AN ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE ICONIC BUNYA TREE

Hosted by local Kabi Kabi Elder Aunty Beverly Hand, Bunya Dreaming is an annual celebration of the significance of the Bunya pine in First Nations culture. A tree that has been around for 200 million years.

Local lore dictated that the tree should not be harmed in any way and for thousands of years prior to European settlement, tribes from as far away as Victoria would travel to Queensland to celebrate the Bunya harvest, until gatherings were outlawed in 1897.

Kabi Kabi Elder Aunty Beverly Hand had a vision to bring a modern interpretation of the gathering back to the Sunshine Coast, and Bunya Dreaming was formed.

Bunya Dreaming is today (as it was for generations before), a family-friendly gathering where people can learn about people’s connection to country and their links to both the physical and spiritual landscape, share food, yarns and have a great time.

Bunya Dreaming is a chance to build reciprocal relationships and develop opportunities for Reconciliation.

Activities include Bunya feasting, competitions, bushfoods, bush medicine, challenges, dance, ceremony, fire, yarning, workshops and more!

When you attend Bunya Dreaming, you are a part of something special, something real, something that occurred on country for thousands of years before our time.

We acknowledge the Kabi Kabi ancestors for their diligence to country and countrymen. If it had not been for their resilience and dedication to maintaining cultural connections it would not be possible to reclaim this cultural event for country and countrymen.

This event is proudly supported by Seqwater and Barung Landcare. Important information and ticket links below.

Bunya Dreaming 2023

When: 25th of February 2023

Time: Gates open at 11 am – sundown

Where: Ewan Maddock Dam, Steve Irwin Way (opposite the Big Kart track), Landsborough, QLD. Tickets are on sale now at: https://www. trybooking.com/CFHOF

More info can be found at: www.barunglandcare. org.au/bunya-dreaming

Cheerio From The Churches

The season of Lent is fast approaching. We invite you to join us on Shrove Tuesday (21 February) for a Pancake Morning Tea at 10am at St Luke’s Community Centre in Philip Street. Bring a plate of pancakes/pikelets if you wish. Ash Wednesday service is 4:30 pm Wednesday, 22 February. Morning prayer has resumed on Thursday mornings at 9am with this short 20 minute service followed by Christian meditation. We welcome everyone for the Taize service on the third Saturday of the month at 4:30pm. This is followed by a simple soup supper. A taize service originated in Taize in France. It is a beautiful candle lit service of about half an hour with simple chants and reflective prayers. This very quiet and peaceful service is open to people from all faiths. Holy Communion is celebrated at St Luke’s on other Saturdays at 4:30pm.

Family members and visitors joined the community of St John Bosco and Father Odinaka for Mass on Christmas Day. Prior to the celebration, Hugh Anstey gave a surprise “concert” of familiar hymns and carols on the organ. Mass is celebrated at St John Bosco’s on the third Sunday of the month at 10am and liturgy of the word with Communion is celebrated on other Sundays at 9am.

A Christian meditation group meets at the church every Thursday at 9:30am. This is an ecumenical group that welcomes anyone seeking to practise meditation. This group is affiliated with the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM). Visit wccm.org. Enquiries: 0439 130 158

~ Cheerio from the Churches!

Kenilworth Arts Council

Entries are now open for the Silver Jubilee of Kenilworth ArtsFest with the art exhibition open from 26 to 28 May. An exciting new addition is the prize for an outdoor 3D work made from recycled materials. This gives prospective entrants pretty wide scope!

Saturday 27 May will be a lively day with “Poetry at the Pub” from 2pm till 4:30 pm. This will be followed by great entertainment with a music and singalong “jam session” at 6:30pm, still at Kenilworth Hotel. If you would like to be involved, please contact KAC on 0472 767 482 or kac@kenilwortharts.org.au

The Kenilworth and District Chamber of Commerce has very kindly offered to contribute to the celebrations by staging, with KAC, a Family Fun Day at Kenilworth Showgrounds on Sunday 28 May. There will be lots of fun with entertaining activities especially for children.

Our KAC Committee is organizing a St Patrick’s Day celebration at KAC on Friday 17 March at 6pm with Irish Stew and some stirring Irish songs. There are prizes for the best green outfit and the best orange outfit, just to keep everyone happy! Include a smart hat, if you wish. If you would like to join us, please call 0427 723 848 for catering purposes.

The Mary Valley Rafflers are on the job again every Saturday morning in town selling tickets in our annual raffle. First prize is a beautiful watercolour landscape by well known Sunshine Coast artist, Barry Green and second prize a fantastic picnic basket laden with goodies! We are also offering a prize of $50 every week through our $50 Board at $2 a number.

As ever, we are looking for volunteers to help us sell raffle tickets on Saturdays. Just two hours (8-10 or 10-12) on just one Saturday would be a great help.

And again, we would like more volunteer help with the various aspects of ArtsFest. We are also calling for sponsorships and donations, all of which will be publically acknowledged. If you are a major sponsor, you can claim naming rights to the prize.

Cheers from KAC

Contributed by KAC C’tee

A Local Success Story

Kenilworth Community Transport Service

Do you know about our Kenilworth Community Transport Service? Have you used the KCTS car? Have you registered as a passenger?

This commendable community endeavour is celebrating its fourth birthday! Yes, we have been operating this transport service with volunteers drivers for four years!

KCTS is run by volunteers as a sub–committee of the Kenilworth and District Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Sunshine Coast Council.

While we currently have a wonderful team of drivers, we always welcome others who might like to assist.

Are you able to be a volunteer driver for KCTS?

KCTS would love to hear from you!

For more information contact kctskworth@gmail.com

KENILWORTH MEN’S DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Wanting change? Feeling anxious, depressed, ‘stuck’, angry, frustrated, empty, lonely, unsatisfied or just going through the motions? Are you struggling with some part of your life and ready to do something about it? No doubt you are doing the very best you can but the same ol’ just keeps happening and change seems out of reach?

Hi, I’m Ian CousinsWhen this was happening for me just over 29 years ago, I came to the realisation that a better, less painful life MUST lie in stuff I didn’t yet know and that in order for my life to improve, I had to open my mind to new ideas. So began a journey that has been totally unimaginable. It hasn’t been an easy road but I’ve learnt a lot along the way and today life is very, very good. Over the years I’ve learnt many effective ‘tools for life’ that I apply daily in my own life and enjoy helping others learn.

On Wednesday 15th February at 7.30pm I will be starting a men’s group with the goal of helping you see that you’ve been dealt a winning hand. Over the weeks, we will cover all areas of life and I will assist you in crafting solutions to the issues that prevent you from living your unique and optimal state of wellbeing.

You will learn how to:

• Develop the skills to deal with painful thoughts and feelings more effectively

• Understand and address the real cause of stress and anxiety in your life

• Be more resistant to life’s up’s and down’s

• Handle complex situations more effectively

• Create a sense of vitality, meaning and fulfilment

• Understand the issues behind anger and how to deal with it more appropriately

• Become more peaceful

• Discover the deeper meaning of your everyday life experiences enabling you to dissolve conflicts, resolve issues, improve your health and create fulfilling relationships.

The balls in your court – are you so sick of it that you’re ready to do something about it?

Call me on 0490 462 369 or just turn up on the night. Commencing Wednesday February 15th

7pm to 8.30pm with cost $10 a session

Kenilworth Arts Centre (behind the Library)

Frogs are easy to find during the warm months, especially when there’s rain about. The Mary River catchment and surrounds supports over 40 frog species. About a quarter of these are vulnerable, endangered or have disappeared in recent decades, mostly due to loss of habitat as a result of swamp draining, vegetation clearing and weed invasion. There are other pressures also from feral animal predation and disease such as the Chytrid fungus that affects the skin function. Changes to our climate are adding further pressure, particularly prolonged dry periods that can drastically reduce the breeding window for frogs and increase the possibility of devastating wildfires.

Frogs rely on both aquatic and terrestrial habitats to complete their lifecycle, and their sensitivity to substances passing through their permeable skin makes them key indicators of changes in the surrounding environment. Changes in distribution and population dynamics may be a result of obvious conditions such as droughts but can also reflect less detectable changes such as declining invertebrate populations or increased predator presence (e.g. cats eat around 44 frogs each per year (CSIRO, 2020).

The Find a Frog in February citizen science program invites the community to contribute to our collective knowledge of frogs and their local requirements. Collecting information on the location of frogs, the habitats they use and their abundance over time helps us to determine ‘normal’ trends and to monitor for and understand changes. The information also helps us to manage wetlands and waterways in particular, but also all components of our environment.

People of the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Gympie and Fraser Coast council areas are encouraged to get out and about to find frogs and submit their observations during February. Over the past six years FFF frog finders have contributed to our knowledge of 33 species from 1370 locations (over 18,000 records!). Every record counts – even common species like the Green treefrog can be affected by changing environmental conditions too.

We offer these suggestions to our community to help local frogs:

• Make your frog observations count – submit your photos and/or call recordings to FFF or a reputable database.

• Keep some areas ‘messy’ – logs and branches, leaf litter, rock piles, tall grass (a ‘high-rise’ structure provides homes for more beings than a single story dwelling).

• Provide water – ponds, dams, swamps, low areas that fill when it rains, creeks – all with a variety of vegetation, structures and even some bare areas.

• Don’t move eggs, tadpoles or frogs about – this increases the risk of disease spread.

• Keep pollutants out of the environment –chemicals travel easily in water that flows across the land, along drains and through the soil profile. Soap is a frog’s enemy!

• Promote the protection of waterways and water quality in your area.

• Consider protecting and reinstating wetlands (billabongs/swamps) that are grazed and/or have been drained or modified.

• Keep your cats indoors at night as they hunt frogs and other wildlife.

• Know the difference between Cane toads and frog look-alikes.

Ways to send in your observations:

1) You’ll find the old-fashioned but comprehensive FFF record sheet on our website https://mrccc.org.au/frog-in-february/ – complete and send in for identification, verification and entry to the Queensland WildNet database. You’ll find links to all things ‘froggy’ there too. Watch our website for workshops in your area to help you increase your frog-finding skills.

2) Use the iNaturalist phone app to submit records - join the app, then the ‘Find a Frog in February’ Project and submit your photos and recordings of calling frogs.

3) Use the FrogID app and join the 'Find a Frog in February' group to submit your call recordings.

Contact for more information: findafrog@mrccc.org.au or phone (07) 5482 4766

We look forward to hearing from you! Happy frogging from the Find a Frog in February Team.

Get your photo or recording identified. Eva will be available to help you at the office at the back of the Kenilworth Information Centre on Wednesday the 22nd February. between 8am and 3pm.