Planting seeds of diversity
Horsham will be a destination for people from a variety of cultures and countries this weekend for an event organisers plan to expand into an annual western Victorian celebration of diversity.
Wimmera families will welcome city-based migrants, some of them refugees who have been forced to flee their homes, have few possessions or who have been subjected to human-rights violations, into their homes for Heartland Horsham.
Guests will also include new migrants and international visitors for an occasion that is rapidly gathering statewide as well as regional interest.
Heartland Horsham will form around a community tree-planting project, similar to a former Yarrilinks project in Yarriambiack Shire, but organisers are planning to expand the concept well beyond Landcare.
The event is designed to showcase the Wimmera as ‘a great place to live, work and raise a family’, while also promoting the idea of spending time in the natural environment and working with nature.
It is also designed to support migrants who have settled in the region to explore and share cultural experiences with the broader community.
Centre for Participation is running the event with help from Horsham Urban Landcare, Oasis Wimmera, Horsham Agricultural Society, Grampians Community Health, Leadership Wimmera, Lentil as Anything, Adult Multicultural Education Services
Australia, Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and the State Government.
Centre for Participation chief executive Julie Pettett confirmed a plan was for the event to provide the foundation of for an expanding celebration.
“This multi-cultural weekend is the start of something that will grow into a celebration of diversity across the region, as well as showcasing the spectacular Wimmera to our guests,” she said.
Guests, including two groups from Lentil as Anything in Abbotsford and AMES in Footscray, will arrive at the Centre for Participation’s Horsham headquarters on Friday night. There they will meet their host families and share dinner.
Saturday activities will start with a breakfast, before visitors and host families help plant 6000 trees to protect the Wimmera River.
Connections
The project is designed to promote connections between participants to freely connect with, and help the environment in a way many might not have previously experienced.
Horsham-laharum Landcare facilitator Wendy Macinnes emphasised the weekend was much more than just tree planting.
“It is about connecting people and making friendships that can last years,” she said.
Entertainment on the day will include a mobile petting zoo presentation and tour of Horsham, before the group retires to Holy Trinity Lutheran College hall for a multicultural feast.
On Sunday, after a lunch at Horsham Agricultural Society’s ‘Cattle Shed’, with catering coordinated by Horsham district’s Young G group, guests will head back to Melbourne.
The Sunday lunch, which organisers have earmarked for potential to eventually grow into an Horsham international food festival, is open to the public from 11.30am. Activities will move undercover if it rains.