Concert raises $10,000 for Burma cyclone victims
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Warrandyte rallied to raise funds for victims of the disastrous Burma cyclone last month.
A concert in the Mechanics Institute Hall raised $10,000, much more than the organisers expected.
Performers at the concert included Burmese harpists and singers Chit Lu Moses--who lost family in the cyclone--and Ehley, Aria award winner Kavisha Mazzella, accompanied by Irini Vela and internationally acclaimed local musician Mathew Arnold.
Concert organiser Jill Jameson told the Diary, "Chit Lu touched everyone's hearts so profoundly, both with his story of great family loss in the cyclone Nargis, and by his beautiful smile".
The concert, organised through the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, follows earlier fundraising events for Burma in Warrandyte.
Warrandyte resident Jill Jameson visited Burma last December as a member of an International Buddhist Peace Fellowship delegation.
Warrandyte Primary School art teacher Angela Pulbrooke has inspired 250 children from the school to compile a Book of Hope. This will be taken to schools in Burma, along with funds raised for some of the children orphaned by the cyclone.
"The concert and other actions are also helping grieving people from Burma, living here in Melbourne, knowing people care," Ms Jameson said.
Proceeds from the concert have been sent to the Australia Burma Community Development Network, who will provide immediate medical aid, food and drinking water and trauma counselling, and the Asia Peace and Education Foundation which supports 4,500 children orphaned by the cyclone.
Concert organisers expressed thanks to the Warrandyte community--and to their friends and family--for their support.Pictures by Jill Jameson and Jeremy Loftus-Hill
Greening the bush on special tree day
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National Tree Day will be celebrated across Australia later this month, and the Osborne Peninsula Landcare Group in North Warrandyte is marking the event with a special tree-planting day on Sunday, July 27, between 10am and 12noon. The group's nursery in Osborne Road is brimming with indigenous plants and they are looking to the wider community to assist with a mammoth planting in the Warrandyte State Park, at the rear of 37 Osborne Road. "The planting site is highly visible from Jumping Creek Reserve on the north side of the river," spokesperson Ruth Rankin told the Diary. "This site forms an important link in the habitat corridor along the Yarra River on the Osborne Peninsula and the revegetation works will help to support wildlife in this area, both as habitat and as a food source in years to come. "All residents are welcome to attend. We are meeting at the nursery hothouse between numbers 37 and 39 Osborne Road at 10am sharp and you will be directed to the site. Please wear sturdy footwear. Tools will be provided," Ms Rankin said. |
Plants galore: Sam Eadie (left) and Shelagh Morton are ready for the big National Tree Day plant-up! |
This planting is funded by a federal grant from Envirofund.
Enquiries regarding this event should be directed to Ann Penrose on 9844 0934.
- Nillumbik council is marking National Tree Day by planting more than 1000 indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses at the Research Park, just off Main Road, Research, on Sunday, July 27, meeting at 12noon. Volunteer planters welcome. Enquiries to Tim Krasevac, 9433 3715.
