By Parker McKenzie
A project launched to rejuvenate the Birdsland Environmental Education Centre is nearing completion, with a workshop to create bunting for community events being held on Saturday 25 March.
Artist Renate Crow has been running Renewal Fest and Feast, a project to revitalise the Birdsland Environmental Education Centre through weekend workshops held at the centre.
Ms Crow said a lot of people aren’t aware of the education centre, which needed some creative love and community input.
“It’s like this hidden gem down the end of the road and they don’t even know it exists,” she said.
“They know Birdlands and they know the lake, but often they don’t know that there’s this great facility down there.”
She envisioned the idea of the workshops before the covid-19 pandemic, which she said threw her “off track” completely.
“The workshops, that’s about getting connections with community and people coming together, doing an activity, learning new skills, learning from each other and making friendships,” Ms Crow said.
“The first one was power tools for women. We made a pizza paddle out of an old ore that I found on hard rubbish and we sanded it, cut it to shape, and we made the metal out of sheet metal I also found on hard rubbish.”
Recycling and reusing old materials is a regular feature in Ms Crow’s art and is a key focus of the workshops. Participants in previous workshops have practised using power tools, some for the first time, and created art to rejuvenate the education centre.
Ms Crow said a previous workshop had participants creating a mosaic to decorate the education centre.
“We learned about cutting out the wood with the jigsaw, so we got to practise our skills,” she said.
“The last one is making community bunting. So this is bunting that we can use for, say, if you organise a festival or an event, you can borrow or hire this bunting, which will become a community asset.”
The workshops are funded through a community grant from Yarra Ranges Council and supported by Burrinja Cultural Centre.
The upcoming workshop will also feature Textile artist Lisa Von Muller, who recently won a Mandurah award for wearable art, and have participants great the community bunting using Old Singer sewing machines, treadles and hand cranks, with the oldest from 1914.
Ms Crow said the sewing machines aren’t something most people have had the opportunity to experience.
“It’s been really fun and I’ve met some great people,” she said.
“All these stories that come out about people from their past and our ancestors, and that’s a really special thing.”
For more information on the workshop, visit facebook.com/events/768623511279084 and anyone interested in taking part can contact Renate Crow at renate@sublimemoves.com.au
