I heard on ABC AM programme this morning that Orange is going to start harvesting their storm water. Well done you! Many of our inland towns in WA would love to do that, but if they did there would be no water to flush out the struggling creeks that are already suffering from too much salt. Still, I do wonder why it cant happen on the coast where a large number of the population lives. Then more treated water may be able to be diverted into the inland towns. On a farm we drink water harvested from our roofs. I haven’t died yet!

Thanks Janiebabes. There is another earlier article about what the Marvellous Museum Award was with the official press release from Radio National. The Kodja Place tends to sell itself these days. Just been to a WA Museums Conference and even I was surprised at the number of references to The Kodja Place for best practice etc especially in the area of Heritage Tourism – which as you can probably work out means involving Tourism and cultural heritage in each other’s work. (One of my soap boxes I’m afraid) I’m sure if you managed to hear the Life Matters program, you would have got a fair idea about where we are coming from. Re crops in WA – I will do some research and get some facts and figures for you soon!! Thank you for responding.

Today ABC Radio National came to Kojonup to create their Life Matters program in The Kodja Place – our Museum that won the 2008 Marvellous Regional Museum Award. The program will be aired on Friday 12th September at 9am on Radio National and can be found on pod casts after that date. Hope some of you can listen to find out a little about our part of the world.

The Kodja Place in Kojonup Western Australia has won another award. Search for more details. Below is the announcement from marketing@your.abc.net.au :

Marvellous Regional Museums Award Announced A diverse range of regional museums vied for the inaugural Marvellous Regional Museum Award presented by ABC Radio National with the major prize going to The Kodja Place Visitor & Interpretive Centre in Kojonup, Western Australia. The Radio National Life Matters team will travel to The Kodja Place to present a program celebrating the achievements and aims of the museum and its thriving community. The Kodja Place evolved from the desire of the Kojonup community to create something of lasting importance to mark the Centenary of Federation. It is built around the theme of ‘One Story, Many Voices’ exploring the histories of past and present residents in an inclusive, original way. In selecting the Museum for the inaugural Marvellous Regional Museum Award, judges assessed The Kodja Place as an outstanding organisation that overcame the restrictions of limited financial resources by tapping in to the innovation and passion of a small regional community. The importance of the Noongar Community’s decision to tell their history alongside the history of European settlers, with equal input, also received special mention. Judges agreed that the process of selection was a difficult one because of the quality of the entries and the commitment that all organisations showed to their collections and their local communities. “Australia’s regional museums make a remarkable contribution to the communities they serve, and are a testament to the dedication and skill of a largely volunteer workforce. They are keeping our history alive and helping us to think about the future,” said Jane Connors, Manager ABC Radio National. “Radio National will be proud to showcase regional museums again in 2009, and hope to involve even more museum visitors, volunteers and staff.” The Marvellous Regional Museum Awards were the flagship event in a week focusing on museums during May 2008 on ABC Radio National. The week of special programming, listener competitions and contributions was developed in recognition of the vital role museums play in Australia’s cultural life. Winners in each category included: · Volunteer run category – Beachport Old Wool and Grain Store Museum (Beachport, SA) Small museum category – The Kodja Place Visitor & Interpretive Centre (Kojonup, WA) Medium to large museum category – Museum of the Riverina (Wagga Wagga, NSW) Indigenous Cultural Centre/Keeping Place – Yugambeh Museum (Beenleigh, Queensland) For a full listing of all entrants, together with finalists in each category, visit abc.net.au/rn/museums. ABC Radio National acknowledges the invaluable assistance and support of Museums Australia in the development of the Marvellous Regional Museum Awards.

As a farmer, I have always been conscious of the many hoops we have to go through to make our products suitable for the export market. Much time and effort, not to mention money is spent to make this so – and we have done it reasonably happily to meet the market requirements we are told are required. However, I am getting increasingly concerned about reports of contamination from other countries – and China in particular in recent weeks. First there was the Children’s toy imported around Christmas time that was made of a material that if swallowed caused hallucinations (a drug!) then I read of a blood pressure (I think) drug that is contaminated sent to USA and Australia, and this week Australian honey producers – who I believe are having a tough time because of the drought have mixed their honey with honey from China, labelling it Australian honey – only to discover the Chinese honey is contaminated (How can you have contaminated honey!! – the purest food of all!) and finally on the radio I heard there are willow screens improted from China with beetles in them. Now either our customs are slack (or undermanned) or we are just not being diligent enough. I would love your knowledge and thoughts. It worries me greatly. Barb