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Welcome to the April issue of Sustainable Shellharbour. This month for Earth Hour we’re excited to launch the Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition for Shellharbour residents! We also have exciting details of an environmental photography workshop, and a Nature Talk in the Library on koala conservation. At the Tinkerage there’s a ‘Creating Collage’ workshop, and we encourage you to switch off for Earth Hour this Saturday. Keep on reading for details!
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Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition open for entries!
In celebration of Earth Hour on 30 March, Shellharbour City Council is launching the Wild About Shellharbour nature photography competition for Shellharbour residents. Earth Hour’s #Connect2Earth is a challenge to switch off during Earth Hour and reconnect with the natural environment.
Shellharbour City Council residents are encouraged to complete the free on-line entry form and enter the 17 years and under or 18 years and over age categories.
Thanks to our generous local sponsors, the fantastic range of prizes include professionally printed canvases of the winning images from PhotoMart, photography mentoring sessions with Kramer Photography, and photography tuition with click walk learn photography.
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'Sun Day’ taken by Liete Clemente at Windang Island was voted the 2018 People’s Choice winner.
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Photos can be entered in one of three themes:
· Native wildlife
· Landscapes and native plants
· Beaches and waterways
Plus there is a People’s Choice Award which will be voted for by attendees at the awards presentation at the Shellharbour Civic Centre on Thursday 6 June from 6pm. Save the date for this event, which is being held in celebration of World Environment Day. Everyone is welcome to attend and see the display of shortlisted images.
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Entry is open to Shellharbour City Council residents only until 12 May 2019.
For more details and the free on-line entry form, visit www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/wildaboutshellharbour.
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WWF’s Earth Hour, marked by going ‘lights out’ for 60 minutes at 8.30pm is on this Saturday 30 March. Council's Shellharbour Civic Centre building will be switching off all non-essential lights in support.
Earth Hour’s #Connect2Earth is a challenge to switch off during Earth Hour and reconnect with the natural environment.
To find out more and register your participation in Earth Hour 2019 visit www.earthhour.org.au.
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Visualising the Environment - A Reflective Lens on Environmental Photography
This is a special opportunity to join Alison Pouliot; ecologist, environmental photographer and author of the new book The Allure of Fungi on Saturday 11 May from 10am- 4pm in Shellharbour, as part of her workshop tour around NSW and Victoria.
This highly interactive workshop explores a wide range of environmental themes through an illustrated seminar, active discussion, image critique, demonstration of techniques and a practical field trip. It goes beyond the literal representations of ‘nature photography’ to address the thought processes behind creating compelling and meaningful images and visual stories.
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The workshop assists participants to improve the impact and interpretative power their images. In particular, it explores the visual tensions between aesthetics, ecology and conservation.
Signed copies of Alison’s book The Allure of Fungi will be available for purchase at a discounted price of $40 (cash sales only).
Places are limited to this free workshop, book on-line here.
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Nature Talks in the Library - Koala Conservation
Find out about the Illawarra’s koala population with Kylie Madden from the Koala Conservation Project on Wednesday 17 April from 6pm – 7:30pm at City Library. Learn about recent sightings of koalas on Macquarie Pass, the historic importance of Mount Kembla to the story of the koala, and koalas in local European and pre-European history.
Our Nature Talks in the Library are designed for adults and older children (8 years+) to hear firsthand from engaging experts working in biodiversity conservation, wildlife care and nature photography.
Bookings essential through Eventbrite or by calling City Library on 4221 6222.
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Image by Chris Fithall, sourced from flickr.
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Plant Propagation - Green Thumb gardening series
Discover the process of growing new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings and other plant parts. Learn some simple plant grafting and propagating techniques for cuttings.
The workshop will be presented by Shellharbour City Council Nursery on Tuesday 9 April, 10am – 11:30am at Shellharbour City Council Nursery, River Oak Place, Oak Flats.
This is a free event for adults, organised by Shellharbour City Libraries.
Bookings are essential through Eventbrite or by calling City Library on 4221 6222.
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Free Earthworks courses
If you are a resident of Shellharbour City and would like to start home composting or would like to know how to build your own worm farm, book into one of our free earthworks course today.
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Upcoming Earthworks Courses
Wednesday 10 April 1pm – 4pm
Wednesday 12 June 1pm – 4pm
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The Tinkerage is a community-use space for the making, repairing, and re-purposing of things that would otherwise end up in landfill. Come and join our creative, can-do, tinkering community behind the Revolve shop at Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot. The Tinkerage is a joint venture between Shellharbour City Council and Resource Recovery Australia.
Open for drop-in tinkering every Thursday and Friday between 10am to 3pm by a gold coin donation.
Email: tinkerage@resourcerecovery.org.au
Instagram: @the_tinkerage
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'Creating Collage' - workshop at The Tinkerage
Using books and materials that have been discarded, come and make creative collages with Angie Cass on Saturday 6th April, 10am to 3pm. Create a visual story using paper cut-outs and pre-existing printed pictures from magazines and used books. Fold, tear, cut, embellish, layer and assemble paper to make an artwork.
This workshop is free for residents living in the Shellharbour council area. A $40 fee applies for non-Shellharbour residents. Please wear enclosed protective shoes and BYO small paper scissors. Feel free to bring along lunch/drink too. To register contact Shellharbour City Council, Waste Services on 4221 6111 or waste.admin@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au. Participants must be over 16 years old.
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'Dark Fox' by class teacher Angie Cass.
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Aussie Backyard Bird Count results are in!
Back in October, we encouraged local residents to join in BirdLife Australia’s annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count and submit sightings of birds they have seen in the Shellharbour City Council area.
The results are now in, and show that in Shellharbour 121 people observed 6,524 individual birds during the Aussie Bird Count week. What a brilliant effort! An impressive 137 bird species were recorded from the 22nd to 28th October 2018.
The top three birds observed most frequently were Rainbow Lorikeets (1,118 counts), House Sparrows (667 counts) and Silver Gulls (573 counts). The Rainbow Lorikeet once again came out as the most frequently counted bird in Shellharbour for the annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count, having also topped the charts in 2017 and 2016.
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This stunning image of a Rainbow Lorikeet by Heather Morton, was a runner up in the 2018 Wild About Shellharbour Nature Photography Competition.
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These bird counts are a valuable tool for Birdlife Australia to fill a knowledge gap — more is known about Australia’s threatened birds than Australia’s common backyard birds.
Threatened species sighted included the Powerful Owl (one count), Swift Parrot (one count), Glossy Black-Cockatoo (two counts), White-bellied Sea-Eagle (one count) and Eastern Curlew (one count).
Well done to everyone who participated in last year count, and keep your eyes out for BirdLife Australia’s annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count again in October.
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Shellharbour City Youth Market
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The Shellharbour City Youth Market will be held on Wednesday 17 April from 4pm to 8pm at the Shellharbour Civic Centre. So if you’re 12-25 and you’ve got something to sell or a story to tell, this is your chance. We’re looking for performers as well!
The event is a great opportunity for young people to head along for an evening of live music, great food and awesome stuff to buy and get involved with. The market will give young people a chance to develop their entrepreneurship skills, contribute to the local economy, whilst promoting sustainability and youth culture.
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Plant in the veggie garden now
April is a great time for planting:
· Broad beans
· Snow peas
· Green peas
· Garlic
· Broccoli
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.
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BushCare and LandCare
Volunteers at Shellharbour Council's BushCare and LandCare 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 April 10th and 24th from 9am – 12pm. Contact Council on 4221 6111 for details.
- Tullimbah LandCare will meet on Saturday April 27th at 8am 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. 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 April 21st. 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, they are scheduled to meet again on Sunday April 14th. For more details, please contact Council on 4221 6111.
- Koona Bay BushCare meets on the first Sunday of each month. They will be meeting on Sunday 7th April from 1-4pm. 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. The next scheduled working bee is on Saturday April 13th from 8-10am. Contact Council on 4221 6111 for further details.
If you are keen to start a BushCare group to help look after your local patch, we'd love to hear from you. Please call Council's Bush Regeneration team on 4221 6111.
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In the neighbourhood
The events/opportunities listed in this ‘In the neighbourhood’ section are other free sustainability initiatives happening in the region. They are not managed or endorsed in any way by Council. If you would like to submit details of local, free sustainability related events for consideration to be included, please email sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au
Renew Illawarra Branch event - Sustainable Living and Adaptation Strategies for Homeowners, Renters and Apartment Dwellers
As renting and apartment living become the new norm, questions and challenges arise for owner-occupants, tenants and landlords looking to increase liveability and sustainability in the face of a changing climate. Join Renew Illawarra Branch to find out more about these challenges and opportunities at 6:30pm on Thursday 11 April at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus. Following the guest speakers, Renew committee member Carrie Wilkinson will summarise Renew’s own Renters Guide to Sustainable Living and invite audience participation in a wider discussion and Q&A session.
Find out more and get your free ticket here.
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