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We love it when our local youth get the opportunity to showcase their talents, and this time we celebrate with Chloe Skinner and Ruby Taylor who have both had their VCE work selected for exhibition at Top Designs 2021 in Melbourne.

Top Designs is an annual exhibition that showcases work created by VCE students who completed VCE Media, Product Design and Technology, Systems Engineering, Theatre Studies and Visual Communication Design subjects, as well as VCE VET Creative Digital Media and Integrated Technologies. The 2021 exhibition displays works from 2020 Unit 3 and 4 VCE students.

Ruby and Chloe both produced their very different creative pieces while completing their VCE at Kardinia International College, here in Geelong.

Ruby’s VCE Media film, ‘The Girl Who Cried Sick” has already won ‘Best Film Award’ at the 2020 Odyssey Film Festival, which showcases the best VCE Media films from across the Geelong region, and will now also have the honour of being the ninth Media student in nine years from Kardinia International College to be recognised at Top Designs.

Chloe Skinner not only designed her unique Geometric Chair, but also built it from scratch in VCE Product Design and Technology. The Geometric Chair is one of six products selected from 290 shortlisted pieces in this area.  Chloe’s work has also been selected to be in contention for the People’s Choice Award, which is the only award that is presented at Top Designs.

Kardinia International College Principal, Catherine Lockhart said she is proud of the recognition that Chloe and Ruby have received.

“This is fantastic recognition for Chloe and Ruby, who both worked extremely hard on their projects during 2020.  To be recognised amongst the top VCE works is a wonderful achievement and I am very proud of both Chloe and Ruby.  I would also like to commend the families and staff for their commitment and support.”

Top Designs 2021 is exhibiting until Sunday 11 July at Melbourne Museum and there are 95 works on display. https://museumsvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whats-on/top-designs-2021/

Photos of the students, Ruby and Chloe who is pictured with her chair, compliments of VCAA Season of Excellence.

Be part of the biggest community solar program. This your chance to reduce your power bills while helping create a clean energy future.

Designed by our friends @Geelong Sustainability to increase renewable energy in our region, this program leverages the buying power of the community to provide quality, affordable solar and battery storage for homes and businesses. https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/

You’ll get leading product warranties and quality components in a system specifically tailored to you. Using the best local installers, it will also make a positive impact on the local economy.

Join them for a free solar and battery information session with their experts. They’ll unpack everything you need to know about going solar or installing a battery, including latest technologies, what they cost and how much you can save. For businesses, they’ll cover the range of energy and sustainability services available for commercial operators to help you find the best solution.

Every installation helps our community – For every home or business that takes part, a solar panel will be donated to a non-profit community project!

Interested in finding out more?

Local information sessions will be held this week and over the next month, where you can ask questions and learn about the program, the brands, technology and costs involved. Click below to find the session closest to you.

Click here for more

“Hey everyone! My name is Noah, I love music and I’ve achieved a dream of programming concert lighting and DJ for 30,000 people in Fiji.” Noah talks some more about his Type 1 Diabetes and how it hasn’t held him back.

“I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on a holiday in Spain at 18 months old. I am now 20 and have had diabetes for almost 19 years.

“I manage my Type1 diabetes with a Dexcom G5 and a Medtronic 640G insulin pump, but I am upgrading soon to a G6 and a T-Slim. Growing up I really struggled learning to manage my diabetes and struggled with the idea that I would be restricted from achieving great things. But my diabetes hasn’t stopped me!

“I am a Lighting Technician, DJ and Music Producer. Some of the things I have done are move interstate alone at 19 to study at NIDA, program concert lighting and DJ for 30,000 people in Fiji, jet ski alone and most recently become a mentor on type 1 camps for @thetype1foundation. I’m running a live dance party for them called ‘Diabeats’, for teens and young adults, on July 3rd. Register on their website.

“I really want to help teenagers and young adults feel better about their Type1 diabetes and understand that it doesn’t have to limit them. My DMs in Instagram are open if anybody wants to chat @stottnoah “

Fun Fact – Noah was Spiderman at the Humans in Geelong Expo 2018 and is part of our Flashmob video, which continues to delight many, from that Expo. You can find it on our YouTube.

Story: Jacqui Bennett. Photos supplied.

Geelong Sustainability are spearheading a campaign to convince the State Government and Viva Energy to switch their future investment focus to renewable energy projects.

“Fossil fuels like gas and coal are on the way out. The last thing we want is a repeat of the Ford factory where Geelong was stuck with a slowly dying industry and missed other economic opportunities.”

Geelong Sustainability recently hosted the Geelong Energy Futures Forum opened by The Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Solar Homes. This sold out event saw guest speakers give expert advice on alternative energy and job opportunities for our region.

“There’s already a big battery planned for Moorabool, and Geelong can be a gateway to the booming wind industry in Western Victoria.”

Viva Energy are currently proposing to build a gas import terminal in Geelong. Geelong Sustainability understand that fossil fuels, like gas, are a finite resource, and so are campaigning for a longer term, renewable, energy industry for our community.

If you want to show your concern regarding the gas terminals proposed for Geelong, and support renewable energies, there’s currently a petition you can sign: https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/grng/

If you’d like to find out more about this issue, contact Geelong Sustainability. https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/

“Geelong can be a renewable energy hub. We’ve got the infrastructure, skilled workforce and proud manufacturing heritage to position our city as the place for the rapidly growing clean energy industry.”

School Strike for Future, come along to support the students. Johnstone Park on Friday May 21st at 11am to show support for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 in Australia, one that doesn’t involve investment in fossil fuels. For more information: https://fb.me/e/3mnohmFGb

Photo supplied.

“The idea is that when you stand back it comes together as an image; it’s not painted to look like a photograph or a replicated image.”

I stared and stared at the artwork, wondering why Graeme Heard named one of his portraits ‘Prince of Wales after Sir Joshua Reynolds’.  I couldn’t see anything but smudges of colour, an abstract oil on marine ply.

How could this possibly be a portrait of HRH Prince Charles, regardless of whether he’s painted after Sir Joshua Reynolds?  Prince Charles is a familiar face, (admittedly, I had to Google Sir Joshua Reynolds to find an image to reference), and still I couldn’t see anything resembling a person, let alone royalty. 

Then, as if a veil was lifted, there it was. The portrait appeared like magic! There was audible excitement as I delved further into this extraordinary collection, discovering new details in each piece of art.

Geelong local Graeme Heard has always been an artist, but his creative path wasn’t as he first planned. After commencing a commercial art course at Gordon Technical School, he successfully applied to the Melbourne National Gallery Art School.

“I quite liked the fine art approach taught there but somehow it just didn’t bring me satisfaction. After some 13 months I was asked to leave. Although feeling a bit disappointed in myself I started my own business of garden renovation, construction and maintenance which I thoroughly enjoy.  I continued oil painting as a hobby.”

Continue reading “Graeme Heard, Artist.” →

Organised by volunteers, the Geelong Pride Film Festival, GPFF, aims to contribute to the development of a thriving and vibrant community in Geelong for those who identify as LGBTQIA+. The Festival runs until May 16 and more information can be found here: https://gpff.ferve.tickets/

GPFF contributed two videos to our Humans in Geelong Online Expo 2020. You can view them on our YouTube.

Our friends at GPFF are offering our followers 4 free double passes to ‘Breaking Fast’ which is screening this Friday, 7^th May 8.30pm at the Pivotonian Cinema. DM us if you are interested.

‘Breaking Fast’ is a romantic comedy about a gay Muslim man living in West Hollywood navigating the intersection between his faith, family traditions and his romantic relationships. During Ramadan he meets a charming young actor who surprises him by offering to break fast during the holy month.

Trailer: https://fb.watch/5dS6N7YlZX/

“It was a hot, humid day. The wet season was in full swing so when it wasn’t raining you felt you could cut the air with a knife. The children sitting in class were restless and their young faces were moist with perspiration. They were hot and completely uninterested as I tried to persuade them to concentrate on something they knew nothing about, and which to them seemed both purposeless and pointless. I wanted them to learn to ‘tell the time’.”

As a young teacher in Yirrkala in remote Arnhem land in the 1960s, Beth Graham slowly began to understand that the mainstream approach to education was not meeting the needs of these bright children.

“I realised we needed to recognise where these knowledgeable children were within their own culture, and use this as a starting point for school education. I became a believer in starting the school education of children in the language they spoke, and teaching them to read their own language before they did so in English,” Beth explains.

In the 1970s Beth had the opportunity to return to Yirrkala to help develop bilingual education for that community. She jumped at the chance.

Continue reading “Beth Graham – advocate for bilingual education for Indigenous kids.” →

Trigger warning – this story discusses loss. “11 months ago, our family’s reality changed forever, with the tragically devastating news that our dear little nephew had made the decision to take his own life.” Bohdan Evans.

“What made this heart-wrenching news even worse, was the fact that the family member was a child, my sister’s child.

“Abraham Knox is a well-known, much loved and respected teenager who lived in the Geelong community. One of an ever-increasing number of young males who have made the tragic decision to take their own lives.

“Stricken with an inconsolable weight of grief, and already dealing with a lifetime battle of anxiety, I had a choice to make, do I let this grief control me in a negative way, or do I take this grief and turn it into positive strength?

“So, eleven months ago I vowed to uphold a legacy in Abraham Knox’s memory, that I would do better; better as an uncle, better as a father, better as a brother, better as a husband, better as a man.

Continue reading “Just Breathe.” →

Schools Strike 4 Climate – With COVID-19 shifting everyone’s focus for a moment, Schools Strike 4 Climate are ready to put our planet’s health back in the spotlight.

“The Morrison Government could be protecting our climate, land and water, and creating thousands of new jobs by growing Australia’s renewable energy sector and backing First Nations solutions to protect Country.”

Organisers are calling on students and supporters to follow Covid-Safe guidelines, and meet at Johnstone Park on Friday May 21st at 11am to show support for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 in Australia, one that doesn’t involve investment in fossil fuels.

“Burning and mining coal and gas are the biggest contributors to the climate crisis. Gas is a dirty fossil fuel primarily made up of methane, one of the main drivers of dangerous climate change.”

All ages welcome. For more information:

https://fb.me/e/3mnohmFGb

If you want to show your concern regarding the gas terminals proposed for Geelong, and support renewable energies, there’s currently a petition you can sign: https://www.geelongsustainability.org.au/grng/

“After two shoulder reconstructions, I needed to change my choice of sport. It was devastating. But when one door closes, another door opens. It was then that I decided that bike riding was the sport for me as I had already been racing bikes as part of triathlons.”

Melissa Burgoyne is a secondary school teacher at Northern Bay College in Corio with an avid passion for cycling and sport. “I was born in Horsham and went to Horsham West Primary School until the start of secondary school. My family then moved to Ballarat for work where I then completed my secondary school and university in Ballarat, studying a Bachelor of Physical Education and Health in Teaching at Ballarat University.“

“I started training for swimming during secondary school and I developed many great friendships and had many successes competing at State and National level. I then became interested in triathlons and competed in many events. One of my races that stands out to me is when I came 3^rd in Canberra, qualifying for the world championships.”

That is when Melissa had to overcome two shoulder reconstructions, forcing her to stop competing in triathlons and swimming. But that was not the end of her sporting career. “When one door closes, another door opens, and I didn’t want to focus on that closed door.” Melissa found cycling.

Continue reading “Melissa Burgoyne.” →