Hello members and supporters,
In this edition:
– Housing/ Homeless
– GREATER GLIDER LIVESTREAM PROJECT
– First Aid Training discount offer
– Historic Solar Initiative to Benefit the Bega Valley
– SJA General Meeting April
– Ocean Guardians program
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Housing /Homeless
Hi folks,
Yet again it is very important to thank our very generous Bega Valley Community.
In recent weeks another young family and a single person have been able to
secure rental accommodation. FABULOUS for everyone.
All this through the support of various local support services; the Bega Realty
agency, SJA and most importantly the tenant’s own perseverance and commitment.
A rental reference is provided through our SJA crisis transitional accommodation
program in conjunction with the Bega Realty agent. Often this is the first
rental reference ever received by the person .
With a strict time limitation of 6 months these folks have paid significant
rents whilst staying, demonstrating their ability to manage their finances in
these very difficult times.
A huge thank you to all the people directly associated with this program and to
our most generous community for the funding to install and operate these two bedroom
moveable dwelling units (below) of which we operate eight.
These units are proving to be invaluable and one most
effective way to address the crisis in housing within our shire. The security,
safety and support provided for tenants enables them to concentrate on their
needs and focus on their future. Well over 80% of tenants in our crisis
transitional units move directly to rental accommodation.
Thanks to all and congratulations to our tenants.
It’s Up To Us.
Mick Brosnan
Convenor SJA housing and homeless group.
NEXT HOUSING/HOMELESS SUB GROUP MEETING March 12 at the Bega Uniting Church cnr
Upper and Carp Streets at 5:30 for an hour
Agenda –
What we are doing
Plan for advocacy in 2025
GREATER GLIDER LIVESTREAM PROJECT
Dear fellow SJA members,
At the last meeting I followed up on an environment project that has now been
running successfully for a while due to the valued funding from SJASC and the
technical expertise of Pyramid Power.
The project was set up by a friend of mine, Dr Ana Gracanin, a Fellow at ANU,
who is a glider expert and accomplished tree climber. We set up the
transmission on a private conservancy in the Tallaganda district where the
nearby State Forest has been the centre of controversy in the failures to
locate and protect greater gliders.
The links can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/@ana_gracanin
where you can watch greater gliders resting and preening during daylight hours.
You can scroll through quickly to observe some action if they are sleeping.
People often leave comments and a time reference to the observation.
If for some reason the link fails, Ana will post a new one on her Youtube site.
Try again the next day. Remember, at night, the gliders are out in the forest
feeding.
This is a unique look into the critical value for tree hollows as a home for
greater gliders. Without the shelter and safety of hollows they cannot survive.
Ana pays tribute to SJA, National Parks Association and Pyramid Power in her
intro.
Happy viewing!
David Gallan
64944116
DISCOUNT FIRST AID COURSE OFFER
From "Jackie SisterShip Training" <jackie@sistershiptraining.com>
To "Jackie Parry" <jackie@sistershiptraining.com>
Date 22/02/2025 6:28:47 AM
Subject Discounted First Aid/CPR Course for Volunteers & NFPs
Hi,
I’d like to offer you a discount for First Aid Training.
As a small, locally run training business, I already keep my prices as low as
possible, but I also want to do more to support our amazing NFPs and volunteers
.
To help, I’m offering a special discount for NFPs and volunteers who join our
scheduled training dates in Bega:
First Aid & CPR (HLTAID011) $135 per person (normally $150)
CPR Refresher (HLTAID009) $69 per person (normally $79)
How it works:
If you have 8 or more people (for full First Aid), you’ll get the discount when
joining one of our upcoming courses.
If you don’t quite have the numbers, I’ve set up a Facebook group where NFPs
can connect and combine groups to reach the discount threshold together.
Just click on an event date that works for you. Keep an eye on the page as more
dates are added.
Here’s the link to our details and upcoming courses on our website and the
Facebook group (First Aid & CPR for NFP and Volunteers) if you’d like to
join in.
https://sistershiptraining.com/first-aid-and-cpr-courses/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/firstaidnfpvolunteersbega
We ‘do it all in a day’ so there’s no pre-study!
Let me know if you’re interested or if you have any questions I’d love to help.
See you in the private FB group.
Kind regards,
Jackie
SisterShipTraining.com
SailingEden.com
Jackie: 0458 391660 or Noel: 0432 819 618
You are invited to come along to a
Historic Solar Initiative to
Benefit the Bega Valley
The Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast Inc. SJASC are joining the
Sapphire Coast Historical Vehicle Club s SCHVC big OPEN DAY event on SUNDAY 16
MARCH from 11:00 am to 3.00 pm
The SJASC and the SCHVC have a Memorandum of Understanding MOU to develop a Pilot
Community Solar Garden and Energy Storage System Project at the Club in Greigs
Flat, NSW.
This pioneering initiative will harness solar power to generate clean, renewable
energy at the SCHVC while delivering direct financial benefits to community
members experiencing economic challenges across the Bega Valley Shire.
The Pilot Community Solar Garden and Energy Storage System will feature advanced
solar generation coupled with leading-edge energy storage technology. By
strategically storing and selling energy at optimal times, the project is
expected to generate over $75,000.00 annually. These proceeds will be used to
support those experiencing economic challenges in the Bega Valley Shire. Come
join us at the SJASC MARQUEE to learn more about this wonderful Pilot Community
Solar Garden & Energy Storage System Project. You ll also have the chance
to check out some of the wonderful, restored vehicles at the club, enjoy a bite
to eat, catch up with your community neighbours while supporting us at this worthy
event.
Address: 15 Greigs Flat Road, Greigs Flat
NEXT GENERAL MEETING APRIL 10
GUEST SPEAKER BRUCE PASCOE
ALL WELCOME
5.30 PM CWA ROOMS PAMBULA
The Bega Valley Shire Council are proposing changes to their Use of Public
Land Policy that will mean that Not For Profit (NFP) organisations will be
forced to pay for the use of public land.
Whilst Registered Charities (such as SJA) are NOT affected, we have made a
submission opposing the changes that will affect events such as Pambula Village
Vibes (Xmas each year) etc
If you would like to make a submission the link is below
https://begavalley.nsw.gov.au/community/public-exhibition-of-draft-policy-use-of-public-land
For exec
The Bega Valley Shire Council are proposing changes to their Use of Public Land
Policy that will mean that Not For Profit (NFP) organisations will be forced to
pay for the use of public land. If the proposed changes go through it will
affect hundreds of local organisations like sporting clubs, chambers of
commerce, tourism groups and other community organisations. If a local
community organisation wants to run a market, or outdoor event they will be
forced to go through an application process, pay an application fee and then
pay a fee for every stand or stall, for every day of the event. This is not the
first time this issue has been raised with the Bega Valley Business Forum
(BVBF) opposing changes to the policy a few years ago. President of the BVBF
Nigel Ayling made presentations to Council in 2022 and they agreed to waive
charges under its Use of Public Land policy in respect of activities by
not-for-profit organisations. But the proposed changes in the latest revision
of fees states, " Use of Public Land activities undertaken by Public
Authorities (as defined in the Local Government Act 1993) and Registered
Charities (publicly listed on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits
Commission’s register) are exempt from Use of Public Land Application
Processing Fees and Event Fees. " This change of wording means that only
Registered Charities are exempt and not, NFP’s like sporting clubs, chambers
and other organisations. Most NFP’s are NOT charities so they will be forced to
pay the fees. Mr Ayling said "Our NFP’s are volunteer lead organisations,
we volunteer our time for the cause and the community. When we run an event for
the local community, we don’t stand to make a profit and if we do, it goes straight
back into the community. It is bad enough that we have to fill out applications
for everything and pay insurance, but to pay to use public land is just another
cost that we can’t afford to pay, so at the end of the day, we may not be able
to run these events in the future." ‘We are calling on all NFP
organisations and the public to oppose these changes by giving Council Feedback
via their website before 11 March." Just click on the link below and Let
them know that NFP organisations need to be exempt from these fees.
https://begavalley.nsw.gov.au/community/public-exhibition-of-draft-policy-use-of-public-land
Ocean Guardians February
2025 Update
On Sunday 23th February we ran our very first Sapphire Coast Marine Expo. This
event couldn’t have happened without all of the awesome SJA volunteers who
showed up, set up, ran the SJA stall, packed up and kept the vibes up. We are
so grateful for the collaboration we have with the Sapphire Coast Sea Shepherd
group and Tara Brown, who in particular was there for the brainstorms, the
planning, advertising and all things to bring this expo to fruition. Another
fabulous collaboration was with Carmen Risby at the Tathra Beach eco camp, who
initially came up with the idea and allowed us to use the site for our expo.
We of course have to thank our incredible generous local donor for without you
this expo would not have happened.
Thank you all!
We are so grateful to all of the wonderful partners who contributed to this
event by setting up a stall and sharing their resources and expertise: The NSW
National Parks & Wildlife Service who donated their time, discovery van and
Rangers for the event. The Batemans Marine Park rangers who travelled down from
Batemans Bay to be there. The Nature Coast Marine Group, Gavin Bells marine
play group, Coast Life Expeditions, South Coast Landcare, Marine Rescue
Merimbula, Atlas of Life, Navigate Expeditions, Primary Industries and Regional
Development, Piste & Trail, Sapphire Beach Fishing Charters, music by Eden
Hendry, Katie Ann and Sarah Lingard-Sinclair and gorgeous photos by Zach
Hooker. Dive Eden, ran a snorkel tour down at Kianniny Bay in the afternoon, which
was enjoyed by all. The Marine Expo produced a lot of constructive
conversations between the various groups, and actions that we will be
implementing in our ongoing Ocean Guardians program. Firstly, we have arranged
to auspice the Merimbula wharf fish habitat restoration project, so that this
great initiative can continue running following the closure of Atlas of Life. We
are in conversation with Nature Coast Marine Group, advocating for enhanced
marine protections along our coastline. We are looking to work with local
council and the Far South Coast Landcare Association to conduct weed removal
and revegetation activities in targeted coastal areas. We are also hoping to
host an event with Samuel McLennan of Project Interrupt as he sails his
rubbish-raft from Port Arthur to Sydney. Watch this space, we hope you will
come along and support us with our various initiatives?
Climate Update:
SJA Forces for Nature group and SJA Youth group invite you to view the ANU
Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions’ 2025 Climate Update
with us on Friday 7 March.
This pre-recorded webinar will play from 6.00 -7.30pm at the Pambula CWA hall.
This screening will provide a detailed review of the current climate science
and policy situation, with talks from Shane Rattenbury MLA and Professor Mark
Howden. We hope you can join us. A reminder of this climate update event will
be advertised and confirmed next week via SJA Facebook and the SJA youth groups
website.
Robin Spinks
SJA Marine Coordinator for our Ocean Guardians Program
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Russell Jennings
Secretary
secretary@sjasc.org.au
https://sjasc.org.au/
https://www.facebook.com/sapphirecoastsja
https://www.instagram.com/socialjusticeadvocates/
The Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast acknowledge the Yuin
People as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live and work.
We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.
ABN 19 708 992 414
PO Box 352 Pambula NSW 2549