Just briefly...

The Victorian Goldfields UNESCO World Heritage bid has been given a boost thanks to $3.8 million announced in the Victorian Budget for championing Victoria’s outstanding heritage.

The bid is the initiative of a regional partnership made up of the Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive and 13 local councils led the City of Ballarat and the City of Greater Bendigo. Macedon Ranges Shire Council Mayor, Cr Annette Death, said the worldwide recognition would complement tourism initiatives in the Macedon Ranges and its unique heritage.

Words in Winter is back for its 20th year, to be held over the last weekend of August.

The theme is 'Out of Shadows' with special guest speakers including Jon Faine, Marieke Hardy, Alicia Sometimes, Shalini Kunahlan, Erin Reilly and Sean M Whelan. There are more than 20 events with many free and family-friendly. Link: www.wordsinwinter.com

Professor Tim Entwisle, the retired director of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria (Melbourne and Cranbourne), will be the guest speaker at this year's Winter Feast on Tuesday, July 4 at the Daylesford Town Hall.

The event is a picnic cabaret hosted by the Daylesford Horticultural Society and The Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens. Tim had prominent roles at both the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and The Kew Gardens in London before returning to Melbourne in 2013 and is one of Australia's most renowned botanists. BYO food and drinks. Details on Facebook. The event is free but bookings are essential via Eventbrite.

Hepburn Shire Council has released its draft Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan.

Mayor Cr Brian Hood said 25 actions had been identified that may help to create the right conditions for more affordable housing in the shire. Each action falls within one of four themes: community and partnerships; advocacy; land use planning and regulation; and incentives and investment. “I encourage the community to review our draft strategy and action plan and let us know what they think,” Cr Hood said. Link: www.participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing

Would-be election managers keen to work at the 2024 local government elections can apply now to join the Victorian Electoral Commission’s pool of senior election officials.

Senior election officials are responsible for coordinating elections for entire council areas and will work for almost four months during the local council election period leading into and following October 2024. Applications are open until July 14. Link: www.vec.vic.gov.au/jobs

Winners of the inaugural Telstra Macedon Ranges Community Choice Awards 2023 have been announced.

They are: Riddells Creek Nursery (Riddells Creek) - Agribusiness and Primary Production; Zenkai - Complete Recovery of Health (Woodend) - Health and Wellbeing; Fook Shing (Kyneton) - Hospitality and Accommodation; Laser Blanks (Romsey) - Retail and Service; and Magnum Signs (New Gisborne) - Trades and Manufacturing.

Two Central Highlands organisations will receive state government funding for youth-led events for the 2023 Victorian Youth Fest - a month-long celebration in September.

Successful recipients are the Macedon Ranges Shire Council's Art Space and Woodend Neighbourhood House's Woodend x Level-Up.

Applications have opened for Australia Post’s 2023 Community Grants program, which funds community-led, local projects that connect individuals and communities to improve mental health and mental wellbeing.

Eligible not-for-profit groups across Australia can apply for grants of up to $10,000 to support projects which have the primary purpose of improving mental health and wellbeing in local communities. Applications close on July 2. Link: www.auspost.com.au/grants

Got some news to share? Email news@tlnews.com.au

Bromeliad is a familial name encompassing a somewhat endless plethora of colourful, mostly bullet-proof, house plants - all with their own specific botanical names.

Bromeliads come from North and South America, growing in a great variety of climatic conditions, and each requiring their own special conditions to succeed, whether they belong to the many terrestrial (ground growers) or ephytes (air plants).

Fortunately our climate seems to agree with all but those from the steaming Amazon jungle. But even these are able to deal with our winters if grown in hot house conditions.

Most come from high in the Andes and others from the deserts, meaning their home of choice could be a glasshouse, sunroom, verandah, shady rockery or even full sun. Whatever the requirements, there’s bound to be plenty for your needs. The one pictured right is an example of one of the many of the terrestrial species, aechmea gamosepala.

Early explorers of the New World found they had a ready market with botanical gardens and private collectors, for these and other unusual plants - not to mention those fabulous orchids. This helped with their expenses, so a trained botanist was always a very important member of any expedition. Columbus is credited with taking the pineapple back to Spain after his voyage of discovery.

It was only a matter of fate that the Spanish, orchid-seeking expedition my great grandfather, E.B. Heyne was about to lead, was foiled by a shipboard bout of bubonic plague so he ended up instead, aboard the good ship Godefroi, bound for Melbourne and a role in the establishment of its fledgling botanic gardens. The rest, as they say, is history. A copy of his original plan of the Government House and Royal Botanic Gardens hangs proudly on my study wall.

The aechmeas and similar hard-leafed varieties will do well out of doors in our climate, although the variegated leafed forms will need a little protection from the midday sun, due to minimal chlorophyll in the coloured stripes.

These can be gradually hardened to take outdoor conditions, if given some protection from a shrub or small tree. Like many other similar forms they are also ideal for interior decoration if placed in a well-lit space.

Terrestrial bromeliads do best if left to grow in a compost suitable for orchids with a 1/3 sharp sand added in a well-crocked pot for good drainage. More plants are lost through over-potting, over-feeding and over-watering during cold weather than for any other reason.

The other branch of the bromeliad dynasty are the tillandsioideae. These are perfect ephytes (air plants), which extract moisture through their foliage and use their roots mainly for anchorage on trees. To grow them in containers, use the smallest pot possible to contain the roots and pack them into place with tree fern chunks or peat moss fibre. They need a bush house or glasshouse protection, but will thrive on a windowsill with indirect sunlight.

In case you hadn't heard...

Basil was thought to be responsible for breeding scorpions so was avoided to prevent body infestations.

And, if you are ever caught out in a thunderstorm don’t take heed of the 17th century advice that you would never be struck by lightning if you’re standing under a bay tree - highly unlikely anyway in this bay tree-less country.

Finally, if you wish to obtain the favour of great persons, then you should anoint your body with chicory juice. This is so because of the magic associated with this plant, or so it was thought back in 1559.

Got a gardening query? Email glenzgarden@gmail.com

MON-FRI: 7.30AM-5PM SAT: 7.30AM2.30PM

Message From The Mayor

Canberra assembly - Last week I attended the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bradley Thomas. More than 1,000 Mayors and CEOs from around Australia came together to discuss the challenges of local government and how we can work more collaboratively with each other and the Australian Government to address critical issues. Some of the key topics included financial sustainability and fair share of federal government funding, funding for road repair and safety, administrative bureaucracy around disaster recovery funding, skills shortages, cyber security, affordable housing and natural disaster planning. Hepburn Shire Council also moved a motion advocating the federal government adopt changes related to the topics of gender identity, variation of sex characteristics and sexual orientation to be included in the 2026 Census to better inform all levels of government on matters affecting members of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Recognition - Congratulations to Shire residents who were recognised in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours. Karen Heap received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the Indigenous community in a range of roles. Anneke Deutsch received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the community through a range of roles. Thank you to Karen and Anneke for all your work over many years and congratulations on this recognition.

Cat curfew – Reminder - The dusk to dawn cat curfew will come into effect from 1 July. Pet owners must ensure their cats are confined to their property during this time. Enforcement of the curfew will begin with education followed by issuing of Warnings and Notices to Comply or Infringement Notices where appropriate. Don’t forget to register your cat and ensure your details are up to date. This will help you to be reunited with your pet if it is lost. Council offers free registration for the first period of registration (commencing April each year). Under the Domestic Animal Act 1994, all pets over three months of age must be microchipped and registered with Council. Find out more at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/cats

Consultation – Surveys on Future Hepburn that will inform the Township Structure Plans will remain open for submissions until Sunday 2 July. The draft Glenlyon Recreation Reserve Masterplan will soon open for community feedback. Visit our engagement platform Participate Hepburn at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au to have your say.

Council meetings - We have two Council meetings in June. Our Ordinary Meeting of Council will be held on Tuesday 20 June from 5.30pm and a Special Meeting of Council on Tuesday 27 June from 4.30 to consider adoption of the draft Budget 2023/24. Council meetings are livestreamed on Facebook at @hepburncouncil. You can address Council or ask a question at meetings. Find out how at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Participate

Cr Brian Hood, Mayor

Council Plan Focus Areas

Affordable Housing

After a lot of input from our community, we are pleased to release our draft Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan, which aims to help address the many challenges of meeting housing needs in our Shire. The draft strategy includes 25 actions across four themes: Community and partnerships, Advocacy, Land use planning and regulation, and Incentives and investment. We invite you to review the draft strategy and action plan and provide feedback. Have your say at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/affordable-housing Submissions close on Sunday 9 July.

Creswick Ev Charger

We’re pleased to announce a new electric vehicle charging station is now open at the Creswick Visitor Information Centre. The charger has been made possible due to a partnership between Chargefox, Hepburn Energy, Council and Central Highlands Water, with installation by Fells Electrical. The charger was partially funded by the State Government’s Destination Charging Across Victoria Program. More stations are on the way for Hepburn Springs and Clunes (at locations to be confirmed) and at the Trentham Community Hub.

Transfer Station Assistance Day

Some residents have told us they need assistance to get their rubbish or recycling out of their vehicle or trailer, so we’re hosting a trial Assistance Day at the Daylesford Transfer Station. We want to ensure everyone can unload their rubbish or recycling and take advantage of the Transfer Station’s facilities. We’ll be providing extra staff to make the unloading process as smooth and safe as possible. Assistance Day will be on Thursday 22 June from 9am to 5pm.

Youth Mental Health First Aid

Council and Youth Gurus are running accredited Youth Mental Health First Aid training for community members, so they can better support young people who might be experiencing mental health challenges. This training is ideal for parents, teachers, sports coaches, community leaders, and anyone who has contact with young people. The free training is for people aged 18+. Places are limited. It includes four hours of online training and a face-toface session, which will be held on Sunday 30 July from 9:30am to 5:30pm at Creswick Neighbourhood Centre. Find out more and register at www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/Young-people

Community Conversations

Our Community Conversation to talk about future growth for Creswick has been rescheduled. Come along and speak with Councillors and staff anytime between 3pm and 5pm on Wednesday 21 June at Creswick Hub meeting room. If you can’t make it (or missed these conversations in other towns), please complete a survey at Participate Hepburn or fill out a survey at a Council hub or library.

The Council Plan 2021-2025 describes how Council will strive towards our vision, where to focus efforts, and how to measure progress. Each Focus Area has a series of priority statements, with actions against each item.