Oct 22

Recycling is Fun…

Posted on October 12, 2011 by BagsRevolt

I had the immense pleasure to meet the founder of Recycling is Fun, Sara Fonda, who has been actively spreading this important message for thirty eight years now. I was obviously interested in visiting their shop, since I was warned it had more than 3000 samples of creative projects to get inspired with.

Recycling is Fun is a Non for Profit Organization which aims to promote crafts as a means of improving well-being. “ Craft relieves stress and boredom, bringing purpose to life, improving self esteem and creating a sense of fulfillment and achievement.”

They work with councils and community groups through out Victoria. One of their projects is the “Home-bound” ready made kits which include materials, patterns, projects and instructions for a wide variety of crafts, tailored to the abilities of the person. It gives the opportunity for a social worker, carer, relative or friend to bring dignity and meaning to people who are unable to or do not want to leave their homes.

Anyone interested is welcomed to make an appointment to their showroom at 66 Punt Rd, Windsor in Melbourne. There you can view hundreds of exciting, fun and enjoyable projects created from recycled household waste. The materials are beautifully organized by types, themes as well as levels of difficulty and are given at NO COST!

This visit has helped me broaden my view on the importance of Recycling. I had previously concentrated mainly on the environmental aspect of it and not so much on the social side of it. From an individual point of view, making something with your hands, expressing yourself in new ways, creatively, while recycling, gives enormous satisfaction. I have been experiencing this in my life for some time now. What is completely new to me is realizing that crafting is a powerful tool to connect with others as well as to make someone´s life a bit more happy!

I was lucky enough to experience this first hand at the workshop abandoned sock characters creation at the Eco Center. I went to help Chloe Farmer who was giving the workshop, and also to learn since I had never myself used socks to create characters. What a huge surprise I got when the participants arrived: 9 older men with disabilities. Most of them had never even sewn before, but the workshop was awesome! It felt great to help them out with simple things like treading their needles. The end products were all beautiful! The most rewarding part were the huge smile on their faces and the laughs we had together. Here is a picture of one of these little creatures created from a lost sock and other materials that Chloe got from Recycling is Fun for this workshop.

Recycling is fun for everyone, even men!

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Jan 28

Crocodiles move into luxury lagoon

Thursday, January 28, 2010 © The Cairns Post

CROCODILES are lurking in the man-made lagoon at a luxury estate at Trinity Beach, posing dangers for pets, children and the area’s wildlife, residents claim.  Residents of the gated community within the Blue Lagoon Resort say at least two crocs have been seen in the estate’s 2ha lagoon.

Danger: Chelsea and Lachlan Fonda at the entrance to Trinity Beach’s Blue Water Lagoon where crocodiles have been sighted swimming.

Pictures: Cairns crocodiles

In 2005 developer John Murphy built a croc-proof fence across a spillway at the northern side of the lagoon after reports of sightings.  Resident Justin Littlefield yesterday said the fence was failing to stop salties from entering.  “The fence until last week had a pipe protruding through into the Coral Sea to pump salt water into the lagoon to control algae growth; now the fence has a hole as the pump and piping has been removed,” he said.  “I observed with other residents a crocodile about 1.5m in length cruising the lagoon on Sunday.

“Other residents report the croc ate a duck swimming in the lagoon. I’m waiting for a little dog to get monstered.”  Resident Charlie Fonda said he saw a croc’s head, more than 60cm long, peering above the lagoon’s surface while walking through the estate with his son Lachlan last week.  “I have to remind the kids to not go too close to the lagoon,” he said.

Speaking to The Cairns Post while on holiday in the Philippines yesterday, Mr Murphy said he had not heard of any recent sightings but didn’t rule out the possibility.  “Anywhere in Cairns close to water is prone to crocodiles, it’s quite possible something could get in there,” he said.

“If there have been reports of sightings the EPA will get called to do a search and will relocate the animal but it’s the first I’ve heard about it.”  Mr Littlefield said a croc-warning sign had recently been erected at the entry into Trinity Beach.

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