The awards, which were announced on October 11, celebrate outstanding environmental and sustainability programs by councils across NSW.

The event shines a spotlight on sustainable initiatives that community members can implement in their homes and businesses.

This year the expo featured the King and Queen of Green and the Shoalhaven Zoo to share sustainability and care of nature messages with children.

We hosted celebrity chefs Colin Fassnidge and Matthew Evans; it was held in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market on March 25.

The Sustainable Living Expo was also highly commended in the Blue Star Sustainability Awards released by Keep Australia Beautiful in the category of Going Green Education.

Elm tree injection work at various locations within the Bathurst region has commenced.

Elmsavers was awarded the contract to conduct the elm leaf beetle control program.

It will include the treatment of elm trees within the road reserves and parks at Hill End, Rockley, Perthville, including Vale Road, and areas within the Bathurst CBD.

The treatment provides protection from beetle damage for up to four years and will help reduce the population of the elm leaf beetle throughout the region.

I ENCOURAGE all locals to get involved in Graffiti Removal Day this Sunday, October 29. 

Graffiti vandalism costs the NSW Government, councils, local businesses and households more than $300 million each year. 

Volunteers across NSW removed more than 20,000 square metres of graffiti from 460 sites in 57 local government areas last year. That is an area larger than each side of the Great Pyramid of Giza! 

I would encourage everyone to get involved in the fight against graffiti by volunteering this Sunday.

People who volunteer on the day at their local site will be supplied with free cleaning material, paint, safety equipment and training on how to safely remove graffiti. 

For more information, or to register and suggest a clean-up site, go to www.graffitiremovalday.org.au​

Advice and tips

CENTRAL Tablelands Local Land Services (LLS) will hold a special information seminar targeting weekend farmers and landholders who aren’t able to attend weekday events. 

The workshop has been designed to provide expert advice and useful tips and demonstrations on the basics of natural resource management, animal health and biosecurity. 

There will also be a good mix of practical demonstrations, including fencing, weed spraying, stock water and irrigation systems. 

The event will take place on Saturday, November 11 from 9am to 1pm at the Orange Agricultural Institute Training Centre.

You can get more information by contacting Phil Cranney on 0458 745 478 or book online at www.trybooking.com/RWHD

History tour

APPLICATIONS for history teachers to accompany students on a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Anzac history have been extended until this Friday, October 27. 

The 13-day tour will give students and teachers the opportunity to experience Australia’s military story first-hand in Ypres, Passchendaele, the Somme and Flanders in Belgium. Visit https://www.veterans.nsw.gov.au/education/premiers-anzacmemorial-scholarship/