Bello’s local heroes recognised

Congratulations Sam on winning the Bellingen Shire Young Citizen of the Year Award!! We are so incredibly proud of you and everything you do for OzGREEN and the broader community. You are truly inspiring!

by Andrea Ferrari, News Of The Area - Modern Media -February 2, 2024

BELLINGEN Shire’s 2024 Community Awards unfolded in a community ceremony at the Bellingen Memorial Hall on Thursday 25 January.

The evening began with a Welcome to Country from Gumbaynggirr Elder Michael ‘Micklo’ Jarrett and an official Citizenship Ceremony hosted by Bellingen Mayor Cr Steve Allan, followed by the Community Awards which recognised outstanding contribution to the community.

A strong turnout gathered at the Bellingen Memorial Hall to witness the celebration of individuals’ service to the community.

The Citizen of the Year Award went to Water Tyson. With 65 years of outstanding community service, Walter’s leadership and impact on organisations like the Urunga Anglers Club and Bellingen Lions Club are commendable, and at nearly 89, he continues to contribute actively.

Dorothy Carter received a Highly Commended for her tireless efforts in organising the Urunga Rail Centenary celebration and her commitment to community welfare and historical preservation.

The Young Citizen of the Year Award recipient was Sam Daykin, recognised for his exemplary community contributions. Their work with OzGREEN, revitalising community engagement at the Northbank Community Gardens and active participation in projects like YOUthspeak and the Becoming U living libraries, showcases their dedication to a sustainable future in the Shire.

The Home Grown Heroes Award winners are Jack Mitchell and Max Sandstrom, Responding to their friend, Eden Buckingham’s tragic suicide, they embarked on a remarkable 700km run, raising over $20,000 for Beyond Blue. Their resilience and commitment to youth mental health embody the spirit of true homegrown heroes.

Kerrie Nicol received a Highly Commended for her selfless dedication to Bellingen Hospital and raising $7,000 by recycling patient water bottles for the United Hospital Auxiliary.

The Sport and Recreation Award was shared by Caleb Daykin and Zac Young. Caleb was honoured for his swimming achievements, while Zac received recognition for his dedication and achievements in rugby union and league.

A Highly Commended was awarded to Riley Humphreys for his outstanding achievements in cricket and AFL, becoming the youngest award winner at just fifteen years old.

The new Rising Star Recognition Award aimed at acknowledging the work of youth , recognised nine programs under the YOUth Speak initiative.

In wrapping up the awards, Mayor Cr Steve Alan extended his congratulations to all the winners and nominees, thanking them for their efforts in making the Shire a more special place. He emphasised the importance of community nominations in identifying those who truly deserve recognition, noting the Shire’s 2024 Community Awards highlighted the remarkable indiviuals and groups shaping the Shire’s vibrant and caring community.

The nominations were contributed by the public, and the winners were selected by Shire councillors, reflecting the collective appreciation for the unsung heroes amongst the community.

Get Funded! Learn Grant Writing with OzGREEN's Free Online Workshop

Are you looking to turn your community vision into a reality?

Do you want to secure funding for your community project, but don't know where to start?

OzGREEN has got you covered with their upcoming online grant writing workshop!

If you're a past participant of OzGREEN's Resilient Communities Program, then this workshop is definitely for you. The workshop is free of charge and will be held online via Zoom on Wednesday, May 17th, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

OzGREEN's Partnerships Manager, Anna Juodvalkis, will share her knowledge on grant writing and take you through her step-by-step process on how to secure government grants for your community project.

Anna will cover a variety of topics, including what government grants are and why they are important, how to match your community needs to government funding priorities, and how to find grantmakers.

The workshop will also help you to organize your thoughts and write that winning grant. Learn how to effectively write a grant application that stands out to grantmakers!

If you're interested in attending the workshop, register at www.ozgreen.org/grantwriting.

This is a great opportunity to get advice on grant writing and to help your community thrive. We hope to see you there!

OzGREEN’s Thrive Festival : A Heartwarming Success

by Andrea Ferrari, News Of The Area - Modern Media - March 10, 2023

EXCEEDING expectations, OzGREEN’s inaugural Thrive Festival on Saturday 4 March at Bellingen Showground drew hundreds of people in and around Bellingen Shire who came, enjoyed and went happy and inspired.

OzGREEN’s festival headline, Creating Thriving Communities Together, invited and encouraged people to embrace the opportunity to be part of a caring, inclusive and vibrant community.

Organised by Bellingen-based not-for-profit charity OzGREEN, Thrive Festival aimed to bring the whole community together to create a sense of belongingness after the series of disasters that residents have experienced in recent years.

Festival goers were encouraged to choose from a plethora of free activities spread out over the day and the love and kindness extended by participating groups and people in the community was truly remarkable.

“We’re over the moon with how the day unfolded,” Festival Coordinator Alex Moller told News of the Area.

“It was beautiful to see such a broad cross section of our community mingling together in such a happy and joyful way, after the difficult few years we’ve all had.”

In addition to creating a sense of togetherness, another goal of Thrive was to showcase the wealth of local knowledge and skills available within the Bellingen Shire community.

OzGREEN’s Resilient Communities Coordinator Bruce Naylor told NOTA, “We’re very lucky in Bellingen Shire to have so many passionate groups that can help people prepare for future climate related challenges.

“One of our biggest aims for Thrive was to bring lots of groups together to provide them with an opportunity to network and collaborate.”

Another objective of Thrive was to educate people and to role model various actions that we can all take to live more sustainably.

“The waste generated through over consumption is not good for the environment and is also really unnecessary,” Festival Manager Kathleen Hannah told NOTA.

“Because of this, we decided to do everything we possibly could to eliminate festival waste.

“This involved asking all our food vendors to commit to using tableware instead of disposable packaging and asking festival goers to return their tableware to collection stations located throughout the grounds.

“We also asked festival participants to deposit their food waste into strategically positioned compost bins.”

All of this required an enthusiastic team of tableware runners and washing up volunteers who worked tirelessly throughout the day.

“I was so inspired by their energy and am very proud to say that we only generated two 240L bins of waste over the entire day and only a fraction of one yellow bin,” Kathleen said.

“The compostable material has also been sent to North Bank Community Gardens to be broken down and eventually used to grow more food.”

With the favourable response to Thrive, OzGREEN is already thinking about ways in which it might be able to secure future funding to run this much-loved event again.

“Thrive was inspiring and uplifting because it demonstrated what we can do when we work together as a collective,” Partnerships Manager Anna Juodvalkis told NOTA.

“So many different people across the community contributed to the day and this is what made it such a success.

“We really need to come together like this more often because it’s such a wonderful way to appreciate and activate some of our finest universal values including love, respect and goodwill towards one and all.”

Thrive 2023 was funded by the NSW State Government via Bellingen Shire Council through the Reconnecting Regional NSW – Communities Events Program.

As a charitable organisation that is committed to working with a wide variety of groups and government agencies, OzGREEN is very grateful and appreciative for this support.

Time to Thrive

Bellingen Shire community comes together to hold a festival aimed at showcasing the skills, knowledge and talent across the region.

Thrive is a free one day festival at Bellingen Shire Showgrounds on Saturday 4th March with bonus tours and activities on Sunday 5th March.

Organised by the not-for-profit charitable organisation OzGREEN, this highly inclusive event is designed to bring everyone together to build community belonging and connectedness.

Running at the same time as the regular Bellingen Growers and Poultry Market, Thrive Festival will involve all sectors of the Bellingen Shire community including, community groups, emergency services, food producers, Gumbaynggirr elders, health professionals, musicians, renewable energy experts, weather watchers, environmentalists, performance artists, and government.

Thrive Festival was envisioned by a group of passionate people living in Bellingen Shire at a weekend workshop run by Bellingen Shire Council in November 2020. Mid pandemic and not too long after the bushfires, local residents were given opportunities to discuss ways to build community resilience. One of the recommendations resulting from the workshop was to run a shire wide community event that would strengthen networks and provide people with access to skills, tools and resources to prepare for future disasters.

"Community resilience means different things to different people. At OzGREEN, we believe that community resilience is about linking people together so that they can share local knowledge and take personal and collective action to prepare for future disasters that may affect them".

- Kathleen Hannah, Resilient Communities Program Manager, OzGREEN

The festival program is jam packed with a variety of unique and exciting activities that cover a holistic range of important topics such as water, food, energy, ecosystem and economic security. There will also be a focus on how to prepare for future disasters, such as, fire and flood, as well as, a variety of hosts on mental health and wellbeing activities.

"We've worked really hard over the last few months to make sure there's something for everyone at Thrive. There's interactive skill building workshops, talks and demonstrations by emergency services, visioning sessions, mental health activities, panel discussions, Gumbaynggirr storytelling, entertainment, stalls and lots of fun activities for kids.

We're really looking forward to bringing so many people across the community together"

- Alexandra Moller, Thrive Festival Coordinator, OzGREEN

A key objective of Thrive Festival is to rebuild community following a series of disasters and to prepare for future challenges that lie ahead. Another important aspect of the festival is to bring new and long time residents and community groups together in an all inclusive way.

"Bellingen Shire is full of talented people. Collectively we have everything we need to sustain a beautiful, happy and healthy place for many generations to come, but to do this, we all need to all work together. I'm really hoping that Thrive will enable and empower many different people living in Bellingen Shire to become involved in their community".

- Anna Juodvalkis, Partnerships Manager, OzGREEN

Thrive Festival is funded and supported by Bellingen Shire Council via a grant from the NSW Government.

See Thrive Festival to keep updated, or to book into one of the Sunday tours and activities here.