Local stories, global issues.
Although the show is made in Castlemaine and features people from this region, this movement is truly global. What one community is doing in rural Australia is what many communities are doing all around the world. What is possible here is possible elsewhere. What we have learned from watching and listening to other communities, others may learn from us.
After all, a grass roots movement is just a bunch of people who decided to get together, discuss ideas and then do something.
Episodes
Sunday Aug 09, 2020
Sunday Aug 09, 2020
This episode is a collection of three interviews featuring children from the Meeting Place.
This is part 2 of a 2015 series called Dja Dja Wurrung Radio made by Uncle Rick Nelson and Alison Hanly. This series was made possible by a community grant from the Mount Alexander Shire Council and was created for MAINfm to be aired as short 5-10 minute segments. For ease of listening we have edited them together and have linked episodes by theme rather than representing the order they were originally broadcast in.
The series was shortlisted for the 2016 Reconciliation Victoria Community Hart Awards.
Sunday Aug 09, 2020
Sunday Aug 09, 2020
This episode is a collection of four interviews that are about Uncle Rick and his activities as elder and Dja Dja Wurrung representative.
This is part 1 of a 2015 series called Dja Dja Wurrung Radio made by Uncle Rick Nelson and Alison Hanly. This series was made possible by a community grant from the Mount Alexander Shire Council and was created for MAINfm to be aired as short 5-10 minute segments. For ease of listening we have edited them together and have linked episodes by theme rather than representing the order they were originally broadcast in.
The series was shortlisted for the 2016 Reconciliation Victoria Community Hart Awards.
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
In this episode we explore the emerging practice of regenerative agriculture, perhaps one of the best ways to drawdown carbon out of our atmosphere and help reduce the impacts of climate change.
Under the leadership of Deane Belfield, the Mount Alexander Regenerative Agriculture Group has been running a program for local farmers to learn about the techniques involved in regenerative agriculture and help them implement them and test them.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
Related links:
More about the Mount Alexander Regenerative Agriculture Group:
As mentioned by Deane regarding the degradation of Australian soils after white colonisation:
Bruce Pasco Ted Talk about his book Dark Emu
Bill Gammage on his book The Great Estate
A book on regenerative agriculture mentioned by Deane:
Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massy
Some regenerative agriculture organisations:
https://www.4p1000.org/
https://regenerationinternational.org/
9 Principles of Regenerative Agriculture
On regenerative agriculture and climate change
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
In this episode we speak with several clothing creators about how they do it ethically and with the planet in mind. Ellen Doyle joins regular host Alison Hanly to discuss issues around fast fashion and the textiles industries. We also have interviews with Linnet Good talks about upcycling, that is, how she makes beautiful clothing out of second hand fabric, table cloths and sheets and Kathryn McAllister tells us about her brand of ethical undies, called Wonderpants.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
Links:
Fast Fashion:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10?r=US&IR=T
https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/old-environmental-impacts
Importance of organics:
https://saltgrass.podbean.com/e/mount-alexander-fruit-garden/
Ethical Undies with Kathryn McAllister: www.wonderpants.com.au
Upcycling:
Linnet’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftorialist/
Google search upcycling and you’ll get a lot of Pintrest hits.
Facebook groups that can support you in your endeavours:
Upcycled Cloth Collective
The Fabric upcycling community
There are several more like these as well.
You tubers:
Tiffany Michey
Sarah Tyau
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
In this episode we joined by Amy Atkinson and Kerrily Jennings as we explore how Neighbourhood Houses can use their position in a community to help educate community members about sustainability and climate related topics. But more than that, how can organisations like this lead their communities in action around mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
LINKS
Castlemaine Community House
Maldon Neighbourhood Center
If you are in Victoria find your local neighbourhood house
Recycling
Terracycle
Recycle Pens
Coffee Capsules
Dental Products
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
In this episode I speak with Taryn Lane (from Hepburn Wind and Hepburn Znet) and Terry White (from MASG) about a new plan to get us to zero net emissions in our little regional shire as quickly as possible. It is a huge collaborative effort with the Shire Council, MASG, Sustainability Vic, and many other groups.
Join us as we unpack what Z-NET even means and how it may be achieved in a community like ours.
Saltgrass is produced in Castlemaine on the land of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. We pay respects to elders past, present and emerging.
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
Tuesday Jun 02, 2020
In this episode I speak with Maikel Linke about the impact of our digital lives on the planet.
Maikel lives in Newstead, just 10 minutes out of Castlemaine. He runs a not for profit email service that makes your emailing as green as it can be. We talk about what the physical requirements of our digital world really are, what cost they have for the environment and what choices we, the consumers, have.
Then at the end of episode I explore how and why e-waste needs to be recycled.
Links:
Maikel's not for profit environmentally friendly email service:
https://www.ethicalmail.org.au/
Maikel also works for the Open Food Network, who help farmers and producers sell their produce online:https://about.openfoodnetwork.org.au/
A great info-graphic created to help explain what impact the internet has on the climate:
https://climatecare.org/infographic-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-internet/
An organisation that helps you research how to make your web presence green, and to check if the sites you are using are too:https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/
One of several apps that can help block ads while you are browsing:https://adblockplus.org/
This is the map of the world showing the underwater cables that make the internet possible: https://www.submarinecablemap.com/
A Greenpeace initiative with research on companies helping turn the internet carbon neutral:
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/click-clean/
Recycling e-waste segment:
The article in The Conversation that was quotes in the episode:
https://theconversation.com/the-digital-economys-environmental-footprint-is-threatening-the-planet-126636
Sustainability Vic is a great resource if you are in Victoria, follow this link and search for how e-waste is collected in your region.
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/Campaigns/eWaste/How-is-ewaste-processed-and-reused
Also look up your local council website for more information on waste management and recycling in general.
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
In this episode we speak with Cam Walker who has been working at Friends of the Earth (FoE) for 30 years and has been an activist for even longer than that. If you want someone who really understands the push and pull, the nuance and dynamics of running a long term campaign for the environment Cam is your guy. Today I talk to him about Friends of the Earth, his life, what he sees as important in regional communities like central Victoria and what is the most important thing you can do today to help keep our government on track in this time of Covid 19 management and recovery.
Links:
To learn more about Friends of the Earth and their campaigns check out their websites:
FoE Melbourne
FoE International
If you want to hear more from Cam he has a blog called The Mountain Journal
If you are inspired to write to your local or federal politicians about the need to keep our post Covid 19 economic stimulus clean and green go to:
Prime Minister
Find your local minister or a particular one such as the minister for energy or environment.
Book Review:
To borrow audio books and e-books from your local library you can use the app Borrow Box
Tim Flannery: The Weather Makers
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Tuesday May 12, 2020
In this episode I speak with Castlemaine local, Kerry Calcraft, who spent her twenties protesting logging in Western Australia at Giblett forest. We discuss the training she got in Deep Ecology and Non Violent Direct Action and how that has impacted her life since then... including how it helps her during this Covid-19 pandemic and into the future as the climate emergency increases.
We also have a recycling tips segment at the end of the episode.
Links:
Non Violent Direct Action:
How the Stanford University King Institute describes Martin Luther King’s journey to nonviolent direct action:
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/nonviolence
The Commons Social Change Library is a rich resource for further reading on Non-violent Direct Action:
https://commonslibrary.org/nonviolent-direct-action-nvda-start-here/
Deep Ecology:
About Arne Naess, the originator of Deep Ecology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_N%C3%A6ss
An interesting article about Deep Ecology and Arne Naess:
https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/learning-resources/what-is-deep-ecology
Joanna Macy Website:
https://www.joannamacy.net/main
WA forest protests:
This is a call to action for the Giblett forest from 1997:
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/wrr37/giblett.htm
A list of groups that unite to help protect the forests:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Australian_Forest_Alliance
South West Forest Defence Foundation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_Forests_Defence_Foundation
Recycling tips from Sustainability Victoria:
https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/About-us/Latest-news/2019/03/05/03/08/Keep-up-your-good-recycling-habits
Tuesday May 05, 2020
Tuesday May 05, 2020
In this episode I speak with a family of activists about the Adani coal mine and why it is being protested.
Ben Laycock, Jacynta Walsh and their daughter Rilka Laycock-Walsh have each participated in different ways; Ben joined last year's Adani convoy as lead by Bob Brown, Rilka has been protesting Adani with non violent direct action and all three have led a life of environmental activism.
LINKS:
Information about the Traditional Owners in the Galillee Basin where the Adani mine is happening and what they have been doing to stop the mine:
https://wanganjagalingou.com.au/our-fight/
About the Adani coal mine:
https://www.stopadani.com/why_stop_adani
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-26/what-we-know-about-adanis-carmichael-coal-mine-project/11049938
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmichael_coal_mine
https://www.adaniaustralia.com/
Protest groups mentioned in the show - each name below is a link, so click away to find out more:
FLAC – Frontline Action on Coal
Stop Adani
Galilee Rising
Extinction Rebellion
Galilee Blockade
FOE
Climate for Change
Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance (WACA)
Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET)
Knitting Nanas
An article about protesters at camp Binbee and what they are up against:
https://www.echo.net.au/2019/08/from-lismore-to-camp-binbee-fighting-adani-every-step-of-the-way/
Art Swank interview with Ben Laycock about how his art practice and his activism interact:
https://soundcloud.com/mainfm-1/ben-laycock-art-and-activism?in=mainfm-1/sets/art-swank-series-the-bigger
Transition Towns episode as mentioned at the start of this episode:
https://saltgrass.podbean.com/e/s2-e3-transition-towns/