Following on from the last episode about the Castlemaine Currency Project, this episode shares audio from a panel discussion that was part of the original exhibition and social experiment. 

Featuring:

Warwick Smith, Castlemaine Institute

Karl Fitzgerald, Prosper Australia

Merryn Tinkler, Mount Alexander Shire - Manager of Economy and Culture

Anitra Nelson, University of Melbourne

Local currencies and alternative money systems... what is that all about? Is it really a helpful thing to be thinking about in the middle of the climate crisis?

A group of artists in Castlemaine have created an art project and social experiment in the form of a local currency they called The Silver Wattle to explore just these questions.

The audio in this episode was recorded at a live event that was held as part of the Castlemaine fringe arts festival – one year after the Castlemaine Currency Project was launched back in May 2022

LINKS:

About the Castlemaine Currency Project:

• Castlemaine Currency Website

About the Artists:

• Jodi Newcomb

• Carbon Arts

Other Links:

• Get Lost – funded the Currency project in 2022

• Wikipedia

• Transition Town

Anna and Matt run the Salvage Yard in Castlemaine. They rescue building materials that would otherwise go to landfill, clean it up and sell it on. It isn't hoarding if you turn it into a business is it?

This episode is exploring waste again, but this time we are looking at the building industry and how we can construct and dismantle buildings better. Another example of how 'Reduce, Re-use and Recycle' can be applied to almost anything!

Go to saltgrasspodcast.com to see more about this episode, including a full transcript. 

Tiffany Inglis started an op shop (AKA opportunity shop - known as a thrift store in the USA) and all she wants to do is save the world one pair of very cheap second hand jeans at a time. 

Not only is the Good Op shop keeping A LOT of stuff out of landfill, but money raised there is then given to worthy environmental causes. If that is not enough to convince you it is a 'good' op shop - then wait til you hear about the educational programs and recycling initiatives they have started. 

Good Op Shop (Facebook)

Good Op Shop (Instagram)

The Salvage Yard

Wettenhall Environment Trust

Muckleford Catchment Landcare Group

Castlemaine Landcare Group

Robyn Annear book on op shops

La Loba – Meri (Instagram)

Fundraiser for the machines (funding goal achieved!!!)

No such thing as a Hero article: https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-when-the-hero-is-the-problem/

Cassia Read and Ada Nano are both ecologists who have been working within a local climate focussed hub called The Castlemaine Institute.  They have been developing a program called “Wilderhoods” that helps neighbours come together, learn about the land they are on and how to turn their nature strips and yards into places that birds, bees and lizards would want to hang out in. This is all while connecting with neighbours and creating climate resilient spaces that work for humans, plants and animals.

Are you worried about waste?

If so, join us on an epic adventure of plastic reduction, waste management and letting your wheelie bin get dusty from neglect!

In this episode you can hear all about one inspiring local who has tackled this challenge head on. Gemma has set herself the incredible challenge of putting her landfill wheelie bin out just once per year! Hear all about how she managed to reduce her waste through making different shopping decisions and lifestyle changes. 

What can and can’t be recycled is in constant flux and local landfill is a big pain in the council’s arse. It is becoming clearer and clearer that when we want to throw things away, there is actually no such magical place as ‘away’… it is just ‘over there’.

Inspired by Gemma, Allie is up for this challenge and her first goal is to reduce the frequency of putting her bin out to once every 3 months. Follow her journey with this across this new season of Saltgrass and how she reduces what needs to go to landfill.

We are inviting you to join us and challenge yourself to reduce your waste and measure this by how many times you put out your kerbside bin. 

If you normally put it out every week, see if you can put it out once a month. 

If you put it out once a month, see if you can put it out every three or six months. 

Join us to swap notes, resources and tips and ideas.

Find out more https://saltgrasspodcast.com/wheelie-bin-challenge/

Back in March 2022 Zoe Scoglio joined Allie live on MAINfm and shared some interviews she had collected for a Castlemaine Commons Collective project. Beautiful conversations about community, connectedness and resilience.

Episode 4 includes interviews with:

Allison Nye from Country Womens Association (CWA)

Carolyn Neilson about the Murnong Community

Back in March 2022 Zoe Scoglio joined Allie live on MAINfm and shared some interviews she had collected for a Castlemaine Commons Collective project. Beautiful conversations about community, connectedness and resilience.

Episode 3 includes interviews with:

• Madz from Community Lunch and Growing Abundance and

Back in March 2022 Zoe Scoglio joined Allie live on MAINfm and shared some interviews she had collected for a Castlemaine Commons Collective project. Beautiful conversations about community, connectedness and resilience.

Episode Two includes interviews Zoe did with two locals; author Robyn Annear and ecologist Karl Just.

Song referenced: Sunset Village by Beverly Glenn-Copeland

(Sound quality starts out with some interference, but improves through the episode)

This is the first of four episodes created in collaboration with The Castlemaine Commons Collective and artist Zoe Scoglio. They were recorded live at MAINfm in March 2022. 

Zoe had been collecting local stories of community organising and collective care. Each episode in this series includes short edited excerpts from some of the conversations held by Zoe. We hope this can inspire further conversations, and so we can learn from each other about how to navigate these increasingly precarious times together brought on by the pandemic and climate crisis.