• Primary school worm farming competition judging
• Installing & demonstrating worm towers
• Building a low cost compost heap
• Storing composting materials
• Banana circle demonstrations
• Weed teas and liquid manures
• Worm farm workshop by Promised Land Worm Products
• Tours of the Community Garden

There is heaps to get your hands into – Activities start 9am
through to 12:30pm on Saturday 12 May.

Remember to bring your water or morning tea, a hat, gloves &
sunscreen. Supervised children are most welcome!

Bring your family, your picnic rug and your dancing shoes!

A non-profit environmental organization, NCC has been successfully responding to the critical threats to our environment through our statewide network of members, staff and volunteers for over 60 years.

Every year, the NCC hosts a conference in a regional hub in NSW. This year, we are visiting the Coffs Coast to bring together a community of like-minded individuals to discuss a range of topical environmental issues.

We invite local councillors, community groups and members of the public to attend the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Regional Conference in Coffs Harbour, 5 – 6 May.

Registration is free, although we do ask for a donation to cover catering and costs. Please register on line.

Saturday will be focused on mining and gas. Starting with some great speakers, attendees will hear on the ground success stories from a number of grass-roots campaigning groups from across the State. A number of other guests and local groups will be invited to join us for these important discussions. In the afternoon a ‘member group only’ session will discuss these issues at more depth, participating in workshops around legal issues, campaigning, strategic land use and planning.

Sunday will look at threats from forest habitat loss, with a strong emphasis on koalas, discussing the potential make up and objectives of a NSW Koala Summit. There will also be a chance to learn more about the new collaborative NCC Healthy Ecosystems project. Sunday afternoon will include field trips, with final details to be confirmed.

“Like” us on & enter

the competition to win

Solar Panels for your house worth $7,700*!!

All you have to do is tell us “Why solar is smart” on our facebook page and one lucky household will win a top spec Sunpower 1.27kw solar PV (electricity) system worth $7,700* fully installed.

Competition closes 21 May 2012.

With the generous support of

*Recommended Retail Price before government subsidies or incentives, effective December 2011.

The Sunpower Solar Electricity system may be applicable for STC’s (Small-scale Technology Certificates) that are administered by ORER (Office of Renewable Energy). These STC’s will be assigned to Self Sufficient Homes. The winning customer(s) will not have any ownership of these STC’s if they are applicable.

The doco is an exploration of the importance of bees to our ecology and the fact that there is a worldwide disappearance of bees.

$16 banquet dinner starts at 6pm and film starts at 7.30pm. Bar available.

Trained energy experts will be working in Coffs Coast in April 2012 as part of a statewide program for Centrelink and Veterans’ Affairs cardholders, as well as social housing tenants and energy utility hardship customers. You simply book an appointment (phone 1300 662 416), they come to you and do a free in-home power assessment, give you an energy saving pack worth $200 and a tailored Power Savings Action Plan.

The kit contains practical items to help people start saving straight away, such as a standby saver power board, energy efficient light bulbs, draught proofing, a water efficient showerhead, tap aerators and a shower timer. It comes fully installed on the spot at no charge.

By using the power savings kit and by following the advice of the energy expert, households can expect to save an average of $265 a year.

Energy experts will be working in the region in April. Call 1300 662 416 to book an appointment for them to visit your home. Visit
www.savepower.nsw.gov.au/freehelp for more information

The launch of the website on 16 March 2012 was a great success with the local community gathered at the school to check out how they can use the website. The Nambucca Mayor, Cr Rhonda Hoban, was there to support the project. Everyone involved in the project should be proud of what they have achieved with a little bit of seed funding and alot of community spirit. Check out the website www.taylorsarm.com.au.

By participating in this free, hands-on and innovative education programme, 31 Coffs Coast residents joined hundreds of others across NSW participating in similar challenges in their local areas. The aim of the Food Waste Challenge Campaign is to raise awareness of food waste, learn skills that help the environment – and all while putting more money in their wallets.

Presented by the Nature Conservation Council of NSW in partnership with Coffs Harbour City Council and the Coffs Coast Local Food Alliance and funded by the NSW Government’s Love Food Hate Waste program, the challenge workshop educated adults and children alike in practical tips and tools they can use every day to reduce waste.

The morning introduced the enthusiastic group to the scary yet eye opening facts and figures regarding the amount of food we throw away in NSW and on the Coffs Coast – with an average of 136kg of food waste generated per person per year in Australia; whilst the average Coffs Harbour household throws away around 1.6kg of food per week equating to 83.2kg per household per year.

The workshop progressed into how to plan meals, prepare a shopping list, what are correct food portions, and best storage solutions. Following a wonderful lunch provided by the Happy Frog, the local residents were eagerly awaiting their hands on cooking demonstrations including, creative ways to use leftovers (turning last nights sausages into a yummy casserole, or left over cooked rice into a Moroccan rice salad); how to make a delicious tomato chutney, and preserve surplus plums and lemons (making plum jam and preserved lemons).

Participants then did an exercise in groups where they were given a list of left over ingredients and they had to write a menu plan for the next two days – people were very resourceful and came up with some delicious suggestions!

The Food Waste Challenge was a very successful day, with all 31 participants coming away from the workshop having shared and learnt new skills regarding how to avoid food waste, saving both money and the environment. Pepe Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, said: “The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is proud to be working with Coffs Harbour City Council, Coffs Coast Local Food Alliance and the NSW State Government to reduce food waste in NSW.”

For more information contact Kirsty Fikkers or check out the Love Food Hate Waste website for recipe ideas and other interesting info.