The annual Forbes Teddy Bear’s Picnic was held at Lions Park last Saturday, October 19th.

The free community event formed the Forbes Shire Council’s celebrations of Children’s Week.

“It was yet another amazing Teddy Bear’s Picnic this year, with over 2000 people at- tending this great community event,” said Forbes Shire Council’s Community and Tourism Manager, Nina Hooper.

“In tough times such as the current drought, Teddies is a perfect low cost, fam- ily friendly event for everyone to enjoy. Of course, the event wouldn’t have been the success that it was without the help we received from Maree Yapp from Schools As Community Centres and Danielle Welsh from Forbes North Public School.”

The family fun event saw over 30 community groups and organisations attend to hold free activities for the youth and children of the community and surrounding areas. Activities included pedal boats, crafts, face painting, emergency services talk and displays, 2 jumping castles and a number of food vendors.

There were also live performances by Mainly Music, the Forbes North Dance Troupes and Kristen’s Dance Studio.

Children were invited to bring along their favourite teddy bear, with many participating in the Teddy Bear Parade on the day. Each child received a token for participating. Thanks to Forbes Toy Library and Bunnings Forbes, there were also lucky door prizes up for grabs.

The event was proudly supported by Forbes Shire Council, schools and community centres.

Four of Australia’s leading grain growers focused on a more innovative, resilient and sustainable sector, have been awarded Grains Research and Development (GRDC) supported Nuffield Farming Scholarships for 2020.

Included in these four is Jarrod Amery from Forbes, who will research what it takes to build and maintain a successful farm business and achieve a sustainable Return on Assets Managed (ROAM).

As owner of Amery Ag, an innovative 2,300-hectare farming operation, Jarrod produces wheat, canola and barley, and manages around 4,000 ewes as part of the business’s annual livestock trading program.

“We strive to make every hectare work; earning the right to expand our business. As a young farmer myself, and with a quarter of the agricultural workforce between 18 to 35, there is a need to equip our future farmers with the tools to grow their businesses and the industry as a whole,” Jarrod said.

“On my study program, I plan to visit leading farm businesses around the world, to understand the common threads of success, including how to achieve a sustainable work/life balance, pathways to expansion and diversification, as well as how to encourage new entrants into farming.”

Jarrod will receive a $30,000 bursary to research new agricultural technologies and techniques and visit leading farm enterprises around the world on a 16-week travel program. Travelling throughout major agricultural producing countries, including China and the United States, Jarrod plans to share his findings with peers, to help build a culture within Australian farming that promotes entrepreneurship and knowledge sharing.

 

As well as celebrating culture, NAIDOC week is an opportunity to recognise the contributions made by Indigenous Australians to the Forbes community. The purpose of NAIDOC Week is to celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to foster greater understanding of Indigenous culture. As part of this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations recognition was given to the outstanding contributions that local Indigenous people make to improve the community or to promote Indigenous issues.

The theme for this year’s celebration is Voice, Treaty, Truth. Worthy recipients for 2019 were Natasha Harris for Indigenous Person of the Year, Courtney Hodge for Indigenous Youth of the Year, Ellie Flick for Indigenous Sports Person of the Year and Raymond Thorpe for Indigenous Creative Person of the Year.

People on court-ordered communityservices at Forbes, have been working in collaboration with the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre to clean up and prepare local sites for NAIDOC events this week. The offenders have enjoyed working alongside the Aboriginal community, engaging with the culture, gaining knowledge, building respectful relationships with each other, and creating a greater unity within their communities.

This Department of Justice NSW program demonstrates community collaboration, engaging with the Aboriginal Culture, opportunity for people to gain knowledge and share their skills.

CSNSW Field Officer Peter said: “It is great for offenders to use their skills like signwriting, painting and gardening to help out where they can in Forbes.”

An Aboriginal Client Service Officer from Forbes Community Corrections was also involved in the local NAIDOC events, cooking Aboriginal foods for attendees.

Beneath breathtaking river gums, alongside a tranquil river and within a stock route that is synonymous with song lines and drovers, the scene is set for what is to be an epic long lunch next Saturday.

The meandering Lachlan River is the unique location for the exciting food event, Grazing Down the Lachlan, which will once again blow the minds of the most adventurous connoisseurs of fine food.

Consisting of multiple food stations, guests will be treated to another extraordinary experience.

Chairperson of the event, Wendy Muffet is excited to be bringing this dream to fruition once again, with a desire to support the ‘Somewhere Down the Lachlan’ Sculpture Trail.

“We wondered how we could best use such an event to capture the essence of our western rural life,” said Wendy. “The food will be authentic of the place and sophisticated in its simplicity.”

Attendees will be welcomed to country, then free to wander along a designated corridor of the reserve, enjoying portions of delicious food with a matched beverage.

Early Learning Matters Week is an exciting opportunity for all early childhood services and educators to show local politicians and the broader community the breadth of exciting ways children learn in quality play-based early childhood programs and services.

Today (Friday 6th September) Forbes Preschool is excited for Mayor Phyllis Miller to visit and see first-hand the amazing opportunities the children have at this quality early learning centre. Unfortunately, Deputy Prime Minister and Member for the Riverina and Central West Michael McCormack is busy today but he is organising a visit later in the month.

“It is really significant that all children have some kind of preschool or early education. We make it our objective at Forbes Preschool to try to ensure all children living in or around Forbes have access to quality early learning, either at our Preschool or one of the other quality centres in town,” said Amy Shine, Preschool Director.

The first Early Learning Matters Week last year was a huge success with inspiring learning activities and provocations flooding Instagram with the hashtag #EarlyLearningMatters and over 70 politicians visiting services in NSW.

Early Learning Matters Week is a chance to celebrate and share how the Forbes Preschool services make a difference in children’s lives and it also increases community understanding of how investing in your child’s early learning benefits everyone.

The Preschool will host a BBQ lunch for all Preschool family and friends from 12noon – 1pm today.