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.

Ebooks now available at the library!

NEW today!

The library has now added eBooks to its Overdrive Download service. There is a range of both fiction and nonfiction titles for you to select from.

Browse – Checkout – Download.

Enjoy immediately or transfer to your iPod, eBook reader, such as iPad or Kobo, and other compatible devices.

Locate directly at http://penrith.lib.overdrive.com

OR via the Overdrive link on the Library Catalogue: http://opac.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au

To checkout you will need to have your Penrith City Library card membership number together with your PIN [i.e. full date of birth – 8 characters – no dashes]

The popular audio download service will still be continued.

Neighbours Day - This Sunday

Good neighbours are vital to any community, but with increasingly busy lives we often neglect to build relationships with those living nearby.

Sunday 27th March is Neighbour Day to celebrate our neighbours.

Participating in Neighbour Day is easy: just say g’day to the people living next door, or make a special effort to introduce yourself to the older residents in your street and anyone living alone. Swap telephone numbers for use in an emergency and help us build a safer, more connected community.

Some other suggestions for getting involved -invite them for a cup of tea, barbeque or picnic at a local park.

The sense of community that comes from being connected with your neighbours can provide many benefits including an increased sense of security, particularly for older or vulnerable people and developing friendships amongst children and adults.

Enjoy NEIGHBOUR DAY on Sunday!

The Garage Sale Trail is coming to Penrith!

Rocky Elsom, captain of the Wallabies, is just one of the supporters of the Garage Sale Trail.

Need to clear out some of that stuff that’s cluttering up the garage or the spare room? Why not have a garage sale as part of the national Garage Sale Trail which is on Sunday April 10? It’s simple, just register online and your sale will show up on the Garage Sale Trail website and also in a map which will be printed in the Penrith Press – no need to put up signs everywhere! Best of all it’s free!

The first 100 garage sales to register across Penrith will also be eligible to receive a free pack which consists of a t-shirt, cap, balloons, and an information pack chock full of hints and tips to ensure you make the most out of your sale.

To find out more about how to get involved in the Garage Sale Trail, why not check out this quick video or visit www.garagesaletrail.com.au for more information.

The Garage Sale Trail is proudly supported in Penrith by Penrith City Council and Stocklands.

Earth Hour – Saturday 26 March, 8.30pm

Saturday 26 March will see both individuals and organisations from across the world stand together in a show of support for action on climate change. Since it’s beginning back in 2007 (right here in Sydney!), Earth Hour has grown into one of the single largest community driven sustainability events in the world.

We reckon the best way to get involved in Earth Hour is to share it with your family and friends. If you’ve got kids, why not have some fun with it? Use it as an excuse to go camping and set up a tent in the backyard or even put out some sleeping bags in the loungeroom. Play spotlight in the backyard or what about some board games and card games by candlelight. If you don’t have kids, there’s no reason you can’t invite some mates over for a barbeque and do the same things! Or how about a romantic candlelit dinner with someone special?

We’d love to hear about how you will be celebrating Earth Hour this year. All of the submissions will go in the draw to win a $100 voucher to online eco store ‘Todae’. To get involved in the competition email chamilton@penrithcity.nsw.gov.au or call Council’s Sustainability Unit on 4732 7803 and let us know what you’re doing for Earth Hour – make sure you include your contact details in case you win!

This year the message for Earth Hour is to ‘go beyond the hour’ – this is a good as time as any to take that next ‘sustainability step’ you’ve been thinking about taking for a while. Not sure where to start? Earth Hour have a bunch of suggestions on things you can do:

http://www.earthhour.org.au/take-action/take-action-beyond-the-hour/

If you’re unsure about what impact that little step that you’re taking will have, just imagine how far the world would come if the millions of people across the world who participate in Earth Hour took a similar step as well?

For more information on Earth Hour itself, please visit www.earthhour.org.au/

Penrith free shuttle bus service

The free Penrith Shuttle Bus runs every 15 minutes, seven days a week.

Monday to Friday
Between 9.00am and 2.30pm
Saturday and Sunday
Between 9.00am and 5.30pm

The free 787 Shuttle Bus is a great way to get around Penrith – it’s fast, free and easy to find. The Penrith free Shuttle Bus will operate on a continuous loop around the city centre – connecting the train station and transport interchange with local shops, the TAFE, entertainment and community hubs. You don’t need a ticket or a timetable – just look out for the green bus and jump on board.

For more information visit
www.131500.com.au or call 131500.

NRMA Community Grants

The NRMA have announced funding for improving our communities, with funding of up to $5000 available for a project. Funding is available for the key areas of crime prevention, road safety, emergency readiness and response, and the environment. To find out more about the funding and how to apply, please click the link below: