Community Groups Gift economy for local region
A new Facebook group, set up by local Jaye Lange, hopes to encourage a sense of community and giving through its concept of an online gift economy with the Buy Nothing Project. The closed group, of which Jaye is a volunteer administrator, welcomes locals within the Beerwah, Glass House Mountains, Landsborough and Peachester region to join the initiative, which originated in the United States. The concept of the group is to “buy nothing, give freely and share creatively”, encouraging members to give where they live. “It gives locals a chance to give and share with their neighbours,” Jaye said. “And while it starts out about stuff, it really turns out to be about people and being able to help others where they can.” She first got involved in the initiative while living in Perth, where she had an oversupply of children’s toys she no longer needed and was able to pass them on to others in the group who needed toys. “There’s no exchange of money, that’s not what it’s about,” she said. “When we moved back to the Glass House Mountains area, I noticed that it wasn’t really used here so I decided to get it up and running locally.” Jaye said while the global initiative runs successfully elsewhere, it is just in its beginnings on the Sunshine Coast and she hopes to increase the local group’s members for the community to experience the positive effect and to start finding homes for gifts. For more information search the Facebook group @BuyNothingBeerwah or visit the website www.buynothingproject.org.
Generations connect through learning
Every Tuesday young families come together at the Mooloolah Valley Country Club to learn from older generations through the Intergenerations Connect project. The project, which is supported by Stockland Aura’s Good to Give grant program, is an initiative that aims to bridge the gap between generations through skill-based sharing and learning essential village-like skills. Having kicked off the program in July, the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive and they are calling for over 55s (elders) who are interested in sharing their skills, knowledge and wisdom with younger generations, in a relaxed and supervised setting. The program is the brain child of Taryn Matulj, which came about through observing traditional Indigenous villages and the way in which they live, and wanting to create a village feel within an urban environment for others to feel a sense of connectiveness. “We believe it’s important for children to enjoy the outdoors and come together with elders within the community to learn from their knowledge about life,” she said. “Our older generations have so much knowledge and so many skills that our kids aren’t even aware of and this initiative gives them a chance to come together and share.” It’s a great opportunity for adults to get to know the younger community and be a part of their learning about the world around them. Taryn says they are currently looking for elders who may have skills in weaving, fishing, bee hives, bush shelter and native plants, and basic survival skills. Elders don’t need to be formally trained, and parents and supervisors are on hand to assist with children and activities. If you are over 55 and interested in coming along to help our younger generation learn something new (or old), you can contact Taryn on 0408 188 210 or Brooke on 0426 200 357, or email heartcoherencevillage@gmail.com.
Glasshouse Mountains Probus Club
Contributed by Norma McCormack Club members have enjoyed another busy month, starting with our monthly meeting where we had an excellent guest speaker from Glasshouse Views Aged Care. This was followed up with a fun Italian lunch in Caloundra. The following week we enjoyed a trip to the Caboolture Historical Village. Here we marvelled at the ease of modern living compared to the hard physical exercise of living a century ago. If you have not recently visited the Historical Village, you will be amazed at the number of new exhibits. Two that impressed were a machine that buttered slices of an entire loaf of bread and the Agnes Gilligan Collection of Dolls, which were beautifully dressed, with no two alike – a lifetime’s work. The enthusiasm of the many volunteers who give their time and skill to making it an exciting place also impressed. If Probus activities sound like your cup of tea why not join us. Contact Norma on 5439 0446.
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Lions recycling your old spectacles
Have you ever wondered what to do with those old spectacles and sunglasses that have been sitting in a drawer for years? Then wonder no more! Each local Lions Club collects them for the Lions Recycle for Sight program. All spectacles are tested and graded at the Lions recycling centres in Caboolture and Redcliffe by volunteers from the community and Lions. Lions Recycle for Sight Australia is part of the Lions Clubs International Worldwide Eyeglass Recycling Program, which has been in operation for 26 years. During this time the program has delivered more than seven million pairs of refurbished quality spectacles to men, women and children in developing countries. If you have a pair of prescription glasses or sunglasses you no longer use, your local Lions Club would appreciate you dropping them off at the following locations: Mooloolah Lions - Mooloolah Post Office Beerwah Lions – Specsavers Beerwah, Landsborough Pharmacy and Glass House Mountains Newsagency Maleny Lions – Maleny Optical, Judi Coey Optometry, the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre and the Maleny Medical Centre (Maple Street). Blackall Range Lions - Mapleton Community Library
Glasshouse Country & Maleny News
