All BREAZE

BALLARAT FARMERS MARKET - Further Update

Breaze will manage the Ballarat Farmers Market until 30 June 2018 and does not wish to manage the market after this date due to the need for our volunteers to focus on delivering its Smart Living Ballarat monthly workshops and a number of high profile other events.   BREAZE is in discussions with our current market manager, Steve Burns, who is proposing to make application to the City of Ballarat for permission to conduct a farmers market at Lake Wendouree on the 2nd Saturday of each month and at the Brown Hill Hall on the 4th Saturday of the month after expiry of the current approved term.   All indications are that this will proceed, so the markets will continue, even though BREAZE will cease management.

BREAZE wishes to acknowledge and thank the many stallholders, customers, volunteers, entertainers and the City of Ballarat who have contributed to the successful operation of the Ballarat Farmers Market during the period 2014 to 2018. We wish all success for the continued operations of the market at Lake Wendouree and Brown Hill Hall

For further information or comment please refer to Ian Rossiter phone 0467 220 442

This month the BREAZE Board convened a strategic planning workshop with its retiring board members and new members. The challenge we set ourselves was to review the feedback received from the January member’s survey and focus our activities and resources to deliver the priorities identified. We reviewed our current programs (Ballarat Farmers Market, Smart Living Ballarat Workshops, BREAZE Public Fund, Social Renewables Campaign, Community Power Hub Ballarat, Advocacy and Member Services) and discussed outcomes sought for the coming year.

The workshop revealed that our primary focus needs to be on providing activities, information and advocacy that results in changing attitudes and behaviour to respond to the challenges that climate change pose the Ballarat and region communities. Actions that the board have committed to are:
• Invest more effort in Smart Living Ballarat workshops to provide audio visual highlights on social media, generate more interaction between participants and follow up resources.
• Plan, promote and deliver major forums that will benefit members and be of general interest to the broader community featuring guest speakers or films that otherwise would not be available in Ballarat.
• Undertake a recruitment drive for members and board members in recognition that a number of office bearers are intending to step down in 2019.
• Develop activities and opportunities for members to socialise and work on neighbourhood sustainability issues and create benefits that are available to financial members.
• Promote our Social Renewables campaign to continue investing in PVs and energy efficiency measures for social housing through our Public Fund.

While doing this we continue to deliver our Community Power Hub Ballarat and advocacy activities. We thank those members who contributed to our member survey and for the board members and invitees who helped shape our direction for 2018.

Getting to know our volunteers –

Karen moved to Ballarat a couple of years ago and was interested in seeking out BREAZE for advice about making her home more sustainable, and so began her involvement. Karen has volunteered to assist with the Farmers Market Committee and at the last BREAZE AGM in November 2017 she was elected onto the Board – well done.

For BREAZE to operate as an effective environmental group it needs the support of the general community.

Can you please complete the survey to help us establish our priorities and capabilities.

As a volunteer organisation, BREAZE can only run activities that have either active volunteers, or funds to pay coordinators. In the survey,  we have listed the main activities undertaken by BREAZE over the past 10 years.

The level of support we get from members and associates will determine what functions and activities can be run.  To undertake any activity, BREAZE needs your support either as a
volunteer, or on a financial basis.

BREAZE will be assisting the organisers of the Smart Building and Living Expo.   

The expo will have a focus on Recycling and preventing waste, and includes an Art show, and as always we need more volunteers.   

If you can spare 2 hours or so on Sunday 26th Feb your help will be gratefully appreciated.

• 8am-10am for the set up
• any time between 10am and 3:30pm
• from 3:30 - 4:30 for the pack up

Paul Duggan will be coordinating BREAZEs contribution, so please email  or call him on 0432 390 492.

Help is also needed on Saturday the 24th Feb for the set up work.

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

The BREAZE Board would like to thank all its volunteers, supporters and members for their assistance in 2017.   

Wishing everyone the best over the holiday period and hope to see or hear from you all in 2018.

We are looking forward to 2018, when many of the projects we have initiated will come into being.

For the full report of the activities in 2017 please read the BREAZE 2017 AGM Presidents Report.pdf

Thanks

The Team at BREAZE

November 29th, 2017 - The newly elected board of BREAZE: Paul Duggan, Ian Rossiter, Simon Reid, Karen Cane, Peter Reid, Barbara Whitfield, Megan Williams

October has been another massive month for BREAZE Board and Members. The Community Power Hub Ballarat project was launched with our public meetings in Beaufort, Ballan, Daylesford and Ballarat gathering information on potential community renewable energy projects for our region.  This has involved participation at multiple events and workshops to help ensure the success of this project.

The BREAZE Market committee undertook a strategic review of the Ballarat Farmers Market, as the current permission to operate the event expires in June 2018.  BREAZE needs to be ready for the expressions of interest process to be run by the City of Ballarat next year.

We had continued success with the  Smart Living Ballarat October Workshop featured Stephanie Davison presenting on the topic of indigenous plants for Ballarat followed by a tour at the Ballarat Botanic Gardens.      This month we have a talk with a focus on bikes.

The Committee for Ballarat, City of Ballarat, Shire of Hepburn, Central Highlands Regional Partnership, Federation University and BREAZE have been collaborating to develop a prospectus for investment by renewable energy providers in our region.

BREAZE’s New Energy Jobs Project managers (Jane Lean and Peter Reid) have been investigating the feasibility of selected wood wastes being used to produce heat for two disability support organisations and potentially supplying a number of institutions over time, thus creating new jobs and reducing our regions greenhouse gas emissions.

As we head towards our Annual General Meeting to be held this month at the Barkly Motor Lodge on Wednesday 29 November, we will encourage members to attend so that we can acknowledge our many volunteers and reflect on another successful year of BREAZE. We hope to see some new faces nominating for Board positions and encourage all members to attend.