OEK ~ WE ARE PLANTING TREES!

I had the pleasure of meeting Trevor and his wife.
I went to their house to pick up 650 little babies ~ Baby trees I am talking about!!!


In 20 years Trevor and his wife have seeded nearly 20,000 trees!!!
They see it as one small step in their hopes to help reforest Australia.
It’s a big job they do – mixing up potting soils, planting, watering, nurturing ~ until they’re big enough to say goodbye.

They volunteer for an organization called Trees for Life.
http://www.treesforlife.org.au/home/
It is a huge undertaking and requires a lot of effort from many people.
Trees for life have volunteers that collect seeds from all the different natural habitats.
More volunteers then organize the seeds and allocate them to growers, like Trevor.
Others find people who want to grow them – they found Artemis.
So I had the pleasure of meeting them ~ sharing stories of our lives over a cup of tea.
For many volunteers, as so Trevor, it is what they do in joy and for love of the earth.

Since colonization of Australia we have had been cutting down and changing our native forests ~ now they estimate we have lost four-fifths of our total forests in Australia.
Rushing into the future with economic growth ringing in our ears we have not cared about what the future consequences would be. Now some of the people alive at this time are realizing the incredible negative impacts this has had on all our river systems, our soils, our wild creatures…

So now these trees are starting a brand new life. It is tough out there in the mallee.
Not enough rain, sandy soils that in the summer are blown by the wind and can bury them, rabbits, insects …
2 years ago I planted at Artemis with some help over 1,000 trees. Then the drought came.
Lot of buckets of water were carried over sandy soils to where these small trees struggled to live… 150 survived.
But that is 150 new trees that were able to overcome all the odds.
That’s bravery.


If we just sit in the negatives we loose out.
It is my choice to be apart of life – even by doing such a small thing as planting a tree.

Now whenever I go to Artemis – I plant trees.


These trees are under the OEK banner. Our OEK students come to our language centre ~ supporting us which then allows me to go and plant these trees.
So by learning English at such a great place you are also helping the environment!!!

In this wonderful way you are also involved!!!
May they grow, creating habitat for the wild birds and animals – and may they call back the rain …..

More stories and photos will follow

MEMORIES

The last week of lessons and a wonderful break for 3 weeks for you to enjoy the summer ~ no complaining about the heat please. Adelaide is in the middle of winter and it is cold! I wish I was in Shimizu with you all now as I am also going to miss out in joining you in Minato Matsuri. I have a great photo that reminds me of dancing last year in 2006, the sweat and laughter and I was lucky to share it with my son Shinya who joined in.

MESSAGE TO OEK FROM RED CATHERINE

I REALLY WANT TO SAY TO EVERYONE AT OEK A BIG SPECIAL THANK YOU FROM ME AND ALL THE ANIMALS FOR THE MONEY RAISED FOR ARTEMIS TO HELP TO PAY FOR WATER.
I was saving the money to buy a rainwater tank as water is so very vital here in the Mallee. It doesn’t rain very much where I live and water is precious.
My bore is my main source of water and comes from 200feet beneath the ground.
But my bore pump broke. This was a huge problem. When it was brought to the surface we discovered the pump, the motor, the casing, (called a shroud) and the water pipe all needed to be replaced.
So your donation went towards the cost of the new bore pump.
It took 3 weeks to get it fixed. Luckily I had just enough water in my small rainwater tank. So I had to carry buckets of water to all the animals for 3 weeks. Finally I have water once again. Now I just have to dig the pipe into the ground to stop animals and humans falling over it.
I have just been reading that so many countries no longer have clean water, and yet water is essential to all life!
It is winter here and today it is a misty rain day, not enough to soak the ground but enough to make you cold. The goats are snuggled up in their beds with fresh hay, the dogs are in the front of the slow combustion kitchen fire and I'm going to make a cup of tea and once again, thank you all so very much for your kind and generous support!!!

BLESSINGS, or in THE ROMANI LANGUAGE we say BARAKA

GOOD NEWS STORY – DAPHNE THE SHEEP

Daphne entered Red Catherine’s life a tiny lamb ~ a delivery of sheep to a new pasture went wrong and Catherine ended up with dying lambs ~ anyway this little soul survived and you can see how well! Catherine bottle fed her with Romi and Tipi’s milk – they are Catherine’s goats! And so she has become a fat & gorgeous sheep and promises to have wonderful wool – she answers to her name and comes trotting over like a little doggy! Well Catherine (even though she misses her!) has found her a wonderful new home! She has a
great paddock to live in with lots of grass and trees and yes, the company of another sheep - so have a good life Daphne – Good-bye!

Life is about love

The story doesn’t end here – 1 animal goes and then she gets another phone call
“We need your help! ~ can you rescue a ???”
– Now can you guess what animal she has just rescued is?