EarthChat

It's not Christmas week without EarthChat and this week before Christmas Peter Lockyer chats with Dr Jamie Mapelson about his work. Community radio for remote communities has developed as a valuable service for information, be they events, health conversations, community business. In a world where First Nations are ever challenged by the all pervasive media of global empires, the local content has...

This week Marie Gerrard and Peter Lockyer  will be interviewing Patricia Armstrong from ESRAG, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group. This program was originally planned to go to air in November but had to be delayed. We are so glad it can now be broadcast. We will take a look at the basic reasons why and how we campaign for a safe future for all, for humans and all living beings. W...

Ruth. Emma and Phil continue their conversation about the impacts of colonization in Australia. On Tuesday's program they will focus on why Treaty in Victoria will ultimately benefit everyone who lives in this State. The First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the State Government have formerly declared that negotiations can now begin to create a Treaty for the State of Victoria, Australia. Non in...

Tim Forcey has written a handbook that shows why, and how you can shift your home to being all electric. Good for your health, and your pocket, and good for the planet. On EarthChat this week, Tim shares his story and delivers a compelling case to go “all electric” and “get off gas”.  It is cheaper, healthier, and smarter. In this week's EarthChat, Peter and Tim chat with Tim Forcey about his life...

This week Tim Budge and Ruth Yeatman chat with the Joshua Waters about Indigenous Knowledge. Joshua is a First Nations K/Gamilaroi man, PhD student and Senior Research Fellow with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. His work explores the critical role of Indigenous Knowledges in global higher education and institutional contexts. He is also a core member of Deakin Un...

Euroa Arboretum workers, Bronte Haines, Charlotte Langman, and Nelly Watson join Ruth Yeatman to talk about the wonderful conservation work of the ‘Arb’, its many offerings, and why they love working in this truly beautiful natural environment. Spanning 27 hectares, the Euroa Arboretum offers a unique experience to spend time in the natural environment of northeastern Victoria. Working with tradit...

This week Tim Budge and Peter Lockyer chat with the legendary Cam Walker about forests, climate change, supporting Traditional Owners and his enduring love of the High Country. Cam is the campaigns co-ordinator with Friends of the Earth in Melbourne. Friends of the Earth (FoE) is a grassroots, community-based environmental organisation and Cam is responsible for co-ordinating the various campaigns...

This week on EarthChat, John Thompson president of Mitchell Community Energy joins Narelle Liepa from Mitchell Shire Council on EarthChat to share some of the good work happening in community renewables in Mitchell Shire. What is happening?    - A Solar farm at the tip - Jeff's work on the old courthouse - Our proposal for a solar carpark at Chittick Park and Community Batteries - The proposed Ene...

Join Tim Budge and Jessica Morrison as they chat about Jessica's involvement in peace and social justice issues. Jess has been a passionate advocate for working towards peace in situations such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine and has been outspoken in her opposition to war. She discusses the impact of the war on Gaza on innocent people and how Palestinians (and Lebanese) are suffering. She was...

Ruth chats with creative team members of the Seymour Performers Workshop (SPW) to explore the far reaching benefits of the performing arts, along with exciting news of their latest production and the creation of a Community Choir. They explore how creating music theatre along with the act of singing creates social, physical, and mental benefits, not only for the performers but also for the audienc...

Listen in to this week's EarthChat where Marie Gerrard and Ruth Yeatman chat to Wallan environment advocate Claudia James about managing growth while caring for the environment. They look at the challenges and opportunities for improving amenities particularly in our high growth areas and focus on the connections between health, wellbeing and nature and practical ways of planning these connections...

Tim Budge and Peter Lockyer chat with Andrew Mahar, AM about taking practical steps to support climate action around the world. Andrew is an internationally recognised social entrepreneur, having spent the past 35 years seeding, nurturing, and mentoring over 15 successful social enterprises, both in Australia and Timor-Leste. This includes working with Timorese farmers to produce and market delici...

Peter Sawyer is a Seymour resident with a passion for watching birds. Birds in town, on the Goulburn River and recently at Borroloola in the Northern Territory. On EarthChat, Peter Lockyer teases out some of the delights of Peter’s birdwatching, and of threatened species still about, and what we all could do to assist in their conservation. It's been a wet year and birdlife is abundant. You can fi...

Ruth and Phil welcome Levi Power and Jarvis Atkinson from the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria who bring us the latest Victorian Treaty news. Treaty is an opportunity for First Peoples to have a greater say and control over matters that affect them. It is an opportunity to secure meaningful structural reform to ensure First Peoples make the decisions about their communities, their culture, and...

On this week's EarthChat, Vanessa and Ruth talk about landscape restoration and the pilot project Vanessa has coordinated this year with the Granite to Goulburn group (G2G), under the umbrella of the New Futures for Victorian Landcare program. Listen in and learn lots!

This program originally went to air on 8th December, 2023. however, there has been lots of further developments in relation to a Treaty for Victoria and the First People's Assembly. EarthChat will have future episodes which bring us up to date with these developments, but this initial one is an important scene setter for the episodes to follow. Join us on this journey. Ruth and Phil are joined by...

This week Marie and Tim talk to Una Hobday OAM from the Rotary organisation “Food Plant Solutions”. This group have developed a large data base of suitable plants for different countries and regions of the world with details of the nutritional values of different foods.  There are also details for growing food plants in various areas of Australia. Food Plant Solution information is designed to mee...

On this EarthChat, Chloe Fox, Brontë Haines, and Nelly Watson chat with Ruth of their passion, commitment and creativity in bringing yummy affordable local seasonal produce from farm to plate. To produce a healthy and creative feedback loop that ensures sustainable reciprocity means we must take care of the earth. And in the process we get to witness the beauty of how plants grow alongside the inv...

Our guest on this week's EarthChat is the former Greens Senator, Janet Rice. For over 40 years, Janet has been a campaigner for people and the planet, including campaigning against trucks in residential areas, campaigning for forest protection, being a founder of the Greens in Victoria and being a Senator in the Australian Parliament for the last 10 years. She was the Greens spokesperson on Foreig...

What does this proposed Indigenous management mean now that the logging threat has subsided. Or has it? Is selective logging within this proposal? The Taungurung Land and Waters Council (TLaWC) believes that the State Government must put Country and people first when deciding on the future of the Central Highlands forests following direct involvement in the Eminent Panel for Community Engagement....

This week Marie Gerrard and Peter Lockyer chat with Elyse Kelly, Mitchell Shire Council's Environment Coordinator about a range of plans to enhance the local environment in our beautiful shire. Elyse has worked at the Mitchell Shire Council for several years and during that time there have been many improvements in the protection of our very diverse area. In the coming months there will be a range...

It's now the middle of Plastic Free July and this week's EarthChat gives us a good opportunity to do a plastic-free stock take. How is the month going for you? What have been the small steps you have taken to make a big difference in reducing plastic in your life? What's going well and what has been a struggle? So, this week, Tim and Ruth chat about plastics. They also have three different local g...

Turtles in the Goulburn Valley - ancient survivors under threat from foxes and vehicles. Ken Wallis lives on a property  near 5 Mile Siding on the Goulburn River, on which he grows flowers with his partner TR but a healthy turtle habitat has sparked a new interest for them both. Ken’s turtle habitat includes billabongs along the Upper Goulburn Road east of Tallarook. Freshwater wetlands, swamps sl...

Despite the recent referendum result the reconciliation journey continues - it is far from over as the need for recognition, justice, and healing is ongoing. 6.2 million Australians voted YES. And then there were many who voted NO who actually want positive change for indigenous people in this country but because of confusion and misinformation they heeded the outrageous advice from the Leader of...

This week on EarthChat, Marie and Ruth chat with the Hon Kelvin Thompson about Birdlife Australia. The conversation is a great chance to learn about long-standing group and its work that makes the most of the power of citizen science. Marie and Ruth discuss the long term findings of the organisation's annual bird count with Kelvin who had a long career in politics but has also been a bird watcher...