FREE Sustainable Living Community Workshops

Council is offering FREE home sustainability workshops for local residents. These are a great opportunity for you to learn more about how you can reduce your impact on the environment, and to save some money around the home. Booking is essential as places are limited. To RSVP please contact Council on 02 4732 7750 or ahewson@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au

Living with less chemicals
Are you concerned with how many chemicals you use in your home? Find out how to replace them with some clean and green alternatives.
Sat 7 May, 1.30pm-3.30pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Veggie garden in a box
Ever wanted to start a veggie garden but weren’t sure where to start? A veggie garden in a box is an easy and cheap way to get started, without all the maintenance of big veggie patch. They’re also perfect for those in townhouses or units.
Sun 8 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Home sustainability basics
Want to make your home more sustainable, but not sure where to start? Let us help you! This workshop covers everything from the easy actions like energy efficient items through to bigger things like solar and rainwater tanks. For renters it even covers how to approach your landlord about these changes.
Sat 14 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
St Marys Community Centre

Native gardening
Native gardens provide habitat for local birds and animals, and they don’t use much water either! Learn hints and tips to make your native garden both beautiful and healthy.
Sun 15 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Introduction to permaculture
Permaculture works with nature’s natural systems and cycles to achieve a low impact lifestyle. In this workshop you’ll learn about permaculture and how to incorporate it’s principals into your life.
Sat 21 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
St Mary’s Community Centre

Composting
Composting is a great way to recycle your own food and garden organic waste and produce rich healthy compost which your garden will love. In this workshop you’ll learn all the hints and tips necessary to create and maintain your own compost system.
Sun 22 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Worm farming
Ever thought about creating a worm farm, but weren’t sure where to start? This workshop is for you! Learn all the secrets of worm farming, and in no time you’ll be making your own dynamite fertilisers for your garden.
Sun 29 May, 10.00am-12.00pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Eco renovating and building
Are you building or renovating? Why not take the opportunity to make your home more sustainable in the process! This workshop will cover some of the ideas and principles you can incorporate into your home to make it more sustainable.
Sat 4 Jun, 9.30am-12.30pm
Penrith Library Theatrette

Plant a Tree and Remember Mum

This special community event welcomes people of all ages to nurture the environment and remember their mum with a commemorative planting.

WHEN: 9am – 12 noon
Mother’s Day – Sunday, 8 May 2011
WHERE: Manning Street Kingswood

Access is via Peppermint Crescent and Bringelly Road. Approximately 1 ½ kms from the Great Western Highway and Kingswood railway station.

You can either just turn up on the day or register by calling (02) 4732 8088 or email parks@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au to ensure we have enough plants for everyone.

Participation is free of charge

Support the environment and remember mum with a celebratory tree planting

Penrith’s Tale of the Garage Sale Trail

A number of households across Penrith participated in the first national Garage Sale Trail on Sunday April 10. There was a great mix of items for sale, with everything from vintage motorbikes, furniture, clothes, golf buggies and kids toys! The day had a great community atmosphere, with many people taking the opportunity to catch up with friends and neighbours as they perused the bargains on offer.

Personally I picked up a bunch of records and a very funky ‘70s ceramic lamp base in mint condition, and I still had enough change from $50 to grab some lunch on the way home – got to love that!

Here’s some pictures from the day.

Penrith Residents Clean Up!

E-Waste Collection Day
At the recent e-waste collection day held in Jamison Park, Penrith City Council collected 72 tonnes of electronic waste from households. More than 1000 cars came through on the day to drop their e-waste off to be recycled, and enough electronic waste was collected to fill 12 backyard swimming pools!

Chemical Clean Out
The Chemical Clean Out, hosted by Penrith City Council at Jamison Park, resulted in over 900 households having cleaned out their chemical clutter the right way. 35 tonnes of chemical waste was collected on the day, which has been collected for safe disposal and recycling. The event, held annually, will be next held in Penrith in February 2012.

Clean Up Australia Day
The residents of Penrith turned out in their hundreds to help clean up our environment at this years Clean Up Australia Day. Over 3000kgs of litter was collected from 53 different sites within Penrith City on Sunday 6 March. Cigarette butts were the most collected item, closely followed by drink containers and chip/snack packets.

Corner interactive: tell your story of St Marys

CuriousWorks invites residents of St Marys and surrounding suburbs to video storytelling workshops to weave together the stories of St Marys.

Join us and learn the skills required to produce high quality digital stories that will build dynamic perceptions of local people and places, past and present. No experience necessary, just a pioneering spirit.

The videos produced will be showcased in a public-interactive installation under the evening sky at St Marys Corner, where local residents can gather and interact with large-scale projections carrying stories of their neighbourhood.

Workshop Dates:
Wed 13th April, 3.30 - 7.30pm, St Marys Corner (Meeting Room 1)
Wed 27th April, 3.30 - 7.30pm, St Marys Senior High School
Wed 4th May, 3.30 - 7.30pm, St Marys Senior High School

Outdoor Screening Date:
Thurs 12th May 5.30pm - 7.30pm St Marys Corner Piazza

Workshops are Free!

Apply now, drop us an email at mark@curiousworks.com.au

Heritage Festival - Amazing Stories from Unexpected Places

Heritage festival is on and we have two events in the Library as part of this year’s festival:

Amazing Stories from Unexpected Places: Finding gems in Penrith Council archives - There will be two workshops on finding and utilising local government records for local and family history research. In these workshops, we will be revealing some of those amazing stories through the historical archives held in the Library’s Research Room.

When: Wednesday 6th April 6pm—8pm Thursday 14th April 10am—12pm

Where: Penrith City Library, Research Room

No charge
Tickets are limited.