Category Archives: Our Community

BUSH TELEGRAPH SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES – LOCAL HEALTH FEATURE

Bush Tele – Mt Colah Suburb in Focus

Mt Colah Local Businesses supporting the local community

The Bush Telegraph is a local publication that is always great at supporting local small businesses.

In March 2019 it ran a Mount Colah -Suburb in Focus:

https://www.thebushtele.com.au/archives/280319.pdf

Mt Colah Pharmacy is a proud local business to support this local publication and also the community.

Come in-store and ask our about these services today!

  • Free Blood Pressure checks
  • Medication Packing
  • Diabetes Australia Agent
  • Medication Management Reviews
  • Return of Unwanted Medicines

 

“SHOP LOCAL MOVEMENT”

Shop Local Movement –
Mt Colah Shops

Thank you to the Monthly Chronicle for always supporting the local communities.
This article in the Village Voice is about shopping local – “Shop Local Movement.”
When we shop local, we support the local businesses to keep that vibrant community hub that connects us all!
Photo of: Mt Colah Pharmacy and Post Office

Click on this link for the full article: http://monthlychronicle.com.au/2018/05/30/shop-local-movement/

 

MOUNT COLAH STREET LIBRARY

By Mariko Smith

Friends of Mount Colah (FOMC) is working on a number of exciting initiatives to launch in the local community which relate to our objective of creating opportunities for community building. Inspired by the world-wide “street library” phenomenon, FOMC intends to establish one in Mt Colah, with a potential location being Mount Colah shops, near the train station and bus stops as well the local school.

The humble street library creates a lovely social hub, promotes good ol’ fashioned reading and book reuse/recycling.

A ready-made, plain wooden box purchased from https://streetlibrary.org.au/ has been kindly donated to FOMC, and we are thinking about putting a call-out for expressions of interest from local artists for one successful applicant to donate their time and effort to paint a masterpiece as decoration on our very own Mount Colah street library. It is another way for FOMC to encourage community involvement and promote some great local talent.

We’ve been aware of some hiccups that other community libraries have experienced regarding concerns about how to operate them in public areas – but through people power and local media publicity, it has been encouraging to see that local authorities like Hornsby Council have come to recognise the value of street libraries in our communities.

It’s important in the spirit of this type of grassroots community initiative that communities feel a real sense of empowerment in being able to effectively operate these street libraries, unencumbered by too much bureaucratic red-tape.

KEEPING MT COLAH SAFE

 

 

 

Village Voice: Keeping Mt Colah Safe

Written by: Susan Low, FOMC Secretary

Sep 28, 2017

As I drive to work in the mornings, I like to observe the day-to-day activities of people around me. I see commuters holding their cups of coffee whilst waiting for the bus, school children running to keep up with their friends and construction workers building apartments along the highway.

I’ve been working in Mt Colah for nearly ten years now and there’ve been so many changes in the area – new faces that now call Mt Colah home and new business owners making a difference to our local shop precinct.

A member of the Friends of Mount Colah group mentioned he recently had to contact Hornsby Police to report a local crime. He was concerned about the safety in our local community. It made me think about Mt Colah and safety issues. How do we keep our community safer? What practical tips can we all use?

Here’s some useful tips I thought of…what are yours?

*Know your neighbours: if you’re just going to work or even on holidays, knowing your neighbours provides an extra pair of eyes on your home.

*Close your blinds/windows at night: the simple act of closing blinds/windows at night can stop people seeing your house and its contents.

*Improve your lighting: adequate outdoor lighting can be a beneficial deterrent to potential intruders.

*Know your local police: Hornsby Police are always available to help us at any time of the day. Please feel free to contact them with any questions or concerns.

A stronger more connected community leads to a safer community – good neighbours will look out for you and your family. Do you have an elderly neighbour or someone living on their own who would sometimes need some help? Perhaps you could go over and say hello and start up a conversation? Maybe have a cup of tea with them or organise a local outdoor activity? A safer community starts with you.

See Monthly Chronicle website: http://monthlychronicle.com.au/2017/09/28/keeping-mt-colah-safe/

 

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Written by Susan Low

On Sunday mornings, I enjoy browsing through the local newspaper. I often see words and phrases, such as ‘community’, ‘get involved’ and ‘your opinion matters’.  I read some of these articles and then flip to the Sudoku puzzle at the back.

Recently, I had a discussion with another member of the Friends of Mount Colah (FOMC) group about community ideas. She mentioned Mount Colah and the term “Community Engagement.” As I wasn’t fully aware of this term, I decided to look it up.

According to the Australian Government Institute of Family Services, Community Engagement is described as “people working collaboratively, through inspired action and learning, to create and realise bold visions for their common future”.

I thought about this definition and how it could apply to Mount Colah and the Friends of Mount Colah group. What was our bold vision and common future? I did some further reading and I found some great reasons why Community Engagement is so important. Here are just a few:

  1. Community opinions are important
  2. The more perspectives the better
  3. Community knowledge matters
  4. Inclusion in decisions often leads to better outcomes
  5. Individual and community empowerment
  6. Greater confidence for those in decision making.

The FOMC Mission statement is: ’Bringing the Mount Colah community together’. As a community group, we’ve been doing this by facilitating various events like the FOMC & Hornsby Connect Christmas Appeal’, and most recently by hosting ‘Mount Colah’s Biggest Morning Tea May 2017’. These events have been well-received – but despite this recognition, I kept asking myself: “How can we do more for our neighbourhood and community?”

We need your help. We need your opinions. We need your community knowledge. The more you’re included in the decisions that the FOMC group has in their future initiatives, the more that we can work to bring the Mount Colah community together.

If you have any ideas or thoughts about anything related to living in Mt Colah or for more information about FOMC, attend one of our meetings, visit our Facebook page or send us an email: friends.of.mtcolah@gmail.com.

See Monthly Chronicle website: http://monthlychronicle.com.au/2017/08/25/community-engagement/

CONCERNED CITIZENS OF MT COLAH