ACTIVATE GREAT SOUTHERN | ROCKY’S RETREAT, TAKALARUP 2024

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘖𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥.

EVENT INFORMATION | LOVE LETTER

Hello Activators ! We are thrilled you got a ticket and look forward to spending the weekend with you planting trees, connecting to the land and enjoying each others company! ARE YOU READY??? We have prepared this Love Letter which contains some important information for you to look at prior to the event. Please stick with us here. There’s serious stuff and some very interesting information about the event. Firstly! Let’s get the serious stuff out of the way.

____________________________________

SAFETY & FIRST AID

GENERAL SAFETY – This event is entirely run by volunteers, we work very hard to bring you these unique Tree Planting Music Festivals, jam-packed with love, music, amazing food, and community. Our budgets are very low and our event management is as perfect as it can be. Please keep an eye out for children (and big children) for general safety. If you see something we have missed – please let us know so we can remove the risk. Everyone has a part to play at this event and we appreciate all extra eyes and ears to keep us with our mission of planting trees.

FEELING UNWELL – If you are feeling unwell with COVID symptoms, or any other illness, please do not attend, and let us know (contacts listed at end). Not only do we need to have the amount of people to plant the trees, but we also have a waitlist of people wanting to attend. Camping down south is not fun if you are feeling unwell so don’t try and talk yourself into it. At the event we will have some RAT tests available and a first aid team. Should you start feeling unwell or suspect COVID, please present to the crew for assistance.

Site OHS – Please abide by signage and follow crew instructions. There will be a brief OSH briefing on the Friday night to cover juicy OSH goss, a dedicated tree planting OSH brief on Saturday morning, and a poster with main points/ reminders in the shed. Find a crew member for assistance if you have any concerns.

FIRST AID – We are lucky to have experienced first aiders amongst us. First Aiders and location of First Aid Kits will be identified during the OSH briefing. The crew who will be wearing HIGH-VIS will have radios and can assist you too. If you have any medically important information that will help us assist you in an emergency please talk to Wren on arrival. Your information will be kept as need to know only.

Closest hospital: Mount Barker. 30 minutes. Plantagenet Hospital, 59 Langton Road. Emergency open 24 hours. Ph: 9892 1222

VEHICLE MOVEMENT – You will be greeted at the gates and directed to the camping area. BE AWARE there will be vehicles moving around the campsite. Drive VERY SLOWLY & be mindful of SMALL CHILDREN, especially when reversing, and warn them about the vehicle movements.

DAM ON PROPERTY – There is a dam on the property, it is within the fenced (out of bounds) area which holds the sheep. The dam is a fair distance from the event area. Please make sure no children enter the fenced area or go anywhere near the dam.

CAMPFIRES – No individual fires are permitted by campers. There will be a central fire maintained by the crew. There will be a safe zone marked around the fire. Please inform your children not to go any closer to the fire than the safety zone and keep an eye on them around the fire.

OUT OF BOUNDS – Please respect the landholders privacy and stay within designated areas. Any out of bounds areas will be communicated at the Friday night briefing.

RURAL – We are in a rural area. Phone & internet are limited. Please make sure you have written down the directions to site prior to leaving home. Please let the crew know if you are leaving site for any reason.

____________________________________

GETTING TO SITE & CAMPING INFORMATION

Address: 1304 Takalarup Road (as shown on Google Maps) We will have Activate signage out front and a friendly welcome team to greet you. From Albany: Chester Pass Rd > Right onto Takalarup Rd. From Mount Barker: Porongorup Rd > Right onto Chester Pass Rd (short distance) – Left onto Takalarup Rd.

What do I do when I arrive? Arrive from 2pm Our friendly team at the entrance will greet you. They’ll check you in, ask you about your camping setup and direct you in. There are designated camping areas. Families camping may wish to camp further away from the hall so late night music does not keep the kids awake. If you are camping in a swag you are welcome to sleep in the shed if the weather is looking bad but please beware there will be music and a lot of movement in the area.

Camping Facilities: Basic bush camping facilities- portaloo/ compost toilets onsite. No shower facilities. Drinking water available (rainwater tank). You are welcome to bring campervans etc but please note they is no access to power in the camping area. Once you’ve set up your camp, head down to the Main Shed and grab a cuppa.

____________________________________

TREE PLANTING COMMUNITY

TREE PLANTING: Kaysanne and Claytons property is a 28acre conservation block located within Gondwana Link (www.gondwanalink.org), in close proximity to the upper Kalgan RIver. We will be planting out 7acres with a mixture of 6000 x biodiverse endemic (local provenance) species. This proposed planting project will provide habitat for threatened wildlife and serve as an important corridor for wildlife traversing between nearby nature reserves and the Kalgan River.

Saturday day and Sunday morning will be PLANTING DAYS – all groovers in the paddock – all hands on tools – planting tools (Pottipuktis) will be provided. Sunday closing Ceremony will be after lunch. The planting areas have been freshly ripped (machine site prep) and are ready for planting. Due to the abundance of Roos and Rabbits, we will be installing Tree Guards around each seedling. We will be breaking into groups of Planting Teams on Saturday morning and rotating between planting and tree guarding.

COMMUNITY JOBS: We will be a tree planting community for the weekend and each and every person involved in the event is a volunteer. The (volunteer) crew will be all over most things and we will be doing shout outs when we need help with things. On arrival to we ask you to check out any gaps that may need filling on the Community Jobs board which will be up on the wall next to Schedule and Site Map. Jobs such as making sure water is topped up at tea station, kitchen assistance etc.

𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙉𝙀𝘾𝙏 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙈𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙔 Activate is a community of incredible humans and we are stoked for you to be joining us this July. Dance with new friends, yarn around the campfire, stretch out under the stars, breathe in the fresh country air and celebrate your weekend achievements.

____________________________________

SCHEDULE

PLANT HARD !! DANCE HARD !! This is a guide to what we have planned. Due to various factors the program is subject to change. Tree planting and fun is our priority so the flow will revolve around this. Just keep an eye on the program stuck up on the wall, and your ears open to our MCs who will keep you posted as we go along.

You can be sure that Activate’s famous farm-field mobile DJs will be making an appearance deep-south-style! Bringing the high-vibe tunes to elevate your day of planting and keep you grooving while you restore the land. Evenings at HQ will be a treat for your ears – live music, pumping DJs and camp-fire sing-alongs!

FRIDAY

2pm – 6pm Arrival to site
5.30pm Dinner (5.15pm Kids dinner)
6pm Welcome/ Introductions / House keeping
6.30pm: Acoustic Vibes tunes by Noni and Friends followed by Open mic**
**We would love for you to prepare/ share a poem/ skit/ song with us. We encourage you to be as weird and creative as you feel!

SATURDAY

7am Morning movement practice*
7-8am: Breakfast
8.30: Welcome + site induction
9.00 to 16.00: TREE PLANTING DAY
11am Morning Tea
1pm Lunch with tunes by Tony Lane
1.30pm Kids Activities back at Shed
4pm Afternoon Tea
5.30pm: Dinner (5.15pm Kids early dinner)
6pm Celebrations: Live tunes Echo Omen, Formidable Vegetable Sound System followed by late night DJs
EarthstatiK

SUNDAY

7.30am : Morning movement practice*
7.30-8.30: Breakfast
8.30 – midday TREE PLANTING MORNING
10am Morning Tea
Midday Lunch
1-2pm Closing Ceremony

*Please note that participation in any of the workshops involving sport (i.e. Movement or Dance) are at your own risk. Please do not use the Activate event to try any new moves – unless on the dancefloor.

ARTISTS

Noni Oldfield + Friends. Noni is a songwriter from the sandy soils and sheoak whispers of the South-West, shifting shadows of dreams and thanks into love songs to the deep. Noni will be joined by Rosie and Pearl! What a treat to have this incredibly talented trio come to share with us their harmonies, superb song writing, connection and musicality. Also key crew of the ‘Activate Tree Planting Saplings’ (young adults annual ATP Festival) – August ‘24. Insta/nones.karla

Tony Lane (Margaret River) – http://www.tonylane.com.au/ Tony Lane, one of the Chief Monkey’s from the Margaret River music scene, is well known for his diversity across instruments, and genres such as folk, country, rock, world music and gypsy-ska… Tony is bringing some new and old acoustic tunes to Activate Takalarup.

“Echo Omen is all about rhythm – in both music and life. The alias of Great Southern Western Australian-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Matthew Bracknell, Echo Omen crafts soulful, atmospheric sounds from acoustic folk to downtempo indietronica and abstract hip-hop, drawing comparisons to artists as diverse as José González, Quantic and Algiers.” https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBhweCH21TcltomkOkftKjQ/null

Formidable Vegetable Sound System. Whether it’s getting to gigs powered by waste veggie oil, crashing on couches or handing out heirloom seeds at their shows, international permaculture band of mystery, Formidable Vegetable try to walk the walk of regenerative living wherever they can on the road and at home. Through their relentless ongoing commitment to the movement and the music, Formidable Vegetable have cemented themselves as favourites on the bill of Australian and international festivals, having regularly played at some of the biggest arts & music events in the world such as Woodford, Shambhala (Canada) and Glastonbury (UK) alongside such acts as Dolly Parton, Radiohead, Tame Impala and The Rolling Stones.

EarthstatiK (DJ) has represented Sonic Alchemy Records and held down the decks at many festivals and events throughout WA. Inspired by the big bass scene in Canada and North America, he brought this inspiration back to WA mixing lush chunky psychedelic bass/downtempo grooves. He has since grown into a multi genre DJ stepping up the tempo incorporating progressive house/deep driving techno. His seamless mixing will take you on a journey like no other fit for any moment. You can expect anything between lush ethereal bass music to deep psychedelic techno and anything in between.” & DJ Salgorythm funky and fresh from the South Coast.

Event Photography by the super amazing Amber Bateup – http://www.amberbateup.com/

WORKSHOPS:

ARTS Drawing & Mural Painting with Mezzy & Karolina

Build a Bug Hotel (Kids Activity) with Clayton

____________________________________

FOOD & DRINKS

Our cook’s have got you covered; all your meals for the entire weekend are provided! Vegetarian menu. They will be nourishing us all with freshly made, healthy, and delicious meals made with care and love. Dietary requirements will be catered for. The absolute best way to end a day of planting together is to gather for a wholesome communal meal together. BYO snacks, water bottle, plate + utensils.

Tea and coffee station at HQ will have cows milk and Oat Milk. If you require any other special milks please bring. Saturday night we will be busting out some Mocktails.

____________________________________

PACKING LIST

• Camping gear – Tent/ Swag/ Car. Bed + bedding. Camping chair for sitting around the fire or resting up at lunchtime. Plate, bowl and utensils.
• Good boots/shoes for walking & tree planting. If it has rained, it can be very muddy. Gumboots or at least waterproof shoes or a spare pair are highly recommended.
• Waterproof jacket/ outfit in case we get blessed by rain a day earlier than wished for.
• Warm clothes – it might be t-shirt weather during the day but it gets VERY COLD at night. A thick coat, thick socks, and a beanie are essential. Spare socks! Hot water bottle.
• We are making some patches that can be sewn onto shirt/ jacket/ whatever you like, as a momento, so bring something you’d like patched (we will have sewing stuff in the shed).
• Sunhat and sun protection ie. covered clothing/ sunscreen.
• Backpack for planting days containing: plate + utensils, water bottle (we will have refill stations onsite), Lip balm (important!)
• Torch
• Toiletries
• Musical instruments, yoga mat, games.. paraphernalia for a magical weekend (Open Mic Friday night)
• Trinkets and magical items you may wish to dedicate to the trees you plant

And that’s itOh, lastly:

• Drugs and Alcohol to be left at home. This is a drug and alcohol free event. Smokers, please smoke out of view of kids and away from communal areas.
• We love animals, but please, DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG (or other animals) to the event.

CONTRIBUTION

We ask for your contribution please. Everything little helps! Some items you already have at home can help us keep our budgets low, and encourage everyone to participate as much as they can in a variety of different ways. Things we are always on the look out to make our event sparkle:

• Snacks for morning and arvo tea – homemade preferable (less packaging)
  Do you make a mean bliss ball, snack bar, dip etc. that you’d like to share with all your new planting friends?
• Fruit It’s apple time. Do you have an abundance of fruit from your place or a nearby tree?
• Toilet Paper. How much would you use? Bring it along

There are lots more items we are always on the hunt for and even though it’s not listed here if you think you have something that’ll be useful to us – send us a message. According to our sustainability ethics, we try to keep our purchases to a minimum, buy 2nd hand or build ourselves if we cannot borrow. This helps us keep our costs down, supports out environmental values as a priority and makes our community working together.

____________________________________

WITH GRATITUDE

Thankyou the whole ACTIVATE Team/Crew/Planters (that’s you!) and our major sponsor Carbon Positive (grant funding for trees), for enabling this event to occur, and to our collaborators: Form Nursery and the Shire of Denmark nursery team for growing the seedlings and your support. Green Skills, Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee, Oyster Harbour Catchment Group and Torbay Catchment Group for tool loaning and your support.

Other awesome supporters will be announced and acknowledged at the event. Big thankyou to Kaysanne, Clayton and baby Mallee for hosting the Activate planting. They welcome us with open arms, excitement and gratitude.

____________________________________

CONTACT

Please do not hesitate to reach out, we will respond as fast as possible:
greatsouthern@activatetreeplanting.org.au

From Wednesday 24th July onwards (TEXT MESSAGES ONLY): Wren 0415 473 994 Olly 0407 772 621

Now… get excited, get packing and we’ll see you VERY SOON! WithActivate Great Southern Crew