Hi Landcarer’s

Landcare have heaps of opportunities for your to be involved in activities and workshops over the next few months.

We are pleased to be hosting DrumMUSTER Training on Monday, 25 March between 11am and 3pm for existing and new DrumMUSTER inspectors. We are fortunate to have a lovely bunch of volunteers who help to process drumMUSTER containers at Parkes Waste Depot. We are excited that Parkes Shire Council and DrumMUSTER are supporting the Alectown community to undertake DrumMUSTER collections as well. This training will be another step in enabling collections and recycling of containers as a result, to avoid additional landfill.

RSVP for the training is essential. For further details and to book, please RSVP to me. Details below.

We are also fortunate to be delivering a series of Pest Management Workshops in the Parkes and Forbes Shires with a focus on awareness raising and training in three key areas: Feral Pigs; Blue Heliotrope and Weeds in the Central West. If you are part of a community group that is interested in holding a workshop in your area, please contact me ASAP.

These workshops will be run under the Managing Established Pest Animals and Weeds Project (MEPAAW) facilitated by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) with funding received from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

The broad outcome of the project component is being delivered by Landcare NSW Inc to engage farmers and other stakeholders in best practice pest and weed management activities.

As previously mentioned we are hosting a bus trip to Burrendong Arboretum on 24 April. We will be travelling from Forbes at 7.30am at Forbes Shire Council Chambers, Parkes at Kelly Reserve at 8am and return approximately 5.00pm and 5.30pm respectively.

One of the current projects that we are working on is The Small Purple Pea Project. As part of our project, under Government’s National Landcare Program, we are hosting a bus trip to Burrendong Arboretum on 24 April. This will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about some of a regional plants of significance, with a focus on Swainsona Recta (The Small Purple Pea), which was once widespread in our region.

Burrendong Arboretum is spread over 164 hectares and has one of the largest collections of Australian plants in cultivation. Adjacent to Lake Burrendong, the Arboretum has over 50,000 flowering plants, shrubs and trees. The Arboretum’s mission is to preserve and promote Australia’s unique flora. Many rare and endangered species are being grown there. RSVP to me to reserve your space.

Another exciting undertaking that is happening in Forbes is the submission to host the 2020 Rural Women’s Gathering. We have a fantastic group of ladies, who are contributing their time and skills. These submissions require a lot of time from our Committee and support from the community. We are extremely grateful for the organisations and companies that have already offered their support for our submission.

If successful, the Gathering would bring several hundred women to Forbes, provide them with a fantastic few days of learning and experiencing what our wonderful area in the Central West has to offer. In turn, the benefits spread to our neighbouring towns as we know from other events that are successfully held in our area.

If your organisation can see the importance of supporting our submission and would like to offer a written letter of support, I would love to hear from you.

For more information, go to our website at centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, facebook, twitter or Instagram @cwllandcare or contact our office on 02 6862 4914 or cwllpo@hotmail.com.

Until next week, happy Landcaring!