This episode is the first of two that looks at a contentious issue in Castlemaine at the moment, the proposed bioenergy plant. For many who are worried about climate change this kind of renewable energy project seems like a great idea, but those living at its doorstep have some serious reservations. 

Allie starts the episode by providing a bit of context and then we hear a presentation given by Deane Belfield at a town meeting. Deane explains as much as he can about the proposed bioenergy facility.

Next week we will hear the Q&A session that happened after Deane's presentation and also hear from people as they left the hall to see what they thought about it all.  

Find out more about the proposed project at bioenergy.net.au 

This episode looks at the implications for human health as the climate changes.

Vanora Mulvenna joins us from the DHHS (the Victorian State government's Department of Health and Human Services) to discuss how our state government is already planning for the possible health impacts of climate change. 

Before the interview Allie takes some time to reflect on the latest IPCC report and celebrates Saltgrass being a finalist in the Jackson Wild Awards.  Fellow finalists are The Hopecast, by Jane Goodall and a National geographic project called The Guardians of the River.

What is saltgrass?  This show was named after a real plant and we wanted to know more about it... but it actually isn't very well known.  In this episode we chat with Karl Just, local ecologist, who is one of the few people we were able to find who knows about the plant.  We discuss its properties, both biological and metaphorical. 

We also discuss a rare species he has been involved in monitoring and protecting for some time now, the Eltham Copper Butterfly, as mention in our episode Caring for Country

The final episode for Season 3 has a plethora of voices all asking for the same thing: fund our future, not gas.

The Australian School Strike for Climate crew have struck again.  Just before our state was locked down due to another covid outbreak thousands of students walked out of school and gathered in major cities and country towns.  Allie went to the train station early in the morning to chat with some of those travelling into Melbourne for the strike and also recorded the support rally that happened in Castlemaine later that day.

For links and more information click here 

Alex Kelly interviews Scott Ludlam about his new book 'Full Circle - a search for the world that comes next'

For full episode details and links click here

Hear Here is a sound art project that featured in the recent Castlemaine State Festival. In this episode we speak with the two artists who created Hear Here - Dan Koop and Daniele Constance.

Read full episode notes and find links to things discussed here.

This episode continues on the theme of bread! We hear from bakers from across Australia who have joined the GrAiNZ movement, a loose collection of sourdough bakers who want to create a new, more sustainable grains economy.

See full episode description at saltgrasspodcast.com

This episode takes a look at a local bakery and how it can be an example of everything we want to achieve in terms of community building, supporting local food systems and taking care of the planet.

Find out more at https://saltgrasspodcast.com/2021/04/06/s3-e19-redbeard-bakery-with-john-reid/

Jessie Boylan is a PhD candidate at RMIT's School of Art.  She has work in the upcoming Castlemaine State Festival called The Smallest Measure. Her thesis and upcoming art instillation has taken her out to the wilds of a remote outpost at the edge of Tasmania... to a place called Cape Grim where there is a science lab that tests the air coming in off the ocean there. Without land or human habitation for hundreds of kilometres, the air blowing in off the ocean to cape grim is considered the best air in the world to get base measurements of our atmosphere, including carbon and other green house gasses.  This data is vital in our understanding of global warming.  How does an artist depict the science of climate change? Listen to this episode to find out. 

See Saltgrasspodcast.com for more information.

In this episode we re-visit Chris Hooper, who has been running the Castlemaine Repair Cafe for over four years.  We also chat with Lucy Armstrong about the joy and meaning of repairing clothes.

https://saltgrasspodcast.com/2021/03/02/s3-e17-repair-with-chris-hooper-and-lucy-armstrong/