community hub Archives

As part of our Term 3 schedule, Cire’s Community Hubs are proud to be introducing initiatives under the ‘Family Learning Partnerships’ Grant. This funding will help our team support local families to connect over a variety of projects.

At Cire, we LOVE learning! Our schools, courses and programs all provide opportunities for people to gain more skills and specialised knowledge. Developing family learning partnerships will help us introduce these opportunities to young people, parents, grandparents and carers throughout the community.

Our new “Create, Play, Grow” will inspire children and their carers to connect with nature. Cire’s very own ‘Farmer Jill’ has developed an exciting program to encourage everyone to use their senses, develop fine and gross motor skills, and improve investigation and questioning skills. All of this, plus more, while enjoying the wonderful local environments at our Hubs.

We will be bringing our successful Lock Down Lego Challenge to the real world, with our Lego Group coming to the Hubs in Term 3. This program will see families working together on weekly builds, promoting team-work, communication and bonding over a common interest.

Our Yarra Junction Hub will be partnering with the Ben’s Shed to run woodworking workshops, with families learning basic building skills to create a project to take home. This series will be a great chance to get to know others in the Upper Yarra community, with various ages coming together to share their knowledge.

At our Chirnside Park Hub, we will be teaming up with our friends at Cire’s Community School in Mount Evelyn expanding our veggie garden to create a “learning landscape”. This project will open up more opportunities for locals of all ages to enjoy fresh produce. We are also looking forward to featuring harvests as part of our upcoming Pop Up Café and community meals.

If you are looking for great food and fantastic company, come along to our Hubs for our monthly Community Lunches. Supporting the benefits of life-long learning, these meals will feature guest speakers covering a range of topics to keep your family happy, healthy and safe. A highlight is sure to be the lunches during school holidays, where we will be incorporating a range of fun activities for all ages!

The Family Learning Partnerships programs will also include a variety of outreach activities. We are very excited to be working with local schools to promote important themes like gender equity and healthy relationships. These sessions will allow us to meet with students, as well as their parents and carers, to inspire discussions and lead change. If you would like your school to be considered for our incursion program, please get in touch.

Over the coming year, our team will be attending and coordinating a number of events to interact with local families and groups. We will be connecting with people to dig a little deeper, to gain insights into how members of our community want to broaden their knowledge.

Plans are already underway for our annual Twilight Christmas Market. In addition to a huge range of stalls to cover all of your gifts, we will be on hand to hear from you what 2021 could bring for you in terms of personal and professional growth, and how, through a variety of courses. Pop Friday, 4 December in your calendar, as this is an event you will not want to miss!

The Family Learning Partnerships funding is helping Cire open many doors, and we are keen to hear what you would like to see in your community. Our Hubs team is here to create programs and activities to help everyone learn, connect and grow. If you have an idea you’d like to share, give us a call on 1300 835 235, or email us at communityhubs@cire.org.au.

Nina Bekker – Business Develpment Manager – Cire Training & Hubs

Ecotopia, ECOSS’s annual community festival celebrating sustainable living and multiculturalism, was held on Sunday 24th March.

Ecotopia is a celebration of sustainable living in the Yarra Valley and a major yearly event for ECOSS, a not-for-profit organisation based in Wesburn which is situated on a permaculture designed property promoting sustainable living solutions for the Yarra Valley community and beyond.

Cire Services, who is a major sponsor of Ecotopia, was invited to participate, giving us the opportunity to advertise our new direction for our dedicated Community Hub – Yarra Junction, after the move of our head office and training department to Lilydale, and showcase the great ways we plan to grow and support our community.

Cire has recently made the decision to utilise its location in Yarra Junction as a Community Hub.

We aim to strengthen the grassroots of our organisation, which started over 40 years ago, by giving locals easy access to our services in Yarra Junction, and help people to get involved and have local input and knowledge.

“I’m really looking forward to growing the Yarra Junction Community Hub and helping to facilitate community ownership and participation. This space is here for the community, and our team have a holistic view of bringing the community together and being proud of the town we call home.” Simone Whitehead, Community Hub coordinator

Our Yarra Junction Community Hub coordinators, Simone and Penny, started the day at Ecotopia setting up an approachable space for people to come and see what our Hubs and the broader Cire community have to offer.

Eliza, Cire’s Early Childhood Education and Care trainer, was keen to help and enlisted the support of some of her Certificate III students to set up an activity to engage families and children through playdough activity tables.

“I was very impressed with my students who contributed their time to participate in a hands-on learning activity. The students made playdough in one of our classes, set up the activity area and interacted with families.” Eliza Lee, Early Childhood trainer

Also on offer was a flag making table where visitors could come and paint their own flag in colours, patterns and symbols that resonated with them.

Cire Community Hub was proud to be a part of an event that celebrated sustainable living in the Yarra Valley and look forward to next years.

If you didn’t get the chance to say hello to us at Ecotopia and would like to know what is happening, are interested in running a course, or hiring out space, please drop into Cire Community Hub – Yarra Junction and introduce yourself to our coordinators, Penny and Simone or contact 1300 835 235.

If you’re lucky, they might even make you a cuppa!