Month: March 2018

The homely, gorgeously lush Bond Street Kindergarten is decorated lovingly for Christmas as I lower myself into a chair that’s three sizes too small. A gaggle of toddlers are ushered into the room, giggling to themselves as they patiently wait for Ditto the lion cub to take them on his Keep Safe Adventure. Ditto is the mascot of Bravehearts, an education organisation dedicated to educating, empowering and protecting kids and community against child sexual assault. The three educators on the Bravehearts team are experienced primary school teachers, and it shows in their enthusiasm and gentleness when speaking with the kids.

“Am I in the wrong place?” asks Mandy Berry, “Because you’re sitting like school kids! Are you sure you aren’t school kids?” Positively chuffed at the praise, the kids are made to feel comfortable and welcome as Meryl Friend (dressed in the wonderfully elaborate Ditto the lion cub costume) takes them on Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure. Using songs, interactive discussions and a dash of humour, Ditto teaches the kids about personal safety, including “yes and no feelings”, which areas are private parts of their bodies, warning signs from their bodies, secrets are addressed and that they should report to an adult they trust if they ever feel unsafe or unsure about others. This community funded program is aimed to empower kids to speak up when they experience “no feelings”, and to identify the strategies they can use to protect themselves – such as the difference between long term and short term secrets. While the latter might be hiding the details of a surprise birthday party, the kids are encouraged to reveal any “secrets” someone has told them to keep if it makes them feel unsafe or unsure.

Continue reading “Bravehearts” →

Clean Up Australia is this Sunday March 4th. Please Share. We caught up with Jane Shearer of the Caring For Our Bays program that is delivered through the Bellarine catchment network. ‘One of our main aims is to raise awareness about the impact litter has on our unique marine species that call Port Phillip Bay and Corio Bay home. That’s where the ‘Be a local hero’ campaign comes in, to connect our community and visitors alike to the bay as habitat and to share how we can all protect our heroes of the bay.

‘We’ve used 5 iconic species of our region, as the faces for the campaign. There’s the Australasian Gannat, Growling Grass Frog, Weedy Seadragon, Australian Fur Seal and the Burrunan Dolphin. You may be interested to know this species of dolphin was only discovered a few years ago. It is a relative of the Bottle Nose dolphin but a different species. In 2011, Principal Researcher and Founding Director of the Marine Mammal Foundation (MMF), Dr Kate Charlton-Robb, formally identified and named Tursiops australis, known commonly as ‘Burrunan dolphin’ following Australian aboriginal narrative.https://marinemammal.org.au/ The Burrunan dolphin has already been listed as ‘Threatened’ due to its small and isolated populations.

‘A big part of what we do is education and engagement. We are working with many schools on the Bellarine, in #Geelong and around Corio Bay. We are making students aware of our bays’ unique species, the impacts of plastics and how they can contribute to caring for our bays.

‘You might have seen us at the Pako Festa withGeelong Sustainability. We believe it is important to tie in with other projects and organisations. You may also see our ‘Be a Local Hero’ materials at Eastern Beach and in many other coastal reserves along the Corio Bay and #Bellarine Peninsula coastline, as we have strong partnerships with multiple local land managers.

‘Our work is based on regular data collected by volunteers and partner organisations through litter audits at 12 hotspots around #Corio Bay and Northern #Bellarine. We collect data on the amount and type of rubbish found and the infrastructure present. We base campaigns on these findings and discover gaps in knowledge or the need for more bins or signage. Our aim is to see a decline of litter at all sites and an increase in responsible disposal of litter.’

If you would like to get in touch with Caring For Our Bays: http://www.environmentbellarine.org.au/contactus Or if you would like to find a local clean up site for this Sunday https://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/

Story: Jacqui Bennett. Poster of the Burrunan Dolphin supplied. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Catch up on all our stories on our website.