This episode is the first in our Clayton series, introducing you to Lina Patel as we walk from Cheltenham to Clayton and encounter the wonderful outdoor community at Karkarook Park. Lina and Dan first met birdwatching and bonded over mutual love of Jenny Odell’s writing about place and bioregions, especially How To Do Nothing (2019), which is highly recommended!

www.jennyodell.com/writing.html 

www.trove.nla.gov.au/work/235582604 

We walk and talk to local jogger Natalie who’s made hundreds of loops around Karkarook Lake as a key volunteer Co-Event Director for Karkarook parkrun. New joggers, walkers and volunteers are always welcome and can loop in with the parkrun community for free each Saturday morning.

www.parkrun.com.au/karkarook

Our discussion notes the many varied communities that meet at Karkarook Park and we would particularly like to thank the Friends of Karkarook Park who introduced us to the area and have had such a big hand in the park's ecological and community life alongside management by Parks Victoria.

www.friendsofkarkarookpark.org 

www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/karkarook-park 

You can join regular organised bird walks with knowledgeable and generous folks at Friends of Karkarook Park or meet the feathered locals on your own by taking a look at what other citizen scientist birders have observed and recorded on eBird.

www.ebird.org/hotspot/L2041660

Please follow the rest of our walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com 

This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

In this second episode Dan & Jack continue walking along Narrm-ga on salty, sandy Boon Wurrung lands and waters, stopping at Ricketts Point to talk with Neil Blake. Neil is the founding director of the Port Phillip Eco Centre and known to many as the Port Phillip Baykeeper. 

www.ecocentre.com/programs/community-programs/baykeeper/

During the conversation Neil mentions the invaluable work of community groups such as Marine Care Ricketts Point and the Marine Education Science and Community as examples of the people-powered efforts to preserve the ecology of Ricketts Point, leading towards its present status as a marine reserve. Find out about their conservation activities and invaluable nature publications here:

www.marinecare.org.au 

www.mesac.org.au 

www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/ricketts-point-marine-sanctuary 

To finish this leg of the walking journey Jack and Dan reflect upon walking through the suburbs of Beaumaris and Cheltenham to Southland Station. You can take a look at the incredible domestic architecture of Beaumaris that’s been preserved and documented in the Beaumaris Modern books by Fiona Austin:

www.beaumarismodern.com.au 

Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com 

This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund 

Welcome to the first episode of the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ podcast, hosted by Dan Koop. Across this series Dan is joined by six walking companions to explore the flows, loops and lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East, across the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country.

In this episode we meet our first guest artist, Jack Mitchell, at Table Rock Point in Beaumaris overlooking the waters of Narrm. From here Dan and Jack will start the walking journey towards the first train station in Cheltenham, but before departing they discuss what it means to walk and acknowledge the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country.

In the episode Jack acknowledges Aunty Caroline Briggs, elder and knowledge holder of the Boon Wurrung people. To pay our respects to her story, knowledge and leadership we invite you to listen to the story of the creation of the bay told in her own words: 

“Baykeepers: Time of Chaos” narrated by N'arweet Carolyn Briggs, Boon Wurrung Elder ⁠www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fSRJ03oDwc⁠

Please follow the walking journey by following maps and biographies of all artists and guests on the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ website at www.flowingloops.com 

This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund www.suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/communityfund

Welcome to the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ Podcast, exploring the flows, loops & lines of the Suburban Rail Loop East, across the lands and waters of Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country.

In this episode Dan Koop introduces the rest of this podcast series from where it all began at Beaumaris overlooking the salt water of Narrm (Port Phillip Bay). To begin, Dan outlines his creative practice and explains that this podcast series is the third and final part of a longer artistic journey shared with many people.

First, the ~FLOWING LOOPS~ artists walked and talked to begin to encounter this place, then we hosted creative walkshops to exchange knowledge with local communities. This process generated new maps of the areas and is how we came to know the fantastic people we continue talking to in this podcast series. There are 12 more episodes following our journey from Cheltenham to Box Hill, with each episode introducing you to a wonderful person we met along the way.

To see the hand embroidered maps we made of our journey visit www.flowingloops.com

Please hit subscribe and come on the journey with us!

This artistic program has been supported by the SRL Community Projects Fund
https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/suburban-rail-loop/community/community-fund