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Rodd provides the weekly astronomy update and news for South West Victoria, plus shares information about the Winter Solstice.

Liza Freddi let's everyone know about the upcoming Bush Dance at the Forrest Hall.Tickets available at https://events.humanitix.com/forrest-bush-dance

Mia from Crimestoppers Victoria discusses protecting your vehicle from theft and damage.Links mentioned in this podcast include https://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/report-a-crime/ and https://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/car-theft-prevention/

Rodd provides the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria, shares some space news and information about the planet Venus.

Mia from Crimestoppers Victoria discusses ways to prevent graffiti and report it. https://www.police.vic.gov.au/preventing-and-removing-graffitihttps://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/report-a-crime/

Jack Hodgins, who is writing a book about the largest annual music event in the country from 1966 until 1972, chats to Jof about the Hoadley Battle of the Sounds.If you have any information that can be passed on, please contact Jack via jackhodgins67@gmail.com

Matthew Tossolini, Head of Motoring events at the Royal Flying Doctor Service chats about the Outback Car Trek which will be rolling into Apollo Bay on Tuesday 2nd of June as part of its 2026 journey through regional Victoria and Tasmania.For further details please visit https://www.outbackcartrek.com.au/

Rodd presents the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria, plus provides some space news.Share your feedback at https://www.facebook.com/groups/281773288323000

Liz Bishop chats to Jof at the end of the 2026 Colac Volunteer Expo, sharing some successes from the day, as well as what's coming up.

Clare from the Colac and District Family History Group chats to Jof about a virtual vemorialisation pilot which will share 200 stories from the Almost Forgotten collection, available through a free mobile app. Visitors will be able to download the app and, as they move through the cemetery, view stories connected to grave locations.Further details available at https://www.colacfamilyhistory.org.au/projects/

Heather from the Colac Evening View Club discusses local volunteering opportunities and fundraising at the 2026 Colac Volunteer Expo.Further information available at https://www.facebook.com/colaceveningviewclub

Robyn Alexander chats to Jof at the 2026 Colac Volunteer Expo about funding local projects and volunteering opportunities with the Meriba Service Club.Further details available at https://www.facebook.com/p/Meriba-Service-Club-of-Colac-61566182985399/

Dan Zapelli from Colac SES discusses volunteering and training opportunities at the Colac Volunteer Expo.Further details available at https://www.facebook.com/colacses

Janet, the Community Activation Lead for Let's Talk Colac, chats to Jof about different volunteering opportunities available through the organisation at the 2026 Colac Volunteer Expo.Further information available at https://letstalkaustralia.org/

Jonathan Graham presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo, sharing some of the volunteering opportunities available at OCR FM community radio station and how to show support.Further details available at www.ocrfm.org.au

Josiah Van Niekerk presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo about opportunities available through the Colac Salvos. He also chats with Jof near the end of the Expo about some of the current local projects.https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/colac/about-us/

Sue Schram and Ben Zapelli present at the Colac Volunteer Expo 2026, sharing volunteer opportunities as part of the local Rotary Clubs. Ben also chats with Jof about the upcoming merger.

Brayden chats to Jof at the 2026 Colac Volunteer Expo about volunteering opportunities with the Colac Kana Festival.Further details at https://www.facebook.com/KanaFestivalColac

Mairead O'Sullivan presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo 2026, sharing volunteer opportunities through Ed Connec.tFurther details available at https://www.edconnectaustralia.org.au/

Jonathan Graham presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo 2026, sharing volunteering opportunities at 2nd Colac Sea Scout Group. Further details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/2ndColac/ and https://www.facebook.com/ColacLogCabinHall

Sarah Evans presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo 2026, sharing volunteer opportunities at Colac Park Run.Further details available at https://www.parkrun.com.au/lakecolac/

Rachel Wood presents at the Colac Volunteer Expo 2026, sharing information about volunteer opportunities at Colac Community Hub Inc.Further details are available at https://communityhubinc.org.au/

Eppy from the Colac Lions Club chats to Jof about the history of the Lions and the community service activities they support in the local area.Further details at https://www.facebook.com/colaclionsclub

Ellie and Nicola chat to Jof at the Colac Volunteer Expo about the local disability advocacy group. Further details can be found at https://riac.org.au/our-services/r-a-i-s-e-your-voice/

Rodd provides the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria and discusses the ins and outs of radio telescopes.

Rodd provides the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria, and shares lots of interesting information about sun dials.

Naomi Lettieri from Anam Cara House Colac discusses the upcoming Palliative Care Week event featuring Dr Hannah Gould. Dr Gould is a cultural anthropologist and author of “How to Die in the 21st Century”, and will share insights into contemporary approaches to death, dying, and care, drawing on her research and public work in this field.To RSVP, please email liaison@anamcarahousecolac.org.au or (03) 5233 8203.

Emma Lawrence from Kids Alive, discusses the free CPR training launch to equip parents for life-or-death emergencies as drowning deaths have reached their highest level since 1996, with 357 lives lost last year. For every child who drowns, another eight are hospitalised following non-fatal incidents, often with lifelong consequences.At the same time, four in five (80%) cardiac arrests occur in the home, challenging the perception that emergencies happen where help is readily available. Injury also remains the leading cause of harm among Australian children, with more than 600,000 emergency department visits and nearly 89,000 hospitalisations each year.To help address this, Kids Alive Do the Five and Royal Life Saving WA are relaunching the online education initiative, The Heart Beat Club in 2026, a free, one-hour online course covering CPR and essential first aid for babies and toddlers, available throughout May.For further details and to register visit the Heart Beat Club website at https://kidsalive.com.au/the-heart-beat-club/

Rodd provides a weekly stargazing update, plus discusses the true length of a day.

Phil Gray talks about writing and starring in a play based on his recent road accident.Tickets available at https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1558201

Susan chats about the release of her latest album.Find all the details and tracks at https://linktr.ee/muranty

Camperdown Theatre Company director Warren Easley discusses bringing ‘Noises Off' by Michael Frayn to the stage.Tickets to the show can be purchased from Laffs, 163 Manifold St, phone 5593 1469 or online atcamperdowntheatrecompany.com.au

While accidents on the road might seem unavoidable, many can actually be prevented with mindful and cautious driving.  Mia from Crimestoppers Victoria some of the common causes and ways to avoid them.For further information visit https://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/

Rodd shares the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria, plus discusses the proposal of colonisation on the moon.

Rodd provides the weekly stargazing update for South West Victoria, plus discusses the Artemis II.

Isabelle Pilley discusses her entries at this years Youth Art Futures exhibition.

Evie McDonald talks about her entry in the 2026 Youth Art Futures exhibition at COPACC.

Sadie Harrowfield talks about her entry in the 2026 Youth Art Futures exhibition.

Victoria Mantynen from Little Pine Tree Productions chats about the upcoming Vera Lynn tribute that will be played at the Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery for the ANZAC weekend.Tickets available at https://www.trybooking.com/DFRCT

Beau chats to Jonathan about the local survey that has been developed to assist with future planning, that can be answered by local residents and businesses, as well as tourists who visit Colac.You can contribute to the local survey at https://colac-common.web.app/

Rodd provides the weekly stargazing update for South West Victoria, plus reflects on the Colac Otway Shire Earth Hour Stargazing session and shares information about light pollution.Here's an example of a light pollution map lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=2.58&lat=-28.7010&lon=133.8751&state=eyJiYXNlbWFwIjoiTGF5ZXJCaW5nUm9hZCIsIm92ZXJsYXkiOiJzYl8yMDI1Iiwib3ZlcmxheWNvbG9yIjpmYWxzZSwib3ZlcmxheW9wYWNpdHkiOiI2MCIsImZlYXR1cmVzb3BhY2l0eSI6Ijg1In0=

Gold-Coast based Special Olympics ambassador Ben Haack chats to Jonathan about his book Reason for Hope: A Parent's Playbook for Raising Happy and Resilient Kids — Hard-Won Wisdom from My Life on the Autism Spectrum, which will be released by the Belonging Forum on April 2nd.  The book draws from his own experiences living with autism to offer wisdom and encouragement for parents and families raising autistic children.To find out more about Ben visit https://www.specialolympics.org/what-we-do/global-youth-and-education/global-center-for-inclusion-in-education/benjamin-haack

Rodd provides the weekly astronomy update for South West Victoria and also explains some of the concepts of light and stargazing.You can join him this evening at COPACC for a stargazing session and more information https://www.copacc.com.au/WHATS-ON/COPACC-Theatre-Season/2026-Youth-Earth-Hour

Rachael Lance from WWF Australia discusses the importance of Earth Hour and Challenge 60. Earth Hour encourages people around the world to show their support for the environment by switching off their lights for one hour, this year celebrating its 20th anniversary.Find out more information at ⁠earthhour.org.au⁠ 

Mia talks about road safety and high risk driving, as well as road rules and penalties.For further information visit https://www.crimestoppersvic.com.au/report-a-crime/

Australian music legend Ross Wilson discusses his 50 Years of Hits Tour which is coming to Colac on Friday 27th of March.From Daddy Cool to Mondo Rock and as a solo artist with no less than 26 ARIA Top 40 hits to his credit as a singer, songwriter and producer, Ross Wilson is one of Australia's most awarded, respected and well-known artists. For tickets Fri 27 Mar - COPACC, Colac, VicSat 28 Mar - Ararat Town Hall, VicSun 29 Mar 4pm - Queenscliff Town Hall, Queenscliff, Vic

Rodd provides the weekly stargazing report, plus shares information about the Southern Cross constellation.