Mosman Council Volunteers Newsletter January/February 2015
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Dear I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year. I’d like to welcome you to the inaugural edition of the new bi-monthly volunteer newsletter. The aim of the newsletter is to inform volunteers of events and activities across the various Mosman Council volunteer programs. Also to create a platform in which Mosman Council volunteers can be celebrated, share stories and learn more about how all programs are contributing to the Mosman community. The newsletter has been produced and edited with the assistance of both volunteers and volunteer program coordinators, so a big thank you to all those that contributed. Also a special thankyou to Sudha Balachandran for your work creating and editing the newsletter, you have done a fantastic job. I encourage anyone who is interested in contributing to the production of the newsletter to contact myself, Ryan Mouthaan on 99784216 or volunteer@mosman.nsw.gov.au .
Below: December 8th at the Mayor’s Christmas reception, Volunteers graciously accepting the praise of our thankful Mayor Peter Ableson. Right: We were entertained by the Mosman High year 11 Jazz Band.
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Mosman Council Volunteers Newsletter January/February 2015
Issue 1
Many of you may not be aware of some changes to the Volunteer Office. Liz Nagel who has been the Volunteer Coordinator at Mosman Council for over fifteen years (and working at Council for over twenty), recently left the volunteer office to develop the Mosman Carers program. I am aware many of you know Liz well and will miss her in this role, but don’t worry you will still see her around council. Personally I’d like to thank Liz for showing me the ropes over the last eight years (along with the many volunteers I’ve met and worked with). It has been invaluable experience learning from someone who has so much knowledge in this field, having won awards in Local Government for the structure and innovation of the Mosman Council Volunteer Office. Ryan Mouthaan—Volunteer Support Officer.
The coffee service for seniors on Wednesday 12pm-1pm started for numerous reasons. Obviously our wish to provide a great café style coffee for seniors (at the bargain price of $1) at the senior centre is one; another is to have friendly volunteers to welcome people with a smile. However the most important goal of the coffee service is to create another platform on which we can provide seniors in our community , information on services that are available to them if required. Mosman council provides many various services run by our fabulous volunteers, to assist seniors in the community. The most important part is making sure people are aware that the services are there.
Victoria and Helen who volunteer at our Senior’s Centre every Wednesday say that they look forward to seeing the seniors every week. They love to have a good chat and enjoy hearing about what everyone has been up to during the week. They feel it is their way of giving back to the community. “I believe we can learn a lot from our seniors. It also makes me feel very happy to be doing something worthwhile and I think it is a good example for my children says Victoria”. After all everyone needs caffeine!!!!!
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Victoria sharing a cuppa with one of our seniors
Mosman Council Volunteers Newsletter January/February 2015
Issue 1
In today’s busy world art galleries are among the few places that help bring finer things closer to our lives. Our Mosman art gallery is no different in this regard. This is largely due to the efforts put in by our passionate and vibrant volunteers who help our staff with the day to day operations of the gallery . By generously giving their time, energy and expertise they help people engage with art in a dynamic way and add flavor to their lives. Our volunteers are the real stars of the gallery and we greatly appreciate their committed service. They are knowledgeable, interesting, friendly, and fun who brighten the day of staff members and museum visitors alike. The Gallery has recently introduced a new program where Gallery Guides have received special training to guide visitors who have dementia.
It was twelve years ago that our volunteer Betty Paul chose to be trained to guide visitors to art exhibitions on behalf of the Gallery. Little did she realize then, the invaluable experience that the camaraderie, support and above all, the pleasure of guiding visitors provided her, along with exciting insights into art. She now looks back with gratitude that her life has become more interesting from that moment on. A recent seminar, ‘Guiding Visitors with Dementia’, organised by the gallery is an example. She says “We not only learned how to guide visitors living with this affliction so that they can enjoy the healing value of art but we learned that by asking certain questions such as, “What do you see in the painting? What does it remind you of? How does it make you feel?”, and listening patiently for their answer, we made an interesting discovery; when we guide them round an exhibition they will teach us to ‘see’ art in ways we could never have imagined. And that is an exciting prospect.” We hope visitors will come to regard the Mosman Art Gallery as its volunteer guides do, which is with affection.
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Betty Paul guiding visitors at the art gallery
Mosman Council Volunteers Newsletter January/February 2015
Issue 1
We always like to offer you useful training sessions to enhance your skills, in your volunteer roles and in your everyday lives. The first training session this year is a very important topic, and we would like to encourage you if possible to come along. The training will be on Professional Boundaries. This can be a difficult area for a lot of staff and volunteers. Knowing what is and isn’t stepping over the professional line in your role isn’t always clear. This session will clarify and give you a better understanding of professional boundaries in your role. The training is planned for February 19th from 1pm – 3:30pm, but more information will be sent out closer to the date. Ryan Mouthaan Volunteers Support Officer r.mouthaan@mosman.nsw.gov.au
99784216
Mosman, often identified as a green leafy suburb, contains 39 hectares of bushland contributing to a part of the aesthetic appeal of the local environment. These beautiful areas of bushland have been cared for over many years by Bushcare volunteers along with Council’s Bushland Restoration Program. The Mosman Council Bushcare program offers exciting opportunities for volunteers to engage in discovering their local environment through direct involvement in natural area restoration projects. Skills gained by Bushcare volunteers include local ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation, identification and protection of native flora and fauna including conservation of endangered species and weed identification and treatment. The Mosman Bushcare program offers volunteers, the opportunity to gain expert training as part of the process of continual learning. All active registered Bushcare volunteers are entitled to undertake free TAFE qualifications in Bushcare Essentials modules to further their knowledge. Mosman’s Bushcare volunteers are a part of a strong local and regional community network of friendly people working towards a common environmental goal to conserve and manage biodiversity and the genetic integrity of Bushland for current and future generations to enjoy.
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Mosman Council Volunteers Newsletter January/February 2015
Volunteers sharing a light moment
Bushcare Volunteers at work
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Eileen and Joan Bradley
Kate Eccles, president of Mosman parks and Bushland Association and a passionate bushcare volunteer says that the wellspring for most bush carers is a love of the environment – a love of nature and a desire to preserve it. The story of bush regeneration started here in Mosman 50 years ago. Bushland at Bradleys Head (now part of the National Park) was bulldozed for a road. Residents of Mosman were outraged. They formed the Ashton Park Association, which later became The Mosman Parks & Bushland Association. Among the founding members were the sisters, Eileen and Joan Bradley. With other members of the Association they developed a system of bush regeneration which is still widely used today. Instead of the slash and burn techniques of the time, they found that removing weeds where the native flora was strongest and gradually moving to where the weeds were worst, was much more effective. “When Mosman Parks & Bushland celebrated its 50th Anniversary in October 2014, more than 20 environmental groups and organisations from around Sydney attended – a real tribute to the Bradley sisters and our Association” says Kate She shares some of their motivations and rewards as the desire to go outside and beyond their own lives to contribute to the enjoyment of other people, the sense of community, the sense of achievement as we see the effect of our effort and particularly the joy of being out there, working in bushland and above all the hope that they are conserving something beautiful and valuable for the enjoyment of all – now and into the future.
We hope you enjoyed reading the first edition of our newsletter. I would like to express my gratitude to all the volunteer program coordinators for their valuable inputs and support. A big thank you to all the volunteers who have tremendously helped by taking time out to share their experiences and for taking interest and reading through this newsletter. Most importantly I would like to shout out a huge thank you to Ryan for providing me with this opportunity and guiding me throughout. We encourage you to send in your suggestions, comments and articles. Let us know what you are doing!!! Sudha Balachandran Page 5