What’ New

 

Environmental Events Calendar of information gleaned from United Nations Observances

The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. The United Nations observes designated days, weeks, years, and decades, each with a theme, or topic. By creating special observances, the United Nations promotes international awareness and action on these issues. Each international day offers many actors the opportunity to organize activities related to the theme of the day. Organizations and offices of the United Nations system, and most importantly, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, universities and, more generally, citizens, make an international day a springboard for awareness-raising actions. The majority of observances have been established by resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, although some have been designated by UN specialized agencies. The United Nations also observes anniversaries of key events in its history.

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Commissioned project

THE BIODYNAMIC FARMERS AND GARDENERS IN AUSTRALIA PODCAST SERIES

Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE) Inc. (Australia) takes great pleasure in announcing the launch of this new series commissioned by Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd., a not-for-profit company located in Bellingen NSW.

Biodynamic Agriculture Australia has been making and supplying biodynamic preparations as well as supporting biodynamic growing in Australia for over 30 years. The organisation views biodynamics as a practical and holistic technique that is able to regenerate soil, supercharge organic growing, restore biodiversity and work with mother nature.Given such environmentally protective values within biodynamic methods, HOPE Inc. (Australia) is delighted to have worked with Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd.to produce this series.

The six present episodes of this series contain interviews with a wide range of Australian biodynamic growers working in various forms of agriculture and horticulture and at various scales. From a one acre organic property producing herbs, vegetables, and pasture-raised chicken in New South Wales, to a horticultural operation of over 100 acres, suppling botanicals and healing herbs to a natural skin care company with international reach. From biodynamic cherry and fruit tree growing in South Australia to mixed biodynamic farming in Far North Queensland.

Though the locations and types of growing undertaken by our podcast guests differ, it has been fascinating to hear of the similarities of methods and approaches to their growing work which have developed through their adoption of biodynamic practice principles and wider philosophy.

THE PODCAST INTERVIEWS:

Each guest podcast interview is structured around variants of the questions used to structure an associated text profile booklet of the same biodynamic practitioners entitled Stories from Australian Biodynamic Farmers and Gardeners’ – available from Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd.

In the podcast series these questions are posed in such a way as to allow guests to expand upon the responses they gave for the booklet project. Some of these questions include:

  • What is your work role on the biodynamic property you own/manage? Can you describe a brief profile of its location and main characteristics?
  • How would you describe biodynamic methods and techniques– what are some of its basic principles and benefits? How do these outcomes contrast with more traditional forms of growing?
  • How did you come to be involved with biodynamic horticulture/agriculture/growing? Were there any challenges to overcome along the way?
  • What beneficial effects have biodynamics methods had on your landscape – and what effects on you?
  • What does the future hold for you and your property – and what take home message or advice do you have for podcast listeners?

DISTRIBUTION: All podcast episodes are now available on the following podcast platforms including: PODBEAN, SPOTIFY, PODCHASER, AMAZON MUSIC, PLAYER FM and YOU TUBE with Apple Podcasts soon to be added.

We and Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd. look forward to receiving your feedback on this new project.

Click below to download the file.

Stories from Australian Biodynamic Farmers and Gardeners (20 November 2023)

 


Our first major podcast series

Welcome to a new podcast series produced by HOPE Inc. (Australia) – Queensland Women: Inspiring stories from Environmental Champions (QWEC)

Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE) Inc. (Australia) is proud to announce the launch of a new podcast series: Queensland Women: Inspiring stories from Environmental Champions. The series showcases the vital environmental support and protection work provided by a group of Queensland women who have made important contributions to this vital work across the Darling Downs region of S.E. Queensland.

Produced in conjunction with the Queensland Women’s Week (2023) event, the podcast series supports the goals of the Investing in Queensland Women and Queensland Women’s Strategy 2022-27 initiatives. Particularly as those initiatives aim to increase the empowerment and recognition of the achievements of women and girls in Queensland. HOPE Inc. (Australia) thanks the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s Office for Women and Violence Prevention for the generous funding support which made this podcast project possible.

Queensland Women: Inspiring stories from Environmental Champions (QWEC)

helps bring wider recognition to the work and stories of our women guests and the beneficial impacts their environmental advocacy, championing and leadership work have made. You will hear that they are working tenaciously to help develop and promote innovative environment support practices, and to influence others across our communities to do the same.

Our guests describe leading by example, of being compassionate and collaborative in their approaches, and their dedication to helping achieve the vision that we can and must become much better environmental stewards of our natural and urban landscapes and waterways, our mountains and forests, coasts, and oceans – and the precious wildlife that reside within those places. It is inspiring to know that women are undertaking such work in the holistic and practical recognition that our human and community health, wellbeing and prosperity depend, ultimately, on the good health of the natural world and physical environment around us.

Our podcast guests share some of their successes and achievements and describe the struggles, and hurdles they overcame in their individual missions to protect and enhance our environment. Our initial guests talk about their experiences in holistic management, regenerative agriculture, rural entrepreneurship, community capacity building, community resourced Landcare and Catchment care projects, and wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and education.

It is anticipated that a group of eight interviews with our women guests will be online by the end of June and initial episodes are available for listening now on the Podbean, Spotify Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and PlayerFM podcast platforms. In the near future, we anticipate episodes will be available on Apple podcasts and YouTube and there are plans to interview more women guests later in the year.

We hope that you enjoy the series. Yours faithfully,

 

Frank Ondrus, President – HOPE Inc., ph. 07 4639 2135

20230615 – MR – HOPE QWEC podcast launch.pdf

2023 Qld Women’s Week – Queensland Women — Inspiring stories from Environmental Champions.pdf

 


HOPE Positions Vacant

World Environment Day 2023

Microplastics releases from Recycling Facilities

Three decades of environmentalism

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