Hosted by historian Lorna Hannan and a band of locals, Ruth Crow Corner is a drop-in space where you can meet your neighbours, quiz experts and throw up new ideas for how we prepare for climate crisis. This welcoming space is named after local humanitarian and environmentalist, Ruth Crow AM (1916–99) who showed us that great things can happen when we talk over a cuppa.

Since 2016 Ruth Crow Corner has provided a cosy nook for practical and thought-provoking chats about floods, heatwaves and pandemics. Now our attention turns to displacement and the changes that come with waves of migration and displacement.

Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September will be a rolling weekend of conversation and information over a cup of tea. From Monday 2 to Thursday 5 September spend time listening to songs of hope and displacement or add your own, watch videos about the sacred Djab Wurrung site, or message one of 70,000 trees in the Melbourne Urban Forest map.

Now is the time to re-examine the past, peer into the future and see what answers we can find together.

Ruth Crow Corner will run alongside a range of family workshops, information sessions and emergency preparedness activities run by Red Cross Australia, Emergency Management Victoria and other services.

Ruth Crow Corner schedule of activities – Sat 31 Aug and Sun 1 Sep

Sat 31 Aug

10.30am – 1 pm Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Hosted by Letina, Mitselal and Kidan. Start your morning with an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, an important cultural ritual passed between generations and a sign of welcoming and friendship for many. Free, just rock up.

10.30am – 5 pm Workshop activities & listening corner
Make your personal version of a climate-future home at our activities table, or cosy up on the couch and listen to songs of hope and displacement, or add your own. Free, just rock up.

12.30pm – 1.30pm Ruth Crow Table Talks
Hosted by Uncle Larry Walsh, Rob Youl, Callum Fairnie, Lorraine Siska and David Sornig. Bring your local interest, knowledge and stories about the waters of Melbourne to this intimate round table discussion as we re-trace maps, imagine our lost water history and discover how community plays a vital role in restoring our waterways. Free, just rock up.

3 pm – 4 pm In Case of… RediPlan Workshop
Peppered with real-life anecdotes and activities, Red Cross team up with artist Kate Sulan to run In Case of… RediPlan workshops offering practical and emotional ways for you to prepare when disaster strikes. Free, reserve your place here.

4 pm – 5 pm Ruth Crow Table Talks
Hosted by Maree Grenfell, Rob Youl and others. How will Melbourne’s climate crisis affect our urban forest? Bring your local interest, knowledge and stories to this intimate round table discussion as we explore the future, vulnerability, adaptation and importance of our trees. Free, just rock up.

Sun 1 Sep 

10.30am – 1 pm Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
Hosted by Letina, Mitselal, Kidan. Start your morning with an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, an important cultural ritual passed between generations and a sign of welcoming and friendship for many. Free, just rock up.

10.30am – 5 pm Workshop activities & listening corner
Make your personal version of a climate-future home at our activities table, or cosy up on the couch and listen to songs of hope and displacement, or add your own. Free, just rock up.

12.45pm – 1.30pm In Conversation with Dr Omid Tofighian
Join this intimate conversation hosted by lecturer, researcher and community advocate Dr Omid Tofighian, as he discusses the importance of translation work to open up worlds and share important stories, including Behrouz Boochani’s No Friend But the Mountains, Writing from Manus Prison.  Free, just rock up

3 pm – 4 pm In Case of… RediPlan Workshop
Peppered with real-life anecdotes and activities, Red Cross team up with artist Kate Sulan to run In Case of… RediPlan workshops offering practical and emotional ways for you to prepare when disaster strikes. Find out more here. Free, reserve your place here.