Spending time in a forest is good for you!
The Japanese have a term, Shinrin-Yoku: forest bathing. It means spending time in natural environments for physical and mental health. There are things you can do to help
balance life pressures, getting outdoors is an easy one yet very beneficial.
Walk in the forest with us, surround yourself with natural light, air and sound.
In Bendigo at the Big Give prize ceremony this morning. We received $2000 for second place in the number of donors for the small non-profit category. Along with the $2225 we raised by donation during our campaign will be a huge help in getting Mirawara operational. A big thanks to the Big Give and sponsors who made this such a great event and supported so many local projects.
What a day we had yesterday! In the early mist on Mount Alexander we discovered a school group was there abseiling; most of the time we have the place to ourselves. They wished us well and their guides laughed at the first portaledge at Dog Rock. One of the students even helped as we fumbled with uploading video to our social media.
We started with our portaledge at 680mm, representing the $680 we’d raised in the early part of our crowdfunding campaign. The aim was to move up the climb 1mm for every dollar donated.
We had lots of visitors throughout the day, supporters dropping in for a chat and a cuppa. Couldn’t tempt any of them to join us on the portaledge though! We loved that they’d come up to see us.
We moved the anchor up and lifted the portaledge to our level of donation every hour. Tape measure and chalk are hard to use hanging in a harness!
The hardest part of the day was uploading video as we tried to broadcast our campaign, we’re not so good at social media and got the giggles getting confused and making a mess of hashtags and sharing!
We got one of the spot prizes of $250 from CFCV funding pool. Also got hot soup for lunch, cooked and delivered by our number one supporter, thanks Tim.
As darkness fell we had ascended to 1770mm on our climb. Such a great feeling that people value what we want to set up.
After breaking down the anchors and ropes with head torches on, we retired to our homes but the campaign ran on to its midnight deadline.
Some late night calls (even around the world) to prompt freinds to donate got us to $2225. We are so greatful for their support as it also got us to 2nd place in the number of unique donors in our category of small not-for-profits. This earned us the 2nd place prize of $2000!
Our total for the whole campaign is $4225!
This is short of our goal but very encouraging. We could get some of the equipment we are after, and pay for the printing, website and business registration costs incurred so far. We’ll meet soon to discuss the next steps.
The overall Big Give campaign raised $82,000, all going to Central Victorian community building projects. What a great event for our region!
Our Instagram and Facebook page (link in the menu top right) has the photos and videos of the day… the ones we eventually uploaded!
A huge thanks to all those that supported us and shared our story.
Here is Mirawara’s new logo, graphic design by 13 year old Maz:
Now is your chance to be part of a great ascent! For every ten dollars donated we’ll move up one centimetre. $10 (and above) donations make us eligible for prizes and additional funding from The Community Foundation of Central Victoria the creators of the The Big Give.
We’ll start at 50cm, our current level of donations. We will move “Big Wall” style which is aid climbing: hauling our gear and resting on a portaledge. Drop by to visit, even abseil in to join us. It’ll be a fun day. The climb is near the fire area at Dog Rock, an easy walk in from Joseph Young Drive that runs over Mount Alexander. Contact us if you need help finding it, we’ll be fully connected all day. We’ll be posting live video on our Facebook page throughout the day. So if you can’t make it to Dog Rock tune in on Facebook and tell your friends.
This campaign is to raise funds so Mirawara can take people outdoors. The more we raise the more accessible we can make outdoor trips for young people of Central Victoria.
With the weather improving we thought it’s time for another climbing trip. We’ll also be shooting video and stills to use in our crowd funding campaign.
So we’ll be at Dog Rock on Mount Alexander from 1pm, let us know if you’re coming via the contact form.
As we formalise Mirawara to operate as a non-profit we’ll get you to fill in the sign-up form, this is part of our risk management and operational procedures. If you’d like to print this form, fill it in and bring it along to give your feedback that would be really helpful.
We are very excited to launch our crowd funding campaign with Big Give, which is a project from the Community Foundation for Central Victoria “give where you live”.
Our campaign is on from now until the 1st of September. Any donations during the 24hrs of the 1st (over $10) can win us additional funding from the Community Foundation. We have a special event organised for the 1st
To donate go to our campaign page:
https://chuffed.org/project/mirawara
Mirawara is about people and the outdoors.
Located in Central Victoria we have been going out with friends and their kids — walking and climbing in some of our great local parks and reserves. We’d like to expand this community: take more people out and show them more about our environment, so we’ve set-up as a non-profit organisation to offer outdoor experiences in our region.
We joined The Big Give, a crowd-funding campaign by the Community Foundation for Central Victoria a local philanthropic organisation. There are lots of great local projects seeking support and it all culminates on the 1st Sept, one big day of giving.
Mirawara need funds for climbing equipment, insurance and parks license fees. The more we raise the more accessible our trips will be: more trips and less cost to participants. New gear like helmets, ropes and harnesses will ensure we operate with the upmost safety.
Making these experiences accessible and safe is critical to the young people we take out.
You can help. Support our project by spreading the word, coming on a trip, or donating on September the 1st. Donations of $10 or over make us eligible for additional funding and prizes from the Community Foundation.
With thanks from the Mirawara team: Emmanuelle Dubuc, Tim Preston and Kia Smith.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1jg8nThlFA?rel=0]
We had a great time climbing indoors at Cliffhanger in Altona yesterday, 16 people came. I meant to take more photos but was either belaying or climbing the whole time. This is a great winter option for a trip so we’ll do it again
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As we establish our vision to offer transformative outdoor experiences we need the help of our friends. So if you like our ideas and have been on a trip with us how can you help?
Firstly let people know about Mirawara. We are on Facebook and Instagram, the bigger our network is the more we can do. Engage with us on WordPress too: follow, comment, or like this blog. Continue reading “How to support Mirawara “
Visit our new Facebook page. Posts from here will also appear on the Facebook page for those who use Facebook regularly, so you can easily keep up-to-date with our upcoming events and news
