Run for a Safe Climate

Safe Climate volunteer and NU Energy representative Penelope Milstein is a prime example of community members pulling together to support the cause and bring about change.  It’s safe to say that the Run for a Safe Climate would not be possible without people like Penelope working behind the scenes.

Penelope says that she is in awe of the efforts of the team at Safe Climate Australia in bringing their climate change message from the one end of the country to the other.

“Safe Climate Australia has already achieved something remarkable with this unique event,” she says.

“By teaming up with the country’s leading scientists and experts, our ‘emergency super heroes’ have delivered the safe climate message to a large number of diverse communities of Australia.”

As part of a group of support volunteers, Penelope’s assistance has involved event management and set-up, and countless hours of preparation before the Run began on November 2nd. For the last four weeks, Penelope’s support of the runners has been tireless and she is always a bright and bubbly member of an energetic and co-operative team of support crew and runners.

Penelope says the Run demonstrates the power that communities can have when they pull-together as a team.

“The run for a Safe Climate has not only highlighted the power of co-operative team work, but also the fragile beauty of our eco- systems and the solutions available to protect them.”

Focusing on finding solutions to global- warming is something that Penelope is passionate about in both her personal and professional life.

Working with NU Energy, Penelope recommends that individuals and households contribute to a safe climate future by converting to solar power.

“NU Energy is Australia’s leading solar photovoltaic installer and has been helping Australians ‘harvest their own clean energy’ since 1985,” she says.

“Australia is incredibly rich in renewable resources, and solar energy is set to be a big part of our clean energy future.  NU Energy supports SCA’s science and economics based transition plan to a Safe Climate and congratulates the runners on an heroic effort.”

“From a personal point of view the Run has been a once in a lifetime experience and I’ve been grateful and proud to be part of it!”

Come and join Penelope to cheer on the runners as they make their final leg to the finish line in St Kilda this Sunday at 1.30pm.

If you would like to sponsor the runners or simply make a donation, please visit the Sponsor section on our website. You can also check for regular updates on our Facebook Fan page or follow us on Twitter.

Melbourne 14-19°C

Cloudy. Possible showers

28 days, 6000 km, 30 events and around 1 million blisters later, we’re finishing up the first ever Run for a Safe Climate by the foreshore of St Kilda. It’s been an amazing foot journey across Australia, we can’t believe it’s almost over! We’ve seen some pretty amazing things over the past few weeks that have changed our minds completely about climate change and the damage it’s doing to our country. But more importantly, we’ve seen local communities and local industries take the lead with effective solutions for many of the problems we’re encountering. We’re more determined than ever that our Safe Climate Transition Plan will be effective in leading Australia and the world into a future with a safe climate.

As we run into Melbourne, we’ll be marshalling locals at Portobello Café at the intersection of Kerferd Road and Beaconsfield Parade to run along the parade to the St Kilda Foreshore to our finish line and the end of the 6021km journey.

We have been missing friends and family so much but it’s been a great month! If you’re around St Kilda on Sunday come down to enjoy the free music and entertainment. Jason Kimberley from Cool Australia will be speaking to children of all ages about what is happening with our environment through engaging activities! We’d also love for you, your family, friends, relatives, and work colleagues, to be among the 2,000 people needed to form the human sign at 2pm in St Kilda. Perhaps appropriately, the runners asked for the human sign to say . . . 000 CLIMATE EMERGENCY.

We look forward to sharing some words, a snag or two and some well-deserved drinks with you so come on down.

Happy Running!

Kinglake 11-16°C

Possible thunderstorms

It’s the final day!!! This is so exciting for us. Our first stop today will be Kinglake, which is one the worst-affected towns of the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires. Despite all the pain and loss that people have suffered, we’re looking forward to seeing the new vegetation growing again and the town re-building itself, stronger than ever. Today’s focus is on fire affected communities and how we can be better prepared for future risks and climate trends. We’ll be welcome by Kinglake Mayor Lyn Gunter at Kinglake Village at 10am. One of our runners battled the Black Saturday bushfires and is available to chat as are the other runners so we would love to hear from Kinglake locals!

Happy Running!

Jake Brown is another member of the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade. He hoped his efforts on the run would change the mind of Senator Steve Fielding – a pretty tall order. He still has just under 300km to go to achieve this

5 songs on your playlist

Run like hell – Pink Floyd

Running up that hill – Kate Bush

Running to stand still – U2

King of pain – The Police

Walk of life – Dire Straits

How do you psyche yourself up before a run?

Reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

How do you maintain focus while running?

I wear glasses

Cotton or Lycra?

Cotton for class – lycra for later…

What is a simple action that we can do now to address climate change?

Harass your local member of parliament

If you had the ability to change the world, what would be the first thing you’d do?

Add more trees and ethics

Who would be your ultimate running partner?

John Cleese… or Jennifer Love Hewitt

Powerade, Gatorade or Water?

Water, always.

What meal would you love to have ready for you at the end of the 6000km?

Tiramisu choc top

5 words to describe your reason to run

Because we need to change

What’s your best excuse of getting out of exercise?

Goosedown doona

Car, bike or public transport?

Foot

How has climate change affected you?

It makes me worry more

How do you cool down after a run?

Local watering hole – be it the Murray or the local hotel.

What will you miss while you’re away on the run?

Tiramisu choc-tops

Shoe size?

42, 43, um 9.5?

Any bad habits your team mates should be warned about?

Exotic flatulence

What place did you most enjoy visiting?

Mt Kosciuszko

If you would like to sponsor Jacob Brown and the other runners or simply make a donation, please visit the Sponsor section on our website. You can also check for regular updates on our Facebook Fan page or follow us on Twitter.

Happy running!

The team with Steve Moneghetti

Hepburn 12-18°C

Possible thunderstorms

Kilmore 11-16°C

Possible thunderstorms

After a lovely run through Ballarat with Olympian Steve Moneghetti yesterday,  we reach the second last day of our long journey. We’re off to Hepburn today, home of some of Australia’s best natural springs and its first community-owned wind farm. We wondered how that works, the community owning its own wind farm but it’s a fantastic initiative to harness the energy needs of Hepburn Shire, who took it into their own hands to secure their town’s future. The wind farm will consist of two 2 megawatt wind turbines giving a total capacity of 4 megawatt of power. This will produce enough electricity for 2,300 homes, almost the number of households in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.

We’ll be running to the wind farm/Leonards Hill CFA for a BBQ sponsored by the wind farm and Leonards Hill CFA. We’ll be meeting with the community who started the wind farm initiative to highlight how collective community involvement can fight climate change.

From Hepburn we’ll be running to an overnight stay in Kilmore, one of Victoria’s oldest inland towns and was home to Victoria’s first Irish-born Premier, John O’Shanassay.

Happy Running!

My name is Andrew Kantor and I am a physiotherapist at South Melbourne Physiotherapy Clinic.

My involvement with Run for a Safe Climate was to provide physiotherapy support and injury management for the first 2 weeks from Cooktown to Sydney.

Planning for the run commenced 3 months prior and involved screening some of the runners for biomechanical issues that could potentially create injuries with the volume of running that was going to be undertaken.

An exhaustive first aid kit was required to cover blisters, cuts, sprained ankles, sunburn, insect and snake bites and well as a broad spectrum of safety equipment.

The days were extremely long with most starting bright and early at 6 am with formalities not finishing until around 9pm.

Trying to fit in taping, massage and injury advice amongst the seemingly endless number of kilometres spent driving and road running became pretty challenging.

Heading into the run I knew my role as a physio and that I would have my work ‘cut out’ for me but as for the climate I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

I can honestly say I didn’t expect to come away with such a wealth of knowledge ranging from local environmental issues facing the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree and Murray-Darling system to solution based renewable energy options.

The enduring memories will be of long days (and nights), teamwork, mateship, fun times but an overwhelming sense that we have the resources at our disposal to start making a real and significant change.

To lend your support behind the runners, you can make a donation on the Sponsor section of the website.

Happy running and see you on Sunday in St Kilda!

Paul Hayes is the Captain at the Beaconsfield Fire Brigade which was on the front line of the bushfires earlier this year. Let’s get to know Paul before we reach the 6000km finish line this Sunday.

5 songs on your playlist

Anything Cold Chisel

How do you psyche yourself up before a run?

Pre-psyched, ready to go at all times

Cotton or Lycra?

Cotton

What is a simple action that we can do now to address climate change?

Save energy. Simple.

If you had the ability to change the world, what would be the first thing you’d do?

Start putting the systems in place to make us carbon neutral.

What is your proudest moment?

The births of my 3 children, Rochelle, Mitch and Jack.

Powerade, Gatorade or Water?

Water

What meal would you love to have ready for you at the end of the 6000km?

Roast & veg

5 words to describe your reason to run

SCA video – had to come

Car, bike or public transport?

Public Transport

How do you cool down after a run?

With a nice cold beer

What will you miss while you’re away on the run?

Marion my wife, and my three kids.

Shoe size?

10

Any bad habits your team mates should be warned about?

Best keep some surprises for them!

What place did you most enjoy visiting?

Went on a stellar beach run in Robe.

If you would like to sponsor Paul Hayes and the other runners or simply make a donation, please visit the Sponsor section on our website. You can also check for regular updates on our Facebook Fan page or follow us on Twitter.

Happy running!

Running through Portland Wind Farm

Ballarat 15-25°C

Storms and Showers.

Yesterday’s run included a visit to the Portland Wind Farm where we learned that one turbine can power 1000 homes. Today we’re running a nice 200km to the city that started the Gold Rush, Ballarat. Over the past couple of years, the Ballarat region has suffered a major decrease in average annual rainfall with falls averaging as low as 400 mm (16 in) per year since 2001. So we’re going to run around Lake Wendouree with the local community to highlight the drying up of some our most precious ecosystems. We’re very excited Steve Moneghetti will be joining us to run through his town. Come on down and do a lap with us too!

Afterward we’re heading to Ballarat Grammar for a community engagement event to learn more about fire affected communities and how we can all be better prepared for future threats and climate change effects. We’ll also be listening to how Ballarat is rising to meet the challenge of global warming so we’d love to hear how you’re coping in our changing climate. Also, we’ve been doing a little bit of research on recycled water, we’d love to hear what you think about that.

Happy Running!

Yesterday visited the beautiful Blue Lake at Mount Gambier

Apollo Bay 14-21°C

Thunderstorms.

Weren’t we devastated when the London Bridge collapsed and became the London Arc? A sad, sad, day for all. We’re not actually talking about London Bridge in the UK but the old London Bridge made of stone that was part of the Twelve Apostles along the Great Ocean Road. In 1990, two tourists became stuck when the bridge part of the rock collapsed, leaving the tourist stranded on the arch before a helicopter had to save them!

It’s fairly safe to say that this accident was caused by erosion. But now onto our run. We’re chugging along 266km to Apollo Bay after yesterday visit to the stunning Blue Lake in Mount Gambier. Today’s focus will be on wind power and the impacts of global warming on Apollo Bay itself as well as the Otway Ranges and the Great Ocean Road.

On the way, we’ll be stopping off at the Codrington Wind Farm to chat to Lane Crockett from Pacific Hydro and then onto Apollo Bay where we’ll be meeting with Deakin University Professor John Sherwood who’ll present on the impacts of climate change on the Otway and Great Ocean Road communities. Some hot topics in this area are rising sea levels, erosion, fire risk in the Otways and the threat of global warming on the region tourist economy. Come on down and share your thoughts, we’d love to hear.

Happy Running

Paul Ovenden first joined the Run at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair for the Sydney to Canberra stretch before coming back for the Albury to Portland leg.

Paul’s first impressions of the Run were the camaraderie and the long days.

He has a lot of admiration for the runners, having been in Victoria during the Black Saturday fires which some of the runners had the job of attending.

“The runners are up at 6am to run; they then travel hundreds of kilometers, run again, and in the evenings they attend public events and media calls. I don’t know how they get up in the morning!” he said.

Born in Southwell, just outside Nottingham, England, Paul has been a photographer since 1998 in Sydney and London. He emigrated to Sydney in 1991, and went back to London for a couple of years before settling in Melbourne last year.

“During my time on the Run, I want to capture as much of the story of the Run as I can with my camera, both from the personal point of view of the runners and for its promotion on the Run website. I see my job as recording their adventures, as they are not in a position to do it for themselves,” he said.

Paul views the Run as an education process, creating awareness of climate change within communities and so far, he has found the experience of witnessing community engagement the most rewarding aspect.

“It fascinates me to hear the runners speak to communities about how they can make a difference and why they are running – for their children and their children’s children. I hope the Run continues to heighten my own awareness of the devastating effect of climate change on the Australian landscape. I am glad I can be part of the team for such a worthy cause.”

He also marvels at the huge logistical task of keeping the month-long event on the road all the way to the finish line Melbourne, where he will rejoin for the final leg from Kinglake to St Kilda.

If you would like to sponsor the runners or simply make a donation, please visit the Sponsor section on our website. You can also check for regular updates on our Facebook Fan page or follow us on Twitter.

Happy running!