Despite the limitations of COVID and the wet and gloomy conditions, Central West Lachlan Landcare, Forbes Shire Council and Planet Ark along with a strong number of Forbes Shire volunteers came together to plant trees for National Tree Day 2021.

This year’s Forbes National Tree Day event was held at Forbes Waste Depot, Daroobalgie Road, on Saturday, July 31.

“This is such an important initiative for our community and our environment,” said Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM.

“It will be something we all look back on in the years to come with great pride,” Phyllis said.

National Tree Day, proudly sponsored by Toyota Australia, was co-founded in 1996 by Planet Ark and Olivia Newton-John. It has now grown into Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature protection event as we strive to see over one million new trees, shrubs and grasses planted each year.

National Tree Day is a call to action for all Australians to put their hands in the earth and give back to their community. Each year, about 300,000 people volunteer their time to engage in environmental activities that educate individuals about the world around them. It’s a day to venture outdoors and get to know your community, and most importantly, to have fun!

The last Friday in July is dedicated to schools celebrating Tree Day. Each year, more than 3000 students participate nationwide in environmental activities that educate individuals about the world around them.

For more information on National Tree Day please go to planetark.org

The technology upgrade for all regional schools in NSW is ahead of schedule, with stages two and three of the historic $365.8 million Rural Access Gap program under way. Following a successful pilot program in the Dubbo, Narrabri and the Northern Bor-der regions, 1000 rural and remote public schools are now receiving a top-to-bottom digital upgrade.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro said the program will ensure students living in the bush have the same access to technology as their city counterparts.

“The Rural Access Gap Program will pro-vide our rural and remote schools with superior connectivity, unparalleled in the country,” Mr Barilaro said.

“This means that teachers in our regions have the tools, training and support they need to deliver lessons in ways not possible before. This is about ensuring students have access to an education without boundaries.”

Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the Rural Ac-cess Gap program connects students and teachers to the best educational resources available through cutting edge learning and teaching technology.

“Our commitment to regional students is that they have equal access to educational resources and modern equipment, no matter where they live,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Technology allows us to do this. More than 30,000 devices, including laptops and video-conferencing facilities, will be added to the network with more to follow.”

Students and staff were eager to celebrate Education Week this year by promoting a love for learning through reading.

The week started with the Forbes Public School Book Fair which encouraged many of our students from the most avid readers to those who simply enjoy listening to and/or reading along with others to purchase books for their home libraries.

Despite the limitations of COVID-19 restrictions, our school made record sales. We are thrilled to know that our students have added to home libraries, their imaginations and time with loved ones at home sharing a story or two having purchased books.

The highlight of the week however, was the Book Character parade, where book characters were brought to life by both staff and students who proudly showed off their costumes by parading to music in front of the school.

While we did miss having parents, carers and our wider school community on site to join in the fun of the book fair, parade and classroom activities, we were grateful during these current times to be able to come together as a whole school to celebrate a love for learning through reading.

Meg Staples
Principal

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Business NSW is encouraging the Western NSW community to use their NSW Government’s Dine & Discover vouchers before they expire on Saturday 31 August.

“The Greater Sydney and Orange region lockdowns has had a devastating impact to many businesses right across Western NSW and using your Dine & Discover vouchers is one way you can support your local businesses and their staff throughout this trying time,” said Business NSW, Regional Manager – Western NSW, Vicki Seccombe.

“We surveyed our members at the beginning of the restrictions, and high-level results suggested business revenue was down by at least 40% in certain sectors across Western NSW. We have no doubt that this is still the case for many businesses, particularly across the Orange, Cabonne and Blayney local government areas,” she said.

The Dine and Discover program was recently updated so that Dine NSW vouchers can be used for Takeaway purchases as well.

“This change means we can continue to support businesses, even if we are not able to get out and about due to recent restrictions and lockdowns. We’ve been hearing that some people are yet to apply for their vouchers or don’t know how to apply, but this is a simple process and we encourage all Western NSW residents to apply via the Service NSW website or call Service NSW if you need assistance,” said Ms Seccombe.

“There are two categories of vouchers – Two $25 vouchers can be used for takeaway meals and dining in restaurants, cafes, bars, wineries, pubs and clubs. The remaining two $25 vouchers are for entertainment and recreation, including cultural institutions, live music, and arts venues. Now is the time to use your Dine and Discover vouchers and support your businesses, so that they will still be here when this is all over,” Ms Seccombe said.

Regional Development Australia Central West (RDA Central West) held its 55th Committee Meeting this week and marked the occasion by welcoming three new members.

RDA Central West Chair Ruth Fagan announced that Rich Evans from Portland, Scott Barrett from Windera and Steve Bowman from Bathurst were inducted into the committee on Thursday.

“Firstly I would like to recognise everyone who applied for the RDA Central West Committee and congratulate Mr Evans, Mr Barrett and Mr Bowman on their appointments,” said Mrs Fagan.

“They are all active leaders in their respective communities and will bring a broad range of local knowledge and experience to the committee and I look forward to working with them as we build a stronger Central West region.

“By volunteering for your local RDA Committee, you have the chance to give something back to the community and help facilitate future investment in the region and I’m proud to Chair the Central West Committee as we do just that.”

To find out more, visit the RDA Central West website at www.rdacentralwest.org.au