The Union Jack was raised during an Armistice celebration in Canungra, 30 November 1918. (John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, image number 12930)

The streets in Rockhampton were crowded for an
Armistice parade, 1918. (John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, image number 69000)

Queensland Railways employees proudly carried a banner at an Armistice procession through Brisbane, 29 November 1918. (John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, image number 7729-0001-0037)

The tradition of stopping at 11am started on the very first Armistice Day in 1919, and continues to this day. It was initially suggested by an Australian journalist living in London, and was made official with a proclamation by King George V. His Majesty requested that “...all locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead.”

Communities continued to mark the Armistice anniversary each year. However, following the Second World War it was agreed that the focus should be on all those who died in service of their country (not just the servicemen of the First World War). The day was subsequently renamed Remembrance Day, but its traditions were largely unchanged.

Many will recognise the blood-red poppy as a symbol of remembrance, for it is worn on Remembrance Day and at other commemorative events throughout the year. This tradition has its origins during the First World War and inspired by the fields of poppies that grew in the battle-ravaged fields of the Western Front. In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground.

After attending the funeral of friend and fellow soldier who died in the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote the touching and enduring poem In Flanders Fields. It has since become one of the most popular and quoted poems of the First World War.

Moved by Lieutenant Colonel McCrae’s words, in 1918 an American YMCA member Moina Michael vowed she would always wear a red poppy to honour the men and women who fought and helped in the war.

She began sourcing and crafting silk poppies for others, and worked tirelessly to share her passion with anyone who would listen. With the help of organisations such as the American Legion and people like Anna Guérin, a French YMCA secretariat, they took the idea further by selling poppies to raise money for veterans, their widows, orphans, and families.

The loss of a spouse is a life-changing experience – particularly so when you have been married for nearly fifty years. It is sadly not an uncommon experience and one of the biggest challenges is for the surviving spouse to adapt to a completely different life.

Jane Rees of Merton Avenue had just that experience in July 2017 when her beloved husband Mike passed away suddenly. After many years of caring for him, she found herself with time and a need to discover new challenges. Jane returned to many of her favourite past times including gardening and reading, but there was still that space in her life. Jane decided to follow a crazy dream and began to swim. She signed up at the local gym and swam initially for a short period and eventually built up to the long 4km sessions she swims every day of the week now. Jane also added in gym sessions to build up swimming strength, but the dream didn’t end there.

In October 2017, Jane swam her first open water swim, a Midmar qualifier at Cradle Moon in Muldersdrift. She went on to swim a number of other swims including one at Buffelspoort before she completed her first aQuelle Midmar Mile in 2018. Jane also participated at SA Masters Nationals in March 2018 where she won a bronze medal. At the recent Dischem Sun City Swim in October 2018, Jane was placed third in her age category for the mile swim.

Swimming has been an incredible journey for Jane with health benefits and much success in the pool and open water events. The best aspect is arguably the friends that she has made along the way – friends like Rita and Francois Burger and others who live in the Arcadia community. It is an incredible testimony to our community that there is so much support and encouragement to be found here and if you are ever looking for an adventure when life changes unexpectedly, there are many places to find it and many friendships that await you.

For the first time in history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities. By 2050, this number is expected to increase to 66 percent. The shift from rural to urban areas, mainly in Africa and Asia, is due to poverty and related socio-economic factors.

For the most part, the rapid expansion of cities takes place without any land use planning strategy and the resulting human pressure has highly damaging effects on forests, landscapes, as well as green areas in and around cities. The environmental impacts of urbanization are often intensified by climate change and include increased pollution, decreased availability of food and resources, as well as increased poverty and frequency of extreme climatic events.

Urban trees can help to mitigate some of the negative impacts and social consequences of urbanization, and thus make cities more resilient to these changes. Here are nine ways in which urban trees and forests contribute to making cities socio-economically and environmentally more sustainable:

1  Trees can contribute to the increase of local food and nutrition security, providing food such as fruits, nuts and leaves for both human consumption and fodder. Their wood, in turn, can be used for cooking and heating.

2  Trees play an important role in increasing urban biodiversity, providing plants and animals with a favourable habitat, food and protection.

3  A mature tree can absorb up to 150 kg of CO2 per year. As a result, trees play an important role in climate change mitigation. Especially in cities with high levels of pollution, trees can improve air quality, making cities healthier places to live in.

4  Strategic placement of trees in cities can help to cool the air between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, thus reducing the urban “heat island” effect, and helping urban communities to adapt to the effects of climate change.

5  Large trees are excellent filters for urban pollutants and fine particulates. They absorb pollutant gases (such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and sulphur oxides) and filter fine particulates such as dust, dirt or smoke out of the air by trapping them on leaves and bark.

6  Research shows that living in close proximity of urban green spaces and having access to them, can improve physical and mental health, for example by decreasing high blood pressure and stress. This, in turn, contributes to the well-being of urban communities.

7  Mature trees regulate water flow and play a key role in preventing floods and reducing the risk of natural disasters. A mature evergreen tree, for instance, can intercept more than 15 000 litres of water per year.

8  Trees also help to reduce carbon emissions by helping to conserve energy. For example, the correct placement of trees around buildings can reduce the need for air conditioning by 30 percent, and reduce winter heating bills by 20-50 percent.

9  Planning urban landscapes with trees can increase property value, by up to 20 percent, and attract tourism and business.

A city with well-planned and well-managed green infrastructure becomes more resilient, sustainable and equitable in terms of nutrition and food security, poverty alleviation, livelihood improvement, climate change mitigation and adaptation, disaster risk reduction and ecosystems conservation. Throughout their lifetime, trees can thus provide a benefit package worth two to three times more than the investment made in planting and caring for them.

Planting trees today is, therefore, essential for future generations!

REFERENCES

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

http://www.fao.org/zhc/detail-events/en/c/454543/

I have been the street representative for Pine Street for many a year now. Since the beginning I decided to invite everyone who owns property or lives in Pine Street every year to a get- together to discuss any security concerns, make everyone aware of the current security arrangement we have with Quatro and for the opportunity to put a name to a face and faces to names within our WhatsApp group. There are a few regulars who always attend and then some new people who have moved into our wonderful street. At the last get- together we had on 30 September and we were some 20 persons in attendance. It really is heart-warming to see people who barely know each other have conversations about this and that whilst we all get to know a little about each other. It also enhances our sense of security knowing we can call on anyone in the street for help or assistance. Some are even suggesting we do it more frequently than once a year.

I challenge all other street representatives and streets to take the initiative and do the same or similar. It really is a worthwhile event every time and I believe more of this in Arcadia can only make our suburb better and a safer and a more pleasant place to live than what it already is. Our own recipe is simple: Start a WhatsApp group by collecting names and numbers of all in your street, decide on a venue, send out a WhatsApp message some 3 weeks before the event to all whom you have contact with in your street, provide some light snacks (eg. Cheese, crackers), ask everyone to bring their own drinks and then discuss general security and ask every one attending to give a 30 second introduction to themselves and where they live. Ask everyone to voice any security or other concerns as well say what makes them happy in Arcadia.

As a result of  successful gatherings of domestic assistants in Colbyn and other areas,  the Community Policing Forum of our area decided that it would be a good idea to duplicate this for ARRA members’ domestic assistants and gardeners. The meeting was held on 21 June 2018 at the Scout Hall in Beckett Street and was attended by some 30 domestic assistants and other workers in the area as well as Constable Tefu and others from the SAPS Sunnyside. The refreshments were sponsored by Quatro and Fidelity/ADT.

The attendees were addressed by the SAPS with regards to their personal security (2 incidents in Arcadia in the last 2 months) as well as what to do in the event of seeing suspicious persons in the area, being attentive to scams and criminals so as to reduce the opportunity for crime in Arcadia. The meeting was well received by all and everyone who attended feels more comfortable with SAPS and the security companies’ efforts and intentions of keeping our area safe.

The annual Halloween-Trick-or-Treat is definitely a highlight in our neighbourhood. The Scout Hall was abuzz with excitement on Saturday 27 October as all the little Arcadians arrived in their outfits ranging from superheroes to scary monsters, skeletons to fairies and so much more. Even some of the moms and dads dressed up and joined in the fun.

We divided the children into two groups according to their age. The residents of Arcadia never disappoint and gave so generously to the children. Their pumpkin containers, bags and baskets were soon overflowing.

Thank you to Erin and Laura for organizing the event and a very big thank you to all the residents who handed out treats.