LIFTING UP MY COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY ROLES

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall

Community service is part of my DNA. I grew up helping my parents activate their community, volunteering my time and helping raise money to fund community services like the Blue Nurses (now Blue Care) and QATB, the Queensland Ambulance Transport Brigade (now Queensland Ambulance Services QAS). Fast forward, I am still contributing to the community. While growing Spare Harvest, I spent a lot of time in various communities uncovering spare kitchen and garden resources that could be shared. I am a social entrepreneur at heart, and social entrepreneurs put the community (and environment) first.

With a purpose to lift people up, I spend my time with my community activating change that lifts people up so that they might be able to experience a better life and participate more fully in creating a regenerative future for all.

As a community leader, I contribute in several ways to build a regenerative community and fulfil my purpose to lift people up.

ABC Sunshine Coast

For the past three years Helen has been a regular contributor on various radio shows on ABC Sunshine Coast. Joining Sheridan Stewart for conversation that promote sustainability, social connection, regeneration and local action.

Topics vary depending on what is happening locally, encouraging locals to participate in their community and contribute to a more connect and resilient Sunshine Coast.

We promote opportunities for community action such as having their say on the new proposed town plan. We promote local events that encourage living sustainably and the community together.

Personal Permaculture

Permaculture is the art of designing beneficial relationships. Originating in the 70’s by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, permaculture is typically applied to gardens and land management. The relationships between plants, insects, soil, water and the climate are complex, and permaculture is a guidance system for managing the complexity.

Human relationships are, as some would say, even more complex, but permaculture as a system can help guide us through the complexity. Using the 12 principles of permaculture, we examine how to apply them to ourselves. Helen delivers an interactive personal permaculture workshop as part of Permaculture Design Courses and interested community groups.

COMMUNITY ACTIONS

Tiny Community Living

The Tiny Community Living Campaign is advocating for changes to change local laws and town plans to enable people to live in homes on wheels in a community. How people want to live and housing types have changed, and our local council needs to catch up.

The growth in caravan, bus and tiny home living has exploded as more people want permanent housing that is affordable and flexible.

Our local laws currently recognise these types of housing as temporary solutions, and our town plan does not recognise the increased interest in community living. As a community leader I am advocating for change to give tiny living some certainty and security.

Yarn & Yield

Yarn and Yield, is a project with the shared purpose of creating a regenerative ecosystem for the benefit of current and future generations.

We have a dream to create a new way of doing business that enhances the wellbeing of the community while protecting the land.

As a regenerative intermediary, we have a mission to build a cooperative that co-creates activities with the community on lands secured in a Community Land Trust.

We are doing things differently, no business as usual here. Our difference will be our success, replicating our community model in other local communities.