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Letter from Basil Schur
written from home in Denmark, Western Australia
September 2006
Dear Friends and global citizens,
It's been near a year since I returned from Canada after being away for much of 2005. I am keen to communicate with all
my far flung friends and contacts about what's been happening to me, and to invite you to do the same.
I'll do it mostly with photos. In short, I loved coming back to my cosy home in Denmark, WA. Green Skills (www.greenskills.com.au)
were happy to take me back as project coordinator for a range of environmental programs here on WA's south coast. I have a
new person in my life, Nikki Green, artist and teacher extraordinaire, who lives in Melbourne. I have been home based except
for family trips to Perth, a 9 day Great Walk journey to Uluru in Central Australia, and several visits to Melbourne.
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| My home in Denmark, part of Mia Mia Housing Coop - the garden is coming along well |
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| Wilson Inlet, beside Denmark - an amazing estuary that forms a backdrop for community life |
International Connections - Since returning back to WA I have continued to build several international links. Our local UNESCO
biosphere proposal for the Wilson Inlet catchment is slowly progressing (see http://biosphere.dwalc.org.au/.
Working with a German NGO I have managed to have Wilson Inlet listed as part of the global Living Lakes network (http://www.livinglakes.org/).
Also the art exhibition from Lithuania has now been exhibited at the Denmark High School, Mentone College in Melbourne and
is currently on display at the Redberry Lake Biosphere Interpretative Centre in Saskatchewan, Canada.
I am also forming other connections with NGOs in Zimbabwe and New Zealand...together with the steady stream of Servas (www.servas.org)
and Wwoofing (www.wwoof.com.au) visitors, I see these links helping to build a more peaceful world...
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| Lithuanian Young People's Forest art on display at Denmark (and then Melbourne & Hafford in Canada) |
I returned from volunteering overseas to find that I could appreciate how fortunate I was to be able to rejoin ongoing programs
built on 18 years of community development work. I haven't had time to scratch myself; wetlands, trails, revegetation, creating
a special building, landscape planning....all meshing together in a movement striving for sustainability.
| See http://greenskills.dwalc.org.au/ |
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| A long standing dream - to build an earth chapel - the Gaia Sanctuary being built |
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| The blessing ceremony for the Gaia Sanctuary - April 2006 |
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| Constructing the roof - which will suport a native garden roof |
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| Tree planting local species along the Denmark Rail Trail - June 2006 |
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| A Green Skills project - the Centre for Sustainable Living (www.denmarkcsl.com.au) - Lou and Mick |
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| The Denmark Wetland Centre project - with its giant landscaped rainbow serpent honouring the earth |
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| View towards Stirling Range National Park - part of Gondwana Link program I am involved in |
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| Our local amazing biodiversity - I'm keen to see a new UNESCO biosphere region here in WA |
Below I share some snapshots from journeys within Australia in 2006
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| Dwarfed by a tree fern near Warburton, Victoria (March 06 while visiting Nikki in Melbourne) |
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| Avisit to Nomans Lake Narrogin to visit Janey and Michael's permaculture home |
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| Journey to Uluru - Lake Ballard near Menzies - with Camp in the distance |
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| A sculpture on Lake Ballard |
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| View of Lake Ballard with a Great Walk circle - an early morning modern art 'happening' ! |
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| On Great Walk to Uluru - Being shown a rock water hole by an Anangu woman |
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| With the Great Walk at Katajuta near Uluru, Central Australia July 2006 |
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| Camping at near Wellstead along WA's south coast - rustic shed on dunes |
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| The rustic corrugated iron ressembling a sattelite view of the outback Australia |
That's all for the moment, folks ! I do hope to hear whats been happening in your neck of the woods.
Basil
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| One of the projects I coordinate for Green Skills - the Denmark to Nornalup Heritage Rail Trail |
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Denmark to Nornalup Rail Trail Project. This is one of the projects that keep me distracted - so far over 47km of track available
for cyclists, horseriders and walkers. See http://www.railtrails.org.au/states/trails.php3?action=trail&trail=101
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| Never fear - its only a carpet python snake - quite harmless |
Something very new and good this year is discovering Nikki-
Below are photos of this special new person in my life
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| Introducing Nikki, taking photos of flowers in the Stirlings - June 06 |
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| Nikki in Melbourne at an international school art exhibition |
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| Nikki outside the St Kilda Amusement Park, Melbourne |
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| Nikki and I out exploring Victoria |
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| Nikki at a Heildelburg Art Trail Sign beside the Yarra River, Melbourne |
I'm lucky to have good friends and community around me -
Here are just a few of the people special to me.....
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| Richard Keasey, my North American friend and Vietnam Vet |
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| Jason and Maren out hiking on WA's south coast |
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| A Jewish Shabbat dinner at my home,with Margaret, Grace & Danielle, a Canadian Servas guest |
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| A community Jewish Passover Seder at Sarah's home in Denmark |
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| Two important folk in my life - my dad Stan, and aunt Beryl, shown here on a visit down south |
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| Margaret Whittle and Fran Newman (wwoofer) at a Denmark lookout August July 2006 |
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| Michael, Janey and Jarrah at Nomans Lake, Narrogin |
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| Janey's daughter Melody with the tame herd of amazing Brahmin cattle |
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| The Denmark music choir I belong to performing at at Denmark concert. |
Building Peace in the World-
Perhaps like you, I have been deeply concerned about the war mongering of Western leaders, including those of the Australian
Government. I have also been upset that more Jewish people and organisations around the world are not critising the Israeli
Government for its actions against Lebanon - I believe that no Jewish person should stay silent in the face of the injustices
committed by the Israeli Government against the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Below is and excerpt from the classic book
The Prophet, by Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran
"And an orator said, Speak to us of Freedom.
And he answered: At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and workship your own freedom...And
what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?.......If it is a despot you would dethrone
see first that his throne within you is destroyed.... And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your
heart and not in the hand of the feared..."
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