June
2009
This is the
second of our community newsletters which we’re circulating by letter box drop
this time to tell you a little about the Association and its activities.
We mentioned in
our last newsletter that the Association had secured a grant to radically
reduce the carbon footprint of the Centre by installing solar energy equipment.
You will have
seen the installation of the first part of this project; the solar panels on
the tower next to the Centre. These feed power to the Centre and back into the grid, offsetting the
power used by the Centre. Please come
down and have a look if you’re interested. We will be monitoring the amount of
power produced and used by the system to see how effective we are at reducing
our use of electricity from the grid. Further works are anticipated though
we’ve had to slow down a bit as the funding for the first part of the project
has taken a while to come through.
You may have
noticed work on the oval next to the Centre. The Council is in the process of
completing the grassing of the oval and we anticipate that it will be open for
use in spring. It will be suitable for sports like football or cricket, or just
as an open grassed area.
We should open
the oval with some sort of an event, perhaps a short cricket match or a BBQ.
What do you think, please drop us an email.
The Arts group
meets every Tuesday at the Community Centre from
Tweed Shire Salt
Cultural Arts Fund has run a series of art workshops over the last 12 months. A number of peer
assisted workshops were run
by members of the Chillingham Art Group and
some excellent instructional workshops run by well known local artists
including Chris Degenhardt
(3D art workshop/acrylic painting), Andy Reimanis (Chief judge of Tweed Naturally Art award/ pastels), Lorraine
Rogers (watercolour) and Gloria Roszkiewicz (portrait painting)
These workshops were well supported by members
of the Chillingham Art Group and many
other residents of the Tweed Shire and have assisted all participants in understanding some of the
basics and complexities of art and improving their painting skills.
Even though our Tweed Shire Salt Cultural Arts
funding has now been finalised, we aim to continue to run workshops
approximately four
times a year through our own fundraising
efforts. We invite everyone who participated in our workshops and anyone
else who is interested in
trying their hand at painting to watch out for
our next workshop which will be held in August or September this year.
If you have any
queries or would like further information, email b.harmon@qut.edu.au
or phone the Community Centre on (02) 66 791633.
The community
garden is run by a group of volunteers who like to grow organic vegies. When
we've had a good crop of something yummy, we sell it to the public out of our
roadside stall out front. We donate the profits to any group or charity that we
see needs a hand.
We were short of
water at times but now that the Centre has a bore we don’t face the risk of
losing our crop when we have a dry period. Though this year
ironically this has not been a problem. We’re currently in the process
of growing our crop of winter vegies. Additionally we’re putting in some citrus
fruit trees at the bottom of the vegie patch. Several have been donated but we
need a few more so if you have a tree it would be welcome.
The basic ethos
of the garden, is to put more in than you take. If you
are interested, please come and join us, Sandy and Maree, when we work on
Friday mornings.
There are a
number of projects in progress or planned for the Centre. These include;
If you’d like to
involved in these or other outside activities at the Centre the person to
contact is John Peach who is at the Centre on Thursdays or leave a message at
the Centre (02) 66 791633.
I’m sure there
are lots of other good ideas out there on the sorts of things we should be
aiming at over the next 12 months. Lets have your ideas and I’ll share them
with everyone in our next newsletter.
Our monthly
market, held on the second Sunday each month, continues to be a success. We
have a number of regular stallholders and a good turnup each month. Despite the
rainy year we’ve had we’ve only had to cancel one market because the grounds
were too boggy. The Community Association sells food to market goers each month
and has managed to make a profit each month. This is great as the market is our
only source of revenue to pay essentials like phone, electricity, insurance etc
and keep the Centre open.
Our next market
is on Sunday August 9 so why don’t you come along. Maybe you’d like to have a
stall yourself. If so you should contact Barend De Klerk (ph 02 6679 1284) who
is coordinating the stalls for the markets.
The Association
is a community group fully independent of the Council or any other agencies,
and dedicated to providing support to the aspirations and activities of the
Chillingham community. The Association engages in projects like construction of
the butterfly habitat and regeneration of the nearby Rous river corridor, and
in more ongoing activities like the gardening and plant propagation.
There are a
number of groups which use the Centre as the basis for their activities. These
include the arts group, the youth group, the choir and the gardening group. If
you are interested in joining the Association or any of the groups please
contact us at the centre on 02 6679 1633, or just drop in for a cup of tea and
a chat. There are also occasional events like the Christmas party and the
recent inauguration of our new pizza oven. These are advertised on the notice
board at the entrance to the Centre and by email.
The Centre itself
has local information and basic office facilities including photocopying,
printing, computing and internet access. As a member you are welcome to use
these facilities for a small fee.
You can find out
more about the Association and its activities, latest news and more on our
website at http://www.chillingham.com.au
The Association
is guided by a committee with our current president Sonja Groves. The other
office bearers on the committee are the vice president Liz Harmon, treasurer
Jan Yates and secretary Peter Liston. The committee meets every first Saturday
of the month, 2pm at the Chillingham Community Centre. All members are welcome
to attend. To contact the committee ring
Sonya on (02) 6679 1563 or leave a
message at the Centre (02 6679 1633).
To become a
member of the Association, and its only $5 a year, drop in to the Centre and
join. If you would like to receive this newsletter by email please let us know
with a short note to news@chillingham.com.au. If you are a member and haven’t already
received this newsletter by email its because we don’t have your correct
address so again please drop us a line. If you have an item about the
Association activities for the newsletter please email your piece to Peter
Liston at news@chillingham.com.au