Hi ,

Ray Lewis OAM once described the world of Port Phillip Bay for those who dive in: ‘It’s just a wonderful garden of colours… And there’s life, and life, and life!’  These words apply as I soak up suburban walks under lockdown. I am thirsty for the blooms and birdsong. I notice little insects and fungi, engineering our ecosystems. I grew up in snowy places — winter was all whiteness and shadows. All six seasons here are full of gifts: fruits, flowers, magpie politics, cloud ballets. Still, I'm glad for spring.

As spring arrived, so did sad news of our Secretary Tony Flude’s peaceful passing. ‘Tony has been a wonderful friend to many of us, and a fantastic Secretary, Committee Member and supporter of the EcoCentre for over 15 years. We will miss him terribly,’ says our President Pam O’Neil. 

Tony’s legacy is planted across our community, in flourishing landscapes, partnerships and inspired ideas. EcoCentre founder Neil Blake once declared Tony's smile was 'an as-yet untapped renewable energy source'. At the EcoCentre, Westgate Park and in all his days, Tony embodied the notion: there is life, and life, and life. Vale Tony Flude. Share a message or memory here; all welcome to join Tony's funeral livestream Friday 11th at 11am.

Free EcoCentre Seminar: Creative Connections to Nature

Thurs 10 Sept, 6-7:30pm, Zoom. Creative connections to nature will provide participants with the opportunity to explore inner-creativity and links to nature through writing and drawing activities. This free seminar is most suitable for inexperienced writers and artists with an interest in incorporating these activities into personal experiences of self-care. Register >

Free EcoCentre Seminar: Hollows & Nest Boxes for Urban Wildlife

Thurs 24 Sept, 6-7:15pm, Zoom. Learn all about creating the perfect housing needs of a range of urban wildlife species. This seminar will teach you what constitutes the perfect home for birds, possums, bats, insects and frogs, where to put them in your garden or local community, and why providing an artificial home for urban wildlife will benefit you too! Register >

Join the EcoCentre as a digital volunteer

Volunteer Inductions on Thurs 17 Sept, 11:30am-12:30pm and 6:30-7:30pm. Do you have a passion for looking after our local environment and want to use your skills to help the Port Phillip EcoCentre help create an empowered, active community? We'd love to have you as part of our team of volunteers. We're looking for volunteers to assist with projects from home. Find out more and register >

The Gas Fallacy and Renewable Led Recovery

Hosted by Port Phillip Emergency Climate Action Network, Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network, and Bayside Emergency Climate Action Network, Tues 15 Sept, 7-8:30pm. Free community forum and panel with experts exploring the proposal for a so called gas-led recovery, and how an alternative renewable led recovery would work. Register >

Rooftop solar online information session

Hosted by City of Port Phillip and Yarra Energy Foundation, Wed 16 Sept, 4:30-6pm. This session will answer your questions about rooftop solar, and explain Council's solar program and available state and local government rebates. Register >

Show us what nature is springing to life in your area

NatureSpot is back for a new season! Submit spots of plants and animals sighted in Macnamara, south of the Yarra River from Port Melbourne to Caulfield East, or join an online facilitated NatureSpot session in late September. Find out more >

Tips for teachers: Creating effective green teams in your school

Effective green teams in your school can help drive a culture of sustainability. Here are some of our top tips on how to create effective green teams in your school community. Read >

Explore the power of collective human action through dance

Free sessions every Saturday morning in September, with EcoCentre group ensemble performance on Sat 26 Sept. Human x Human is a participatory projection dance work. Express and process feelings and thoughts through movement and art in these free workshops by local artists. Register >

What we're watching: Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge

Free on ABC iView. Hosted by Craig Reucassel (War on Waste), Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge explores how we can all reduce our individual and collective carbon emissions. This three-part documentary aims to empower and motivate Aussies to take action on climate change. Watch >

'All things will outlast us': Environmental destruction and deep time

The Indigenous concept of deep time asks us to rethink our narrow conceptions of time by looking back far into Earth’s history, and looking forward far into the future. This long perspective on history offers us hope in the face of environmental destruction, writes Prof Ann McGrath. Read >

Free resources on coping with climate grief

Clinical psychologists are developing strategies to help people work through climate grief. In the meantime, these tactics may help if you feel emotionally distressed by the climate crisis. Read >

Our planet still needs our care. We're still doing what needs to be done!

April Seymore

Executive Officer

Port Phillip EcoCentre Inc

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