NECCHi

Welcome to Buarth Gurru and Gunyang seasons at NECCHi! Buarth Gurru is the grass flowering season in the Woi Wurrung calendar, and we're celebrating this special time of the year in our upcoming Garden Festival (details below), as well as in some of our new programs and events!

Join poet Simone King for a relaxed morning of observing and writing in the NECCHI Wayi Garden. We will ground ourselves in this special place and open our senses to it. Simone will share a few writing tips, read you evocative pieces of garden writing, and offer some prompts to inspire new writing from you. Gardens are rich and fertile places for writers. They are places of uncertainty, where things stir under the surface and we are not sure what will emerge. They are places of creativity and vitality, where new life blooms. Gardens hold their own stories too, and listening to these stories can inspire our own. Sow & Tell: Drawing the Garden will take place on the first and third Friday of each month, at the tail-end of the Wayi Garden Group! Full Price $18 | Concession $12 Book now Craig and his much-loved Draw Plants Together workshops are returning to East Coburg over the Buarth Gurru and Gunyang Seasons! Draw Plants Together encourages connections with plants and with each other. The workshops focus on plants indigenous to the Narrm/Melbourne area and offer a supportive space for learning. Join us for a fun and relaxed two-hour session of drawing, painting, connection, and the occasional trip along the Merri Creek! Participants take home an indigenous plant provided by the VINC Nursey, suitable to many different kinds of home gardens. Season Pass: Full Price $180 | Concession $130 Single Session Pass: Full Price: $20 | Concession $15 Book now

Blow Your Horn returns this Buarth Gurru and Gunyang Season - now on a Monday night! Blow Your Horn is a beginner's Horn and Brass band group, for those who are learning and are keen to play alongside others. The fortnightly session is a fun, beginner-friendly space to play that horn that has been sitting in its case, waiting for a revival! Come with your wind instrument (trumpet, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, tuba, oboe, bassoon, etc.), and all equipment needed to play. Each session -- led by the very talented Basil Byrne --includes a warm-up, and a new tune to learn together, with opportunities to improvise. All ages and abilities welcome :) Season Pass: Full Price $85 | Concession $55 Single Session Pass: Full Price $18 | Concession $12 Book now Rachael is returning with the much-loved Merri Meditations this Buarth Gurru & Gunyang Season, this time on a Tuesday afternoon! Gather together for a five-week series of guided meditations inspired by the nature of the Merri Creek. Surrender your stress, dissolve your tensions and reclaim a moment of calm and quiet presence in your day as we explore the beautiful spirit of an element each week. With over eight years' experience in nature-based spiritual practice, meditation, and magical ritual, Rachael Wildman has been Merri Creek local her whole life. She is also a qualified therapist, artist, storyteller and tarot reader. Season Pass: Full Price $95 | Concession $55 Single Session Pass: Full Price $20 | Concession $12 Book now

Grace's ever-popular Slow Flow class returns over the Buarth Gurru and Gunyang seasons at NECCHi! In this class we'll take things at a slower pace! This class is suitable for both beginners and more advanced yoga practitioners, as the postures are held for longer and the sequences are slower than a regular Vinyasa style class. Slow Flow allows the body to become more familiar in a pose & can invite an opportunity to make adjustments and modifications to support what feels best for each individual. The deliberate and mindful practice of a Slow Flow yoga class can help to ease tension in the body and mind and bring a sense of calm & rejuvenation. Season Pass: Full Price $162 | Concession $126 Single Session Pass: Full Price $18 | Concession $14 Book now The sun is coming out, and the Wild Daisy Nature Playgroup is just around the corner! Wild Daisy Nature Playgroup is a relaxed playgroup, facilitated by Dee Jones in an urban bush environment. It aims to connect families, community and nature. Children and their families are invited to slow down, take notice and jump in as they engage with curiosity in the wonders of the natural world. They will create nature art, plant seeds, make bush cubbies, climb trees, jump in muddy puddles, discover local plants and minibeasts and do lots of nature exploration! Each week’s offering includes a balance of stories, song, sensory activities and unstructured play. Held outside in (almost) any weather, this weekly gathering is an adventure through the Kulin seasons. Participants will feel enriched, empowered with confidence and full of gratitude for the land and community. Book now

Pick up your copy of our Term 4, Buarth Gurru and Gunyang Season timetable from our East Coburg and Newlands Houses :)

Merri Merri Weed ID Walk with Michael Longmore 19th October, 10am - 12pm Next up in our series of merri merri walks, we'll be identifying and learning about invasive plants around the creek. We'll again be led by ecologist Michael Longmore from Merri Creek Management Committee, and follow our same route—up to and around the confluence of Edgars and Merri Creek. By learning about these invasive plants (otherwise known as weeds) we hope that people may feel confident to ID and remove some themselves to help care for our waterways on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country. This walk is taking place around the banks of Edgars and Merri Creeks, so sturdy footwear is needed, and be prepared for wet weather! We also recommend bringing a notebook. Book Your Spot!

NECCHi  2023/24 AGM 30th October, 5:30 - 9pm You are warmly invited to our 2023/2024 Annual General Meeting. Gather alongside our Board, Staff, Volunteers, and Members to reflect on the past year, and have you say on the year ahead. This is an important event in the NECCHi calendar as we take time to look back and celebrate all the amazing community projects that have been implemented in the past year, recognise the contributions of staff and volunteers, and say thank you to outgoing Board members. We’ll also be electing our Board for the year ahead. The NECCHi Board is responsible for the good governance of our organisation and setting our strategic goals. We couldn’t provide spaces for our community to connect and flourish in without a dedicated Board and we are so thankful for the commitment of the NECCHi members who take on this role.  This year we’ll be hosting this event in the East Coburg Neighbourhood House and enjoying light refreshments and great company as we share stories and reflections. We look forward to celebrating with you! Register for NECCHi's AGM!

Become a NECCHi Neighbour! Our membership program is all about building a community-led neighbourhood house where we can organise, learn, and grow together. Our members inform our values - building solidarity with First Nations people and forging social and ecological justice. NECCHi Members have a say on our programming, vote for committee Members, and can contribute to our AGM. Join our NECCHi Neighbour program!

ILLUSTRATIONS BY CLAIRE MOSLEY Newlands Neighbourhood House 20 Murray Rd Coburg North VIC 3058 Ph 03 8528 2332 enquiries@necchi.org www.necchi.org East Coburg Neighbourhood House 32 Nicholson St Coburg VIC 3058 Ph 03 9913 5472