We have agreed to host a talk at the Showgrounds Mens Shed by Prof Stephen Martin on the Varroa Mite and its impact on Bee management.  This is a flying visit to Perth and he is only available on the afternoon of May 30th.  The timing of the talk is still uncertain but we expect it will be for about 2 hours early afternoon. The talk will be open to the wider bee community in Perth so places will be limited. Stephen has studied social insects (bees, wasps, termites and ants) for most of his career. His areas of specialisation are the ‘hornet ecology’, ‘pest and diseases of honeybees’ and ‘chemical ecology of ants’. He holds a Chair in Social Entomology in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at Salford University, Manchester. Prior to that he spent 12 years working at Sheffield University, 7 years with the National Bee Unit and 7 years in Japan conducting research into hornets. Stephen is best known for his work on the Varroa mite a global parasite of honeybees and its association with viruses, especially the Deformed Wing Virus, but more recently his expertise in hornet biology is in demand, both nationally and internationally. His research funded in part by beekeepers aims to understand why some honey bee colonies have become naturally tolerant to Varroa and see if this information can provide beekeepers with a long-term solution to their mite-problem. The following link below provides one of his talks.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa56mUJSApQ

Come along for our Thursday morning clean-up of the shed and then stay and enjoy our famous SCMS scones with jam & cream!

Francesca is a Urology Nurse Practitioner with extensive nursing experience in Urology and has been a Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) affiliated Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse for over 12 years. Francesca completed a Urology and Men’s Health Fellowship at the Australian Prostate Centre in Melbourne in 2016.      Francesca completed her Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) and currently cares for general urology patients with a focus in men’s health. She provides management of erectile dysfunction, sexual health issues, continence issues and bladder dysfunction and facilitates the long term follow up of patients with urological cancers.     Francesca is an adjunct lecturer at Edith Cowan University. She is a longstanding advisory board member for Exercise Medicine Research Institute and Movember. She is on the expert advisory panel for the National PSA Testing Guidelines and is a longstanding committee member for the Asia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference.  

All Members who intend to be part of the Woodworking Group will need to complete this Power Tools Induction Training. There is a once off Cost of $10 for this Training Course, which can be paid when you purchase a ticket. Note: Members are required to complete the 'Yellow Dot' Shed Introduction session before taking part in a Red Dot training session. There will be a maximum of 3 persons for each Training Session.  If after booking, for some reason you cannot attend the training, please advise the Red Dot coordinator, Jeremy Wallace, on 0406927650 (SMS please), or email (jeremywallace5@outlook.com) as soon as possible, so we can arrange another session for you.  If you have trouble booking please contact Jeremy by SMS. The successful completion of the Red Dot Training is a pre-requisite to booking the Blue Dot Woodwork Machinery Course. Once you have completed this Training, your Membership Badge will updated to show a Red Dot and enable you to undertake any projects in the Main Workshop that utilise only Power Tools. 

Hello Cooking Class Sheddies I hope you will join me for the next class on Tuesday 26 May at 9am. We will eat what we cook and lunch will be at about 12.30pm. As previously advised, I have reduced the class size to 8 (plus me and my trusty assitant Sami) to ensure that everyone attending can get involved. If you would like to come, please book early ! We will enjoy a classic Thai Pad See Ew a stir fry of fresh wide rice noodles, chicken and various sauces. It is not normally hot but we will have some nam prik (fresh chilli sauce) on the side for those who like some spice. Several weeks ago Anthony Armson cooked a very good carrot cake for a Shed birthday (with cream cheese icing and plenty of walnuts). It was so good, I thought we might make it again in the class.  A fixed cost of $25 per person will apply to each class to cover ingredients. Beer and wine will be available for purchase on the day. Please purchase your ticket in advance. As always, I look forward to seeing you on the day. All the best Michael Henderson

It is time for our first Kitchen Team Lunch excursion in 2026. We are 'going Greek' by visiting "Yefsi at Attika" Restaurant on 279 Newcastle Street, Northbridge. This will be a feast of Greek-style Mediterranean cooking! We will gather at the Men's Shed after finishing the cleanup from morning tea and at 11:30am proceed to the restaurant with a few 'able' drivers providing transport. Depending on the level of interest, we may need 5-6 cars to take the other members to Northbridge and back. We have negotiated a food sampling price of $65 per person which includes a set menu of dips, appetizers (Meze), and meat-centric main including Chicken Souvlaki and their signature 'Arni Sto fourno' (slow-cooked roasted lamb shoulder) with sides which will be followed by a sweet finish (Loukoumades). Drinks are not included and, since there is no BYO option, we will cover the drinks costs from our group budget. I hope you will be able to join us for this memorable occasion during which we will celebrate our wonderful achievements over the last 6 months and hand out our Kitchen Team Aprons to a few deserving members!  Best regards, Werner + Michael.

Come along for our Thursday morning clean-up of the shed and then stay and enjoy our famous SCMS scones with jam & cream!

Our Kitchen Team will run an 'Artisan Sourdough' baking workshop over 2 days (Wednesday arvo and Thursday morning). This time, Chef Mario Properzi will be teaching us to make his delicious Sourdough Bagels.   For those who want to attend this workshop, please register via taking a free ticket. The maximum number of attendees is 10 - first come, first served!   For those who miss out, you will be able to smell and sample the 'spoils' of this effort if you visit the SCMS Kitchen on Thursday at lunchtime. Regards, Werner.

Come along for our Thursday morning clean-up of the shed and then stay and enjoy our famous SCMS scones with jam & cream!

Our speaker this week is Dr Grey Coupland from the Harry Butler Institute at Murdoch University. Grey is the local champion for the Miyawaki Forest Outreach Program that brings together environmental action, STEM learning and community participation to create Pocket Forests. Since 2021, the program has been recognised as one of UNESCO’s Green Citizens projects, a global campaign highlighting inspiring community-led environmental initiatives. Today the ‘Green Citizens’ network includes over 165 projects worldwide, and the Miyawaki Forest Program is proud to be part of this growing movement for positive environmental change. Through the program, students and communities don’t just learn about ecosystems, they build one together. The goal is simple - to inspire the next generation of scientists, environmental leaders and eco-warriors whilst providing invaluable new mini habitats, comprised entirely of endemic species, to support and encourage the return of threatened species, like Black Cockatoos, into densely populated areas like the Perth metro area. Grey has led the creation of more than 20 Pocket Forests in the Perth Metropitan Area since 2021. The above photograph shows the before and after at the Statewide Services location in Padbury. Rotary Swan to Surf Community Group and RASWA are working with Grey to create several Pocket Forests on the RASWA site. Volunteers will be essential to the success of this project and we encourage you to step forward and assist with the important project. Grey will speak about Pocket Forests in general and about her work to regreen the Perth Metro Area, one small forest at a time. For more info go to https://www.pocketforestswa.org/

All Members who intend to be part of the Woodworking Group will need to complete this Power Tools Induction Training. There is a once off Cost of $10 for this Training Course, which can be paid when you purchase a ticket. Note: Members are required to complete the 'Yellow Dot' Shed Introduction session before taking part in a Red Dot training session. There will be a maximum of 3 persons for each Training Session.  If after booking, for some reason you cannot attend the training, please advise the Red Dot coordinator, Jeremy Wallace, on 0406927650 (SMS please), or email (jeremywallace5@outlook.com) as soon as possible, so we can arrange another session for you.  If you have trouble booking please contact Jeremy by SMS. The successful completion of the Red Dot Training is a pre-requisite to booking the Blue Dot Woodwork Machinery Course. Once you have completed this Training, your Membership Badge will updated to show a Red Dot and enable you to undertake any projects in the Main Workshop that utilise only Power Tools. 

Please note that next month's  meeting is delayed by one week so that we dont clash with the Kitchen Group's (revised) date for the Shed Lunch. Our May Meeting is being hosted by Larry McIntosh who has promised to treat us to a range of Malbec not just from Sth America but also other areas as well.  It will provide us with  a good chance to compare how well this robust grape variety responds to different climes. As usual the night will be limited to 20 attendees so be quick to reserve a place. Stephen