Text Box: Festival of the Birds raises forest awareness rushy whroomer Text Box: APRIL TO JUNE 2007 Text Box: Kitchen modernization a real winner

SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY AND PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL

Rushworth’s annual Festival of the Birds continues to spread its wings, gathering devotees and spreading the word about sustainable human coexistence with plants and animals in the Australian bush.

 

Avian themes pervaded the town, with locals & visitors alike praising the spectacle of the birds adorning High Street shops and businesses and parading at the Market.

The Festival of the Birds 2007 was made possible by funding from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation, the Shire of Campaspe and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, together with a lot of hard work by flocks of volunteers.

Rushworth Community House was the auspicing organisation and supplied in-kind support with venues, administration and equipment. We hope to continue raising awareness of the birds of our forest annually.

A nest of activity - Rushworth’s “Wild Women” hard at work at the Community House prior to the Easter weekend festival.
Text Box: It’s in, it’s working and what a difference it’s made! The latest addition to our kitchen facilities - a brand new dishwasher - has been warmly welcomed by volunteers who no longer have to wash and dry dishes whenever food is served at the Community House. The dual-drawer unit was acquired through a Volunteers Small Equipment Grant, and joins a new wall oven and burner array installed earlier. Our long-suffering human dishwasher - Kay Bodsworth - is especially delighted with the new acquisition. Now she only has to remember which drawer to load, and which one to empty! (L-R) RCH volunteers Kay Bodsworth and Diane Bundy eagerly prepare to test the new dish washer.

(Above) Forest devotees listen attentively as Lance Williams (centre left) highlights the plight of our endangered species at Mt Black.

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A wide range of activities was held leading up to, and during Easter for the Festival of the Birds. There were community conversations with school and community groups led by Environmental Educator, Louise Costa, and treks to Mt Black and the Waranga Basin to see the birds in their own habitat.

On Easter Saturday, a series of public lectures at the Shire Hall highlighted both the fauna of the Box-Ironbark forest and the internationally important topic of global warming.

The Festival culminated in a rollicking Irish bush dance, featuring the giant bird puppets produced by puppeteer Helena Gibson, on the village green in High Street in the evening.

 

Mirror, mirror on the wall … who’s got the brownest nose of all ?

(Right) Carolyn Ashton accepts the 2006 RCH Brown Nose Award and Perpetual Shield from 2005 winner, Anne Rend.

Rushworth Community House prides itself on being a people  organisation, and what better way to recognize efforts above and beyond the call of duty than to hold an annual ballot to say ‘Thank you’ to our most trying member of staff!

The most recent volunteer to join the illustrious list of Brown Nose Award recipients was Carolyn Ashton, whose persuasive smile, dry sense of humor and unstinting commitment to helping others whenever possible guaranteed her victory. What more can we say but “Well done, Carolyn”.