Sustainable Neighbourhood News and Events
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Waste to Art 2019
Be challenged and inspired by thought-provoking artworks exploring issues of waste, litter and over consumption. Exhibition closes Sunday 1 December, SEEN@Swansea. Find out more. 
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Dreaming of a waste free Christmas
Slow down and take some time to make gifts that are fun, low waste and sustainable. Learn how to make wreaths, wax wraps, kombucha or vegan body butter on Sunday 1 December. Find out more. 
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2019 Annual Report
We are delighted to present the 2019 Annual report detailing our highlights from the 2018-19 financial year. Find out more. 
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Celebrate!
We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon catching up with Sustainable Neighbourhood volunteers, and learning about Council's tree Replacement Program at our afternoon tea and celebration event. Find out more. 
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Lake Mac Repair Cafe
Keep up to date with upcoming Repair Cafe dates by following the Lake Mac Repair Cafe Facebook page. 
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Alliance Annual General Meeting
Members of the Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting. Tuesday 19 November Find out more about the Alliance Board and how to nominate for a board role. 
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Get your hands dirty
Enjoy some good company, and the joy of gardening at a local community garden. Find out more. 
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Volunteer at the Living Smart Festival
Let's help reduce waste at this year's festival! We are looking for helpers for our stall, wash up station and nature play activities at the Living Smart Festival, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September. Find out more. 
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Holmesville Spring Fair
Enjoy a free family fun day to celebrate the start of spring, with craft, plants, cakes, a Repair Cafe, live music, sausage sizzle and coffee! 14 September at the Holmesville Community Garden Find out more 
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Monthly Boomerang Bags workshop
Don't forget the Boomerang Bags sewing bees happening on the last Sunday of the month. Join this friendly bunch for a sociable sewing bee between 10am-2pm. Find out more. 
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Spring plant and produce swap
Bring your excess garden produce and plants to share and swap on Sunday 15 September, 9-11am, Kahibah Memorial Park. Find out more. 
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Value our City's trees
Join in a morning of creative fun on Saturday 10 August and help us encourage appreciation of our City's trees. Find out more. 
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Plastic free cafes
How is your local cafe transitioning away from single use plastics? Find out where you can get a discount for bringing your own cup, and how you can help your local make the switch. Find out more. 
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Vote for TRASH Inc
Help us secure funding to establish a textile recycling and community sewing up. The project will divert unwanted textiles from landfill through rescuing, reusing, upcycling and recycling. Find out more. 
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Are you following us?
Have you found our Facebook page yet? Get the latest updates and connect with Sustainable Neighbourhood activities around the city. We are at Sustainable Neighbourhoods Lake Macquarie Find out more. 
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Help us tell our story
Can you take photos or videos at our events? Develop your experience and portfolio for an emerging career in commercial photography, or just send in some snaps from your smart phone. Find out more. 
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Become a Young Leader
Are you a young person looking to connect with your community and get practical experience in engagement, sustainability and other skills? We are looking for enthusiastic people to help us foster a more sustainable Lake Macquarie. Find out more 
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Waste to Art - Selected works
View selected works from the 2018 Waste to Art exhibition at Charlestown Library from 3 June to 10 August 2019. Find out more. 
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Cake, conversation and Lake Mac's water quality
We learned all about water quality at the June Sustainable Neighbourhood networking event, with the Hunter Community Environment Centre and Council staff. Find out more. 
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Nature Play Forum
The forum in May explored opportunities for school-aged children to experience nature based learning, rich in nature time, movement, culture and community. Find out more. 
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Plant giveaway
Cardiff Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group members held a stall at the Cardiff Community Festival on May. They had native plants to give away and all sorts of great green ideas to chat about. 
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Holmesville garden gatherings
Share the joy of gardening with the friendly crowd at the Holmesville Community Garden, on the first Wednesday and fourth Saturday of every month. Find out more. 
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Repair Cafe in Cardiff
Bring your bike, small hand tools or clothes in need of repair to the April Repair Cafe on 22 April. Find out more. 
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ANZAC Day wreath making
Learn how to make an ANZAC Day wreath using repurposed materials and local foliage Monday 22 April Find out more. 
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Plastic free Toronto
Find out how the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group are changing their town to single use plastic free. Find out more. 
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Annual Report 2018
We are proud to publish the Sustainable Neighbourhoods Annual Report 2018. The report summarises our achievements and activities in the 2017-18 financial year. Find out more. 
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Join the reuse revolution
The Alliance is running a series of pop up education booths at local shopping centres between 8-13 April. Can you help for an hour or two, to talk with shoppers about alternatives to single use plastic? Find out more. 
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Strategic Plan 2018-2023
Our Strategy details the direction and actions we are taking to ensure we continue to be an effective organisation that is focused on our vision: Neighbourhoods that are empowered to live sustainably. Find out more. 
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Boomerang Bags workshop
Volunteers have been making about 40 bags a month at these friendly workshops in 2018. This year the workshops will be held on the last Sunday of the month, 10am-2pm Find out more. 
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Morning tea in the garden
Join the friendly bunch at the Holmesville Community garden for a morning tea on Sunday 31 March to celebrate Neighbour Day. Find out more. 
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Wyee Neighbour Day
Meet your neighbours and find new friends with a plant swap, BBQ, cakes and community on Sunday 31 March, at the Wyee Community Hall. Find out more. 
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Harmony Day tree planting
Cardiff Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group members were at a local gym open day in March to and help with a tree planting activity. Find out more. 
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Autumn crop swap
Neighbours shared and swapped their excess garden produce at the Greater Charlestown Sustainable Neighbourhood Group's autumn event on Saturday 23 March. Find out more. 
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Twilight picnic in the park
The Cardiff Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group celebrated Harmony Day with a community picnic in March. Find out more. 
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Picnic in the park
Neighbours had a lovely time together at the February Picnic in the Park. Have a look at the photos. 
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Cake, conversation and water conservation
We enjoyed plenty of cake and conversation at our first networking event for 2019. We heard from Hunter Water about their water resilience and conservation measures, and challenged our construction and group work skills. Find out more. 
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Toxicity and chemicals
The Morisset and Peninsula Sustainable Neighbourhood Group discussed how to keep your family and the environment safe from possible toxins at their February meeting. 
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Alliance Board meeting minutes
Do you want to keep up to date with decisions and actions of the Alliance Board? The monthly meeting minutes are usually emailed to those interested the day after the meeting. Please let us know if you'd like to join that email list. The approved minutes are also available here. 
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The psychology of climate change
One of our members sent through this interesting resource from the Australian Psychological Society discussing how to help people understand climate change, how to cope with it, and how to get involved in effectively addressing climate change. These fact sheets along with the climate change empowerment handbook are available to download for free. 
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Neighbour Day
Neighbour Day is coming up on Sunday 31 March. It's the perfect day to say thanks for being a great neighbour, connect with new neighbours, and feel part of your community. Visit the Neighbour Day website to register your event and download a free kit to help celebrate Neighbour Day. 
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Register your Clean Up Australia Day site
Clean Up Australia Day is back again on Sunday 3 March. Register your site by Monday 11 February to ensure your event is included in Council’s Clean Up Australia Day promotions. Register a site, or contact Lucy at Council for more information. 
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Year Planner
Happy 2019! We've updated our year planner for 2019. Take a look to see what's coming up and help plan your year. 
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Plant and produce swap
Reduce food waste and enjoy a chat! Neighbours bought their excess produce or plants to swap with other gardeners in December at Whitebridge. Find out more. 
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Wicking Garden Bed workshop
Learn how to construct a wicking garden bed to save water and maintenance, in Rathmines on 9 December. Find out more. 
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Holmesville Community Garden
Enjoy a morning tea to help celebrate the freshly opened Holmesville Community garden on 24 November. Find out more. 
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Waste to art
Challenge the way we look at waste at our Waste to Art exhibition. Check out the wonderful creations made for our 2018 exhibition. Keep an ear out for this year's exhibition details. Find out more. 
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Waste free Christmas
Are you dreaming of some gifts you can give without the waste? We learned how to make beeswax wraps, body scrub, wreaths and crackers at this workshop in Cardiff on Saturday 18 November. Find out more. 
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Sustainable Christmas workshop
We learned how to make beeswax wraps, reusable produce bags and the art of Furoshiki (fabric gift wrapping) in these workshops on 20 and 22 November. Find out more. 
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Pamper Care Project
Help us collect personal care products for those who need it most. Set up a local collection point or make a donation. Find out more. 
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Barks and recreation
We are calling on all dog owners to be mindful of their responsibilities, and have produced a brochure to help clarify and reinforce the rules about dogs in public places. 
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War on Waste toolkit
This excellent toolkit has been created as part of the ABC's War on Waste. Download the toolkit from the ABC website. 
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Social media and website policy
We have updated our website policy to include guidelines for Sustainable Neighbourhood social media pages. Download the updated policy. 
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Community gardens
We are now able to oversee community garden projects that are managed by Sustainable Neighbourhood Groups. 
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Managing grant funding
We've developed a guide for Sustainable Neighbourhood groups about:
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