ve already heard people say, ‘well, you know, I’m going to make some ghosts for halloween and hang them in the tree’ so who knows what will come from it.

“But I think it might have inspired a few more people to contribute these little gifts that surprise and delight us.”

For local resident and Montrose Meats business owner Rob Earney, seeing how the township group has been engaging people in the community, not only during Covid but even prior to that, is what makes Montrose Montrose.

“I’m a long term Montrose resident and in my eyes, it’s tradition, Montrose has always had that sense of community and that sense of togetherness,” he said.

“Montrose is geographically interesting, in that we’re our own little igloo and it’s easy for people to bypass or even not come to Mon-

Rob Earney from Montrose Meats has loved seeing the designs and colours of the yarn bombing popping up around town. 253175 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS trose, unless they’re particularly coming here.

So what they do is they’re involving the community, so they stay as a community.”

Mr Earney said the yarn bombing has brought eyes from outside the township to Montrose and has really created a sense of happiness.

“As a community member, it’s started the talk and people are talking about it and are quite excited about it and it’s given a new bit of colour to the township.”

Apart from the yarn bombing, one of Mr Earney’s favourite projects from the township group was a barbeque they hosted in the street at the end of one of the lockdowns last year.

“They did a free sausage sizzle for people that would walk along the street so that they could stop and talk and engage.That’s the sort of thing that holds the community together,” he said.

Mr Earney said the effort the township group puts into keeping people connected is admirable and he is grateful for the work they do.

Some of the streets poles have gained feet.

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Knitted designs have been creative and colourful. 253175

Ms Cooper said each of the projects the township group has done fits into the community vision they decided on last year.

“Our vision really was that we wanted to create a community where the people cared about and supported each other, our place and the natural environment,” she said.

“In Covid it’s obviously been hard for us

to get together to connect but it’s also meant we’ve been really creative about ways we can do that and make that vision come to life.

“What we noticed was those little moments where you can be surprised and delighted and they bring real joy and it helps us feel proud to be in a community that wants to be generous with each other.”

Yarra Ranges Victoria Cross recipient honoured

By Mikayla van Loon George Ingram is the Yarra Valley’s very own war hero who was recognised with the region’s only Victoria Cross medal for his gallantry and dedication to fighting the Germans in World War I. Tuesday 5 October marked the 103rd year since the Battle of Montbrehain where the soldier from Seville helped carry out the successful attack on German defences and resulted in the taking of 400 prisoners.

To honour the occasion, Lilydale RSL president Bill Dobson, chair of the Seville War Memorial Committee Anthony McAleer and bugler Tom Steele, organised to lay a wreath in Seville.

“It’s a special day, just to just to remember his contribution and I think it’s really good after all these years, we’re still doing it,” Mr Dobson said.

George Ingram was one of the first returned soldiers to join the newly established Lilydale RSL in 1919 and was honoured by becoming the first life member of the RSL. Mr McAleer said he would like people to remember George Ingram’s story, particularly students at Seville Primary School, as a way of learning about World War I and the history of the Anzacs.

“We wanted to one recognise George Ingram and certainly what he achieved in the war but also recognise that there was a local war hero and recognise his involvement in 4 MAIL

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

Lilydale RSL president Bill Dobson and Seville War Memorial Committee members honoured George Ingram, a World War I veteran who received the Victoria Cross.

Picture: SUPPLIED the Anzac story,” he said.

The story of George Ingram is quite unique.

He enlisted in the army in 1914 and having had training with the militia in Queenscliff and Fort Nepean, he was sent to man the guns in the Pacific.

After doing so for 12 months, George, however, became ill from malaria and was sent home where he was discharged from the army, only for him to reenlist with a different middle name and be sent to Europe.

“There’s many aspects we can learn about

our Anzac history from George’s story, not just about courage and bravery but certainly sacrifice, certainly endurance, certainly dedication and a sense of duty,” Mr McAleer said.

Seville had around 34 men serve in World War I and of those around 14 never made it home, including George’s brothers Alex and Ronald.

Mr Dobson said George Ingram represents the commitment and sacrifice Seville’s men made during the war.

“If you think about it, there wouldn’t have been a lot of people in town and so it would

have been someone’s brother and son and neighbour and friend, so to lose so many around the town would have been devastating,” he said.

“And if you pick out something like George Ingram, it just keeps everything in focus about what happened at that time from a historical point of view.”

It took a number of years for George to overcome his horrific experience in the war and Mr McAleer said it wasn’t until he became a Shrine Guard 1934 that the healing process started.

By this point he was in his 40s and was seeing grieving families heal each and every day after visiting the Shrine of Remembrance.

“He saw the healing process that it had on the families and it had a larger effect on him and helped him get through a lot of those issues he had in those post war years.

“So much so that he then got inspired and ended up enlisting at the beginning of World War II after everything he went through.”

Mr Dobson said George gave a lot to serve his country in not only one but two world wars and it is important to remember him in any way they can, even if it is only in a small wreath laying ceremony until they can host a larger event.

“This is something we want to build on.

We want this to be an annual day for the Seville community and the surrounding area to recognise the Yarra Valley’s only Victoria Cross recipient,” Mr McAleer said. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Captain Koala helps kids

By Mikayla van Loon Understanding the risk of the summer fire season as adults means preparing a safety plan and clearing properties but for children it’s possibly a difficult thing to comprehend.

Having those conversations about fire danger and what needs to happen should a bushfire break out allows children to manage the situation better and prepare themselves for the worst case scenario.

Montrose CFA paired with the Montrose Township Group to bring kids a fire safety treasure hunt for the month of October and Captain Koala needs help finding his friends at seven locations across the Montrose township.

At every location, a fire safety message has been left behind to spark conversation and really involve children in the preparations for the fire season.

Montrose CFA community engagement coordinator Eddie Tichelaar said the Fire Safe Kids program is usually run in schools but with Covid-19 restricting the teaching of this, the CFA wanted to come up with a way to still get the message out there.

“It’s focused around bushfire safety and things that younger kids, five to 15 may start thinking about as they’re growing up. Safety around bushfires, when’s the time to leave, what are the triggers to leave,” he said.

“These are things that we try to educate the kids in the schools but of course, we can’t do that right now. So that’s why we have created the fire safety treasure hunt.”

Montrose Township Group president Chelsey Cooper said not only was this a great way to get families out but also really prompts the need to start thinking about bushfires this summer.

“It was just such a brilliant idea to get families out to do this wonderful scavenger hunt but as you go, sprinkled in there are little tips

Captain Koala needs help finding his friends in Montrose during the month of October.

Picture: CFA to keep us more aware of how we prepare for fire season,” she said.

Mr Tichelaar said by starting to introduce

children to fire safety in this way, it also prepares their parents for the fire season.

“We sometimes just start with the kids, just

start with the ideas, which then obviously gets parents thinking about it too,” he said.

Ms Cooper said the treasure hunt is also a great conversation starter for everyone but in an interactive way.

“It starts conversations, a conversation with other people and a conversation with your kids. I think sometimes all it is is just starting to talk about it makes you more aware of ‘Oh I have to be thinking about this and it’s coming, what do we need to do?’

“I think the CFA has been brilliant in the way that they’re trying to be creative to get their messages across.”

The treasure hunt will also flow into the upcoming bushfire planning workshops the CFA will host in November, December and February.

“That’s more of an education program for the grown ups because a lot of people don’t really understand the safety risks around bushfires in the area,” Mr Tichelaar said.

“People move in from the suburbs, they love the bush but a lot of people don’t understand the risks involved in living in this area.”

After storms last October, Ms Cooper said it generated the need for the township group to establish a plan for bushfires and other emergencies.

“We realised that we needed a plan of our own, how do we work with the community to be prepared for emergencies, bushfires, storms, whatever they might be. What role do we have in the response but also the recovery.

“So this integrates beautifully. What the CFA did organise, it’s fantastic. It’s helping people to be educated on what you can do and kids obviously play a role in that.”

Montrose CFA will host a face to face fire safety session on 16 November and one on 15 February, with an online session scheduled for 12 December.

Fire season prep begins

mailcommunity.com.au

your burn-offs.”

Once a Fire Danger Period has been declared in your local government area, you need to apply for a permit at firepermits. vic.gov.au. Visit cfa.vic.gov.au for more information about bushfire planning and preparation, and about leaving early.

Tips for preparing your property: Prune tree branches so they are not overhanging the roof or touching walls.

Replace mulch near the house with less flammable alternatives like pebbles.

Keep grass shorter than 10cm. Regularly remove leaves and twigs from around the house.

Don’t have large shrubs in front of windows or glass doors.

Before leaving early, make sure you remove all flammable items from around your home – including the doormat!

Check that your home and contents insurance is current and includes a level of cover in line with current building standards and regulations.

Keeping burn-offs safe and legal: Check fire restrictions with your local council.

Register your burn at firepermits.vic.gov. au or by calling 1800 668 511.

Check and monitor weather conditions – particularly wind – on the day of your burn and the few days after it as fires can flare up several days after a burn-off in windy conditions.

To avoid unnecessary calls to emergency services, notify your neighbours beforehand.

Leave a three-metre fire break, free from flammable materials around the burn.

Have sufficient equipment and water to stop the fire spreading and to extinguish it.

Never leave a burn-off unattended – stay for its entire duration.

If your burn-off gets out of control, call ‘000’ immediately.

· · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Looking for work?

Visit the Yarra Valley Seasonal Employment Hub and discover the wide variety of opportunities available in the area.

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With parts of Victoria already having experienced days of higher fire risk, now is the time to start preparing your property, CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan has warned.

While the most recent seasonal outlook for spring, released in late August by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC), shows parts of Victoria are forecast to have a wet spring, warm and windy days will bring an increased fire risk.

The outlook has predicted strong grass growth and the potential of increased grassfire conditions once the vegetation dries out – especially in the Wimmera and the Mallee fire districts which are likely to have an above normal fire potential during spring.

Fortunately, strong winter rainfall means the fire season activity is expected to be below normal across the eastern, north-east, central ranges and Otway Ranges, with a reduced risk of campaign bushfires in forested areas of the state.

However, Chief Officer Heffernan warned property owners in some forested areas still had a lot of debris to clear following winter storms.

“Victoria is one of the world’s most bushfire-prone areas, and even a normal fire season presents a high risk to communities.”

Chief Officer Heffernan said Victorians who planned to ‘leave early’ – that is the night before or morning of a high-fire risk day – should also prepare their property.

“Preparing your property means you minimise the chance of property damage during a fire, even if you plan to leave early. Houses have been lost from things as simple as embers landing on a doormat left out,” he said.

“A big clean-up before the fire season can make a huge difference to the safety and survival of your home in a bushfire.

“If burning off as part of preparing your property, make sure you check for local restrictions, monitor weather conditions – particularly wind – and always register

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After parting ways with Matilda Bay in the 90s, original founder Phil Sexton is back in charge, on a mission to rebuild Matilda Bay, with a new brewery and pub in Healesville on the site where Giant Steps Winery used to occupy.

Head Brewer Harry Sexton, Phil’s son, and the brewing team are busy reinventing their greatest hits, and launching a couple of new ones too, taking advantage of the mountain water and pristine environment.

Phil says “We’ve taken the opportunity COVID has thrown at us to focus on the things we’re passionate about – the beer, the food and the experience.”

Complete with an enormous welcoming bar and lots of weeknight activities, supporting local artists, producers and brewers. On weekends the teams run brewery tours, taking visitors through the brand-new stainless tanks. Matilda Bay’s four core brews are of course available, with limited editions, ciders and a wine list featuring a number of talented Yarra Valley winemakers. The food menu has been created with beer in mind and features fresh local and organic produce.

Stay up to date by following Matilda Bay on social media - @matildabaybrewery

12-14 nov

Bringing Europe to the Yarra Valley!

A weekend of Bavarian-style celebration from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th November, sampling the full Matilda Bay range and our small batch, limited brew, Munich-style Oktoberbräu.

Tickets $40* * includes your limited edition stein glass and a beer. free entry for Kids under 10.

Entertainment all weekend including a traditional Oompa Band and local musicians.

Book via qr code → matildaBay.com or phone: (03) 5957 3200

336 Maroondah Hwy Healesville VIC 3777 follow us on

6 MAIL

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

Mother of three Lauren Stevens said that her newly found support network had helped her immensely during the lockdowns.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Mums online

By Gabriella Payne We all know how tough lockdowns can be and with Melbourne now taking out the dreaded title of ‘most locked down city in the world’, we’ve all had our fair share of challenging days.

Being isolated at home has been hard for everyone - but for new mums with young kids, it’s arguably been even harder.

With three kids under three (a two year-old and seven month-old twins), young mum Lauren Stevens said that she had found the past year “really hard”, as she’d struggled to stay positive and get the support she needed while stuck at home.

“It’s been really hard thanks to having three under three, a pandemic, a lockdown - and because that all wasn’t enough, I’ve been struggling with postnatal depression as well,” Ms Stevens said.

“After the twins were born, I expected to be a lot more supported by family, but it’s been so hard to get out - so I think that’s where my depression came from.”

Having experienced fertility struggles, Ms Stevens said that she felt blessed to have her three little “miracles” - but during these unprecedented times, it was really challenging to stay connected and it could be really lonely at times.

Stuck at home and scrolling through social media one day, Ms Stevens stumbled upon an advert for an app that caught her eye.

“When I found ‘Peanut’ [the app] it was described as being like ‘Tinder for mums’,” Ms Stevens said.

“That made me laugh and I thought, ‘oh well, there’s nothing to lose by having a look’, and so it just went from there.”

A meeting place for like-minded mums, ‘Peanut’ was just the thing Ms Stevens needed and before she knew it, she had discovered a great group of women experiencing similar things to her in her local area.

“I am glad I [found ‘Peanut’] because I have made a close group of friends and am talking to other amazing mums also,” she said.

“At first I was really shy and didn’t know what to do, but now I’ve found a great group of people and connected with other mums in the south eastern suburbs, with similar aged kids and similar interests to me.”

Ms Stevens said that the app provided a safe space for these mums to share their thoughts and vent their frustrations, and it was such a great community filled with the support they all needed during these difficult times.

Not only is ‘Peanut’ a safe space for mums, but it also allows women experiencing fertility issues and those going through menopause to connect with one another.

“I’ve been posting in local Facebook groups about my experiences with ‘Peanut’ as I’m just trying to get the word out there to help support other mums,” she said.

“It’s just fantastic to have someone to talk to and a place where you can share your experiences.”

Ms Stevens said that post-lockdown, her and the other mums she had met via ‘Peanut’ who lived in Melbourne’s south east were planning to get together in person with their kids, and she couldn’t wait for that day to arrive.

She encouraged others facing struggles to reach out and look into the app, as it had made a world of difference in her life.

For more info, head to https://www.peanut-app.io/

Helping parents learn about anxiety in kids Victorian parents and carers now have free access to dedicated online programs to support children experiencing anxiety, as part of the Victorian Government’s latest mental health funding boost.

An investment of $1 million will expand the Triple P Positive Parenting Program statewide, supporting more than 20,000 Victorian families whose children are facing anxiety – whether that’s due to the pandemic or other triggers.

“There is no doubt that the pandemic has been profoundly challenging for many young people, which can be really challenging for their families – this immediate support will give every parent or carer the tools they need to cope with extra stress,” mental health minister James Merlino said.

The program consists of three online

modules aimed at parents of children aged 0-16 experiencing anxiety, anger and depression.

Triple P Online supports parents of children aged 0-12 years, Teen Triple P Online is targeted at parents of children 10-16 years old, and the brand new Fear Less Triple P Online is designed for parents whose children are aged 6-14 years old.

The Fear-Less program provides 24/7 tips, strategies and guidance for parents and carers on how to help their children manage their stress and become more emotionally resilient in challenging and uncertain times.

All the Triple P programs are translated into various languages, and are available for 12 months for any Victorian families who register online at triplep-parenting.net.au. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Hub helps health crisis

By Mikayla van Loon As the mental health crisis grows in the Yarra Ranges, the establishment of integrated services like the Lilydale Youth Hub are now more essential than ever.

The announcement of the Hub was first made in 2019 but in the last two to three months, the consortium of services has begun hosting telehealth appointments for young people aged 12 to 25.

Bringing together support services including Inspiro, Cire Services, Anchor, Oonah Health & Community Services and Eastern Community Legal Centre, the Hub aims to give each young person the holistic support they need to get through the challenges they are facing.

For case manager Tia Harris, who has worked in welfare in the eastern suburbs for 15 years, having a hub of services based in Lilydale will allow more people in the rural areas of the shire to access the services they need.

“This is a space I think everybody’s been wanting for a very long time. When you think of the Ranges, it’s vast, so just having something in between here and it used to be Ringwood,” she said.

“We are the Hub, it is going to be the mecca, all the services will be here for all young people in the Ranges.”

Prior to the Hub opening, Ms Harris said from many places in the shire the public transport was preventing young people from seeking help but case managers are able to provide transport to doctors appointments and other essentials.

With peer support counsellors, one-on-one guidance, mentoring, and case management, the Hub has a soft approach to mental health, by using relatability and flexibility to engage a troubled young person.

In saying that, mental health lead Joseph Niroshkumar is a trained psychiatric nurse and has worked in mental health for many years in the hospital system, allowing him and the team to assess a young person’s mental stability.

Mr Niroshkumar said some young people may present to the Hub not identifying as having a mental health concern but other stressors in their life could eventually lead to anxiety or depression.

“A person may come here and say ‘I don’t have a mental health issue, I’m at risk of losing my home’,” he said.

“That worry could eventually turn into anxiety, that in turn if it’s not treated could become depression and then that person could end up in a different situation, so it needs to be addressed.”

The Lilydale Youth Hub team are looking forward to having people use the specially designed space on Clarke Street, above headspace.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON Not only is the Hub trying to identify a person’s concern but also what their strengths are to help them through their current situation, whether that be finding them more secure housing or finding positive coping mechanisms for dealing with a trauma.

Ms Harris said a lot of the support case managers are doing at the moment is psychosocial, as many young people have been isolated during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Perhaps they’ve dropped out of school, they haven’t been able to engage in services, so they might have done counseling at headspace but don’t have phone credit, so they can’t actually go and do a telehealth appointment with

headspace or with anybody else,” she said.

“So that’s really hard and they’ve become quite isolated where they are.”

Building connections with these young people, Mr Niroshkumar said is quite important as it then builds rapport and trust, as well as encourages others to seek assistance. ”One in four people suffers from mental health in some shape or form so it’s very important to recognise early, work with them,” he said.

“Sometimes you need to have clinical interventions on top of the psychosocial intervention so it’s important to have that holistic approach.”

While the current situation of mental health is worrying for Mr Niroshkumar, he also said he is quite proud of how young people have sought help and have made connections during the pandemic.

Ms Harris is grateful to have a one stop shop for mental health, that will have an open door policy for people to use the Hub as a safe haven to charge a phone or make a sandwich but also combines all services so that young people don’t have to repeat their traumas.

The Lilydale Youth Hub is currently doing outreach and telehealth appointments, as well as taking referrals with the hope of opening up when restrictions ease in a few weeks.

Shut up for fundraiser

52 year old Carolyn Hutchinson was diagnosed with MND in 2016 and said her life has changed dramatically, including giving up her job, licence, gardening, and art and craft.

Picture: MND VICTORIA mailcommunity.com.au

MND Victoria has launched The Shut Up! For MND Challenge which will take place on Thursday 28 October 2021.

Participants are challenged to not speak for 12 hours to help raise funds for Victorians living with motor neurone disease (MND).

If the date does not suit, participants can complete the challenge on a different date in October.

Participants are also asked to nominate three friends to join them in the challenge. If the nominees do not wish to participate, they are encouraged to donate instead.

All money raised through this initiative will fund the direct care, support and vital assistive equipment required to help Victorians with MND live better for longer.

Workplaces are also encouraged to participate and adopt this challenge for their office hours. As well as supporting Victorians with MND, this challenge also encourages and promotes mental wellbeing for employees, especially in light of current feelings of lockdown fatigue and technology overload.

“Since my diagnosis in 2016, my life has changed a lot. I had to give up everything I loved: my job, my licence, gardening, art and crafts, fancy dress parties with my friends, even being able to hold my grandbabies,” said Carolyn Hutchinson, a 52 year old woman who has MND. “I really can’t do much beside browse the

internet and watch TV. It’s pretty much eat, sleep, poop, repeat. MND has taken everything from me. But the hardest part has been losing my ability to speak.”

On average, there are approximately 470 Victorians with MND at any one time. In Australia, two people are diagnosed with MND every day, and 2 people die of MND every day.

“Shut Up! for MND is a unique way to bring attention to what many Victorians living with MND face daily,” said MND Victoria CEO, Kate Johnson.

“Each MND journey is different, but many people will lose their voice and become reliant on other forms of communication.”

“It’s our job to give Victorians living with MND the best possible care and support so they can still enjoy life and remain independent, safe and engaged with their community for as long as possible.”

MND is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the nerves that support movement, speech, swallowing and breathing. There is currently no known cause, treatment, or cure, and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is 27 months.

The Shut Up! for MND Challenge is hosted on the official website www.shutupformnd. org.au.

All money raised through this initiative directly supports people living with MND. Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

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MAIL 7

NEWS

Event for faunal emblems

By Renee Wood Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater and Leadbeater’s Possums are coming together to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of both animals being Victoria’s faunal emblems.

An online symposium and art exhibition launch will be held on Saturday 16 October discussing the importance of the animals and what works are being done to save the critically endangered species.

Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater President Alan Clayton is encouraging residents in the Yarra Ranges to join the event to gain a greater awareness on both animals and they’re part in the ecosystem.

“If people become more widely aware of what critically endangered threatened species are around then we can all work together and what I certainly stress is that while we call ourselves Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater were actually the friends of all the species that make up the complex ecosystem,” President Alan Clayton said.

Dr Dan Harley, Senior Ecologist at Zoos Victoria is the keynote speaker for the symposium and will discuss both species and the threats they face, while also sharing current recovery programs that are helping to rejuvenate numbers.

“His role at Zoos Victoria includes identifying those species which require urgent management interventions and being part of developing strategic objectives, so we thought that Dan would be the ideal person to give that overview.”

A panel discussion will follow Dr Harley’s overview to provide greater insight into the ecology, habitats and restoration - including discussing how the volunteers work with private landholders.

“More than 90 of them are engaged in doing some form of habitat restoration - works that can be done on their properties in terms

of weed reduction and things like that. So basically working with them in conjunction with the local landcare groups.”

The launch of the online art exhibition will allow the community to browse works submitted by Australian artists, while also having the opportunity to purchase the art.

“100 per cent of every single dollar will go into habitat restoration, we are a volunteer led group so it’s not going to anything except directly into habitat restoration.”

The volunteer’s vital work with environment bodies and Healesville Sanctuary has helped to boost honeyeater numbers slowly, going from 50 in the wild ten years ago to more than 250 in the wild currently.

Volunteers also work in a captive breeding program at Healesville Sanctuary for Leadbeater’s Possum which commenced in May 2012.

“They are still critically endangered, it’s not a fix saying well mission over, it’s still continuing because of the dedication of hundreds of volunteers and others and their partnerships with Zoos Victoria, with Melbourne Water, with the Port Phillip and Western Port Catchment Management Authority, Parks Victoria, DELWP and Shire of Yarra Ranges.

“These partnerships and a really dedicated volunteer base have put in hundreds of thousands of hours over 30 years, they have have been responsible for planting over two million trees, shrubs and grasses in and around the Yellingbo reserve.”

Tickets are free and available from Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/celebrating-50-years-of-our-faunal-emblems-tickets-174093657817

The Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater formed in May 1989 when the population of the Helmeted Honeyeater’s reached a critically low level of 50 birds.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

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Mail New Aussies welcomed

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Sanders relives rally

Brown’s AFLW debut

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SPORT

A Star News Group Publication

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PROPERTY GUIDE Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

PROPERTY GUIDE Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808

Back to school!

12477081-JW03-21

A Star News Group Publication

SPORT

12477081-JW03-21

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Mail

The Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 burned around 45 per cent of Leadbeater’s Possum’s reserved habitat. There are now estimated to be around 2,000 Leadbeater’s Possums.

Tuesday, 2 February, 2021

School students across Victoria made their return to school following summer holidays, while 2021’s preps got their first taste of primary school life. Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy conducted a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony for Badger Creek Primary School students and staff.

See page 7 for more back to school excitment.

Back to school!

School students across Victoria made their return to school following summer holidays, while 2021’s preps got their first taste of primary school life. Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Joy Murphy

By Jed Lanyon

Centre in the lead up to Christmas. Many locals far and wide were able to keep up their Christmas tradition in getting a family photo with ‘The Real Santa’ who they had grown to love.

The unlikely tandem tallied upwards of $30,000 from their family Christmas photos and then selected four charities to each receive

$8400 to help make the lives of children better.

The four recipients of the funds included: Backpacks 4 Vic Kids, A Better Life For Foster Kids, HeartKids and Chum Creek’s Good Life Farm. The organisations shared how the funds had already been put to good use.

Backpacks 4 Vic Kids CEO and founder Sally Beard told Star Mail the donation came as a “delightful surprise”.

“We’re very, very grateful on behalf of the children, whose lives that it will impact,” she said. “We have absolutely put that money to good use.”

Ms Beard shared that the $8400 donation from Branded is aiding 112 children in need with care packs filled with toiletries, spare changes of clothes, a toy and more.

Continued page 2 12477022-SN06-21

It’s February, but Santa Claus’ gifts keep on coming for several charity organisations who benefited from a partnership between Saint Nick and Seville’s Branded Burger Bar. The burger bar came to the rescue when they partnered with Santa, who had seen his role replaced at Chirnside Park Shopping

12481673-SN07-21

A worthy brand

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

This artwork by John James (1884) will be part of the online exhibition.

This artwork by John Gould (1867) will be part of the online exhibition. mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Wildlife breeding season

By Mikayla van Loon Spring doesn’t only tease us about the summer season that’s coming, it is also a time when life renews itself and that means breeding season for many animals.

Emma Cash, owner and operator of the Bungalook Creek Wildlife Shelter in Mount Evelyn, knows just how important it is to be careful on the roads and in parkland when more animals are out and about.

For the year ending in June, Ms Cash had rescued 204 animals and although she thought during the pandemic her shelter would be less needed, it has actually grown.

“We thought with Covid with less traffic on the road, we would see a reduction in animals that would potentially come into care but realistically it’s probably increased by a good 10 or 20 per cent,” Ms Cash said.

“We’re getting orphans coming in when we would never usually get them coming in from areas that we’ve never really seen them coming in from.

“And that’s because people are out, a lot of people are walking their dogs in parks where they’re not allowed to, so animals that aren’t usually disturbed are now getting harassed on a daily basis by people.”

Ms Cash said eight years ago her busy season was predictable and ran from August to March but in recent years it has changed to all year round.

“In the last five or six years, I’ve spoken to a couple of other shelters and we don’t get a break anymore, it doesn’t stop.”

With spring being the breeding season, that is when the community will notice more animals out and about.

“We’ve got animals maybe across roads a lot more potentially looking for lakes or going to greener pastures to graze because they’ve got offspring that they’re obviously caring for as well.

“So we are finding that we’re getting a lot more hit by cars because they’re not moving as quickly or they’re out when people don’t necessarily expect them to be.”

Ms Cash said it is really important for people to stop if they have hit an animal or drive past an animal that has been hit because there is a good chance there will be young in its pouch.

“If you drive past an animal, stop and check it, you could be saving its life or if you’re not saving its life, you could be saving the life of its joey or nestling.”

But in any situation it is best to call one of the local wildlife shelters or vets that are

These 14 month old kangaroos have made themselves at home at the Bungalook Creek Wildlife Shelter. 253036

Emma Cash cares for all native animals and has set up the shelter at her home in Mount Evelyn.

253036 Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Syd was found orphaned on Good Friday but has been raised by Ms Cash to be released back into the wild. 253036

trained in handling and caring for injured animals, so they can be rehabilitated and released into the bush again.

Ms Cash said it is also important to do what you can at home by keeping domestic cats inside, making properties more wildlife friendly by planting the right plants and building the safest fence for wildlife to potentially jump over.

For the most part wildlife shelters don’t get government funding and are usually not eligible for grants, it is completely volunteer driven and based on donations.

“My day starts at 5am in the morning and generally finishes at 1am,” Ms Cash said.

and take a step back and realise what we have.

“We can step outside the door and hear the sounds of birds. In a lot of countries around the world, you’d never get that experience. We choose to live in the bush, we need to respect the bush.”

Find a list of local wildlife shelters here https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/injured-native-wildlife/help-for-injured-wildlife or contact Wildlife Rescuers here https://wildliferescuers.org.au/ Bungalook Creek Wildlife Shelter can be found https://www.facebook.com/bungalookcreekwildlifeshelter or by calling 0405 057 220.

“Most of us are trying to hold down full time jobs at the same time to pay for the wildlife that we have here. So just a little bit of practicality knowing that we will get you we just may not get to you straight away.”

Aside from the reactive strategies, Ms Cash said it is also about cohabiting with our native wildlife that will save their lives.

“We live in such a unique environment that is changing the climate. Bushfires are more extreme, we’ve lost billions of animals through that 2019-20 summer season.

“So realising what you have in your backyard that’s native is just so unique to Australia

Owls born in Mount Evelyn bring welcomed surprise

By Mikayla van Loon After the recent storms destroyed much of the habitat for powerful owls in Mount Evelyn, the news of four baby owls being born was a welcome surprise.

The Mount Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPPA) have recently spotted the owlets in the hollow of one of the 300 year old trees in Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve.

MEEPPA president Clare Worsnop said in the last few years the owls haven’t had much success in raising their young.

“We’ve had a very turbulent time with our owls because with the increase in the use of the reserve by the sports clubs and night training with lights on and the very loud siren they use it disturbed the birds for a long time,” she said.

“So for five years, they didn’t nest at all, they didn’t breed. They would go into the hollow and they would lay eggs and everything would look like it was going fine and then they would abandon them.

“That was quite unusual because they’d always had twins every year up until then.”

But one of the benefits of Covid-19 has been the lack of people at the sporting ground in the evening, allowing the powerful owls to stay the course of their breeding season which runs from May to the middle of mailcommunity.com.au

One of the baby owls roosting in the trees at Mount Evelyn Recreation Reserve.

Picture: SUPPLIED July when the eggs hatch.

“When you add to the mix, the problem with the enormous storms and the amount of trees that have come down and therefore the amount of hollows that have been destroyed, that means the whole food chain is under stress just from the storms,” Ms Worsnop said.

“So to have that success with our babies this year is just really really awesome.”

Male powerful owls live for up to 20 years, while females live for 15, they are territorial

and rely on arboreal food sources like possums, gliders and sometimes other birds that nest in hollows.

By the end of February the baby owls will have learnt how to fly and how to gather their own food, meaning the parents will send them off to find their own territory.

“They can’t afford to have all the young staying around because there’s not enough food to sustain more owls in any one spot.

“That’s why the storms are significant because with all the hollows that have been

destroyed and all the trees that have come down, that limits the amount of hollows for things like the possums, the gliders, the parrots, kookaburras, all the creatures that rely on hollows to breed and there’s less arboreal animals the powerful owls to eat.”

Powerful owls are listed as a threatened species and can only be found down the eastern side of Australia, from Queensland to Victoria in forest areas where trees are at least 300 to 400 years old.

“They’re unique to Australia, unique to the world. So if they’re endangered in Victoria, New South Wales or Queensland, they’re endangered worldwide and we can’t afford to lose them, we can’t replace them,” Ms Worsnop said.

Every baby owl that is born and survives the first few months of life Ms Worsnop said is extremely important for the survival of the entire population and the future of the species.

“With all the storms and damage, and then there’s clearing of land for various essential things like housing and farms and food, it all encroaches on their possibilities. That’s why every baby owl is extremely important.

“It’s a whole complex range of issues. We need to be more aware of what they are so we can provide for human activity and also protect the environment and the wildlife and we can live together.”

Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

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MAIL 9

NEWS

Stuart Dunbar works closely with his truffle dogs Lani and Jäger on his 1ha truffiére in Woori Yallock.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Truffle infused troubles

By Renee Wood It’s an auspicious fruiting body of fungus that many may believe is ‘too expensive’ and ‘only for fancy restaurants’ - a portrayal one farmer thinks isn’t doing the Black Perigord Truffle’s reputation any justice.

Yarra Valley Truffles Stuart Dunbar harvested his first Perigord in 2011 at his Woori Yallock 1ha truffiere, and since then he’s sold his produce to the hospitality market, exports and through farm gate sales.

When hearing Stuart break down the cost and portion sizes you quickly find out that the believed opinion isn’t quite right for the swirling flavour of the humble fungi.

Stuart sells his truffle at $3 a gram, with just 3-5 grams needed per dish – although still higher than most ingredients it sounds quite reasonable for a special occasion at home.

“If you’ve got a decent quality bottle of wine on the table, the truffle is about half the cost of the wine and if you have guests over, 12 months later they’ll be talking about the truffle - they won’t remember what wine you served,” Stuart said.

It may be the hype around the lucrative $6000 a kilo white Piedmont Truffle that’s only found in the wild in Europe that’s forcing the perception of Victorian grown black truffle as unreachable.

“I’ve been a force in guiding that, discussing truffles per gram not per kilo, because I don’t eat a kilo in a season, nowhere near it.”

But unfortunately when you dig deeper into the soil it seems ‘the high cost’ opinion is not the only issue the industry is currently dealing with, as Stuart said he’s not hopeful of a bright future ahead for small growers.

Yarra Valley Truffles is one of six farms in the state and for the past two seasons the local industry has been grated down and bruised by Covid-19 lockdowns.

No exports, a closed hospitality and tourism industry and farm gate sales out of many peoples Covid-19 travel bubble have all painted a bleak path forward for small growers.

“In terms of the future of the industry - I question whether there’s actually an industry and whether it has a future.”

Stuart said the pandemic has only accelerated a downfall for small growers across the world.

“The information I got from Denmark, from Europe from New York, their sales were half of what they’d been in previous years and as soon as those other couple of companies start to ramp up in orders they’re probably going to have the majority of Australia’s production within a couple of years.

“And at the same time, there’s been some large orchards planted in the southern hemisphere in Chile, Argentina, South Africa and 10 MAIL

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

Lani certainly has the nose to sniff out black Perigord truffles under the ground.

Black Perigord Truffles ripen under the ground until Stuart and his tuffle dogs use their sense of smell to find the truffle.

Stuart has been harvesting truffles on his farm since 2006.

they will be beginning to produce some significant volume into the market as well.”

Yarra Valley Truffles exported goods in 2019 and 2020 but that revenue dried up this year.

Stuart believes a lot of the export market out of Australia is being absorbed by big farms in Western Australia who are setting the benchmark of lower pricing and high quantities - something small growers can’t keep up with.

According to the Western Australian Agriculture department, in 2019 the state had 70 known truffle orchards covering just over 300 hectares and less than half of those had reached maturity.

“In 2019, WA exported just under eight tonnes of Tuber melanosporum black truffles.

WA accounted for almost 90 per cent of truffle exports from Australia,” stated on the WA Agriculture Department website.

Stuart said his 2019 export to New York was around $1200 dollars, but the following year the buyer said he wouldn’t pay more than $480, which is the price he was getting from Western Australia producers.

“It’s an uphill battle to try and market a quality product into a market determined by price.”

Stuart prices his produce with high price for high quality and lower prices for lower quality truffles, due to the product changes quickly after it leaves the ground.

“One of the ways people try and cut costs is they rip it out of the ground at the first aroma, which results in a truffle with low flavour and a short shelf life.

“Chefs wouldn’t buy a dried up vanilla bean they want a greasy nice subtle fresh top quality vanilla. But too often when it comes to truffle the only decision being made is on price.”

Stuart also sells into local cafes and online sales, but even going online has its own battles.

Many of his deliveries were late and spoiled, while postal services get swamped by thousands of orders from other businesses also making the switch online.

“On the 31st of August I sent four parcels, three of them took two days to arrive and one of the pre-order for Father’s Day took two weeks to deliver and by the time it’s well out of it’s fresh and I’d already arranged to hand deliver a replacement to the customer.”

This comes at a time when Australia Post has suspended it’s Express Post next-business

day delivery guarantee due to the current circumstances.

Despite all the setbacks, Stuart’s still passionate and driven to stay in the industry, working on his property daily to get ready for the next season with his truffle hunting companions by his side Lani and Jäger.

Stuart’s also now trialing snap frozen practices this year to ensure his harvest doesn’t go to waste as each year he looks to enter into a new market.

“It will be in a way starting again from scratch in terms of finding a way to market that, I think it’s got some potential because in particular with hospitality I’ve got the chance to go and market to them as here’s something special to get customers in the door.”

Until then Stuart will be sharing his kitchen experiment dishes on his Instagram, to inspire more foodies to spice up the kitchen with a truffle infused bang.

“I’ve given a few people [frozen] samples and mentioned that post lockdown if they really wanted to try truffle they can come get some frozen and I’ll be doing a lot more experiments with cooking over the next few weeks to get that online to be able to advise people on how to use that.” mailcommunity.com.au

BE KIND-BUY, EMPLOY, ENJOY LOCAL

Local path to ‘normal’ life

Even while some of our recreational choices remain limited as we strive towards reaching vaccination targets, there are still so many ways to enjoy local in Yarra Ranges. shopping centres, but also allowing us to support local business in a COVID Safe way.

Sarah, of Verso Books in Healesville, is looking forward to the local community being able to enjoy shopping in person again once lockdown lifts.

“Our community is full of keen readers and

they support our small business in lots of ways.

We miss being able to have them in our shop, and look forward to when people can browse through our shelves again. We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and loyalty our customers have shown us throughout the pandemic!” she said.

Picnics with friends are one of the best ways

to safely enjoy the spectacular natural spaces Yarra Ranges has on offer. It’s easy to support local this way too - pick up some fresh seasonal produce from a local business, and make your way to your favourite park, riverside or forest. Or check out the community parklets Council has installed across the municipality.

Featuring artwork by local artists, these parklets are specially designed to create a COVID Safe space for people to connect with friends and support local businesses nearby.

As Yarra Ranges communities continue to recover, not only from the pandemic, but also the devastating June storm, Council has been working with Parks Victoria to clear roads and public spaces for some of our most beloved natural attractions to be made safe and accessible for all to enjoy. While some popular destinations remain closed - you can find upto-date information on the Parks Victoria website - plenty of hiking trails, picnic grounds and scenic walks are open for you to enjoy.

Our many and varied playgrounds are open again, with new playgrounds springing up across the region too. Why not explore a new play space in your 15km? Check out the Yarra Ranges Council website, under Parks and Recreation - you can find a full list of playgrounds in the area, and from there, you can also now manually check in as well.

Even while some of our recreational choices remain limited as we strive towards reaching vaccination targets, there are still so many ways to enjoy local in Yarra Ranges. We really are so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful places in Victoria, among one of the most resilient and connected of communities. It’s more important than ever that we come together, be kind to ourselves, to business and each other.

Let’s get back to what we love, get vaccinated and get back to enjoying local in Yarra Ranges.

As part of council’s recovery efforts, Yarra Ranges Council is launching Buy Employ Enjoy – a campaign created to encourage our community to choose local. We’ve been kind to each other, to business and to ourselves. Now it’s time to #BuyEmployEnjoy and support our local business and community.

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Enjoying local is something that comes easily to those of us who live in Yarra Ranges - after all, it is why we choose to live here, there really is just so much to enjoy about living in our wonderful region. But as we all know too well, it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do everything we love.

With the State Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, we know that the key to being able to enjoy local and get back to what we love, is to get vaccinated. And while we are really encouraged by vaccination rates in Yarra Ranges, we know that every single vaccination counts towards reaching the 80% double dose target. It is up to all of us to do our part to help keep our communities safe.

Council’s ‘Get Back to What You Love, Get Vaccinated’ campaign is a positive message and reminder of what we can all look forward to when we reach those targets, just in time for summertime! And who doesn’t miss our local summer moments?

Hot sunny days spent sunbathing by the pool, watching the kids laugh and splash around. Visiting vineyards across our iconic region, sipping on world class wines and enjoying gourmet produce with friends you haven’t seen in a while. Balmy nights spent outside grabbing a bite to eat from your favourite restaurant down the street, losing track of time and running to catch the screening of that new movie you wanted to see.

One of the State Government’s key features of the roadmap is to get more activities outside. Local retail has been particularly hardhit during lockdowns; with their doors closed, online ordering from multinational stores has surged. Council will be supporting our retailers to trade outside of their businesses, creating not only a much more enjoyable retail experience than wrangling the crowds at big

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MAIL 11

OPINION

Rebuild, recover It’s been a tough 19 months for our community. The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen an average of around 1,500 new cases each day across Victoria since 1 October, and Victoria now holds the record of most lockdown days in the world.

Enduring lockdowns and restrictions on businesses, jobs, education, sport and social activities is painful for Yarra Ranges residents.

Our health system has come under considerable strain and I want to thank all our doctors, nurses, paramedics and healthcare workers who have been doing an incredible job under stressful and demanding conditions.

I encourage everyone in our community to consult their doctor and get vaccinated.

Across the Yarra Ranges shire, first dose vaccinations are over 83 per cent, and double dose vaccinations are just over 51 per cent. I want to thank our local GP clinics and pharmacies who have helped vaccinate thousands of residents to keep us all safe.

Our Lilydale business community has had it particularly tough. With long-term road closures surrounding the level crossing removal

From my

desk Bridget Vallence Evelyn MP works and the construction industry ban last month, Main Street traders have suffered a massive decline in trade and have found it very hard to keep operating. In Parliament I called for additional financial assistance to support these traders.

Our community needs certainty and hope, and we’re working hard on a plan to reopen, recover and rebuild Victoria. This includes getting all students back in school by 25 October – two weeks ahead of the government’s roadmap – when Victoria is due to achieve 70 per cent double vaccination. Safe and sen-

sible density limits for our tourism and hospitality businesses will give them the confidence to plan ahead, such as one person per four square metres inside venues rather than the government’s strict patron caps regardless of venue size which will make it unviable for many cafes, pubs, restaurants and cellardoors.

Also, there’s no doubt our children and teenagers are suffering in the shadows of the pandemic, given their lack of onsite education and social engagement. In Parliament the Victorian Liberals proposed new legislation to recognise Counsellors as Mental Health Practitioners to unlock more than 2000 professionals to help in schools, but unfortunately the Andrews government denied this. And, we’ve called for social “bubbles” for children so they can legally have much-needed catch-ups with a friend.

Times are tough and I’ll continue to work daily to help residents needing assistance and to offer hope so that our community and economy can reopen, recover and rebuild.

An unnecessary but great remake The Guilty Starring Jake Gyllenhaal Rated M An American remake of the 2018 Danish film of the same name, The Guilty is a suspenseful, superbly-acted one-location thriller with some strange stylistic choices.

Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal), an LAPD officer working the night shift at an emergency call centre, oversees a disturbing hostage situation over the phone.

The Guilty does an excellent job of conveying a rapidly-deteriorating scenario through a single set, a powerful central performance and over-the-phone dialogue.

Gyllenhaal delivers a phenomenal performance of desperation, obsession and re-

pressed trauma, with the case weighing visibly on Joe’s soul as the night draws on. We learn about the case at the same rate as Joe, and the plot evolves from an abduction to a grim mystery, as well-seeded clues build to

a shocking revelation.

I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t compare the two versions, but the remake often has subtle but annoying shaky camerawork, which can detract from some of the more poignant scenes. The remake does an outstanding job at building drama with a single location, so the brief outdoor location shot in the first act feels jarring. It also feels problematic for the plot to hinge upon an act of violent psychosis, when people with mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence.

The Guilty is a nail-biting, deeply compelling thriller with some misguided presentation, and is available for streaming on Netflix.

- Seth Lukas Hynes

From home theatre, to a hut, to a stage Kemp’s curtain call In 1984 in The Basin, Edna and Fergus Chandler with some like minded friends produced a play under the banner of The Basin Dramatics Group. The play was Quiet Weekend and it was held in The Basin Progress Hall. It was such a success they repeated it in the Boronia Progress Hall.

This led to the company producing three plays a year with rehearsals being held in the home of Edna and Fergus Chandler. After rehearsals, the company would move to the Hall where they borrowed seats from the Salvation Army.

At the time the Salvation Army was a prison farm for young offenders and thanks to the borrowing of the seats the company had the young offenders as an audience for the final dress rehearsals in the Hall. As a captive audience as one could suspect they were a nightmare. No hesitation in calling out suggestions if they did not consider the acting was not up to their standard. But! If the young audience liked the show the company knew they were on to a winner.

In 1958 the group was formalised and with a constitution and management and took the name The Basin Theatre Group which it is known as to this day.

By 1966 the company outgrew the Chandler home so with land donated by the Chandlers they built their first home, an A-frame building known as The Hut. As the company got bigger and The Hut had outlived its main use, a new theatre was built and it was done with 12 MAIL

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

The Basin Theatre has had to postpone its productions until 2022. no financial help other than the volunteers of the company giving their time and energy to constructing a modern theatre in The Basin behind Doongalla, the home of the Chandlers.

The initial construction of the new theatre was the stage, auditorium, a small foyer and storage room. Over the years these facilities have been extended to include props/wardrobe storage, rehearsal space and modernisation of the kitchen and foyer space.

Edna Chandler said in 1966, “From its origin in 1854, the Group’s character has been that of a private club, established for the enjoyment of its members. This family atmosphere has been indicative of the unity and dedication of

Picture: THE BASIN THEATRE

theatre friends. Extraordinary devotion and unselfish service over a long formative period has been a feature of this fellowship. To this present day, members combine service with privilege and find pleasure in united efforts to upkeep an organisation.”

The Basin Theatre Group now (subject to Covid-19) produces four shows a year plus taking one-act plays to various festivals around the state. TBTG also donates to various charities in the area.

A great theatre in the bush of the Dandenongs but be careful as one night your correspondent coming home was nearly hit by a kangaroo on Mountain Hwy.

Online library book feast PASSION FOR PROSE WITH CHRISTINE SUN Get Online Week – 18-24 October 2021 – is a digital inclusion campaign organised by Good Things Foundation Australia.

Beginning in the UK in 2007 and introduced to Australia in 2018, the campaign supports people to improve their digital skills and close the digital divide.

According to the campaign website, 2.5 million or 10 per cent of Australians are still offline.

Those at risk of digital exclusion include but are not limited to older people, people with disability, low- income families and First Nations people. They are missing out on the wellbeing and safety that digital skills can provide.

Last year, Get Online Week was celebrated by over 700 community organisations and 23,500 people across Australia. A subsequent survey found 99 per cent of event organisers recognised the campaign’s benefits, not just in supporting people to improve their digital skills, but also in helping them to socially connect with others.

The survey also found 92 per cent of those attending last year’s events had learned something new. More importantly, 90 per cent of attendees said the campaign had inspired them to learn more about what they could do online.

This year, to celebrate Get Online Week, readers are invited to a series of programs organised by Eastern Regional Libraries (ERL).

There’ll be a session on podcast and music streaming on Friday 15 October, and another about using online food and delivery services on Tuesday 19 October.

The “Cyber Safety” session on Wednesday 20 October will help parents and adults keep updated with the popular apps and platforms used by children and students. This is coupled with the “Safety First” session on Thursday 21 October, where everyone can learn how to protect our personal information and money and stay safe online.

Another special event on Friday 22 October will teach readers how to use Libby By Overdrive to access the library’s digital collection, which includes eBooks, eAudioBooks, graphic novels, picture books and books that read along.

Indeed, not just during Get Online Week, but every week in October and beyond there are exciting online events at our local libraries. For example, as we get ready for life after lockdown, ERL has teamed up with Box Hill Institute’s Skills and Jobs Centre to offer three sessions on job readiness.

Whether or not to work away from home, it helps to know what employers are looking for. The “All About Interviews” session will be on Wednesday 13 October, the “Employability Skills” session on Tuesday 19 October, and the “Accessing the Hidden Job Market” session on Wednesday 27 October.

Finally, for those who enjoy creative activities at home – and in anticipation for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November, ERL has a series of writing workshops for aspiring authors.

The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days The session on “world-building” already happened on October 9. But you can learn about “narrative structure” on Saturday 16 October, “protagonists and heroes” on Saturday 23 October, and “antagonists and villains” on Saturday 30 October. Then, when the writing commences in November, there’ll be four “write-in” sessions offering advice on issues such as plotting, character development and world-building. You’ll be amazed how much you can accomplish in a community of writers!

All the aforementioned events are online and free, but bookings are essential. Details are on ERL website. mailcommunity.com.au

THE LOWDOWN Q&A What is something people don’t know about you?

Completely random and certainly not wildlife related! I was on a billboard overhanging the Westgate Bridge promoting one of the major sponsors for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

How did you first get into wildlife rescue?

Ah great question and I really have no idea. Native wildlife always fascinated me. To the point where I completed a PhD in Zoology. Rescue was something I fell into and never left. Helping an animal when it is in its fight for its life, is such a privilege. Seeing that same animal be released and wild once again, really gives me purpose. You meet some amazing people when you’re rescuing wildlife too.

Where does your passion for animals come from?

I always had an affinity for animals. Tending to animals daily on the school farm was what got me through my school years.

Looking back and discovering old photo albums from my grandad and how much animals were front and centre of his life, I suspect it has come from him and my mum.

The love of the medical aspect of wildlife and treating the weird and sometimes stomach churning injuries, in conjunction with our amazing volunteer wildlife vet’s, has definitely come from dad.

What have you learnt about our native wildlife and being a wildlife rescuer since starting?

How lucky we are as Australian’s to have such unique animals on our doorstep, and how stoic these animals are in some of the most horrendous situations.

Being a wildlife rescuer has also shown me how much contempt there is when residents have to share their patch of paradise with native wildlife. But on the flip side, it has also

with wildlife rescuer Emma Cash

Emma Cash with rescued wombat Syd at her wildlife sanctuary in Mount Evelyn called Bungalook Creek Wildlife Rescue. 253323 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS shown me how much compassion there is for our native wildlife when a natural disaster occurs.

What do you love most about the Yarra Ranges?

I love that I can walk out the front door and be

greeted by a bird and walk down the back and see all the resident wombats and wallabies. We live in such a beautiful part of the world.

What event, past, present, or future, would you like to witness?

In the past two years we have had some of the largest bushfires Australia has ever seen, floods, massive storms and a pandemic.

The event I hope I will witness in my lifetime, is when we, as humans, wake up and realise we can’t keep treating Mother Nature with such contempt. Surely by now we have worked out she is not happy?

Which four guests, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?

Unsurprisingly my top three would be David Attenborough, Jane Goodall and Steve Irwin, it would be amazing just to sit back and listen.

For a bit of fun my fourth is Scott Cam (from The Block), anyone who knows me well, knows I’m not shy of a bit of DIY. Maybe he can show me how to build a whole kitchen in a day.

Who do you admire the most?

My family, they allowed me to follow my passion, make mistakes and to stand on my own feet whilst knowing I still had a safety net behind me (I am positive I gave them nightmares on my journey).

They taught me to work hard for everything I wanted in life and to realise that following a passion didn’t need to earn me money, but to make sure I had a job that I enjoyed and paid the bills!

What are some of your hobbies?

Working full time and running a shelter doesn’t leave a lot of spare time. But when I can escape for a bit I love seeing different parts of Australia, reading, bush walking and garden landscaping.

What is your favourite book and/or film?

I really like anything by Rachael Jones, such a great Aussie writer.

THREE … ways the WWF says you can help wildlife

1

Plant native trees Our wildlife need access to native trees for shelter and crucial food supplies. Trees and forests also provide vital ecosystem services like regulating climate, weather and rainfall patterns, along with pumping out fresh oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. You can help by planting native trees in your own garden or by getting involved in your local bush regeneration group.

2

Use less plastic Plastic pollution is a major problem for our marine wildlife and birdlife, with 130,000 tonnes of plastic ending up in our oceans each year. Unfortunately, this means that animals like sea turtles and threatened seabirds can become tangled in plastic. Or they mistake it for food and ingest it.

3

Have your say The Australian Government is running a 10-year review of Australia’s environmental laws.

We need major changes to ensure plans are in place to help the recovery of threatened wildlife.

WWF will send your submission to the Review Panel on your behalf.

In times of crisis, you can give

where it’s needed most Please donate now 1 3 S A LV O S S A LV O S . O R G . A U

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

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MAIL 13

OPINION

A Covid vaccination plea

By Seth Lukas Hynes - Opinion Editorial The pandemic is slowly coming to an end.

A “Covid Zero” policy of eradication seems impossible at this point, but with global vaccination rates on the rise, life is returning to normal. Restrictions are easing, and workplaces, public spaces and cinemas are reopening (the latter being very important to me, as a film critic).

If you are able to receive the Covid vaccine, I strongly encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The three Covid vaccines currently available in Australia – Pfizer, Astrazeneca and Moderna – are safe and highly-effective at preventing serious illness, even against the insidious Delta variant.

The vast majority of Victorians hospitalised with Covid are unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated, with only a tiny percentage (hovering at around 6 per cent) being fully-vaccinated.

An extensive study across thirteen states by the United States Centre for Disease Control found that fully-vaccinated people were five times less likely to suffer Covid infection and ten times less likely to be hospitalised.

I know four people in the United States who were fully-vaccinated and caught Covid, which is called a “breakthrough infection”, but their symptoms were fairly mild and they recovered in about a week.

There are still some people hesitant to get vaccinated, which is understandable.

The Astrazeneca vaccine can cause a (still very rare) blood clotting reaction, and the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration has linked nine deaths in elderly patients to bloodclotting complications from the vaccine. A neighbour opted for Pfizer instead due to a history of blood clots, but a friend of mine who also has blood clotting issues received AZ with no adverse effects.

As for mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, it’s fair to be wary about a seemingly-new technology, but the mRNA vaccine rep-

resents nearly fifty years of exciting research.

The spike proteins used in mRNA vaccines to generate an immune response are not toxic, and the lipid vessels the Pfizer vaccine uses to deliver these proteins do not embed themselves in ovaries or bone marrow; the latter claim was a misinterpretation of a highly-specialised study on rats.

You should discuss the available Covid vaccines with your GP, but they’re still overwhelmingly safe.

Hesitancy is normal, but the anti-vaccine movement is full of misinformation and badfaith arguments.

Anti-vaxxers claim that the Covid vaccines were inadequately tested. While some of the later testing phases overlapped to expedite the process, the Pfizer, Astrazeneca and Moderna vaccines were tested over several months with nearly 100,000 total participants.

Anti-vaxxers argue that the Covid vaccine is pointless or a failure because you can still catch Covid when fully-vaccinated, and there is still transmission even in communities with high vaccination rates. But the clinical trials focused on reduction of symptoms, at which the vaccines were extremely successful, not reducing transmission. No vaccine is 100 per cent effective, and some people still catch the flu, chickenpox or measles (or even smallpox) when vaccinated against them.

Anti-vaxxers blow breakthrough infections, deaths and rare complications from the Covid vaccine far out of proportion.

From January 1 to 23 May 2021, the TGA recorded 210 deaths following Covid vaccination, which anti-vaxxers pounced on as proof of the vaccine’s deadly risks. But correlation does not equal causation, as the TGA and other medical authorities were quick to point out, especially since about 3000 Australians in general die every week.

From December 2020 to September 2021, the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting

System received over 8100 reports of deaths among fully-vaccinated people, but anyone can report to VAERS and link an unrelated death to the vaccine.

At time of writing, the CDC has recorded 5226 confirmed deaths from breakthrough infections in fully-vaccinated Americans, but 86 per cent are of people aged 65 or older, and 17 per cent are of fully-vaccinated individuals who died of a different cause but tested positive for Covid upon admission to hospital.

Even if all 5226 deaths were caused by Covid, this figure is minuscule compared to 183 million fully-vaccinated Americans.

January 2 to 2 July 2021 saw 51,281 deaths from Covid in the United Kingdom, but only 640 breakthrough deaths, and the majority of these were elderly or had underlying health problems. Over 33 million Britons were fullyvaccinated by 2 July, and the figure currently stands at over 44 million.

Attributing any and all deaths among vaccinated people to the vaccine is disingenuous, but it also reminds me of the Superman curse.

The Superman curse refers to the apparent high rates of death or tragedy experienced by people working on Superman media productions. Christopher Reeve was paralysed in a horse-riding accident, George Reeves died of a gunshot wound, Margot Kidder had severe bipolar disorder and tragically died of an overdose, Richard Pryor developed multiple sclerosis, and Dana Reeve (Christopher Reeve’s wife) died of lung cancer despite never having been a smoker.

However, there are plenty of people involved in Superman media who never experienced disproportionate misfortune, and any sample size large enough will contain enough coincidences to give the impression of a pattern.

Some readers may disagree with the data I presented, and some may dismiss it as lies peddled by a global cabal of elites. I don’t know what to say to this, except that I’m tired of con-

or not! I’m guessing six year old Patrick will grow up noticing lots of things in the natural world, and that plants and animals can’t speak for themselves, but our actions, big or small, make a difference. I love visiting a park or sitting on a creek bank where there’s no rubbish.

Next time I do that, I’ll think about who might have been there before me making it that way.

If I see some rubbish, I reckon I’ll pick it up.

Sue Tardif, Friends of the Helmeted Honeyeater, Yellingbo

Grateful for film review

spiracy in fiction and I don’t believe the real world works like that.

I have laid out a detailed case for the Covid vaccine being safe and effective and why you should get it, but I want to end with an unconventional pitch for the vaccine.

Pascal’s Wager, described by French physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), asserts that while reason cannot prove or disprove God’s existence, belief in God is the most practical bet.

If God doesn’t exist, then belief makes no difference, and you neither gain nor lose when you die. If God exists and you don’t believe, you suffer infinite loss in Hell. If God exists and you believe, you receive infinite gain in Heaven.

Belief in God therefore carries the least risk: if you’re right, you gain everything, but if you’re wrong, you lose nothing.

I’m an atheist, so naturally I don’t agree with Pascal’s conclusion, but I still consider it an interesting thought experiment.

I’ve adapted Pascal’s Wager, or at least the style of his argument, to the vaccine issue.

Let’s start from the premise of getting vaccinated and then catching Covid. Then we assume four conditions: Covid is dangerous or not dangerous, and the vaccine works or doesn’t work.

If Covid is dangerous and the vaccine works, you will likely be safe, with mild or no symptoms.

If Covid is dangerous and the vaccine doesn’t work, you are in danger.

If Covid is not dangerous and the vaccine works, you will be safe.

If Covid is not dangerous and the vaccine doesn’t work, you will be safe.

Since three out of four outcomes in our thought experiment are safe, getting the vaccine is a safe, sensible bet with low risk.

Whether you follow health statistics or my adapted Pascal’s Wager, please get vaccinated as soon as possible

LETTERS Rubbish rescuers I’d like to thank Patrick, Alex and Emma for helping the places, plants and animals they love in such a tangible way, as your ‘Rubbish Rescuers’ article in the Mt Evelyn Star Mail (05/10/21) showed.

What Emma describes as “We’ve just made it part of our weekly thing...” to pick up rubbish as they enjoy a family day out is an example of the many, many hours people in our community are volunteering to make a better place for all of us, whether we notice

Dear Editor, Many thanks to Seth for his incisive review of Foundation in last week’s paper. He has alerted me to a fascinating sci-fi series.

Having read the books by Asimov in my late teens, I have been pleasantly surprised by the standard of this production. Far from the usual shoot ‘em up space opera.

Well done, Seth... and well done AppleTV. Regards, Bob Gannaway

COMMUNITY DIARY

COMMUNITY DIARY WHAT’S ON AROUND THE VALLEY

Every bird counts The Aussie Backyard Bird Count is a great way to connect with the birds in your backyard no matter where your backyard happens to be — a suburban backyard, a local park, a patch of forest, down by the beach or the main street of town.

From 18 to 24 October everyone is encouraged to get outside and get counting for 20 minutes at a time. The data collected assists BirdLife Australia in understanding more about the birds that live where people live.

To find out more, head to https://aussiebirdcount.org.au/ 14 MAIL

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Local writers encouraged to submit works Council is encouraging submissions for Writing RidgeWalk, a project giving local writers the opportunity for their works to be part of RidgeWalk, a 39km art and cultural track across the Dandenong Ranges.

Selected works will become an integral part of RidgeWalka project that explores the natural wonders, rich histories and cultural offerings of the Dandenong Ranges through art and storytelling.

The submitted works should be no more than 400 words, or two minutes read aloud, that encourages seeing the region in new ways, interpreting the cultural, social, historical and environmental context of RidgeWalk, including its key themes of activism, colour, form and light.

Selected works will feature alongside those commissioned from nationally-acclaimed writers, with the collective works to help launch a Public Participatory Writing Project for RidgeWalk, as well as a writers festival, in 2023.

Lyster Ward Councillor, Johanna Skelton, said that Writing RidgeWalk would allow for the landscape of RidgeWalk to be artfully un-

derstood, translated, felt or experienced.

“This region has attracted and inspired artists for many thousands of years,” said Cr Skelton.

“This is an outstanding opportunity for the history and geography of the Hills to be shared with residents and visitors through art.

“RidgeWalk will become a real focus of the Dandenong Ranges National Park and given how popular the area is with locals, I’m sure we’ll get some wonderful submissions that capture the essence and culture of the area.

“I strongly encourage any of our talented Yarra Ranges creatives out there to make a submission to really help shape the narrative of RidgeWalk and the Dandenong Ranges in general.”

To find out more about Writing RidgeWalk, and how to make a submission, head to https://shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/writing-ridgewalk.

Giselle Leonard is an avid young writer hoping to challenge herself and inspire others to read and write more.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Playing trampoline games

By Giselle Leonard We were on the trampoline, my brother and I. The sun was beating its glorious rays on the hot material.

My brother boots the big, pink exercise ball at me. I use my extra spring to bounce out of the way just in time. I lunge forward, making a desperate attempt to pull the ball away from him (in order to have my own shot at knocking him over) but he’s too fast. He whisks the object I so dearly wish to possess right out from under my nose.

I recover, springing up again and preparing for the next shot. He delivers. It dashes towards me and I leap up. Too late. I realise I have misjudged my timing. I come down hard on the ball, bending my legs into an awkward position before I’m sprung up again, I crash land against the far net and slide to the floor.

My brother wins. mailcommunity.com.au

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MAIL 15

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

Australian music star Sam Teskey, part of the Teskey Brothers, has spent his time in lockdowns working on his debut solo album.

Pictures: KRISTIAN LAEMMLE-RUFF

A solo cycle for Teskey

By Renee Wood

12516657-SG42-21

CHIRNSIDE PARK Meadowgate Milk Bar 3 Meadowgate Drive CHIRNSIDE PARK Coles Supermarket 239-241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK Woolworths Supermarket 239-241 Maroondah Highway CHIRNSIDE PARK 7 - Eleven 242 Maroondah Highway CROYDON NORTH Croydon Hills Milk Bar 158 Nangathan Way CROYDON NORTH Eastfield Milk Bar 11 The Mall KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Churinga SC, Russo Place KILSYTH Coles Supermarket 520-526 Mt Dandenong Road KILSYTH Kilsyth Laundrette87 Colchester Road KILSYTH Woolworths Supermarket Canterbury Road Kilsyth KILSYTH TSG Tobacco Churinga Shopping Centre Mt Dandenong Road LILYDALE Lilydale Marketplace SC 33-45 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Lilydale Village SC 51-59 Anderson Street LILYDALE Coles Supermarket Lilydale Village Castella Street & Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Lilydale Community Centre 7 Hardy Street LILYDALE Eastern Laundries. 2/4 Williams Street East LILYDALE Lilydale Lakeside Conference and Events Centre 1 Jarlo Drive LILYDALE United Petrol Service Station 473 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Caltex Lilydale 346 Main Street LILYDALE Caltex Woolworths 31 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE BP Service Station 87 Warburton Highway LILYDALE Shell Service Station 469 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE 7 - Eleven Lilydale Cnr Maroondah Highway & Cave Hill Road LILYDALE Coles Express 469 Maroondah Highway LILYDALE Hutch & Co Cafe 251 Main Street LILYDALE Round Bird Can’t Fly 170 Main Street LILYDALE The Lilydale General 110 Beresford Road LILYDALE Yarra Valley Smokery 96 Main Street LILYDALE Bee Seen Cafe 178 Main Street LILYDALE Blue Turtle Cafe 222 Main Street LILYDALE Gracious Grace Castella Street LILYDALE Melba Coffee House 33-45 Hutchinson Street LILYDALE Lilydale Munchies 7/75 Cave Hill Road LILYDALE The Mustard Tree Cafe 3/28 John Street LILYDALE Freda’s Cafe 2 Clarke Street LILYDALE Barry Plant Real Estate 88 Main Street LILYDALE Ray White Real Estate 164 Main Street LILYDALE Stockdale & Leggo Real Estate 281 Main Street LILYDALE Professionals Real Estate 111-113 Main Street LILYDALE Grubs Up 1 Industrial Park Drive LILYDALE Olinda Creek Hotel Maroondah Hwy LILYDALE Crown Hotel Maroondah Hwy LILYDALE Yarra Ranges Council 61 - 65 Anderson Street MONTROSE Montrose Authorised Newsagency 912 Mt Dandenong Road MONTROSE Bell Real Estate 896 Mt Dandenong Tourist Road MONTROSE IGA Supermarket 916 Mt Dandenong Road MOUNT EVELYN Fast Fuel 1 Hereford Road MOUNT EVELYN IGA Supermarket 38- 40 York Road MOUNT EVELYN Post Office 12 Station Street MOUNT EVELYN Authorised Newsagency 1A Wray Crescent MOUNT EVELYN Red Robin Milk Bar 35 Hereford Road MOUNT EVELYN Library 50 Wray Cresent MOUNT EVELYN Milkbar 28 Birmingham Road MOUNT EVELYN York on Lilydale 138 York Road MOOROOLBARK Coles Supermarket 15 Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Corner Milk Bar 38 Bellara Dive MOOROOLBARK Fang & Yaoxin Mini Mart 108 Hayrick Lane MOOROOLBARK BP Mooroolbark 103 Cardigan Road MOOROOLBARK Coles Express 2 Cambridge Road MOOROOLBARK Mooroolbark Coin Laundrette28 Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK Professionals Real Estate Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK L J Hooker Brice Avenue MOOROOLBARK Fletchers Real Estate 1/14 Manchester Road MOOROOLBARK 7-Eleven Manchester Road

There are plenty of talented artists hiding in the region and one of those is Australian music star Sam Teskey from The Teskey Brothers.

Sam and his family call Powelltown home, living in an old woodcutters cabin surrounded by the state forest.

A place that’s allowed the musician to find his own rhythm throughout the ups and downs of lockdowns.

“You can just live in your own little settlers life and forget about the news and turn off social media and live in quite a bit of bliss, so we’ve been very fortunate to have that,” Sam said.

“Coming off the back of many years of touring and trying to keep riding the wave as it goes with The Teskey Brothers I haven’t really ever been able to be settled at home, I realised after the first lockdown last year that I’ve never actually been that grounded for years.”

The time housebound also offered the perfect opportunity for Sam to create his debut solo album Cycles that was released Friday 8 October.

The album’s tone is blended with Sam’s love for 60s and 70s folk and psychedelic music, with seven songs woven together as a poetic revolution.

Two songs were released earlier in the year, the opening track Love and ‘the heart of the album’ Til The River Takes Us Home.

Both a taste of how sweet synchronicities of time, place, emotions and sound are embedded within the soundscapes.

This is evident in ‘Til The River Takes Us Home’ when the listener is swept away as if you’re there on the recording day when birds land in the background at his Warrandyte Studio.

Sam said the environments involvement in this take was the defining moment why it was chosen.

“Because we were recording it outside, we pretty quickly realised the outside environment was also a musical part of the song and it wasn’t just about the three of us who were performing live.”

Sam described another background hum of a truck going up a hill - a significant moment when the environment and musicians are in harmony for a song close to Sam’s heart.

“The song came about when my partner and I had a baby last year that only lived for an hour.

“That was a bit of an uphill battle to get over the grieving process of that itself. Saying goodbye to a son that hardly even lived was very significant to me at that time, so that verse with the wind and the truck pushing up the hill was very symbolic of the struggle that me and my partner went through.”

Now with the album released, listeners can embrace the full cycle of side A and B, all seamlessly melting in to one another - the way Sam always wanted to share it.

“I’ve really felt that the story isn’t in those

Sam Teskey’s debut solo album Cycles is available from October 8. two singles for me, ‘Til The River Takes Us Home’ is definitely the heart of the album and that’s why it’s placed in the centre - it really tells a story within itself in its own cycle. But really overall I’ve made the album for people to listen to it from start to finish.

“You can take it on any journey you want depending on your own life experience and your own personal experiences. So that’s something that I really want to invite listeners to be a part of.”

The album tour will be the next path for the artist, two Victorian shows have been announced - the Corner Hotel in Melbourne on Tuesday 14 December and Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal on Thursday 16 December.

“I’ve got a really good idea of how I want the live set to be, I’ve had a lot of time to put a lot of thought into it and it’s going to be a great journey to come to the show.”

Although Sam’s nerves are high, he’s eager for the tour to commence after several postponements from the lockdowns.

“I have a lot to give on the journey of a live performance, so I want to make sure there’s enough time to prepare for that because we’re creating something new as well.”

Local fans may also get a treat, Sam’s hopeful a special gig could be held in the region depending on schedules and lockdowns.

“I might actually have a few pop up shows maybe at the start of the tour at home and just do some last minute shows in Healesville, or Warburton.

“It might be a nice way to start the tour. I tried to do that before I had a gig booked for the 17th of September, which obviously didn’t happen in Warburton.

“So we will just wait it out and keep preparing, getting the set ready - it’s going to be a lot of fun.” mailcommunity.com.au

PUZZLES SUDOKU

No. 050

To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal rows and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.

easy

6

9 8

4 9 9 7 8 3 2 7 4 8 5 2 6 4 9 4 2 8 9 2 5 1 6 3 8 1 6 5 medium

3

QUICK CROSSWORD 3 4 6 7 8 9 14 16 17 19 22 23 25 26

ACROSS Support for a column (8) US state (6) Happen (5) Emplaced (9) Nobel Prize-winning nun (6) Sketch (7) Abnormal conditions or infections (8) Time of the year (6) Entice (6) Spacious and sumptuous (8) Requiring (7) Plaster ingredient (6) Heights (9) Shrink with fear (5) Roving adventurously (6) Iterated (8)

1 5 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 20 21 24 27 28 29 30

No. 050

Start of tennis point (5) Brings to life (8) Flow from (7) More competent (5) Of the stomach (9) Employed (4) Release (9) Invigorating drug (9) Liberality (8) US president, Bill - (7) Come in (5) Divine beings (4) Provoke (5) Trudge (4)

DOWN Forepart of a ship (4) Reduced (9)

1 2

DECODER

No. 050

1 5 2 9 4 2 3 8 3 2 1 7 4 9 8 7 3 9 6 4 1 4 3 9 2 7 hard

6

5 8 7

5 8 7

4 1

4

1

9 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

4

D Y 20

21

22

23

24

25

26

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

9-LETTER WORD Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used once.

No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

T

F

Today’s Aim: 15 words: Good 23 words: Very good

6 2 4 7 8 5 9 3 1

3 6 4 8 7 5 9 1 2

8 1 9 3 2 6 7 4 5

31 words: Excellent

L

A

T U

4 7 5 2 6 9 1 8 3

2 3 6 1 4 8 5 7 9

9 8 1 5 3 7 2 6 4

5 2 3 7 8 1 4 9 6

6 9 7 4 5 3 8 2 1

1 4 8 6 9 2 3 5 7

3 5 9 4 1 6 2 8 7

8 1 7 3 2 9 5 6 4

9 3 6 8 5 7 4 1 2

4 7 5 2 6 1 8 9 3

2 8 1 9 3 4 7 5 6

7 6 8 5 4 3 1 2 9

5 4 3 1 9 2 6 7 8

1 9 2 6 7 8 3 4 5

6 4 8 7 1 2 9 5 3

3 5 7 4 8 9 6 1 2

9 2 1 3 6 5 8 4 7

1 6 4 5 3 7 2 8 9

5 8 9 6 2 4 7 3 1

2 7 3 1 9 8 5 6 4

7 9 6 8 4 3 1 2 5

4 1 2 9 5 6 3 7 8

8 3 5 2 7 1 4 9 6

Puzzles and pagination © Pagemasters | pagemasters.com

E

U

C

4 LETTERS DYES ELSE GASH GUYS HEAR LASS PANE PENS RAGS REAR SWAM SWAP TILE WOVE

5 LETTERS ABODE AFTIE AGREE AMBLE ANNUL ARENA BADGE CASTE CLEAN DRUMS DUNNO ENACT FISHY FUSES GROSS INLET IOTAS IRATE LEACH LISPS

No. 050

MANIA OCTAL PANEL PASTA PATES PUREE RELIC ROAMS ROSES SEEDS SLAMS SLEDS SLEEP SNEER SNORE SNOWY SORES STALE STORE STRAW SUITE

TENDS TESTS TORSO TREES UNTIE USURP VERSE WHINE WISPS 6 LETTERS REPAIR RESIST STEREO YESMEN

7 LETTERS ENCORES INSPIRE LEOPARD POSTING RIBBONS SOMEONE 8 LETTERS ENLARGES INSANEST SUBURBAN TRIANGLE

acute, cattle, celt, cleat, cleft, cult, cute, cutlet, eclat, facet, fact, fate, faucet, fault, feat, felt, flat, FLUCTUATE, flute, late, left, lute, tact, tactful, talc, tale, taut, teal, teat, tuft, tutu

7 5 2 9 1 4 6 3 8

hard

1

medium

19

easy

6

18

7

17

8 3 1

16

1 2

15

5

14

1 4

3 LETTERS ARE ATE BOY DDT DIE EAT EEL ELF ERR FLU FRO GOD HE'S HIM ICE INN INS IRE MPS OHM OUR PEP RIM WED

C S Z N R I H WMQ F G U

2 9

OA K X V J E L B P T D Y

6

2

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SPORT

Major footy metro move

By Nick Creely The AFL Outer East will move to become an independent Metropolitan league in 2022, with the league to shift away from the AFL Victoria country model moving forward.

The massive move for local football in the region will come into effect from 1 November after recommendations from the Outer East commission, with the motion passed by clubs from the recent Outer East SGM that will see the league move away from its affiliation from AFL Victoria.

AFL Outer East will be replaced by a new name, Outer East Football Netball League, with over 90 per cent of clubs endorsing and supporting the move.

The decision to move away from a Country Commission and into a metropolitan league has been based on a range of factors with a review of “governance and operational structures, it has become clear that Outer East operates under a Metropolitan Model framework”, and will move into partnership with leagues that operate under the same model as Outer East.

The move is believed to give the Outer East a greater ability to “control its own destiny”, which includes implementation of its own rules and bylaws, corporate partnerships and strategic decision making.

Another huge factor throughout the Covid-19 pandemic is the realisation that the clubs and communities that make up the Outer East - 41 out of the 45 clubs are located in Metropolitan Melbourne - so the move will recognise this fact.

The move to a Metropolitan league has been broken down to four key factors in ultimately coming to the decision, including in-

Outer East has made a big move to secure its future in the region. 241978 dependence, both “in governance and operationally from AFL Victoria”, improved financial and commercial freedoms outside of AFL Victoria Country, realignment with leagues and competitions that operate under the same local and government restrictions, and improving the processes for clubs to have more of a voice in league and region based decisions.

The State Basketball Centre redevelopment is set to be completed in 2023.

Picture: ROB CAREW

Outer East has briefed clubs on the costs by affiliating as a Metropolitan league, with the league confident it can enter into supplier arrangements that will see a reduction in costs in apparel and merchandise, as well as greater opportunity to build commercial revenue and income which will be then passed on as savings to clubs.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

It has confirmed that there will be no changes to club fees and charges.

There will be no changes at the board level either, with the six members to remain unchanged, however there will be three new members added for 2022 with clubs encouraged to put forward names for consideration.

The league stated that there will be no changes to its football structure or game day operations, with the game development to remain unchanged, juniors to remain unchanged, and there will be no change to the points or salary cap system.

“The Outer East remains a League that encompasses the best aspects of Country and Metro football and netball,” the league said.

“It will remain a Football/Netball Competition, our clubs are still the same and our wonderful volunteers at our great clubs are still the same.

“The change to a ‘Metro affiliation is to assist our clubs off-field in reducing costs and greater control of the management of football and netball. There will be no change whatsoever to how our competition looks on game day.”

In regards to netball, Outer East said it was business as usual and they will continue to work with Netball Victoria.

“Outer East will remain affiliated with Netball Victoria and this move will be a positive step for netball in the region,” the league stated.

“There is no change to either Senior or Junior Netball competitions and this transition will see increased investment and focus on netball from 2022. The move to an independent metro affiliate will allow the league to strategically focus on netball”

The State Basketball Centre redevelopment will provide 12 additional courts, high performance facilities, a town square and administration facilities for a number of basketball organisations including Basketball Victoria and Knox Basketball.

Works begin on state basketball’s big redevelopment Construction has commenced on the State Basketball Centre redevelopment.

The $132 million project – funded by a cocontribution from the Victorian Government ($105 million) and Knox City Council ($27 million) – will help solidify the future growth of community basketball and nurture the development of Victorian and National HighPerformance pathways.

Once completed in 2023, the venue will host up to two million visitors per year.

“We’re thrilled to see construction commence on the State Basketball Centre redevelopment,” Basketball Victoria CEO Nick Honey said.

“This project will provide increased opportunities for participants across Melbourne’s south-east and give a wonderful home to our organisation to help continue mailcommunity.com.au

our work in the community.”

Based in Wantirna South - located in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, home to one-quarter of all Australian basketball participants - the redevelopment will turn the State Basketball Centre into Australia’s premier basketball facility.

The State Basketball Centre redevelopment will deliver: 12 new indoor courts, increasing total stadium size to 18 courts New High Performance basketball training and administration facilities, including WNBL and NBL teams New administration facilities to support Basketball Victoria, Knox Basketball, Basketball Australia, South East Melbourne Phoenix and Deakin Melbourne Boomers

· · ·

· New food and beverage facilities · A town square · Car parking upgrades and landscaping

A regional gymnastics facility “Victoria is the epicentre of basketball in Australia and our state centre will now become the largest in the country,” Tourism, Sport and Major Events minister Martin Pakula said.

“It’s a great result for players of all ages and standards and means the future of the game in Victoria is strong.”

The State Basketball Centre will become the long-term home of Knox Basketball and the additional 12 courts will assist the growth of its 11,000 members as well as facilitate the operation of large tournaments and events.

“The upgrades will allow local sportspeople to have the chance to use professional facilities and experience the benefits of

physical activity, team sport and the wonderful role modelling that can come from elite sporting heroes,” Knox City Council Mayor Lisa Cooper said.

The centre will provide upgraded high performance facilities to support the training and development of Victorian, Australian and professional athletes from both tenant teams - the WNBL Deakin Melbourne Boomers and NBL South East Melbourne Phoenix.

An expanded administration base will also be constructed for Basketball Victoria, Knox Basketball, Basketball Australia, the Boomers and Phoenix to become the pinnacle of Australian basketball management facilities.

Construction on the redevelopment started in September 2021 and all current courts will remain available for activity and games during the redevelopment.

Tuesday, 12 October, 2021

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