NECCHi

A huge thank-you to everyone who joined us at NECCHi’s Poorneet Festival on Saturday 6th September! It was a great celebration, made even more special by the beautiful spring sunshine. The day was filled with learning, connection, and appreciation for the Poorneet season — including its frogs, birds, and plants. Events like these wouldn’t be possible without the dedication, passion and contributions of many individuals and groups. We’d like to extend special thanks to: The NECCHi Team – especially our Garden Coordinator, Mei, whose vision and passion were instrumental in bringing the festival to life. Aunty Jo Russell - for generously sharing Indigenous history and knowledge about native plants and bushfoods. Takatāpui Waiata Rōpū - for their moving performance – a beautiful highlight of the day. RainMoth - for supplying affordable veggie and Indigenous seedlings to our community. Angela and Camilla - for their engaging and creative workshop exploring water creatures and watery worlds. Vanessa – for their thoughtful readings and opening of our ‘Learning on Country’ Library Angela Foley from the Merri Creek Management Committee – for their wonderful face paintings and keeping the kids entertained Ann and Karen McGregor, and Arimbi Winoto from Friends of Merri Creek – for leading the wonderful bird walk along the Merri Creek Tania from the Merri Creek Management Committee – we are grateful for your support. A big thank you to all who shared the day with us at the festive picnic lunch in the Wayi Community Garden — we hope to see you again soon! Fundraising Update Thank you to our incredible community of bakers who donated to the Community Bakesale for Palestine – together, we raised $1,019.13! The funds have been donated to the following NGOs: The Sameer Project: linktr.ee/thesameerproject Support Thamra: www.thamra.org/ Matwa Project: www.matwaproject.org Through the soup stall, we also raised $135 in support of Camp Sovereignty. Every contribution makes a difference – thank you for standing in solidarity with our First Nations communities at this time. We'd love to hear about your time at the Poorneet Community Food Growing & Garden Festival! Please take a moment and let us know about your experience at the Poorneet Festival, and help us plan for future community events :) 🐸 Festival Feedback 🥬 FRI 17 OCTOBER Cuttings and Propagating Indigenous Plants with Nangak Tamboree Indigenous Nursery | 11.30am-1.30pm Learn how to propagate indigenous plants in the NECCHi Newlands garden with Laurel from Nangak Tamboree Nursery (La Trobe University). She will demonstrate various plant propagation techniques and discuss resources, treatments and tips to help you propagate plants in your own garden. Participants will also have the opportunity ask questions and seek problem-solving tips.  Nurseries that specialise in indigenous plants are currently working to capacity to meet huge demand. Propagating these plants is a great skill to have to help increase local habitat! Tickets available soon.   Raising Rarity, Sowing the Seeds of Wonder with Tash Van Velzen & Dr Meg Hirst, Royal Botanical Gardens Cranbourne Date & Time TBC Raising Rarity is an enquiry-based outreach program which fosters conservation education using a hands-on approach. The program recruits community to grow and care for a threatened plant that occurs (or did so historically) within proximity to their location. Through authentic participatory learning coupled with a commitment to conservation outcomes, the Raising Rarity outreach program aims to raise local awareness of the plight of endangered species, increase botanical knowledge, develop the skills needed to grow and monitor plant health and contribute to our understanding of caring for plants at risk. Tickets available soon. It's not too late to sign up to this year's NECCHi Neighbour Membership Program! NECCHi is a member-based not-for-profit organisation, which means that as a member, you can play an active role in shaping the organisation.  As a NECCHi Neighbour, you get:  10% discount on full-priced tickets 4 free brews from Brewlands (that includes coffee, tea, chai, and hot chocs!) 1 pkt seeds from the NECCHi garden (subject to seasonal availability) Attend any $5 per session programmed activities for free  Free hotdesking at East Coburg Invitation and voting rights at our AGM Become a NECCHi Neighbour! 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