The Christmas COVID cash grab is in full flight!

The number crunchers are expecting a big pre-Christmas spend, followed by a Christmas lavish, then a Boxing Day fork-out, which might roll into Australia Day cough-up, Valentines Day dish-out and Easter expend…so many dollars in circulation but are they also doing good?

Whilst some local businesses have thrived over the pandemic period, many are hanging in there, hoping local pockets and purses will be emptying their contents at their registers.

Many of our local shops offer vouchers for goods or services. These are the gifts that give and keep on giving. What good will your giving generate this year to support a community coming out of COVID?

How about coffee or lunch vouchers, haircut vouchers (we all know how much they were missed), supporting charity op shops, local clothes, shoes, and gift establishments, local online businesses via the Toronto & Westlakes’ Community Notice Board (Facebook). Looking for Australian made? Take the time to have a wander, you’ll find it.

The other issue is with shelves in the big stores looking to empty due to import impediments, finding a local gift on a shelf may turn out to be a relaxing way to spend a daytrip to Toronto.

TASNG Tips

Annual General Meeting

You're invited to the online Annual General Meeting of Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group on Wednesday 13 October, 5pm, via Zoom

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting:

The AGM Agenda will be

1. Welcome – Acknowledgement of Country
2. Attendance & Apologies
3. To confirm the Minutes of the AGM held on 11 November 2020.
4. Reports
5. Election of Office bearers - To elect an executive committee
Nominations for each of these positions should reach the Secretary at least ONE week prior to the meeting date. Please email torontoareasng@gmail.com.
6. To determine an annual membership fee.
7. To conduct any other business as required.

The October monthly meeting will follow the AGM

Looking after Locals after lockdown

As we emerge from our health hiatus and tentatively step forth along the road to recovery, spare a thought, and some cash, to support our local business that have done it tough over the past months. If you can buy local, you’ll be keeping our community humming along and providing the goods and services we need.

Transitioning to plastic free

The NSW Plastics Action Plan sets out several actions to better manage plastics and reduce their environmental impact, including phasing out some of the most littered plastic items through new legislation.

The Action Plan targets are to work towards national waste targets including:
• phase out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025
• ban the export of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres, starting in 2021
• reduce the total waste generated in Australia by 10% per person by 2030
• recover an average 80% of resources from all waste streams by 2030
• significantly increase the use of recycled content by government and industry.

TASNG are starting to plan for the next phase of our Plastic Free Lake Mac campaign, with a focus on supporting our local businesses to make the transition away from plastic items such as "reusable" thick plastic bags, veggie bags, coffee cups, plastic cutlery, stirrers and straws.

What are your ideas about ways to help local businesses, and how would you like to be involved? Please let TASNG know. If there are businesses we can support in Toronto to transition through writing grants and providing information we’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime you can recycle a whole range of soft scrunchable plastics through the REDcycle program at Woolworths and Coles

Locals Living Life

There are some amazing people within our community doing wonderful things for the greater good as well as supporting local initiatives.

Here are what two locals are getting up to.If you’d like to share your story please get in touch.

Knitting, Tatting and Nervous Breakdowns

Alison Bryson is currently involved with the CPPA exploring how we can create

‘green-space communities’ and has just published Knitting, Tatting and Nervous Breakdowns. Alison explained “Given the topic and the current situation of more people experiencing anxiety as a result of Covid-19, I’m keen to share this lived experience with others.”

“You’ve no idea what’s happening to you, have you?” the doctor asked.

She was right.

In 2010 Alison Bryson had a nervous breakdown. She didn’t know people who had breakdowns. She didn’t know what to do with herself being unable to work. She didn’t know if she would recover and be able to live independently again. She just didn’t know.

This is her story of not recognising herself or the mind that she’d known for forty years, of being looked after by her parents in the Scottish village where she grew up and of the people and activities she encountered, that brought joy back into her life.

The book is available through all major outlets as paperback or e-book; Amazon, Book Depository, Angus & Robertson, Fishpond, Booktopia

The Great Cycle Challenge

Nico Marcar is an active landcarer and advocates for better cycling across the City through LMCC’s Active Transport Advisory Group and Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance. This October, he’s taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to fight kids’ cancer!

Nico’s reasons for participating are clear.

“Research is vital to support cancer prevention and treatment. This requires funding.

Cancer is the largest single killer of children from disease in Australia.

Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.

And so I am riding and raising funds to support the Children’s Medical Research Institute to continue their work into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and finding a cure for childhood cancer.

I’ve set myself a goal of 500 km.

Your support through donations to my fundraising page will help to give these kids the brighter futures they deserve.”

www.greatcyclechallenge.com.au/Riders/NicoMarcar