Hi Leanne here. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks with lots of new things happening at ACC.

Last week our Women in the Shed and AAA Bowls programs started up for the term. It was lovely to welcome new faces and people who have been along before. Women in the Shed is full but we always welcome people to AAA Bowls - if you know anyone who might be keen! It is a wonderful program that is led by Jill and supported by a team of generous volunteers from Alphington Bowls Club.

On Wednesday last week we started up our Podcasting 101 course. And there is still 1 spot available - we can catch you up - it is not too late. We have Declan Fay teaching the course. He has an amazing wealth of knowledge in this field, having worked extensively in comedy and radio and on a variety of podcasts including writing the narrative podcast Crossbread and he is a fabulous teacher and story teller. If you are interested you can book in here.

Our community mornings on Fridays are going great - we have a regular crew of gardeners working with Clare to keep our grounds shipshape and productive - and we have had an influx of crafters this month from GenU - it has been wonderful to connect up our organisations more and also to meet some lovely and enthusiastic new knitters, crocheters and stitchers. In the afternoons our AAA Arts group is growing and evolving with Clare leading the way and Hazel and Corrado volunteering weekly.

Speaking of which, our partnership with CWA Alphington has been super - we had sausage rolls and chocolate chip biscuits for morning tea last week - delicious!

In addition to this we have a new Men’s Support Group running on Monday evenings in the Shed and Yoyo in building up her Violin classes. She is currently studying at VCA and is just lovely if you think violin is your thing! If you are interested in either of these please don’t hesitate to email us info@alphington.org.au.

Over the last two weekends we’ve also run two workshops - Recycled Timber Design and PIllow Talk. We trust everyone that attended had a great time and walked away with new skills and knowledge. It is fabulous when local community members come along and share their skills and talents with the community!

We’re also busy working with the Yarra Neighbourhood Houses and Yarra Council on a Climate Change Resilience Plan - similiar to the one we did with Darebin a few years ago. Connecting our community, responding quickly to need, making sure the most vulnerable are looked after and out for, and equipping people with skills and knowledge - these are all the bread and butter things that neighbourhood houses do every day - and our adaptive, flexible and responsive framework will serve our community well as we start to collectively consider the impacts of a changing climate, whether that be more hotter days, more severe weather events etc.

This week Kalimna and I will be out of the office from Wednesday afternoon through to Friday as we are off to the annual Neighbourhood Houses Victoria conference. Lee will be here Wednesday afternoon and Clare will be here from 9.30am-3pm on Thursday and Friday to keep things going.

So finally … we’ll start our programming for next semester soon. If you have any ideas we’d love to hear from you! Send us a email or give Leanne a call. And we hope you have a great week!

We often have people asking us for a weekend version of our Women in the Shed program, and here is a super taster for anyone wanting a gentle and practical introduction to working with timber! Lovely local artist Jane Hausseger is running our upcoming Recycled Timber Design Workshop next weekend on Saturday 6 May from 10am-12pm.

Jane will teach you how to make coffee paddles - small chopping boards - that can be used to serve food or coffee and would make lovely handmade gifts. In the workshop you will learn about selecting recycled timber, cutting, sanding and then dressing the timber with products that are suitable for food use.

It is a great introduction to recycling timber and you will walk away with a lovely product at the end. You can book in here. There are still two places available. So book in and come along.

Join Annie here on Saturday 13 May from 2-4pm. With supportive funding from City of Yarra her Pillow Talk workshop costs only $20 and is suitable for families, teenagers and adults of all ages. In the workshop you will learn all about dyeing onto recycled cotton fabric (sourced from pillows) and have fun dipping, bashing, rolling and steaming colours. You’ll also learn a bit about how the pillow production and waste stream works. Sounds super interesting right? You can book in here.

If you came along to the Alphington Open Studios in December last year you would have seen some beautiful timber chopping boards in the gallery.

Lovely local artist Jane Hausseger has offered to share her skills and knowledge about working with timber in our upcoming Recycled Timber Design Workshop running on 6 May from 10am-12pm, here at ACC in the Community Shed.

Jane will teach you how to make coffee paddles - small chopping boards - that can be used to serve food or coffee and would make lovely handmade gifts. In the workshop you will learn about selecting recycled timber, cutting, sanding and dressing the timber with products that are suitable for food use.

It is a great introduction to recycling timber and you will walk away with a lovely product at the end. You can book in here.

Coming up in May, we have another really interesting workshop called Pillow Talk, led by local artist Annie Bolitho running here at ACC. This workshop has a strong sustainability theme and is supported with a sustainability grant from the City of Yarra.

Annie is creatively working to find a second life for the cotton fabric that covers pillows.

So … if you have:

• pillows that have reached the end of their usable life, and/or

• an interest in learning how to go about eco-dyeing and/or

• an interest in reducing landfill

this workshop is for you!

Join Annie here on at ACC in the Community Shed on Saturday 13 May from 2-4pm. With supportive funding from City of Yarra this workshop costs only $20 and is suitable for tweens, teenagers and adults (it would be a good one to do as a family). Have fun dipping, bashing, rolling and steaming colours. And learn how the pillow production and waste stream works. Book in here.