Community Groups

Community Groups

Discussions/Networks

Bellingen Business Divas Network http://www.dynamicbusinessdivas.com/

Intimacy Circle - Relationships and Intimacy Discussion Group - Every Thursday - Alternating Coffs and Bello - 7:00pm - 9:30pm. 

More details here: http://www.lovecoaching.com/intimacy-circle-coffs-harbour/

BLESS is a local exchange trading system (LETS)   www.community-exchange.org

Mondays  at 11.30am  2bbb - "Passionfruit and Chilli is the food program from 2bbb that highlights local, growers and producers that supports the land, the environment and the product.The tag line is "everything food - with a local twist". There is a high Bellingen content to the program as well as featuring food heroes from other areas.  It is also available as a webcast and a podcast."

The website is: passionfruitandchilli.blogspot.com

Breast Cancer Support Group click on support

Lyme Disease Support group click on  lyme disease

Environment   

Bellingen Environment Centre http://bellingenenvironmentcentre.org.au/

Bellingen Environment Centre Green Groups http://bellingenenvironmentcentre.org.au/enviro-groups/

Food

Bello Food Box - http://www.bellofoodbox.org.au/

Bellingen Seed Savers   http://bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com/ 

Coffs Coast Local Food Alliance  http://coffscoastlocalfood.ning.com/

Food Sovereignty Alliance - receive a lot of information by subscribing to http://mail.foodsovereigntyalliance.org/mailman/listinfo/chat_foodsovereigntyalliance.org

Health

Bellingen Community Acupuncture & Shiatsu  alternative health at a price people can realistically afford?  Did you know its been happening in Bellingen for over two years now.

click on http://acubello.blogspot.com.au/  to see how they can help with your ailments.     

People can enjoy the benefits of a comprehensive Acupuncture or Shiatsu treatment from as little as $25.

It happens every Wednesday in Bellingen at the CWA Hall opposite Kombu (in Church Street) from 9am to 3pm.

Community Gardens

North Bank Road Community Garden - www.northbankgarden.org.au                                

Bellingen Community Gardens Association Face Book - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellingen-Community-Gardens-AssociationBellingen-High-School-Garden/128326590578311?ref=ts

Youth

Bellingen EYE is a group of inspired youth from the Bellingen Shire    http://www.bellingeneye.com/

Come and adopt your Community Garden on the South Side

COME AND ADOPT YOUR COMMUNITY GARDEN ON THE SOUTH SIDE

You may know about the Northbank Community Garden but not about the Community Garden at the Crown Street entrance to the High School. Or you may have heard about it and think it belongs to the School.  Well it does … in the daytime during the week … but it also belongs to us in the Community during the evenings and at weekends. We share it.

Some funding was obtained from the Environmental Trust and we engaged Charlie Brennan to project manage the construction of the garden on land the school was happy to allocate to it. Charlie has done a wonderful job, as we knew he would, and the garden is now looking quite established.

There are raised beds, strip beds, and a central circular area with paths through it. There is a shed equipped with a range of necessary tools and supplies. There is a pizza oven and a picnic table and a hydroponics shed alongside the garden. The vegetables planted are of course seasonal – a broad range of them – with plenty of herbs and also perennial vegetables, including some less known ones like cassava, amaranth, perennial squash thai eggplant and many varieties of sweet potatoes.

We have a small committee, open to anyone keen to join us.  At least one of us aims to be at the garden every Wednesday evening from 5 – 7pm to introduce anyone new to it, open the shed, do some maintenance work etc. But you’re welcome any evening or weekend to come and sticky-beak and get some produce to take home. In exchange, we just ask that you help out whenever you can with the work it takes to maintain the garden (about 10 hours a week in total). From time to time – like now, after heavy rain, or when new seasonal planting is due – we set up working bees to clear beds, make new ones, plant anew… 

We’ve set the next Working Bee date for Sunday March 17^th from 3pm.

We’ll have some food and drink and we’d love you to join us there to enjoy some digging and open air … hoping of course that it won’t rain. If it does, we’ll notify you of a new date as soon as possible afterwards. Just look for us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bellingen-Community-and-High-School-Garden/128326590578311                               

Or if you have any questions, phone 0401225654. We look forward to you joining us!

Koala Population report launch

Media Release
“Dave Scotts Report to Conserve Koala Populations of Upper Mid North Coast NSW”
For Interview: Dave Scotts:       0266 562938
                             Ashley Love:      0428699339
Inquiries:     0409996423
Presentation:  Cavanbah Centre Main Room: 11.30am Saturday 16^th March 2013    
           
On Saturday the 16^th March at the Cavanbah Centre Coffs Harbour at 11.30am the North Coast Environment Council is hosting a gathering where  the Mayor of  Bellingen,  Mark Troy and  Mayor of Coffs Harbour Denise Knight,  will receive a presentation of “Dave Scott’s Report to Conserve Koala Populations of Upper Mid North Coast NSW 2012”
This is an exciting regional project where coastal communities and Environmental groups have made a long term commitment to keep on working  with local ecologists and local Councils, sharing information  to build up a bank of knowledge about  iconic creatures our Koalas and their habitat.
The report authored by Dave Scotts, respected Fauna Ecologist,  came about in response to growing  community, government and academic concern about the long term  conservation of the Koala at all scales of consideration.   Further documented evidence came to light last year about the decline in health and welfare of Koalas (Australian Museum Study Dec 2012)There was growing anecdotal evidence from local people reporting injury and illness and from WIRES who reported that a small percentage of injured or ill Koalas were ever returned to the wild.
There are three large colonies on the Mid North East Coast and the report includes information about Koalas across our region, in the Clarence to the North and Nambucca Heads to the South. Developing coastal communities are seeing numbers of displaced, injured and ill Koalas on the fringes of their towns.   Koalas are also being displaced by large tracts of industrial logging as their numbers continue to decrease. 
The report recognises that  Koalas to do not recognise Shire boundaries or Park and Plantation boundaries, and that there was an urgent need for more detailed information aboutpopulation and welfare.  The report was funded and coordinated by the following coalition of community based, environmental organisations:  Bellingen Environment Centre, Clarence Environment Centre,  Nambucca Valley Conservation Council, the North Coast Environment Council and the National Parks Association of Coffs Harbour and Bellingen.
The Coffs Harbour and the Bellingen Shire have large sections of State and National Forested lands.  In Section 2 of the report, “The Koala: Aspects of ecology relevant to this project”reported that, “The extent to which public lands  support and foster ongoing Koala populations remains to be investigated and quantified”.
Koala Conservation is part of both the Bellingen and Coffs Harbour Council Strategic Planning.
We thank Dave Scott, for his work in the production of this report.  Appreciation expressed for the valuable input from all of the groups mentioned and sincere thanks to qualified,fauna ecologists from both of our Shires who have contributed so generously to the production of this study about Koala Population and welfare. 
Acknowledgement also for the major contribution made to this work by Bellingen Council, Coffs Harbour Council, OEH and the NPWS for their contribution and support.  Thanks to the response from local communities across the region for their strong support for the protection of the Koala.

Bellingen High School Community Garden - supervisors

Dear Gardeners - we need to establish a roster of supervisors for our new Gardening Time at the High School Garden which will be from 5-7pm Wednesdays during summer. Gardening tasks are listed below-it is up to each supervisor what they feel comfortable doing. We will advertise the new time on FB, the Transition newsletter and in a newspaper article so hopefully will get a few helpers each week.

Here are the dates we need supervisors for-please let me know if you can fill a monthly spot. If you would rather just turn up as a helper when available, please do! If you would like to supervise and need shed keys for access to tools etc please let me know and i will copy them for you. Any supplies needed, contact Sid Hazell-hazells1@bigpond.com

Wednesday February 6th - Annabella

       "                           13th - Solveig

       "                           20th - Annabella

       "                           27th -

        "              March   6th - 

        "                           13th - Annabella

        "                           20th - 

        "                           27th - 

 What needs to be done over the next few months

• Frequent mowing
• Frequent whipper snipping
• Frequent hosing of concrete paths
• Nut grass weeding
• Picking veggies to keep them coming up
• Raised beds – need increased organic matter in them before replanting (they tend to get dry and under-nourished)
• Someone to support Sinclair with the hydroponics (contact Sinclair via FB to see what times he will be there)

NB **We need to do about 10 hours work a week in order to keep our garden maintained**

PS Our next BCGA committee meeting will be 23rd Feb @ 5pm.

Bellobamboo events February/March 2013

Bellobamboo

Wholistic Business Network

Bello FoodBox News

Bello FoodBox News

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