Local Food Film Festival Bellingen 28 October

Local food Film Festival

Dear Friends-just letting you know about the Local Food Film Festival screening next Sunday 28th October here in Bellingen from 2-6 pm.

Local Food Film Festival 2012

Dear Friends-just letting you know about the Local Food Film Festival screening next Sunday 28th October here in Bellingen from 2-6 pm.

Now in its 3^rd year, the Local Food Film Festival aims to promote and celebrate the concept of ‘live local, eat local’.

Entries have been judged for this years’ Short Film Competition.and will be screened at the Festival.

The winning entry will be awarded at the second festival screening at Bellingen Memorial Hall, on 28 October. Other screenings will be Coffs Harbour Bunker Cartoon Gallery on 3 November.

We are pleased to announce that the feature films for this year’s festival are ‘Ingredients’ from the US and Australian film ‘Anima Mundi’.

With your ticket stub in hand, movie goers will be also be able to claim a discounted local food buffet dinner  for $14 (as opposed to $22) at the very popular No5 Church St, Bellingen after the festival on 28^th October from 6pm. 

For more details about the Festival, please visit www.localfoodfilmfestival.com.au or get in touch at info@localfoodfilmfestival.com.au

Rock the Gate Bellingen Saturday 20 October 2012

Rock the Gate

Alternative Schooling Meeting 17 October 2012

Sonya has advised us of the following information

Fig Tree Community Alternative Schooling

Presentation and discussion next Wednesday at the Bellingen Library on Alternative Schooling.  A proposed opportunity for Bellingen to have The rainbow Fig Tree Learning Community for a small group of K-2 (5 - 7 year old). They are looking for a shelter in a rural setting to hold this program.   This is an alternative to home or mainstream schools.  I personally think this would be an asset to the community and was thinking it may be worth putting an add in the next Transition mail out.  If this is applicable and there is time the details are below.  

The Rainbow Fig Tree Community are proposing a three-day a week project in the Bellingen area.  The program is influenced by Reggio Emilia, Steiner, Ecological, democratic classroom and compassionate communication theories.  This is for a small group of K -2 (5 -7 age group)  If any one has a small premies in  a rural setting that may be suitable to hold such a program please contact Bronya

Presentation and discussion will be held on Wednesday. October 17.  Bellingen Library meeting Room - 4pm  or contact Bronya and John - 0439311 884. 

OzGreen Climate Resilience Leadership at Youth Hub on Monday 8 October

Join young leaders from latin America on Monday 8 October at 5 pm Youth Hub - please bring a plate of food to share

Seven young leaders from Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia, are in Bellingen next week as part of a 5 week Climate Resilience Leadership training program. The program is building regional capacity to develop and deliver strategic initiatives targeting climate change adaptation and mitigation, particularly amongst vulnerable and marginalised groups. 

The Program is managed and delivered by OzGREEN, working in partnership with Latin American grassroots organistions Project Seres and Opepa and supported by AusAID’s Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship (ALAF). 

Almost 50% of population in Guatemala and ElSalvador is under the age of 18. Inter-American Development Bank identifies the LAC region as highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of climate change, predicting dramatic changes in the region’s natural systems, affecting crop yields, the availability of water, energy production and irrigation (Analytical Framework for Climate Change Adaptation, 2010). 

The risks are highest amongst the region’s poor, where over 17% of the population live below the poverty line.

The young people are also participants in OzGREEN's Youth Leading the World (YLTW) initiative and are being trained to facilitate YLTW in Central and South America (including El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina). 

Youth Leading the World will run in over 50 locations simultaneously 27-29 November, including Bellingen and Coffs Harbour. 

Last chance to save Sustainability Education in NSW

Deadline  October 2012

hello friends,

Please have a read of the message below, write a letter if you can, and pass it on.

We need to keep up the good fight!
Warm regards,

Lisa

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "AAEE NSW Project Officer" <project@aaeensw.org.au>
To: project@aaeensw.org.au
Sent: Tuesday, 25 September, 2012 7:04:48 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Last chance to save Sustainability Education in NSW

Dear AAEE NSW Members,

** My apologies many of you will receive this information through several channels – it is vitally important so we didn’t want to miss anyone!  For the same reason, please forward this to anyone who may share our concerns even if you think they may have it through other channels. **

The NSW Department of Education and Communities (DEC) has refused to listen to community concern about removing sustainability education support to schools. The DEC is finalising the realignment of its central office services and functions in early October, and the current proposal removes sustainability education policy, curriculum, student learning and professional learning support.

Could you please take a few minutes to send a letter expressing your concern?

Please find attached background information and a fully editable template letter you can use to make writing your letter easy - it is formatted and addressed (including email address) and includes some key points you may like to use.

This is our last chance before the departmental realignment is finalised. If the government proceeds down the path it has indicated, this will be the first time in 102 years that Environmental Education or Sustainability has been abandoned by the Department. Please send your letter before Tuesday 9th October to help avoid this huge backward step.

You may remember we started this campaign with a petition and letters back in June. There was great support then and we thank everyone for that. We need to maintain the pressure!

Thank you!!

Regards

Jem Hansen

Project Officer :: Australian Association for Environmental Education NSW Chapter

Ph 02 6585 3601 :: Mob 0401 864 707 :: Fax 02 6585 3620

Email project@aaeensw.org.au :: Web www.aaeensw.org.au

Background information after following template letter

(Your name)

(Your address)

(Date)

Mr Gregory Prior

Deputy Director-General Schools

NSW Department of Education and Communities

GPO Box 33

SYDNEY 2001

DDGSchools@det.nsw.edu.au

Dear Mr Prior,

(your subject line)

(your letter, you may like to use some of the following points:

• Removal of support for sustainability education in the restructure of the Department of Education and Communities is unacceptable.
• Sustainability education is the only area in school education that asks students and the rest of the school community to seriously consider the world outside the school and then look ahead, think ahead and plan ahead for a better world.
• The future of NSW and Australia needs students equipped to understand complex, integrated problems and how to collaborate, often from positions of disagreement and difference, in order to find appropriate, integrated solutions – at environmental, social, economic, personal and political levels.
• At the national level, the new Australian Curriculum mandates Sustainability as a cross curriculum priority. NSW will have responsibilities in this regard. Teachers and schools will need significant support.
• The Sustainability Development Officer from the NSW Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre has been providing national leadership in sustainability education, and supporting NSW schools and teachers. This support must continue so please reinstate this position.)

Regards,

(your signature or name)

cc: Hon Adrian Piccoli MP, Minister for Education

(please send a copy of your letter to Mr Piccoli by email to office@piccoli.minister.nsw.gov.au, or post to Level 34, Governor Macquarie Tower, 1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000)