Fifteen years ago, Sustainability Convenor John Lloyd joined Benalla U3A and found John Avery's 'Future Energy' class "right up my alley".  At the time John was building his house drawing on best practice principles for a sustainable environment, so there was much to share and talk about in the class.  The following year John Avery asked John to share the convening role, with John moving from joint convenor to convenor a year later. 

John convened 'Towards a Sustainable Future', now 'Sustainability', for 13 years.  On occasions, when busy on projects including his Presidency of the Benalla Sustainable Futures Group, John considered pulling back.  However, he highly valued the loyal group of interested class members who had come to know one another very well and delighted in his sessions (…despite having to occasionally remind them, 'Now, this isn't the politics class…', to prevent a discussion on an environmental issue becoming derailed!)

John's continued interest and extensive reading on environmental issues set the scene for each fortnightly session.  He arrived at each class with evidence-based articles from reputable writers to photocopy, distribute and discuss with class members.  During the Pandemic, John distributed these articles on-line to members before sessions, some of which he facilitated using 'Zoom'. 

After turning 80, further ‘down shifting’ was in order, but the U3A 'Sustainability' group remained high on John’s agenda. However, John and Freida have decided to leave the beautiful sustainable home in which they have been so comfortable - which must be difficult - to move to the Bendigo/Castlemaine area, closer to Freida's family.

Thank you so much for sharing your passion for a sustainable future, John.   Concerned that future generations will suffer from our inaction, you prompted us to consider, "What did you do once you knew?" inspired by a poem by Drew Dillinger you found particularly challenging
​
It's 3:23 in the morning
and I'm awake
because my great great grandchildren
won't let me sleep,
my great great grandchildren
ask me in dreams
What did you do while the planet was plundered?
What did you do when the earth was unravelling?
Surely you did something
when the seasons started failing?
as the mammals, reptiles and birds were all dying?
Did you fill the streets with protest
      when democracy was stolen?
               what did you do
               once you knew?

You once wrote "We need to make our voice heard, to fight for our world. We need to give hope to future generations. How will we answer our grandchildren when they ask, "What did you do once you knew?"  

Well John, there is no doubt that your great great grandchildren would feel very proud that you did everything you possibly could once you knew. 

Thank you for your passion and unswerving, dedicated contribution towards a sustainable future.
​

Beverley Lee

Safer Internet Day – ‘Play It Fair Online’, is a time to consider ‘best practice’ in internet safety in terms of our own online presence as well as protecting ourselves from online scares. The ‘Safety First’ online topic resources on Be Connected will continue to be drawn upon in 2022 and we will continue to regularly raise the issue of protection against scams—a topic at a Meet and Mingle presentation last year. ​

Protect against Scams

Be alert. If you get an email or phone call you suspect is not genuine:

1. Verify –Check using contact details you get from a phone book or independent online search.
2. Avoid clicking links – before clicking, hover your computer mouse over the URL (web link) and the ‘from’ email address:
   • If an email address doesn’t end with the company’s name and .com after the ‘@’ symbol, it’s likely to be a scam.
   • If a URL is different from the link description, it is probably a scam.
3. Take your time – many scams will try to create a sense of urgency. Don’t be rushed into handing over your personal information.
4. Consider your privacy – Only provide information such as Medicare numbers and credit card security codes to organisations you can trust. Requests for private data should ring alarm bells.
5. Report – If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your financial institution immediately.

​For safety on Facebook, see: Getting started with Facebook – note the recommended privacy settings.