Author: humansingeelong

Craig Morley knows Geelong’s 320 bird species, from the diminutive Weebill, weighing in at just 4 grams, to the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle, with a wingspan of 2.5 metres.

When Craig was just 12, his fascination with birds was cemented by the gift of a bird book, What bird is that? by Neville Cayley, from his grandparents. He went on to join the Geelong Field Naturalists Club and BirdLife Australia while studying science at university. Over forty years later, Craig remains an active member of both organisations. In 2019 Craig was awarded Life Membership for outstanding service to the Geelong Field Naturalists Club. Throughout all those years, he has been keen to share his knowledge about the region’s birdlife, giving countless presentations and leading excursions and surveys. It was also a huge thrill in 2020 when Craig was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion for his contribution to furthering the knowledge and interest in the areas of Ornithology, Conservation and Education.

“Here in Geelong we play host to amazing birds which fly a round trip of more than 26,000 kilometres every year. Shorebirds such as Red-necked Stints, weighing barely 30 grams, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and the critically endangered Curlew Sandpipers and Far Eastern Curlews, with massive down-curved bills measuring up to 20 centimetres.

“They spend up to 6 months each year feeding in wetlands such as tidal mudflats and saltworks, feeding voraciously to build up condition to fly north to breed in the arctic tundra. Then they fly south for our summer and do it all again,” Craig says.

Continue reading “Craig Morley – Geelong Field Naturalists Club.” →

Are you interested in history? Could you help save the Marshall Bluestone Cottage from destruction? This cottage has stood at the corner of Tannery Rd. and Barwon Heads Rd. Marshall, since 1866 and was built by the pioneering McAteer Family.

Under plans by the Major Roads Projects Victoria (MRPV) it will be demolished to make way for the widening of the Barwon Heads Road.

A group known as the Marshall Bluestone Cottage Community Group (MBCCG) has been formed to try to save the cottage by having it dismantled and reconstructed by MRPV as part of the road widening project, rather than simply destroying it. You can find them on facebook @savemarshallbluestoncottage

Should you wish to support efforts to preserve this building and join the MBCCG, you can email mcateersbluestonecottage@gmail.com and you can be placed on the email list and be kept informed of meeting dates and future developments.

The Group meet again on Saturday 17^th April at 4pm at the Marshall Tennis Courts. All welcome. Please also visit the website: https://marshallbluestonecottage.org/

Continue reading “Save the Marshall Bluestone Cottage.” →

“In 1977,I had the opportunity to spend a year in Japan as a Rotary Exchange Student. I didn’t know what Rotary was or even speak Japanese! I did exchange in a small village in Northern Japan, where they’d never had a foreign visitor live before. I’m so appreciative of that experience as it shaped my life.” We hear from Barbara Barry, English as an Additional Language (EAL) Coordinator at Northern Bay College (NBC).

“On exchange I lived with 6 different families. I made lifelong friends. There were challenges because I did not speak Japanese and my host families had limited English. However, I dove into the culture and language, learning Japanese and experiencing Japanese society. I’ve visited Japan many times since, the last being in 2019. My host families are now in their 90’s.” 

Barb was the School Captain of Corio Technical School (fondly known as Corio Tech) and proudly instigated the coffee and breakfast club. She advocated for girls being allowed to wear trousers in winter. Barb has fond memories of the school which helped equip her with the skills for life. She’s now an advocate for refugees and asylum seekers at NBC and has led a colourful life in between.

Continue reading “Barbara Barry, exchange student.” →

ROTARY 100 DOWN UNDER PEACE POLE PROJECT – As part of the celebration of 100 years of Rotary in Australia, Rotary Clubs from around Australia were invited by the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin, to become involved in a joint Centenary project by donating a Peace Pole to a Primary School in their local area.

Peace Poles are planted bearing the Universal Peace Message “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”

Each pole and the message symbolise our common wish for a World at Peace. They stand as a silent vigil for peace, reminding us to think and act in the spirit of peace.

This Peace Pole project is a joint project between the Kardinia Rotary Club and the Corio Bay Rotary Club. Kardinia Rotary Club President Henry Brockman, Kerry Woodman of Kardinia Rotary and Corio Bay Rotary Club President Deb Furlan handed over the Peace Poles to Ken Massari of Northern Bay College.

The peace message is written in four languages, one on each side of the 4-sided Peace Pole based on language usage in each school. In this case, the four languages on each of the 4 Peace Poles are representative of the cultural diversity of each of the four primary school campuses of Northern Bay College. The languages include Karen, Swahili, Dari, Arabic, Urdu, Tamil and English. Northern Bay College campuses are proudly diverse schools with 1/3 of students speaking a language other than English.

The Peace Poles were accepted as both a symbol of Rotary’s support of Northern Bay College and a commitment to world peace and understanding.

They were installed by Northern Bay College at each of the 4 Primary School Campuses and unveiled as part of Harmony Day celebrations in March.

Photo: Wexford College unveil their Peace Poles as part of their Harmony Day celebrations on Monday.

Players from the Geelong Symphony Orchestra played a performance of Nick Batterham’s evocative score written especially for the RONE exhibition at the Geelong Gallery. The music captures the mood, impermanence and nostalgia.

Of those involved, we’ve published stories on Wendy Galloway founder of the GSO, Kym Dillon of With One Voice Choir Geelong, Vicki Hallett, Carter Harris-Smith of Skip Hip Hooray and the RONE Exhibition at the Geelong Gallery. You can read these stories on our website.

‘The Dance’, our fun music video project which was 18 months in the making and included a diverse cast of thousands, was launched to a Sold Out crowd at the dome, Geelong Library on Tuesday 23^rd  March. The event was part of Geelong Design Week 2021, which celebrates the fact that Geelong is the only city in Australia to be a UNESCO City of Design.

The aim of ‘The Dance’ was to bring joy, and to showcase our beautiful region and many of our amazing, creative individuals, Humans in Geelong team members and community groups who are making a difference. Humans in Geelong volunteer videographer Hadeel of @hs.stories.photography did a brilliant job of matching 60 clips to the winning song.

Andrea Robertson won The Song Contest. Her song ‘Dance the Blues Away’ from the Album ‘Live at New Hall’ was chosen to be the song for the video clip, it’s funky, upbeat music and lyrics matched the project perfectly. Humans in Geelong would also like to congratulate ‘The Red Violets’ who came second in The Song Contest with their song ‘The Beat’. It was a tough choice.

We thank each and every participant in this project. They are all included in our previous post.

Thanks also to the whole team, team member Bec Picone who spoke about Peace of Mind Foundation and guest speaker Kyle Jdali of Atman. You can view the talk on the Geelong Regional Library YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M1UNmacK3w

Watch and share ‘The Dance’: https://youtu.be/mfrbUIzd5Yk Geelong and region – you can be very proud!

View more photos from the launch on our Instagram or Facebook.

The aim of The Dance, is to showcase the beautiful Geelong region and many of our amazing individuals and community groups who are making a difference. Our volunteer videographer Hadeel Hani of @hs.stories.photography did a brilliant job of matching the 60 clips to the winning song. It’s ‘Dance the Blues Away’ from the album, ‘Live at New Hall’ released in 2019 by Andrea Robertson.

We thank each and every participant in this project. Here they are in order of appearance:

Aerial of Geelong by Boom Jellyfish.

Deadly Dancers at the Cats Ground.

Buckley Falls – team members Jacqui, Bec, Charion and Rini.

Lily – Rocky Point Lookout between Torquay and Jan Juc.

Continue reading “The Dance, compiled by Humans in Geelong.” →

Today is Harmony Day. “We have written and recorded a song called ‘Marching Free’ – a song of inclusiveness and respect, supporting the theme ‘everyone belongs’, to celebrate Harmony Week. We are a musical duo called The Red Violets (Claire Foley and Jill O’Dowd). 

“The most memorable part of our celebration was meeting so many beautiful people and sharing the joy of creating art, dancing, playing and making new friends.

“We held a music and art workshop with so many beautiful children and their families to create a meaningful piece of artwork that we included in our music video clip. 

“The rainbow eyes in our art piece represent people from all nations and backgrounds looking a little deeper to see that we are all the same.

“The song was released on Sunday the 14th of March to celebrate the start of Harmony Week.

Continue reading “Harmony Day 2021, The Red Violets.” →

Join us for the exciting launch of The Dance and the announcement of the winners of The Song Contest. It’s free and it’ll be loads of fun. It’s part of Geelong Design Week 2021 and our talk is at the Geelong Library, Level 5, arrive 7pm for a 7.30pm start, Tuesday 23^rd March. Get in quick because numbers are limited.

Be inspired and uplifted by positive local stories. Hear from team members Jacqui Bennett and Bec Picone. Meet the team. Special guest speaker, Kyle Jdali of Atman. We’ll have our Humans in Geelong Books and Bags available for donations.

The winning song provides the backdrop to our home grown film clip which has been edited by our amazing team member, the talented videographer, Hadeel Hani @hs.stories.photography

Sixty clips from community groups, team members and talented individuals make up this fun video called ‘The Dance’.

It showcases the best of Geelong’s gorgeous scenery too. We can all be proud.

Geelong Design Week 2021 is made up of over 60 exhibitions, workshops, tours, open studios and more. The full program can be found here: https://www.geelongcityofdesign.com.au/geelong-design-week/

Our Library Talk and launch of The Dance video is part of Geelong Design Week 2021, an initiative of Geelong UNESCO City of Design and the City of Greater Geelong. Presented in partnership with Geelong Regional Library Corporation.

Very proud Geelong! There was a massive turn out tonight for Geelong’s March4Justice. It’s the first of many. It was organised by the Geelong Women Unionists Network and they suggest you follow them to find out about more action. Sarah Hathaway, from the group spoke, followed by Christine Couzens MP and Councillor Belinda Maloney.

The message was ‘enough’! There needs to be justice, no more violence against women and equity.

This March was one of many throughout the country.