Keep an eye out for the announcement of the date (in July) for our Oldina Community Farm Winter Solstice Bonfire and free BBQ! There will be a food preservation talk and tastings, Bush Buddy activities, bush walks and garden tours.

Don’t forget our monster raffle, you can buy tickets every Tuesday (9am to 12pm) or Friday (10am to 3pm) at our Centre (28 Saunders Street, Wynyard), or look out for the table outside Woolworths fortnightly on Fridays.

We recently celebrated our volunteers with a special ’10th Anniversary’ morning tea. We gave out Awards such as The Bob the Builder Award – Mr Fix It Extraordinaire, The Energiser Bunny Award – Gets It Done Extraordinaire, The Kindness Catalyst Award – Joy & Heart Extraordinaire, The Potting Award – Seedling Whisperer Extraordinaire, The Green Thumb Award – Harvester Extraordinaire The Dalai Lama Award – Handy Zen Guru Extraordinaire, and The Edith Cowan Award – Grant Whisperer Extraordinaire. These reflect the amazing qualities of our volunteers, we are so blessed and so grateful for all their energy, their skills and their wisdom!

Social Activation Program Youth Team – Update May 2026

Well, what a journey it has been with these three young people, Kalani, Colby and Arnold. I couldn’t be prouder of who they have become, what they have achieved and delivered and how they have grown. The four of us plus our amazing helper Dania from CHAC often reflect about how SAP has helped them in so many ways. Our time together is about to come to an end, yet we have formed such strong bonds that we will continue to support and connect with each other for ever more. Kalani is now one of Live Well Tasmania’s committee members.

The past month has been full steam, delivering three quality events in three weeks. Our SAP Team rose to the occasion and delivered many worthy, interesting, informative and useful workshops and events to assist people to reduce waste, food miles and learnt by taking small, practical actions to reduce their footprint to amplify sustainability. Our team are improving with all aspects of project management skills at every event. We are so fortunate to be able to offer such skills and confident building for our youth with this program.

Growing Your Own Herbs and Vegetables

We started the month off with Therapeutic Horticulturalist Elspeth Brock running the Growing Your Own Herbs and Vegetables workshop, educating us about Food Miles, Soils, Compost, Biodynamic Preps, what to grow and when in your space and much more. The participants were able to propagate some seeds from the Lost Seed Company and take them home to grow.

After each event SAP are asked to write up a report on the events they delivered. Another skill learned!

Kalani’s Growing Veg and Herbs Workshop Report

On 2 May, the Social Activation Project (SAP) team hosted a Growing Vegetables and Herbs Workshop at Live Well Tasmania, facilitated by local gardening expert Elspeth Brock. The workshop attracted community members with a range of gardening experience and provided practical knowledge on growing vegetables and herbs at home. Elspeth covered the importance of healthy soil, composting, and nutrient balance, presenting complex concepts in an accessible and engaging way. A strong focus was placed on sustainability, with discussion around food miles and the benefits of growing fresh produce at home to reduce costs and environmental impact.

Participants also took part in hands-on propagation and seed planting activities, creating pots to take home and continue growing. Elspeth shared practical tips for beginner gardeners, encouraging attendees to grow productive crops they regularly purchase. The workshop was highly engaging and fostered community connection through shared learning and discussion. The SAP team thanks Elspeth and all participants for contributing to a successful and inspiring event.

Caring for Country with CHAC Event

For our second event for the month of May we partnered with Circular Head Aboriginal Corp – CHAC for the Caring for Country at Fossil Bluff. The weather was wild to start with and them became very kind for the smoking ceremony and walk and talk by Jack about fish traps, what foods the aboriginal peoples ate and how they ate with the seasons and tides. Mel and Kellie provided bush foods for people to taste, there was a superb range of delicious foods which had the local wild foods incorporated into them.

Stephen spoke about language, Mel spoke about seasonal changes, we learnt so much, ask so many questions, such a wholesome day and we all look forward to working together again. Colby created a hand drawn map of the Aboriginal tribes of Tasmania and Kalani’s sister Monty designed and pained an Aboriginal Seasonal calendar. All of our SAP Team identify as Aboriginal.

Kalani’s Caring for Country

On 6 May, the Live Well Tasmania Social Activation Project (SAP) team and Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation (CHAC) hosted a Caring for Country community session at Fossil Bluff. Despite mixed weather, the event provided a meaningful opportunity for community members to learn about Aboriginal culture, history, traditional knowledge, and connection to Country.

The day began with a Smoking Ceremony and an Acknowledgement of Country by Colby, creating a respectful and welcoming atmosphere. Participants then visited the traditional fish traps at Fossil Bluff, learning about their history, sustainable resource use, and the deep connection Aboriginal people have maintained with the land and sea for thousands of years.

A highlight was the bush tucker spread prepared by CHAC, where attendees explored native foods and traditional plant uses. Participants also learned about Tasmania’s Aboriginal tribes and the Seasonal Calendar, gaining insight into the relationship between culture, people, and the environment. Thank you to the CHAC team for sharing their knowledge and culture with the community.

Colby’s Report – Caring for Country

The event was about informing and learning about the aboriginal culture of the Tommeginne people at Fossil Bluff. I honestly liked everything, doing my welcome to country, showing of the map of Tasmania with each of the aboriginal tribe territories, learning about the fish traps, learning about the stories that the aboriginal people made explaining natural phenomena, and just seeing the turn out that we got despite the weather. The only thing that could have been improved was the weather but not much could be done about that, and more prep time is always appropriated but aside from that we handled it incredibly well even though we were down a person. Overall, it went incredibly well and I hope we are able to do more events like this with Chac again.

Repair Café

This was such a fun and fulfilling event. Full of skill sharing, rejuvenating damaged items for a new life. We had Carol – Live Well Volunteer at the sewing mending station, Irene – Sea Eagles Spinners & Weavers at the darning station, Matt-Tinkers Farm fixing bikes and sharpening knives, a full trade table, luxurious spread of food, seedlings and plants for sale, Seed Library and Jude and Kelly running a Bees Wax Workshop. People continually were saying how this event filled their cups, they chatted with people, learnt new skills, had items fixed and just thoroughly enjoyed themselves. SAP did an amazing job organising this event with a short lead up time. Well done team and a massive thank you to the mentors who donated their time, skills and teachings. We have the best community ever.

Arnolds Repair Café Report:

Why did we hold the event and what was it about? To reuse and to fix items so people don’t throw away and use the items and to last longer in the future. What went well and why? The event went well becomes the people were very positive at the event and the people donated a lot of items and money at the event. What did you like about the event and why? What I like about the event was organized with the event and the people who offered their help at the event. What positive things did you hear people say? The positive thing I heard from people was they were thankful for sharpening the knife and equipment and learning to repair their clothes.

Colby’s Report:

The repair cafe was an event we ran so people could bring in things like gardening tools, knives, and clothing to be repaired and learn how they can repair their things as well. We also had a trade table where people could exchange stuff for anything on the trade table. We wanted to run this event because it was an idea we wanted to do and we wanted to reduce the amount of stuff that goes into landfill.

I really enjoyed interacting with the people who came to the event and just the organisation of the Trade table. I was told while I was helping clean and sharpen gardening tools that I made them look brand new. I think we could always have more prep time for events and it would have been great if more people had come to the event as well. Overall I’d say the Repair Cafe was a complete success and we should do it again at some point.

Kalani’s Repair Café Workshop Report

The Repair Café was a major SAP program event designed to bring the community together through sustainability, practical learning, and connection. Held on 23 May, the event provided a welcoming space where participants could repair, reuse, and repurpose items while learning new skills and meeting others. A variety of activities and repair stations operated throughout the day. Carol’s sewing station enabled participants to repair clothing while learning basic mending techniques, helping reduce textile waste and build practical skills. Irene’s darning workshop taught attendees how to repair worn and damaged garments, promoting sustainable clothing practices and increasing confidence in garment maintenance.

Kelly and Jude facilitated a beeswax wrap workshop, where participants created reusable food wraps as an alternative to single-use plastic. The session encouraged discussion about sustainable living while providing attendees with a useful item to take home. Matt’s bike repair, knife sharpening, and tool maintenance station remained popular throughout the event, highlighting the value of repairing and maintaining possessions rather than replacing them.

The trade table encouraged reuse and community sharing by offering books, puzzles, clothing, and household items for exchange. Refreshments, including tea, coffee, and a grazing platter, helped create a warm social atmosphere and encouraged conversation and connection. The event attracted enthusiastic participation, with attendees eager to learn new skills and share knowledge. It successfully strengthened community connections while promoting practical sustainability initiatives. The Repair Café also provided valuable learning opportunities for the SAP team in communication, teamwork, planning, and problem-solving.

Special thanks to Irene, Carol, Kelly, Jude, and Matt for their contributions. Overall, the Repair Café successfully combined sustainability, education, and community connection, leaving a positive impact on all involved

Tasmanian Young Achiever Award – Mental health and Wellbeing 2026

Our very own Kalani was awarded with the Tasmanian Young Achiever Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing. We are so proud of Kalani, her journey and her passion for helping young people in the Mental Health and Wellbeing space. This is only the beginning for this young amazing woman.

Kalani with her SAP colleagues Colby and Arnold. Kalani said being with SAP helped her to win the award. Congratulations Kalani!

Well, that’s a wrap with the SAP Teams events, so proud of them and so blessed to work alongside with these young people, the future looks bright! Thanks Kelly