2022

APRIL
As April arrives with more flood warnings we are all bracing ourselves and hoping we just get a bit more rain and not more havoc while we are still in recovery. The Nimbin Neighbourhood Centre is still coordinating support for affected community members. They have support services from Service NSW and Resilience NSW available to help people get funding and other support and are also coordinating local ongoing support from businesses and community.

They are saying that lot’s of people who are in need are not taking up the services because they don’t think their problem is “bad enough” or they think the support is only for property owners and not tenants. It’s really important that everyone who has been affected register what has happened so they not only get the support they need but these services know what’s happening and can direct resources and funding to the village. I met one of the staff from these teams, she was really helpful and understanding and had herself been affected as her house in Lismore was flooded as well.

The staff at the centre are really helpful and will direct you to whatever support that is available.

Community events like the “Illuminate Nimbin” festival and the “Nimbin Mardigrass” have been postponed till Spring when we hope we get some dryer weather and the region has had the opportunity to recover. Spring is proving to be an action-packed month starting with the “Illuminate Nimbin” festival on the last weekend in August and finishing with the “Nimbin Show” on the last weekend in September. In between we have the “Nimbin Poetry Performance Cup”, “Nimbin Fashion Parade”, the “Mardigrass” and the annual “Spring Arts Exhibition”. It’s a great time to get out, support your community and enjoy the talent and variety that Nimbin has to offer.

We have lost a few Community Centre volunteers from our office and grounds maintenance crew in the last month. Our office volunteer Ann Matzaros has left the area. Linda Bell and James Gardner have retired and Glenn Sparkes is busy for the next 3 months working as a maintenance person for Council at the Lismore Caravan Park where many displaced people are now residing. They have all been wonderful and reliable volunteers whose contributions can be seen in the tidy grounds and beautiful gardens and we will miss their presence and contributions in the Community Centre Grounds. This leaves Paul Sims as our lone ranger who comes all the way from the Channon to volunteer. If you are thinking of volunteering anywhere or know someone who may be interested please direct them to the Community Centre. We are registered with Centrelink and welcome any assistance.

The Centre can be contacted by phone (02 66890 000) or email ncci@nimbincommunity.org.au if you are interested in volunteering, want to know about our casual hire spaces or queries about tenants. Our office is staffed 3 days a week (Monday to Wednesday) but leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Stay safe, look after each other and if you know someone in need direct them to the Neighbourhood Centre and they will do their best to help and support you.

Regards
Teresa Biscoe
Coordinator

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MARCH
We live in interesting times. The last few years of various emergency events have demonstrated what a great community we have. Each time a disaster event has occurred our various community organisations and volunteers from around the village have stepped up to look after us. A special thanks to the RFB, SES, Neighbourhood Centre and CWA who swung into action within days of the disaster hitting.

The Nimbin Chamber has also been busy and their members have been sent lots of information about funding and grants for those member businesses impacted by the disaster event.

Many thanks also to Janelle Saffin who despite being personally impacted has worked tirelessly on behalf of the Northern Rivers to advocate and lobby for the community.

This is probably the worst event we have had to deal with. Some members of our village community have lost homes, cars and roads, our shared infrastructure has also taken a huge battering and it may take years for a full recovery. Our heart goes out to those in our village community who have suffered these great losses and the other villages and communities of the Northern Rivers.

Joining a volunteer organisation is a great way to get to know people and make a valuable contribution to your community. Nimbin happens because we have great volunteers who contribute to various organisations. The Nimbin Community Centre has many opportunities for volunteering. We are registered with Centrelink so if you have a volunteer obligation you will be very welcome in our organisation.

NCCI currently has a vacancy on the management committee and we are inviting interested members of the Nimbin Village Community to contact us if you wish to join us. If you are not sure about joining the committee you would be welcome to attend a couple of meetings so you can check it out. It’s a great way to get to know your village community and the crew who manage this fantastic community asset on behalf of the community.

Call 026689 0000 or email ncci@nimbincommunity.org.au at the office if you are interested and speak to our office coordinator.

It is a time for kindness, sharing and supporting each other especially over the next few months when the impact of the current disaster really starts to hit.

Take care and be safe.

Regards
Teresa Biscoe
Coordinator

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FEBRUARY
As February swings around and school goes back, the staff, tenants and volunteers at the Nimbin Community Centre are getting back into the swing of things.

NCCI Gardens and Grounds: We seem to be having a most glorious mild Summer due to the frequent rains. The Community Centre Grounds are looking lush and magnificent. Many thanks to our grounds and gardens volunteers Paul, Glenn, James and Linda who under the supervision of our Centre Gardener Robyn have managed to tame the wilderness and whip the Centre gardens back into shape. We would not be able to have everything looking so lovely without all the great work they do and I know Robyn is grateful for the help and support they give. We hope you all take the time to enjoy our lovely gardens and grounds when you are next in the Village. It’s a wonderful and quiet space to get away from the bustle on the streets.

NCCI AGM: Was held on December the 16th 2021. It was a fairly quiet affair. Long-time committee member Linnet Pike resigned and will be sorely missed for her attention to detail and advocacy for the vulnerable members of our community.

The Committee for 2022 consists of:

• President: David Hallett elected unopposed
• Vice-president: Louise Graves elected unopposed
• Treasurer: Diana Roberts elected unopposed
• Secretary:  Michael Balderstone elected unopposed

Election of two ordinary members: nominations were received from Wil Polson and Darren Maxwell.

Membership fees: Membership fees for the community centre were raised from $15 to $20 per year.

What’s On: Check out the 'What's On' calendar on our website for new classes and programs for 2022, available at the Nimbin Dance Studio and the Birth and Beyond Meeting Room. Yoga, Dance, Tai Chi, Art, Life Drawing and more with Adult learning courses staring in February.

Thanks to all our staff and volunteers: Our Community Centre manages due to the dedicated work of the part time staff we employ for necessary admin and maintenance and our wonderful volunteers on our management committee and the crew who work in our grounds and Office.

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JANUARY
After a long and often isolated year with disruptions and closures due to Pandemic restrictions we are all looking forward to a year where we can hopefully plan an event and not have it cancelled at the last minute or visit loved ones or even get some work done around the place.

NCCI Gardens and Grounds: We seem to be having a most glorious mild Summer due to the frequent rains. The Community Centre Grounds are looking lush and magnificent. Many thanks to our Gardener Robyn and our awesome volunteers Glenn, Paul, Linda and James. We would not be able to have everything looking so lovely without all the great work they do and I know Robyn is grateful for the help and support they give. We hope you all take the time to enjoy our lovely gardens and grounds when you are next in the Village. It’s a wonderful and quiet space to get away from the bustle on the streets.

Holiday Closures: Our office will be closed for 4 weeks over the X-mas break with the Coordinator returning on the 17th of January. Bookings for venue hire can still go ahead via our online booking system and we have lots of great information and services up on the website (www.nimbincommunity.org.au) if you want to know more about the community centre and its projects.

Grants: As an unfunded organisation with a relatively small income base, which is largely taken up by operating costs and ongoing maintenance, we rely on grant funding to improve the facilities and infrastructure at the centre. Grants are a demanding process that take a lot of time to cost and write. We often miss funding opportunities because we simply don’t have enough time to complete applications.

The larger grants have been done by Diana Roberts, our Committee Treasurer, with smaller grants by the office coordinator. Thanks Diana for your volunteer efforts on our behalf. Many thanks also to Sam our maintenance man for the all the work he has done to ensure these projects get delivered and the hours he puts in to create detailed costs for priority projects for future grant applications. Last year the Centre completed 3 grant projects and had to delay some others;

• Clubs Grant-Energy Audit: Rainbow Power Company installed smart meters on the Community Centre site, to allow us to monitor and track our energy usage. This is part of the NCCI long term Climate Chaos Strategy to improve energy use. Once we have been monitoring for a period, we will be able to better understand our energy usage and be able to plan ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce our Carbon Footprint.

• NRCF-Recovery and Resilience-Water tanks: As you are all aware we all experienced a lot of water stress in the Village during the drought and bushfires of 2019. In particular, our gardens and grounds suffered with ongoing water restrictions. With this grant we installed 2 new tanks onto the NCCI site at 81 Cullen St. This improvement to our water storage capacity along with our strategy of planting local native species will ensure the resilience and survival of our lovely grounds and gardens in times of drought and water restrictions.

• FRRR-Strengthening Rural Communities: Covered Walkways: Each year we work on getting funding to upgrade and replace the old covered walkways that link all the buildings together. They provide important shelter from the sun and rain but have been falling apart since we moved in over 20 years ago. We have just finished another stretch around the back of Acacia and Casuarina. The new look walkways are taller and better protected and Sam has worked right down to the wire to get this section done before X-mas.

• NAIDOC-21-Funding Variation: Unfortunately, due to the closures and disruptions last year The Nimbin NAIDOC organising committee were unable to hold the NAIDOC 21 celebrations even though we postponed several times. We have requested that the funding we received in 2021 be used for the 2022 celebrations. So look for the posters and news in June for our own special Nimbin NAIDOC celebrations. I know the Nimbin Wai:bal Cultural Centre and Friends will again host a wonderful event where we can all share, enjoy and learn about the magnificent country and culture we are privileged to share with the original people.

   

Thanks to all our staff and volunteers: Our Community Centre manages due to the dedicated work of the part time staff we employ for necessary admin and maintenance and our wonderful volunteers on our management committee and the crew who work in our grounds and Office.

Our staff;

• Helen Lynne our bookkeeper who provides not only meticulous records and manages our bills but also shares the wealth of admin experience she brought with her from her previous incarnation in the corporate world.
• Teresa (Biskit) Biscoe our office coordinator who brings her love of community and her enthusiasm for the centre into her daily interactions with the village and all who walk into our office.
• Sam Herren our maintenance man who deals with all our maintenance emergencies and does his best to do as much as he can with the budget he has.
• Robyn Berry our gardener whose overall vision and ongoing work in the gardens, ensure we have lots of lovely green quiet spaces to enjoy.

Our Volunteer Management Committee;

• David Hallet our President
• Michael Balderstone our Secretary
• Diana Roberts our Treasurer
• Linnet Pike
• Louise Greaves
• Darren Maxwell
• Wil Polson

Gardens and Grounds Volunteers;

• Paul Sims
• Glenn Sparkes
• Linda Bell
• James Gardner

Office Volunteer

• Ann Mazaros

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