About MotHs
Raising awareness, connecting mothers, supporting research and promoting local businesses since 2015.
Our Vision
Our vision is a future where mothers and families are connected, supported and empowered to overcome common challenges and thrive in a hills community.
Our Mission
Our mission is to support the wellbeing of mothers in the hills by creating a blended online and face-to-face community in which mothers connect and thrive.
What is the Moths Association?
Mums of the Hills Inc (MotHs) is dedicated to supporting women through the years of motherhood, connecting mothers to services and promoting local businesses. MotHs was created as a local online private group in 2015. Likewise, MotH’s subsidiary groups including MotHs Market, MotHs Kitchen, Business Mums of the Hills, Single MotHs and LGBTQIA+ MotHs, are equally dedicated to the individual needs of our MotHs community. MotHs passion for supporting and advocating on local issues has been recognised online and off.
What sort of research and/or advocacy topics will you be looking into and/or solving?
We raise awareness and support research on the unique challenges that mothers experience living in the hills areas. Challenges include limited:
· access to local childcare,
· opportunities for family friendly employment,
· pram friendly infrastructure,
· availability of mental health practitioners and other medical experts,
· internet connection.
In addition, we advocate and support research on topics important to our community including domestic violence, education and natural disasters such as bushfires and storms.
Who Are We?
How long have you lived in the Yarra Ranges?
Our little family moved to the Yarra Ranges in 2015 after a few years in Melbourne’s West.
What are your interests/ what are you passionate about?
Community engagement, environmental awareness, gardens, gardening and anything to do with the great outdoors. I’ll gladly give anything sporty a go and you’ll find it hard to keep me off the dance floor too.
What experience, knowledge and skills do you bring to MotHs?
Having nurtured MotHs from its inception in 2015, I’d like to think I have a good understanding of what’s happening on the ground for mums here in the Yarra Ranges. If something is going on, I manage to find out. In my former life I was an event organiser so managing projects from conception to completion is my thing. My post graduate studies in environment and my current PhD research in disaster management also give me half decent research skills and a good understanding of the social and environmental risks our Yarra Ranges community will increasingly face.
Katerina Volny is a mum who has raised her children in the Dandenong Ranges over the past 20 years. She is a keen hiker and Psychologist with a deep belief that by working together as a community, we can support each other to thrive.
Dr. Leslie Almberg moved to the hills with her family in 2014. She is a volcanologist and Earth Science educator with an intense passion for sharing her deep understanding of complex processes with students young and old in an accessible and engaging way. Leslie brings her measured approach to dealing with complexity and numbers to bolster the MotHs committee aims and objectives.
How long have you lived in the Yarra Ranges?
Having moved to Australia in 2004 from southern England we moved from Richmond to Upwey in 2007 and had our daughter in 2012.
What are your interests/ what are you passionate about?
Feeling very alone and a world away from my family when I became a mum, I think it’s so
important to connect with others who can become your family and support network.
I think it’s so important for organizations such as MotHs to facilitate community events and
making sure new mums have access to all the services on offer. This is very important to me.
I’m also passionate about neurodiversity awareness, particularly female ADHD and how this can really effect the motherhood experience, and with the right support neurodivergent families can thrive.
What experience, knowledge and skills do you bring to MotHs?
I’d say I’m pretty practical and I am good at thinking outside the box! My artistic talents come in handy now and then too :) But mostly my lived experience, I’m out of the babydom now and although far from an expert of what to do ! I do understand how hard it can be ometimes.
How long have you lived in the Yarra Ranges?
We moved up to the Hills when I was pregnant with our first child, a short 37 years ago, drawn by the lure of bringing up kids surrounded by lots of trees and space and reasonably priced houses. Like many folk who move here it was a step away from the extended family and possible support networks however I have found the Hills communities have open arms and it didn’t take long to find like minded souls to build relationships with.Being involved in various community groups really accelerated this process.
What experience, knowledge and skills do you bring to MotHs?
In my experience arts and having opportunities to be creative has been the glue that binds communities together. As an Arts Manager and Community Developer I have worked on programs such as Bushfire Recovery projects with all ages using visual and performative arts to give voice to people’s experiences. During a brief stint working at Olinda Community House I met MotHs and recognised what a wonderful group it is - so many great ideas and different ways of supporting our individual parenting journeys. I’m hoping to find ways to contribute to MoTHs especially in the areas of wellbeing and the arts.
How long have you lived in the Yarra Ranges?
I moved to the Yarra Ranges with my partner in 2016. Prior to that, we had lived in the inner-North of Melbourne, but the draw of the trees, the mountains and the more reasonable house prices was too hard to resist. We're so happy we made the move and now couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
What are your interests/ what are you passionate about?
Anything and everything creative! My background is in theatre-making and live-art; and when I'm not wrangling my toddler, I still try to write as much as I can. I'm currently working on some creative non-fiction projects about motherhood and loss. I believe that the arts, culture and creativity are vital parts of the human experience and am passionate about arts participation and accessibility. I am also a passionate feminist, amateur baker and op-shop addict.
What experience, knowledge and skills do you bring to MotHs?
As a relatively new mother of a two-year-old, I am focused on growing, learning and discovering. I bring this recent post-partum perspective to the MotHs committee, along with a dedication for supporting and helping people during the whirlwind that is new motherhood. My work history has given me skills in community engagement and event management that help in bringing the MotHs events to life and helping connect MotHs members with each other. I'm also a sucker for a good spreadsheet and some well-ordered files, so am endlessly happy to take on the administrative and organisational tasks!
How long have you lived in the Yarra Ranges?
I moved to the Yarra Ranges with my partner in 2016. Prior to that, we had lived in the inner-North of Melbourne, but the draw of the trees, the mountains and the more reasonable house prices was too hard to resist. We're so happy we made the move and now couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
What are your interests/ what are you passionate about?
Anything and everything creative! My background is in theatre-making and live-art; and when I'm not wrangling my toddler, I still try to write as much as I can. I'm currently working on some creative non-fiction projects about motherhood and loss. I believe that the arts, culture and creativity are vital parts of the human experience and am passionate about arts participation and accessibility. I am also a passionate feminist, amateur baker and op-shop addict.
What experience, knowledge and skills do you bring to MotHs?
As a relatively new mother of a two-year-old, I am focused on growing, learning and discovering. I bring this recent post-partum perspective to the MotHs committee, along with a dedication for supporting and helping people during the whirlwind that is new motherhood. My work history has given me skills in community engagement and event management that help in bringing the MotHs events to life and helping connect MotHs members with each other. I'm also a sucker for a good spreadsheet and some well-ordered files, so am endlessly happy to take on the administrative and organisational tasks!
Mums of the Hills Structure
MotHs (Mums of the Hills) is not just an online group, it's an active community that has been making a positive impact since its founding in 2015. Our journey began with a simple goal: to support the wellbeing of mothers across the Yarra Ranges and alleviate the sense of isolation that can affect individuals, particularly mums. Over the years, MotHs has grown exponentially, becoming known as a space for connection and support for mothers navigating the challenges of modern life. More than simply supporting each other through these challenges, we’re working towards preventing them. The grassroots collective of MotHs online groups, under the incorporated banner of MotHs Inc.,takes the goal of ending isolation beyond the casual/digital realm directly into MP offices and beyond to the federal cabinet.
Become a Subscriber
MotHs goes above and beyond for its community. We advocate on the issues we see, hear about and directly experience within our community. Becoming a subscriber will help MotHs:
continue to advocate on issues that create isolation in our community including telecommunication, long day care, family violence, mental health including postnatal depression, and cost of living.
create workshops and events tailored to the needs of our community.
create and maintain useful hills-centric resources to support living and parenting in the diverse geography of the Yarra Ranges.
connect local families with necessary services.
maintain a place-based space for use by mums across the Yarra Ranges for connection, support, workshops and advice.;
maintain our online and place-based spaces that nurture safe and supportive cultures benefitting the whole community;