FOCUS On Burnside - the news hub

It is National Volunteers’ Week, the annual celebration to acknowledge the generous contribution of our nation’s volunteers. In celebration, Volunteering Australia is pleased to announce the theme for National Volunteer Week 2021 – ‘Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine’. At a ceremony at The Regal Theatre today the Mayor presented awards for service and achievement.

Outstanding Achievement by a Volunteer

Ann Wilson – Community Connections - Justice of the Peace Volunteer Facilitator

In 2018 Ann took over the Volunteer Facilitator role of the Justice of the Peace service from John Thornley. John was much loved and had looked after the service for 25 years and decided it was time to retire: it was no mean feat to replace such a popular facilitator. Ann, who had been a Justice of the Peace with the service since 2010 did not hesitate to offer her services. Upon her commencement Ann embarked on a number of changes, including:

• Changes to the JP office, making it look more professional and reducing unneeded forms and clutter.
• Communication with JPs – Ann who is very proficient with Microsoft Office started communicating direct with JPs rather than via the staff supervisor.
• Recording of JP statistics, Ann implemented a different, more efficient recording system.
• Recognition of JPs once they retire, JPs now receive a certificate of recognition from the Service in addition to their acknowledgement from the Mayor.

The JP Service is incredibly well utilised by the community with nearly 700 people attending per month. In fact one of the most asked questions received by the Community Centre Reception Volunteers “Where is the Justice of the Peace?”

When the Community Centre and JP service shutdown over COVID, Ann was still available to the community to witness documents. People were able to come to her house if they needed, this included staff, and many did use her service. She was able to recruit a few other volunteer JPs who were also happy to assist with this ad hoc service.

On the few occasions when there is a sudden vacancy in the roster Ann also is readily at hand to fill in. She runs this very valuable service to the community in a seamless manner. On occasion, Ann has had to deal with situations that are not easy, but always retains her professionalism and integrity.

The Premier’s Certificate of Recognition for outstanding volunteer service 2021 - Toy Library Volunteers

This award stands for exceptional volunteer service which acknowledges the remarkable contribution of South Australian volunteers who deliver many critical community services in the areas of youth and community development, welfare, education, emergency services, sport and recreation, the environment and more.

The Premiers Certificate of Recognition has been awarded to one of our volunteer groups the Burnside Toy Library Volunteers.

This team has shown unwavering dedication, commitment and resourcefulness in dealing with everything COVID dealt us. The Toy Library closure, inability to have volunteers onsite and the aftermath with applied restrictions and changes to our work environment specifically in accepting returns and the processes around getting toys out for borrowing. Without their hard work in implementing COVID changes we would not have been able to re-open to our Toy Library service fully. The amount of hard work they put into serving our community is beyond the call of duty. Each individual volunteer has outstanding work ethic, is loyal, committed and dedicated to providing our community with the best Toy Library service. The success of the Burnside Toy Library is because of our wonderful volunteers.

It was our great pleasure to host Treasurer of Australia Josh Frydenberg(External link) MP, alongside Senator Andrew McLachlan CSC(External link) and Member for Sturt James Stevens MP(External link) this morning at the Kensington Gardens Reserve redevelopment project. We provided key updates on the redevelopment as it progresses on track for completion later this year.

L - R: CEO Chris Cowley, Cr Henry Davis, Hon Josh Frydenburg MP, Mayor Anne Monceaux, James Stevens MP, Brett Shuttleworth Strategic Projects Consultant.

As temperatures start to drop in the autumn and winter months many of us have already started using heaters to keep the chill away. If you have a solid fuel heater (that burns wood) here are some tips from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to help reduce wood smoke in your community.

Burning right is good for your wallet (by reducing your heating costs), the environment (by reducing wood smoke pollution), and people's health. Find out more and help clear the air and reduce wood smoke pollution.

Today is the beginning of National Volunteer Week (NVW), Australia’s largest annual celebration of volunteers. From today until Sunday 23rd May 2021, NVW will celebrate the significant contribution of Australia’s almost six million volunteers. Each year these volunteers dedicate over 600 million hours to help others.

The theme for NVW 2021 is Recognise. Reconnect. Reimagine. This theme acknowledges that it is time to:

RECONNECT to what is important by giving our time to help others and ourselves.

In a year when many of us have experienced increased loneliness or isolation, mental health or financial stress, volunteering can help. Evidence shows that volunteering connects us to others in our local communities, to better mental well-being or to potential pathways to employment. When we help others in our community or give our time to a cause we value, we also give back to ourselves. Explore volunteer opportunities by visiting www.GoVolunteer.com.au

REIMAGINE how we better support volunteers and communities they help.

Since 2014, Australia has seen a 20 per cent decline in the number of hours volunteers give. During COVID-19, two-thirds of volunteers stopped working and a recent study highlights that social purpose organisations continue to lose one in four volunteers due to illness or caring responsibilities. In the current changing environment, where Australians are time-poor and experiencing higher degrees of uncertainty and stress, we need to reimagine how we do things. We need to collaborate more and adapt our volunteering practices and programs so we can better support and engage volunteers to continue the necessary work that they do.

National Volunteer Week is supported again in 2021 by Aon Australia.

For more information about National Volunteer Week 2021, please email Volunteering Australia.

Mayor Anne Monceaux presents Burnside Highlights.

Any Linden Park alumni out there? Pictured here is the school circa 1956.

Linden Park Primary School opened on 7 February 1950 with seven teachers and 250 students. Built on seven and a half acres of farmland, students and teachers planted 112 trees in the schoolyard to beautify the grounds.

Linden Park Primary School now has approximately 1,000 students.

The City of Burnside’s Council Assessment Panel (CAP) has rejected a request to demolish a Local Heritage Place located on Bevington Road, Glenunga. The 1923 ‘Interwar’ sandstone house was constructed on land once known as Glenunga Farm. The dwelling is an example of the change in style taking place in the 1920s, from the more traditional domestic architecture common in Adelaide before that time.

In 1999 the Burnside Local Heritage Review identified the home as a potential Local Heritage Place. It was listed as a Local Heritage Place in 2005.

The CAP, that comprises four Independent Members and one Elected Member, assessed the application to demolish the house on Monday 3 May. The application was rejected based on its heritage value however the applicant has a right to appeal the decision in the Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Court.

To reduce the amount of leaf litter entering our waterways and to ensure that our streets and footpaths are clear, Council runs an annual Autumn Leaf Collection Program. If you wish Council to collect leaves that have fallen from Council street trees in front of your property, please rake them into piles and place them on the Council verge near the gutter. Branches will not be collected.

To register for a leaf pick up for the following week, call Council on 8366 4200 no later than 3 pm on Friday afternoon.

This week is National Volunteers Week and each day we profile one of Burnside's wonderful volunteers.

Michael Sachsse arrived in Australia from war-torn Germany in 1952 aged 10 with virtually no English. After mastering the language he went on to complete a Master of Education and became director of a number of TAFE Institutes in SA. In the late ‘90s he moved into consultancy work and travelled the world as a project manager in a number of post-conflict countries, including Ethiopia, the Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, Indonesia as well as nine missions to Afghanistan.

In his late sixties Michael phased out of paid consulting work and took on much safer voluntary community work. He become more active on the Board of the Royal Association of Justices including serving as its President. He was appointed as a Special Justice and sat on the bench as an Honorary Magistrate in several metropolitan courts.

Michael has fond memories of working as a Justice of the Peace in the Burnside Council JP Signing room. Over 15 years in that role, he has met many hundreds of Burnside residents who have come to have their various documents witnessed.

“I see volunteering as a two-way street,” Michael says. “I provide the community with an important service, which in itself is very satisfying. In turn I maintain my interpersonal skills while at the same time benefitting from the social interaction and mental stimulus that comes with witnessing documents.”

As Chair of the Royal Association of Justices Professional Development Committee, Michael played a key role in establishing a team of accredited trainers who conduct regular training sessions for the 25 Justice of Peace groups located around the State.

In 2016 Michael was awarded an OAM (order of Australia medal) for services to vocational education and the community.

Michael is married to Rosalyn Sachsse, an accomplished potter, whose work can be seen in the Burnside Council’s Pepper Street Arts Gallery.

In the summer of 2019/20, large areas of both the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island experienced devastating bushfires. The City of Burnside assisted both the emergency response and clean-up of both areas through contribution of staff, equipment and expertise.

To assist in the replanting and provision of wildlife habitat, Council’s Biodiversity nursery program, managed by Dr Mark Ellis and assisted by a team of dedicated nursery volunteers, collaborated with the non-government organisation Trees For Life Inc (TFL), through their Bushfire Recovery project.

Mark said that such an initiative had to be part of a coordinated response to landscape restoration. “It was important that we were in partnership with an organisation that had links to landholders and volunteers in the affected areas,” he said. “Trees For Life already has the established networks in these areas and very importantly could provide the locally sourced seed that we used to grow the trees. Replanting local native species is essential to ensure they are adapted to the local environment.”

The nursery grew 500 trees, indigenous to the Adelaide Hills, for distribution to Adelaide Hills landholders in fire affected areas.

TFL managed the program linking landholders who order the trees, undertake preparation works, plant and maintain the trees. TFL also have a program of providing volunteer assistance to landholders to undertake planting.