Wigglet

I saw a lot of interest in personal growth and betterment so this is the place to tell us what you're proud of and hype up other community members 💚

One of the things I'd like to include in thr community garden I'm working on establishing is a food pantry. I'd love to have a place with recycled containers to take home garden goodies, residents to leave extra dry goods, and things like care products/toiletries. I've seen pictures of them online and read articles about them but the closest thing we have here is honesty boxes.

Has anyone made one or used one? Do you have any tips? I'd love to hear some recommendations on practical designs work best or what products you wish yours had more/less of.

Now is a good time to think about a small way you can help, even it it's just making an effort to pick up some rubbish on a walk. For me, it's winter and I start to feel a bit down from the lack of sunlight hours so i like to give myself a very small and achievable goal that can give me a little boost of serotonin. Between winter bugs, storms, and work things, I haven't been getting outside enough. I want to make an effort to go walk the local reserves at least once next month and pick up rubbish. It's small but it leaves me room to do even more if I'm feeling up to it without feeling guilty if I only have one good day of energy.

What small things are you wanting to do?

I kinda understand it has to do with frequencies and the speed they can send information but I don't know enough to have a productive conversation with those that think it's mind altering cancer rays. Thats also what i keep running into online when I'm trying to find a dummy version for how it all works. I know I'll probably never be able to have a truly productive conversation with those types but i would like to have a better understanding myself.

It would be helpful to explain and frame it with radio and public broadcasting as well. to me, these are all happy information rays that send me thing i like but i don't full understand the technology behind it.

Thanks everyone this has been super helpful! Might try and make an info graph for to hang in my post box since I've gotten some crazy anti 5g flyers recently

After giving my first presentation at our local community council meeting I've come to the conclusion that the show is a real documentary. While my presentation went great (who doesn't love a conveniently located garden and free food?!?), there was heckling of other presenters for having the audacity to get university educations on the topics they were presenting and an attempted coup on the council board by a frighteningly large group of anti 5g truthers. Ironically, making and consuming videos over their 4g. My favourite part was the community theatre group rehearsing in the next room, giving the meeting a dramatic soundtrack. My partner has had to do meetings through work and said he has had similar experiences. It was all a lot funnier when I was watching it on a screen and not real people in my community but at least I can try to make some changes i guess 😅

Communities can only thrive when a representative group of it's members are pushing for change, don't let it just be fringe groups! In times with amplified hate, its crucial for those of us who have the time and energy to go to the monthly meetings to fight for the rights of those who can't. You don't need to be overly involved or start any projects, you just need to sign up, attend some meetings and vote!

Is it a favourite park or walking track? The library? Do you have a really fun festival that your community is known for? Tells us about it!

Every city should have a toy library. With limited space and limited income our toy library has been essential to my daughters playtime happiness. It's sustainable, teaches responsible toy care, allows her to try out new things and access the flash toys we wouldn't be able to otherwise. It also creates a sense of community from a young age. She sees her friends playing with the same truck she borrowed the week before and gets excited about taking home the castle toy she's seen. The anticipation of waiting for the next toy she's been eyeing brings Christmas-morning like joy all year round without adding to over consumption of new products that end up neglected.

Our toy library has things like dressups, large outdoor toys, play sets, baby activity centres, boardgames, and pretty much everything in between. It's been an equaliser for lower income families as their kids can have access to those motorised cars, the fancy pickler triangle/climbing sets, and name brand toys without actually having to buy them.

a quick intro on how to get started

It's such a neat concept that can make certain expensive services like lawyers or therapists more accessible. I could trade a few hours gardening, sewing, cleaning, or baking, for someone else to give me a hand building a larger project. It's a beautiful way to connect a community through acts of service 🥰

So happy so many of you are also interested in finding, sharing, and discussing new ways to better our communities! I hope everyone finds inspiration here and we all get to brighten up our little corners of the world.

I would love to hear from people about what is working in your community.

What does your community have or do that you think is going well? (Maybe its a neat festival. Maybe it's a community centre like a workshop or garden. Share the ideas!)

What small things have you done that you would like to do more of? (Cleaned up rubbish on the beach? Planted some trees? Helped with a fundraiser or event? Good on you, we're all proud! Tell us so we can all get motivated to go out and do the same)

What are you wanting for your community? (Maybe its helping with food insecurity, maybe its cleaning up parks or planting trees, maybe it's better public transport)

No task is too big or too small to share, this is a place of positivity and celebration ✨️

Here's an article with links to resources on starting your own library of things. It's US centric but still has good ideas I've been stealing for getting ours organised

Kia ora Beehaw 🐝

I would love to see a Community Betterment group where we can post about ways we are trying to better our own communities through things like volunteering, action, or clubs and share how people are going about either organising or participating in things like tree plantings, toy libraries, tool libraries, community workshops, community gardens, pushing for cycleways and better public transport and just generally making their corners of the world a little better. I think even though every area will have it's own legal system and regulations to navigate, hearing how people are putting together their proposals and grant applications, swapping tips on how projects are managed, fun ways of attracting new community members, and general do-goodery will encourage others to give it a go.

Even if it's just growing a little bit extra in the garden for the local food bank, picking up rubbish on the side of the road, or just making an effort to use the bus, having a supportive community encouraging you makes those little choices a bit easier. Maybe you've always wanted to do a little bit more for your community but don't know where to start. Maybe you already do some of these things and want to help others get started. Maybe you're just really proud of how something is done in your community. We might not be able to solve all the problems but we can at least try to make a few small things a little bit nicer.

It would just be so nice to build up a little slice of the Beehaw hive with some real honest community goodness. Put any naturally competitive nature you might have to best use, out shine us all by making the happiest corner of the world!

I've been wanting to get a proper microscope so I can do my own spore examinations to identify local fungi but it's been out of budget. This looks like a much more affordable option so now off to find some plexiglass and laser pointers at the dump.