Nineteen enthusiastic Greenies from Unley, spent the weekend of February 23^rd to 25^th at Calperum Station learning our newly allocated role of managing a tree health program.  Of these, we had Unley members Graham and Patsy Beckett, Valerie Bonython and Sheila Evans as providers of sustenance. Tree health evaluators Sorel Coward, Judi Corcoran, Trevor McGuirk and Jerry Casburn.  Also accompanying the team were Graham Ey, Briony Casburn, two youth exchange students, Clara Scheele and Luisa Lorencini, Briony and Jerry’s granddaughter Ella and five young professionals who we hope will form the nucleus of a new group involved with the club.  All of the additional members of the group helped with the tree evaluation programme.  The training was conducted by Dr Grant Whiteman from the Australian Landscape Trust and his partner Judy.

Accommodation was in the dormitories and in Rotary House.  The weekend was fantastic with lots of fun, witty repartee and lots of great food.  Plus, the odd glass of lubricant red wine.

Our real task began on Saturday with an explanation of our planned involvement from Grant, followed by visits to four different sites over the rest of Saturday and the following Sunday morning.  At each site Grant explained the varying stages of tree life, ranging from long time dead to healthy, over six grades, being 0-5.  Our duty was to assess the health of a number of tagged trees at each site.  Grant separated the group into four and each covered an assessment of the trees in the area.  Returning to the start we then made a comparison of the assessments made by each group.  Showing our star qualities, the groups had a 98 to 99% agreement.  Our final site was at the Woolpoolool Swamp which is the site of an experiment in creating a lake as a water source for surrounding trees.  This will be our patch and we will return three to four times a year to conduct an assessment of changes in the tree health.  The project is funded by the Federal Government and they are pumping water from the Murray into the lake on a regular basis. 

The additional members worked well alongside the Unley tree evaluators and everyone really enjoyed their time in the outback.  As a little light relief canoes were available, and the younger members of the team took advantage.

Our final assessment arrived on Wednesday morning and I quote from an email from Grant:

“I forgot to mention when Peter Kale (Calperum Manager) and I talked that I have handed the tree health data over, and that he was very happy as it will help him with reporting on outcomes of watering projects. He is also happy about the idea of Unley adopting Woolpolool Swamp as a monitoring site.

Please convey his appreciation to Club members.             Dr Grant Whiteman”

 

By Brett Morey, chair of Surfers Unite Rotarian Fellowship and past president of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, California, USA Posted on February 20, 2018 by Rotary International

 

 

Have you ever thought of turning a hobby or passion into something even more beneficial through Rotary? I am a third generation Californian and grew up bodyboarding at Huntington Beach and Del Mar, before starting to surf 34 years ago. Back in May, I got this crazy idea to do something with my interest in surfing.

 

For years, we’ve all heard Rotary leaders talk about making Rotary fun, bringing youth into Rotary, and pushing our membership beyond 1.2 million members worldwide. It struck me, why not create a Rotary Fellowship that generates exciting activities and involves those we mentor through Youth Service programs? If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a member of Rotary, it’s that anything is possible.

So I called staff at Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and at their urging, attended the 2017 Rotary International Convention in Atlanta. Roaming the halls and mingling in the House of Friendship, I collected more than 150 signatures on a surfboard, and meet with several Rotarians active in Rotary Fellowships including Curtis Reinhardt from Arroyo Grande and Colin Weeks from the United Kingdom. We assembled an amazing leadership team of Rotarians from Hawaii, the United States, Australia, Mexico, and Kenya, and with the help of Scott Carr, our governor in District 5340, Surfers Unite Rotarian Fellowship (SURF) was born.

 

Since then, we have made tremendous strides. We have been approved and recognized by Rotary International. We have already completed 16 events, established our website, and grown in membership daily. We now have more than 320 members in over 20 countries. Our mission is to connect Rotarians interested in surfing, and attract youth into Rotary, while raising funds for Rotary causes.

More than 25 Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Interactors take part in a 100 Wave Challenge for Boys to Men Mentoring in September, sponsored by SURF.

 

On 27 January, more than 30 SURF members gathered to support the Boys to Men Mentoring Foundation with a 1 Wave Challenge and 5K Beach Run. Rotarians from several clubs, Rotaractors from University of California San Diego, and Interactors from James Madison and University City high schools took part in an attempt to set a world record by exceeding 110 surfers on the same wave at the same time. Sadly, even with 172 surfers, we weren’t able to grab the record. But we did have tons of fun and raised $90,000 for charity!

Tuesday 13 March 2018 6 for 6.30pm at Damien on Fisher

Guest Speaker: Clara Scheele   Long Term Youth Exchange plus Amy Tregenza & Aaron Rutherford    National Youth Science Forum

Chair: Chad Leader | Set-up, Welcome & Attendance: David Middleton & Bob Mills

 

Gallagher opened the morning newspaper and was dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died.

He quickly phoned his best friend, Finney. 'Did you see the paper?' asked Gallagher. 'They say I died!!'

'Yes, I saw it!' replied Finney. 'Where are ye callin' from?'

 

Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one – I just had another fight with the little woman.'

'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?'

'When it was over’, Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees.'

'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch! What did she say?'

She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'