BACKYARD VEGGIES

An increasingly vital need to reestablish the backyard growing of veggies, fruits and herbs that are nutritious, sustainable and chemical-free, has convinced a young Sunshine Coast couple to launch a business offering upmarket raised garden beds for homeowners.

My Veggie Patch, established by Riordan and Bethany Butler, will launch publicly – including providing expertise in bio-organic soil, water preservation, seasonal and site-specific planting plans, and ongoing support and management - at the Queensland Garden Expo at Nambour (July 7-9).

The raised beds are designed in a kitchen garden style, where the fruit, veggies, herbs and even edible flowers are within easy access to the owner’s kitchen. It’s a style suitable for even the smallest back yards.

“The humble backyard veggie patch used to be such an important and valuable thing in past decades, and we are learning now just how much we seriously miss the benefits of those gardens,” Mr Butler said.

“There are countless fears around these days about the high cost of vegetables, concerns about nutrition and food security, and the problems associated with overfarming, and our organic raised garden beds help to address all those concerns.

“To have a kitchen-garden style garden in your yard provides healthy produce, but also convenience, a significant money saving, and the satisfaction that you’re looking after yourself and your family.” tomatoes, beans, even pumpkins.

The couple also manages the ‘construction’ of the beds, including nutrient rich ‘alive soils’ free of chemical fertiliser and pesticides, self-watering wicking bed systems that allow for negligible outside watering, seasonal, site-specific and sun-related planting scheduling, and ongoing management and advisory support.

“The way that food is farmed on a commercial scale these days, is detrimental to the soil and nutrients, and they’re constantly forced to manipulate the soil in an unhealthy and unnatural way to try to get it to the bare minimum to produce,” Mr Butler said.

“If you actually take care of the soil, and you use permaculture and sustainable farming principles, and using natural quality ingredients, good composting and worm castings, stuff that’s just super-rich, the way that nature has designed, essentially, you get this amazingly vibrant food that tastes exceptional and is really good for you, and that’s what we want to bring to the world through My Veggie Patch.

My Veggie Patch has designed and constructed the raised garden beds from sustainably-farmed Australian cypress, which is naturally termite-resistant. Their flagship product includes two powdercoated arched trellises, strong enough to support climbing vines like passionfruit,

“I believe that people will turn back to having control over their own food sources and I think that those that get on the front foot early with that are going to be far better poised for the uncertainty of what the future might hold for us.”

Grants for rural property owners

Rural landowners can apply for financial help to complete on-ground environment projects on their private property, with Council’s Landholder Environment Grants now open. Grants of up to $15,000 are available for projects like bush regeneration, reducing sediment loss on farms and controlling environmental weeds. Please read the Grant Guidelines on Council's website and submit your expression of interest before 14 August.

National Tree Day fun for the family

Bring family and friends out to Doonan Creek Environment Reserve, Verrierdale for the Doonan Planting Festival, a National Tree Day event, on 30 July. Enjoy this free event with tree planting, wildlife display, craft activities, stalls, live music, face painting, coffee, sausage sizzle and a free shuttle bus. Book via Council's events website.

Customer Contact

sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Council/ Contact-Council

Share your old photos and win!

The 2024 Heritage Calendar Competition is on now. This year’s theme is Happy Snaps: Holiday times on the Sunshine Coast. Send images of your fondest local holidays, camping, chilling at the beach, days out sailing or fishing trips. To enter, visit heritage.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au before 14 August.

Australia's largest wearable art show

The Australian Wearable Art Festival returns in 2023. Merging art, science, fashion and technology will result in wearable pieces of art and sculptures that inspire, intrigue and motivate on 11 and 12 August at Venue 114. Book tickets from $60 at venue114.com.au.

One for the calendar Watch Council’s next Ordinary Meeting online or at Sunshine Coast City Hall Chambers – 27 July at 9am.

Have you booked your Horizon Festival experience yet?

The Horizon Festival 2023 program is packed with free and ticketed arts events from the coast to the hinterland from 25 August to 3 September. Visit horizonfestival.com.au for more details and to book.

Get the latest Council news delivered directly to your inbox each week. Sign up for the OurSC enewsletter here

CR WINSTON JOHNSTON DIVISION 5 – SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL

Budget 2023/24: This month Council handed down its billion-dollar budget which included a varied and valuable combination of projects to create a stronger, better and more sustainable Sunshine Coast especially within Division 5. I’m really looking forward to seeing a range of projects break ground this financial year and the diversified projects I think will excite our community as we turn the lens on small hinterland hubs, rural residents and our many community groups.

NAIDOC week: Sunshine Coast residents are invited to celebrate NAIDOC Week July 2-9. The region is set to host a range of events under this year’s theme For Our Elders including; First Nations exhibitions at Caloundra Regional Gallery and Maroochydore Library, as well as weaving, children’s storytelling and a bonfire at TribalLink in Mapleton, plus plenty more. Check out Council’s website for more information and to download the NAIDOC Week Regional Guide for all activities and events.

Keeping you connected: Please do keep an eye on my Facebook page for the latest Division 5 news and information. Visit www.facebook.com/winstonjohnstondivision5scc

TED O'BRIEN FEDERAL MEMBER FOR FAIRFAX

Grants for Local Sporting Champions: Congratulations to local sporting star Aalia Jones from Eerwah Vale on being awarded a Local Sporting Champion grant of $750 to help with the cost of participating in The Aussies "Australian Surf Life Saving Championships" in WA representing the Sunshine Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

Do you have a young sporting champion in your family? Applications are now open for Local Sporting Champions and Local Para Champions grants of up to $750 for 12 to 18-year-olds participating in state, national or international championships. For more information go to www.tedobrien.com.au.

Bruce Highway Construction Completed: After three years of construction, the Maroochydore and Mons Roads Interchange on the Bruce Highway is complete. I am proud to have secured $241 million (80% of the total funding) for this integral infrastructure project which allows for the greater flow of traffic, leading to less congestion and getting drivers home sooner and safer. This project took much advocacy and discussion with the State Government to get it over the line and I am immensely proud to have delivered this essential road infrastructure for the Sunshine Coast.

My First Speech Competition: Do you have a Year 10, 11 or 12 student who fancies themselves as a budding politician? The My First Speech competition asks year 10 to 12 students to consider what they would say if they were a newly elected Member of Parliament and record themselves presenting the speech on video. Applications are open now and close 11 August. For more information go to www.aph.gov.au/myfirstspeech.

Fairfax Biggest Survey: Thank you to the over 1,700 people who responded to my Biggest Survey - an overwhelming response. Your responses will help me identify local issues and concerns which, in turn, helps direct my efforts in Canberra.

CR DAVID LAW DIVIDION 10 - SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL

Kenilworth Community Transport Service: The Kenilworth Community Transport Service volunteers welcome you aboard! This service is an affordable, reliable and accessible community transport service for residents who have limited transport options. For as little as $12 return, residents of Belli Park, Cambroon, Conondale, Coolabine, Eeerwah Vale, Gheerulla, Kenilworth, Kidaman Creek or Obi Obi, can utilise the Councilsupported service to travel to Nambour, Mapleton, Maleny, Eumundi, Yandina or the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Monday to Friday during daylight hours.

For more information and to register now visit www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/KCTS to become a passenger! Bookings can be made by calling or visiting the Kenilworth Visitor Information Centre on 07 5446 0122 or at 9 Elizabeth Street, Kenilworth. Make sure to register first before making a booking.

Draft Inclusion Action Plan For People with Disability: By 2028, we want the Sunshine Coast to be a region where people of all abilities have equitable opportunities to live, work, visit and play. Council has prepared a Draft Inclusion Action Plan for people with Disability and we want to invite the community to have their say on the draft action plan. You can provide your feedback via an online survey, through hardcopy surveys available at Council libraries or at Library drop-in sessions. Visit Council’s Have Your Say website to find out more about the project, as well as drop-in session times and dates. Provide your feedback before July 31.

Don’t forget if you have any questions please contact me at email: david.law@ sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and follow my Facebook page for regular updates.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor

Most residents and pedestrians are aware of the speed that a great percentage of motorists travel at in a 50 or 60km/hr zone in Kenilworth. No doubt this is similar in Imbil.

I have written to the Highway Police asking for them to look into enforcing the speed as zoned. I believe there will be a fatality soon if these speedsters continue, especially the trucks carting road base for road works at Cambroon.

If you are also concerned, write to hpsc@police.qld.gov.au

Or ph 5459 0230

While they may disregard one, I hope not the many!

Regards, Wal

Apology

The Kenilworth Arts Fest held end May over two days was also a wonderful showcase of talent displaying artwork from various mediums. I enjoyed my Sunday visit and appreciated the interaction and comments from the viewing public. Well worth attending and congratulations to winners and all entrants. Due to space & word restrictions in June issue of my Presidents Report, I hereby apologise to Kenilworth Arts Council for the paragraph that was omitted. Let it be a lesson to me to keep my Report confined to printing criteria and space. Thanks Kindly to Shirley for your attention to this omission.

Yours,

Barbara Smith, President MVV

Stronger. Better. Sustainable

2023 24 Services, community and sustainability are at the heart of this year’s budget, with projects, programs and events being delivered across the region.

We are preserving our environment and supporting our local economy and our growing communities.

We are committed to shaping a stronger, better and more sustainable region.

Sunshine Coast Council’s $1 billion budget includes:

$366 million to develop a strong community

$327 million to maintain and enhance our environment and liveability

$41 million to build our resilient economy

$156 million to deliver service excellence

Council also receives community assets from developers as well as paying back debt through annual repayments.

Find out what’s happening in your area

Foreshore and streetscape transformations, traffic-busting road improvements, starting construction of a new regional library, world-class sporting precincts and preserving and celebrating the environment are key inclusions in the 2023-24 budget.

To help our pensioners, Council is increasing pensioner concessions by 7%.

DON'T FEEL LONELY ALONE

Loneliness and Social Isolation – What’s the difference?

Loneliness is when we desire more from our current relationships.

Social Isolation is a measure of how many friends, family or social connections we have.

Some people are very content with only a few friends and interactions and although they may be socially isolated, they are not experiencing loneliness. Living in rural areas can increase isolation, but this doesn’t automatically cause harm, but it can though!

Loneliness is a sense that the ‘quality’ of our connections and interactions with others, simply isn’t sufficient.

Loneliness has stigma attached to it, which can stop people even admitting it to themselves. There are also myths about loneliness that simply reinforce the sense of disconnection. Myths such as ‘making friends should be easy’ or ‘people who are lonely are weak or socially inept’ mean that we can be quick to judge. The truth is, we are all vulnerable to experiencing loneliness and surprisingly young people aged 18-25 are particularly vulnerable, despite seemingly being ‘well-connected’

We’ve all experienced feeling like a fish out of water and that sense of feeling alone in a crowded room. Loneliness is a growing issue in our communities – what do you do when you’re lonely? How can we support lonely people in our community?

Kenilworth Connectors is a local group that is interested in tackling loneliness and is actively creating projects and hosting events to bring more satisfying connections. Watch this space for upcoming projects.

Kenilworth Youth Programs: An initiative that has evolved from Kenilworth Connectors is the hope to set up a local youth program.

To all families in the Kenilworth and surrounding areas, we are looking at developing some extracurricular after school sport and creative programs for the children and youth in the area, ideas include a swimming squad, dance classes, kickboxing/ martial arts, art classes, and more.

So if you are a family, teacher, parent or someone who would like to offer coaching training or classes, please register your interest by sending a message to Kyah 0415435905.

~ Ben Burns Suicide Prevention in Communities ben@calcomm.org.au

National Help Lines:

Rural Aid 1300 327 624

Mensline Australia 1300 789 978 mensline.org.au

DV Connect Women’s Line 1800 811 811

Kids Helpline 1800 551 800 kidshelpline.com.au

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.areyouboggedmate.com.au

Naidoc Week

Sunshine Coast Council’s annual Flag Raising Ceremony, held as part of NAIDOC Week 2023 celebrations, paid tribute to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging.

“The annual ceremony is a way to honour our Elders, who have made such a profound difference to the way we live through their advocacy and activism. They are the Custodians of cultural knowledge and wisdom, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders and loved ones. We pay our respects to the Elders we’ve lost and show our support for those who continue to inspire change across the country." Mayor Jamieson said.

Community Portfolio Councillor David Law said more than 100 people attended the ceremony at Council’s Nambour Administration Building.

“Visit the Landsborough Museum and take a self-guided tour of the Traditional Bark Canoe and Documentary Film or visit Bankfoot House and enjoy the First Nation Dyungungoo Interactive App Experience." he said.