I’ve been too busy since I finished in the Senate. Despite my best intentions, I haven’t prioritised enough rest, time for just being, for contemplation, for reflecting, for writing, for reading, for spending long enough in nature.
But this weekend I’ve been revelling in resting the way I like to. Being in nature. Nerding out on science, being curious and learning lots.
Anne and I have been at the Snowgum Summit at Mount Hotham, organised by Friends of the Earth, and we’ve had great conversations, catching up with some old friends and colleagues and meeting and yarning with some awesome new folk!
Together we’ve learnt about snowgums and fire ( frequent intense fires - ie what the climate crisis is delivering = not good) snowgum dieback due to beetle infestation (also heat and climate related - more not good) , and what we can possibly do about these not good things ( stop burning fossil fuels for snowgum’s sake, and do lots more monitoring and research to work out if it’s possible to keep snowgums well and healthy).
And best of all we’ve been able to hang out with snowgums and friends on the top of the world in the Victorian Alps
Today a group of us walked to Mount Loch. It was cold and very windy; patches of snow and ice were still on the ground from last night’s snow showers, and it was gorgeous. I had a smile from ear to ear the whole walk.
And Anne walked the whole way, just four months on from her knee replacement surgery - Good On Her!!!
We are so looking forward to spending more time out and about together, prioritising being active and alive and connected and engaged and keeping crazy busyness at bay!
My busy last few months?
This post is primarily as an opportunity to share my photos from the weekend 😊, but I thought I may as well share some of the stuff that has been keeping me busy that you might be interested in knowing about.
I’m doing volunteer work supporting Huong Truong’s Greens campaign for the seat of Fraser in inner western Melbourne. Huong is awesome and Fraser is winnable- I really believe it is! - so I’ve taken on coordinating fundraising for Huong’s campaign We’ve done really well, but there’s lots more to do! (We’ve got an art auction underway next month - it's online so you can buy something where ever you are in the world! (Might be a bit tricky to deliver it to you if you are really far away but we will sort that out!)
I’m fundraising for the Greens in Papua New Guinea - we’re about to launch that once I’ve got a few things organised, but if you’d like to contribute here’s the link!)
And my facilitation has just blossomed in the last few months, helping people work more effectively and harmoniously together - get in touch if you’d like to know more).
But at least I’ve mostly at least just been busy, not crazy busy. I spent a lot of time in Canberra with Anne late last year as she was recovering from her surgery; I had a wonderful fortnight on holidays in Tasmania over January, and have spent time with my mum including her staying with me for a fortnight over Christmas - New Year. I’ve been doing yoga 2-3 times a week
So I am getting better at being less busy - but there's no doubt it's a work in progress!
Love these photos of our precious alpine landscape. And thanks to the wealth of knowledge shared at the Snow Gum summit, I’m so much more alive to the interconnected flora and fauna that live in these threatened environments.