Enjoy workshops, wildlife and woodlands this April
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FOR EVERY SHADE OF GREEN
Enjoy workshops, wildlife and woodlands this April
With the school holidays come a swag of events and opportunities in Casey.
Do you love seaslugs? Finger limes? Year-round decorations? We've got you covered.
Also - don't forget to enter your City of Casey Community Grant. You have until 26 April to get your dream environmental project off the ground. If you want some help, there's a a free grant writing workshops this month.
Read on for what to plant now, recipes, biodiversity and bunting, goats and grants.
Join the Green Living in Casey Facebook group for even more tips, activities and ideas.
FREE Connected Libraries school holiday programs are now open. Get your kids in ASAP as these events book out fast.
Easter Monday PUBLIC HOLIDAY 1 April
Crafting Party! Decorating with recycled materials Tuesday 2 April 1.30 – 3.00 pm
Lynbrook Community Centre, Lynbrook
Frog workshop Thursday 4 April 3:00 - 4.00 pm, Narre Warren Youth Information Centre, Narre Warren
Fall back! Daylight Saving ends Sunday 7 April 2 am
Make your own personalised bunting Tuesday 9 April 1.30 – 3.00 pm, Old Cheese Factory, Berwick
Energy efficient home workshop Thursday 11 April 2024 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Orana Community Place, Clyde North
Discover Dandenong Creek Festival Thursday 11 April, 11 am - 2 pm, Tirhatuan Park, Dandenong North
Solar Savers information session Tuesday 16 April at 6:30 pm ONLINE
Gardens for Wildlife information session Thursday 18 April. Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Old Cheese Factory, Berwick
Family recycling day Saturday 20 April 9:30 am – 1 pm Cranbourne West Community Hub, Cranbourne West. No booking necessary.
Casey Cardinia Heritage Festival Sunday 21 April 10.00 - 2.00 pm, Berwick Senior Citizens Centre
PUBLIC HOLIDAY ANZAC DAY Thursday April 25
Plan ahead for Biodiversity Day at Myuna Farm Monday 22nd May 4.30 pm - 6.30 pm, Myuna Farm, Doveton
Plan ahead for Detox Your Home - Cranbourne Saturday 22 June 2024. 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Finally, see the latest version of our Green Living Event flyer here
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Saturday 6 April 12.00 pm – 5.00 pm, Old Cheese Factory, Berwick If you've got tickets - THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT - come and see the Green Living team for our fun, free and creative activities. We'd love you to rock up to the booth to get your photo taken in our #greenlivingcasey wreath! |
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Keep Australia Beautiful Tidy Towns & Cities – Sustainability Awards Are you especially proud of your Casey community's environmental achievements? Show off now! Previous winners have included the Casey ARC Energy Savers Program. There's a category for everyone, from Education to Community and Indigenous Culture to Young Legend.. |
Do you know a teen who wants to take a trip to Melbourne Zoo or learn how to rockclimb?
The Autumn Teenage School Holidays program offers fun, age-appropriate activities at reasonable prices for young people aged 10 – 17 years.
Running from Tuesday 2 April to Thursday 12 April 2024
Search for sea slugs anywhere on the Victorian coast between Friday 29 March and Sunday 7 April and submit your images to iNaturalist! |
If you're heading to Healesville, get friendly with the newly-hatched Guthega Skinks at the climate-controlled 'Skink Chalet'. |
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CONGRATULATIONS TO 2024 Casey Environment and Sustainability Champion Award – Fiona Spargo Fiona began collecting recyclable items when she started working at the Botanic Gardens Retirement Village two years ago. |
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She expanded her recycling efforts to include the residents living there, and in August last year also began collecting items from the Coral Mews Retirement Village.
Some of the items are given to local childcare centres and schools and the rest are taken away for recycling. For events such as Detox Your Home and textile recycling days, Fiona does a collection on behalf of the retirement village residents’ and books in a time to drop items off on their behalf.
ANOTHER truck fire
Sadly, even Fiona is unable to keep all batteries out of bins.
In late March a recycling truck's load caught fire as soon as the electronic contents were (unknowingly) emptied into the truck.
Luckily no one was harmed and the driver was near an open space where they could dump the flaming load where it would not cause damage to property or waterways.
Do you have what it takes to be a community leader?
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Casey's 2024 Community Leadership Program (CLP) is NOW OPEN! This year’s FREE program will run from June until October 2024, with 10 face-to-face workshops held on Saturdays and Tuesday evenings. |
The workshops will cover:
• Leadership styles, personal and community leadership
• Communication and presentation skills
• Building community capacity, working with volunteers and local resources, and networking
• Understanding how local government works and how to contribute to the democratic process
• Good governance, decision-making, project planning and goal setting
At the conclusion of the program, graduates will have the chance to participate in ongoing networking opportunities where they can gain practical experience in leading community and Council-supported projects. Expressions of interest open until Friday 19 April. The selection process will include an informal interview and a maximum of 30 participants will be selected to participate in the program.
Casey Unearthed - Blind Bight Foreshore Reserve
This 35.5 hectares of bushland is renowned for its rare and threatened wildlife , and is also home to many important coastal plant communities (like mangroves), indigenous orchids, and wildflowers in Spring. It's an ideal spot to enjoy an afternoon walk with friends, a morning run, a weekend outing with the family, some bird watching, and the beauty of Casey's remarkable coastline.
Wander the Western Port woodlands
Speaking of Western Port - if you want to venture a little further, the string of woodlands on the eastern shores of Western Port Bay is home to some of Victoria’s most endangered wildlife. Learn more about it in this video..
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Sustainable home series Join us for the final sustainable homes seminar at Orana Community Place, Clyde North on Thursday 11 April 2024 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM. This session explores energy efficiency measures that can help make a home more comfortable, and reduce both running costs and greenhouse gases. |
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Borrow more than books Great news, Cranbourne and Bunjil Place Libraries now offer portable induction cooktops to borrow. If you want to learn more about all the benefits of induction cooking before you install, hire a kit and try before you buy. |
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Solar Savers session Whether you're a homeowner, renter, landlord or business in Casey, join us online to hear from Solar Savers' installers and local Casey business Specialized Solar and Electrical. They will discuss how solar systems work, the installation process, what are the benefit and what rebates are available. |
Casey flora and fauna spotlight – Kangaroo Grass Themeda triandra
This hardy clumping/tussock grass provides fantastic habitat benefits to our native seed eating birds, insects and ground living mammals like the Southern Brown Bandicoot.
It is an attractive feature plant in any garden and grows well in rockeries.
Image: S. Charles
Double your froggy fun these holidays!
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Join us as we take a walk down to the Banjo Patterson Wetlands and learn about some of the frogs that call City of Casey home and how they are important for our environment. For 5 to 12 years of age. Wednesday 10 April, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, Lynbrook Community Centre |
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Learn about some of the frogs that call City of Casey home and how they are important for our environment. This session will include a craft activity. For 10-17 years of age. Thursday 4 April 3:00 - 4.00 pm, Narre Warren Youth Information Centre |
Foiled again!
Foil is just one thing you might not know you can recycle. When you unwrap your bilby, egg or carrot these holidays - or any time of year you enjoy chocolate - remember to scrunch up your foil wrapping. Aluminium is 100% recyclable! If you want to know what else you can recycle, see our guide.
Party all year
Parties and other celebrations can produce a lot of single-use waste, especially when it comes to decorations.
Come along to this FREE session to create your own personalised re-usable bunting to take home, to use every time you celebrate!
Learn about ways you can reduce the waste that's usually created by celebrations as well as what can and can't be recycled.
All children need to have a parent or guardian present for the session, as some assistance may be required with tasks.
Personalised business posters
Do you have a local hospitality business? Green Living is offering you a chance to have a persoalised digital poster for your business.
We're also sharing this new tool from Sustainability Victoria to help hospitality businesses to get started with reuseables.
'Please email your request to eduwaste@casey.vic.gov.au with the subject line 'personalised poster'' :-)
Free business guide
We're also sharing this new tool from Sustainability Victoria to help hospitality businesses get started with reuseables.
Save money and the planet. Winning!
Edible Natives - Finger, caviar or native lime Citrus australasica
A zesty little native fruit the finger lime is the caviar of the fruit world. With each little pop of the limey pearls, you get a burst of citrusy goodness. Although you would find them naturally growing in the subtropical and tropical rainforests of northern NSW and QLD they can be grown here in Victoria.
If you'd like to share your edible native photos with us to be in the running for a Green Living prize, please post them via the link below.
They've become massively popular across the world's chefs. In the USA, they're replacing regular citrus in many desserts - like this Finger Lime Pie recipe all the way from California.
What to plant Greens - and yellows, reds and pinks! There's no need for your silverbeet or swiss chard to be boring. Not only rich in minerals and vitamins A, B, C and K, it's a delicious and generous crop that will keep you going right through the cool months. |
Use it up recipe - Silverbeet dolmades Don't have home-grown grape leave? Subsitute silverbeet for this Middle Eastern and Medeiterranean delight. |
More kidding around
Welcome back to the weed experts at Wilson Botanic!
Horticulture Coordinator Owen Janusauskas is confident that the four-legged recruits haven’t bitten off more than they can chew.
“The goats are performing weed control on steep slopes in the park, clearing the hilly terrain of blackberry, pampas grass and other invasive species,” Owen said.
ANZ Community Foundation Grants (Equity Trustees) closes 5 April 2024
This grant supports small to medium sized community projects that aim to improve financial wellbeing, improve environmental sustainability, improve housing access or other community projects.
2024 Affordable Housing Challenge (Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation) closes 10 April 2024
Grants are available to support for feasibility, pre-development and capital projects that increase affordable housing through the development of underutilised land, building or strata. Eligible land holders can be from the not-for-profit sector, including faith-based organisations, government land holders or private land holders.
Community Grants (City of Casey) closes 26 April 2024
These grants support community organisations to deliver projects, programs and events that help Casey residents to be healthy and active, celebrate diversity, support arts and culture and environmental sustainability.
Community Service Organisation Funding (City of Casey) closes 26 April 2024
This grant is designed to help community service organisations deliver vital social support services for Casey residents. This grant is aligned with Council objectives and addresses community needs in the areas of wellbeing, safety and security and connectedness. Funding can be used to cover administrative and operational costs.
Victorian Landcare Projects Grants (Victorian Government) closes 30 April 2024
Funding to support Landcare and environmental volunteer groups and local networks for community education and engagement, capacity building activities and on-ground works that improves native vegetation or fauna, waterways, wetlands or soils.
What are your tips, hacks or even questions for using, reusing, upcycling and recycling? Please share them with us via email or through the Green Living in Casey Facebook group.
Finally, if you're not sure what to do with your waste, check out our searchable directory or our updated Recycling and Waste Guide.
