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Welcome to the January issue of Sustainable Shellharbour. This month we have some great school holiday activities with ‘Rockpool Rambles’ and ‘Slithering Snakes and Miniature Dragons.’ We’re kicking off another great year of Nature Talks in the Library, with a feature on venomous snakes of the Illawarra. And by popular demand we’re holding a guided walk on a Saturday at Bass Point. Keep on reading for details!
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Nature Talks in the Library - Venomous snakes of the Illawarra
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Book through Eventbrite or call City Library on 4221 6222.
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Slithering Snakes and Miniature Dragons - Harry Potter themed school holiday activities
Do you know a Harry Potter fan who'd love to test their Parseltongue (snake talk), or see scaly creatures up close? Children of all ages are invited along to meet some Diamond Pythons and Bearded Dragon lizards at these free school holiday activities from either 10:30am – 11am or 11:15am – 11:45am on Thursday 17 January at City Library. Children are welcome to dress up in their favourite Harry Potter outfit. Places are limited and bookings essential at through Eventbrite or call City Library on 4221 6222. This free event is a partnership activity between Shellharbour City Libraries, Shellharbour City Council’s Environment team and Wildlife Rescue South Coast.
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Join our Environment team for a guided exploration of the rock platform at Shellharbour South Beach and look for amazing creatures like Sea Hares, Elephant Snails and Brittle Stars.
There are two free school holiday sessions being run – one on Monday 21 January from 3pm – 4pm, and another on Tuesday 22 January from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm. The activities are open to children of all ages, however parents/carers must attend and closely supervise their children.
Places are limited and bookings essential through Eventbrite. Please book a spot for each person who will be attending (e.g. for one adult and two children, book 3 spots). For further information contact Shellharbour City Council's Environment team at sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au or call on 4221 6111
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Exploring Bass Point
Come and join our Environment Team on a free guided walk exploring Bass Point on Saturday 2 February from 1pm- 4pm. Discover the amazing biodiversity of the intertidal rock platform and see the unusual plants and animals that call this environment home. This is a medium grade walk, aimed at adults and older children. Participants must have a good level of fitness and agility as there is some rock hopping, rock scrambling and walking a distance on uneven surfaces. Children aged over 8 years are welcome if they are supervised by an adult.
Places limited and bookings essential through Eventbrite. Please book a spot for each person who will be attending (e.g. for two adults and one children, book 3 spots). For further information contact Shellharbour City Council's Environment team at sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au or call on 4221 6111.
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Small Environmental Projects Fund recipients announced
Council's Small Environmental Projects Fund helps the community to learn about our local environment and develop skills to undertake environmental projects in the Shellharbour Local Government Area.
As part of the 2018/2019 round of the Small Environmental Projects Fund local community groups, organisations and educational institutions were invited to submit applications to participate in Animal Shows, Butterfly House and Creepy Creatures workshops. We’d like to thank all the groups that submitted applications and congratulate the following successful applicants:
- All Saints Preschool
- Alunga Children’s Centre
- Big Fat Smile Shellharbour Early Learning Centre
- Chillawong Child Care Centre
- Dynamic Learners Early Learning Centre
- Early Years Care
- Illawarra Academy of Learning – Mt Warrigal
- Koninderie Community Based Preschool
- Lake Illawarra South Public School
- Pelican Preschool
- Peterborough School
- Tongarra Road Preschool and Early Learning Centre
- Warilla Baptist Preschool
- Warilla Preschool and Occasional Care Centre
The next round of the Small Environmental Projects Fund is anticipated to open again in July 2019. For further information on the Small Environmental Projects Fund please contact Council's Environment Team on 4221 6111 or email sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au
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Sustainable Shellharbour 2018 highlights
Did you know that in 2018 our Sustainable Shellharbour program delivered 51 talks, walks and activities, involving 4,408 people?
A highlight was holding our first Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition, which received over 200 fantastic entries, and saw 150 people attend the awards night in celebration of World Environment Day.
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In July we launched a new ‘Nature Talks in the Library’ program in partnership with Shellharbour City Libraries, and since then have hosted nine expert speakers covering topics ranging from frogs to quolls and native bees. In September we held a series of special new activities for Threatened Species Week. An artwork of an Adam’s Emerald Dragonfly created by Skye Sinclair at our new threatened species children’s art workshops was selected as one of the 70 finalists from over 2,300 entries submitted for the state-wide Threatened Species Children's Art Competition. We supported national Fair Food week in October by hosting the regional Connecting Over Fair Food week event with 100 attendees, and had a special plant nursery open day with backyard food growing specials and workshops. We also ran guided walks at Windang Island, had workshops on fungi and nature photography and so much more!
Thank YOU for your support of our amazing program, and a big thank you to our many program partners that help make the vibrant Sustainable Shellharbour program the success it is.
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Sustainable Shellharbour plans for 2019
Our plans for 2019 include a stellar line up of Nature Talks in the Library, covering topics on snakes, whales, wombats, cicadas, macro-photography, koalas, backyard bee-keeping, environmental photography, native bees, fungi and more. We’ll be holding the Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition for the second time, and look forward to celebrating the winning entries with a special awards night for World Environment Day. We’ll have guided walks at Bass Point and Windang Island, special events planned for Threatened Species Day in September and loads more!
We’re making it easier for you to book in to our activities on-line. From this month you’ll be able to book into all our Sustainable Shellharbour events through Eventbrite.
If you have any feedback or suggestions for the Sustainable Shellharbour program, please contact us at sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au or call us on 4221 6111.
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Look out for lots of great Nature Talks in the Library this year.
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Hot tips to lower your power bill!
We’ve launched full steam into summer which means beachy days and balmy evenings. While many of us welcome the temperature rise, one thing we want to keep from rising is our power bill! The Switched on Homes guide to energy efficiency in the home has 50 great tips to lowering your household energy use.
From turning off your appliances at the wall to embracing outdoor barbeques to heat up the house less, we bet there’s some ideas that you haven’t heard yet! Check it out online here.
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Plant in the veggie garden now
Summer loving plants to grow now include:
· Basil
· Cherry tomatoes
· Eggplant
· Corn (remember you need to plant at least 6 corns plants close together for a good corn crop).
In this hot weather, a good layer of mulch and regular watering will help your veggies thrive. Sugar cane mulch, sold at Council's Nursery, is a great mulch option for veggie beds.
If you're keen to add veggies and herbs to your garden, head on into Council's Nursery on River Oak Place, Oak Flats, or contact them on 4221 6191 or at nursery@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au. They're open Monday to Friday 7.30am to 3.45pm (except public holidays), with special Saturday openings throughout the year. Everyone is welcome — not just Shellharbour City Council ratepayers. Staff are happy to help you with advice on what to plant when, what’s easy to grow, what can be grown in a pot and how to prepare your soil for the next crop.
For information on food gardening ideas check out Council's Grow Local Illawarra Edible Garden Guide on Council’s website. Don’t forget you can also borrow great gardening magazines like ABC Organic Gardener from the library or free on-line if you are a Shellharbour City Libraries member.
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BushCare and LandCare
Shellharbour City Council's BushCare and LandCare volunteer groups provide an incredible service greening our city and improving the local environment. Why not join in a working bee and see what it's all about?
- Oakey Creek BushCare meets in Oak Flats fortnightly on Wednesdays. Come and join them on the 2nd, 16th and 30th of January from 9am – 12pm. Contact Council on 4221 6111 for details.
- Tullimbah LandCare will meet on Saturday 19th of January from 8am -10am at Elizabeth Brownlee Reserve (end of Digby Close, Albion Park). Contact Ruth Jenkins for details on 0402027221.
- Currambene Reserve BushCare meets fortnightly on Saturdays in Flinders. Join them this month on Saturday the 5th and 19th of January from 9am – 12pm. Contact Council on 4221 6111 for details.
- Blackbutt BushCare has scheduled the third Sunday of each month for regular working bees in Blackbutt Reserve. The next working bee is on Sunday 20th January. Please ring Tony Hepworth on 4297 6490 to be advised of future meeting places and times.
- The Watercourse BushCare at Albion Park normally meets on the second Sunday of each month from 9.30am until 12:30pm on Campaspe CCT Albion Park. There will be no working bee in January but they are scheduled to meet again on Sunday 10th February. For more details, please contact Council on 4221 6111.
- Koona Bay BushCare meets on the first Sunday of each month. They will not be meeting in January due to the holidays. For details about further working bees please contact Council on 4221 6111.
- Warilla Dunes BushCare group meets adjacent to the surf club along Osborne Parade. Contact Council on 4221 6111 for details of the next working bee.
If you are keen to start a BushCare group to help look after your local patch, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact Council's Bush Regeneration team on 4221 6111.
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Our Keep Cup program has come to an end and we want to share with you how you have helped divert disposable cups from going to landfill.
We have provided over 500 keep cups to the residents of Shellharbour. Your decision to Choose to Reuse has diverted hundreds of disposable cups from landfill.
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