Children and young people across Aus­tralia who cannot live with their families ur­gently need foster carers. If you think you could give a child or young person a safe, nurturing place in your home, temporarily or permanently, read on.

What is foster care? Foster care provides a stable, caring environment for children and young people when they cannot live with their own families. This may be due to abuse or neglect, or a family crisis such as illness or homelessness.

Foster care is not necessarily permanent and long-term. We need a range of carers to provide interim or restoration care, emer­gency or short-term care and respite care.

Each child has a dedicated Case Man­ager and, often, a clinician. These people support the child’s placement and longterm goals, and support you regarding the child’s individual needs.

Make a lifelong difference in the life of a child or young person. Lifestyle Solutions urgently needs all types of foster carers across Australia.

If you think you could become a foster carer, please get in touch for a confiden­tial discussion and more information. Call on 1800 634 748 or visit www.lifestylesolu­tions.org.au

The May meeting of the Forbes Garden Club was held at the home of Mel and Anita Sinclair with 27 members and 6 apologies.

President Marg Dent welcomed all, and introduced the guest speaker Stephen Todd. Stephen spoke about a new local business – Southern Cross Nutrients that manufacture granules to add to broadacre farming fertilizer to boost production. The granules are made from green bin compost and will aid in the way of reducing green waste to landfill. Stephen also had samples for the Garden Club members in attend­ance. Michelle Mahlo thanked Stephen for his interesting talk.

Claire Haley spoke on the recent and very successful bus outing that saw 29 members and friends enjoy a day visiting the Olive Grove and lunch at the Bogan Gate Hotel followed by visits to three dif­ferent gardens at Parkes. A big thank you to Denise Thurston for organising the day.

Mel gave a short talk on his garden which was planted during the Covid years and enabled him plenty of time to establish Roses, Agapanthus, Manchurian Pear and a Fig tree all only five years ago. Elvy Quirk thanked the hosts for making their home available and presented them with a small gift.

The Flower of the Month winner was first Denise Thurston (Amaranthus), second John Browne (Hakea) and third Noel Hock­ing (Chrysanthemum). The raffle was won by Evelyn Mahlo.

The next meeting will take place at the Men’s Shed on Tuesday 24 June at 2pm and the guest speaker will be Kate Nixon who will be speaking about using natives in the garden. Everyone is welcome to at­tend the next meeting, we hope to see you all there in a warm and cosy room. Please make sure to bring along a cup and chair.

Enquiries can be made by calling 0428 540 272 or by emailing forbesgardenclub@gmail.com

By Green Thumb

The Forbes Garden Club April meeting was held in the lovely gardens at the home of John Browne. President Marg Dent wel­comed 28 present with six apologies. The guest speaker was Jan Diprose from the Weddin Community Native Nursery at Gren­fell. This volunteer nursery started under the Landcare banner, where seeds are collect­ed sorted and stored. They are grown in hot houses and sold to farmers and Shire Coun­cils. John Browne also spoke on his garden which is home to many unusual plants.

Flower of the month winners were 1st Denise Thurston (Clematis), 2nd Elvy Quirk(Dahlia) and 3rd Marlene (Huf-Rose). Raf­fle winners were Joy Hocking, Elvy Quirk, Janette Thomas, Meg Scholefield and John Browne.

The recent bus trip to visit the Tumbling Downs Olive Grove at Bogan Gate start­ed out with a bus filled with members and friends all eager for an outing in this beauti­ful autumn weather. Participants were wel­comed by Colin and Shelley Nutley with a delicious Devonshire Tea. Shelley spoke of the history of their farm and how they pick and press the olives, before tasting the oil and a variety of jams relishes.

The next stop was visiting three gar­dens at Parkes. The first garden was at the home of Leah Douglas, who had been in­undated with the 2022 floods. The garden featured numerous advanced trees, a large area to explore and tend. The next garden was that of Nancy McColl – a large cottage type garden which led visitors along lots of paths around her home filled with trees and shrubs. The last garden of the day the group visited was Fay and Kelvie Blackstock’s home. This garden featured all manor of cre­ations from old machinery made by Kelvie with succulents planted everywhere. Gar­den Club members are very appreciative of Denise Thurston for planning this fantastic day.

The Gallery Forbes site is a hive of activ­ity as work is progressing on the exterior of the cultural and arts precinct. Construction is well underway on the exterior of the sec­ond storey extension, the roof is now on and some painting preparation is happening.

Chairperson of the Forbes Arts Society Trudy Mallick said, “the exterior will be a balancing act between preserving the old and incorporating the new. Having served as a key civic hub in its former life, first as a bank and then as an ambulance station, we can appreciate the amount of interest in this project.

“It’s heartening and reassuring to see the work being done on site to bring this belov­ed, prominent building back to life. It’s been a long time coming and we’d like to thank the Forbes community for its patience as we continue to progress this very exciting pro­ject forward.”

This stage of the project will take the building to lock up.

The Forbes Cultural Centre (Gallery Forbes) development is part of the ‘Boost­ing the Lachlan Valley Economy Art Project’ which is proudly funded by the NSW Gov­ernment’s Regional Growth – Environment and Tourism Fund, the Forbes Arts Society, Forbes Shire Council, Lachlan Shire Coun­cil and Evolution Mining.

The ‘Boosting the Lachlan Valley Econ­omy Art Project’ aims to foster visual arts throughout the Forbes Shire, grow the visi­tor economy and promote the Lachlan Val­ley region as a premier tourism destination.

The project also includes the Gum Swamp redevelopment and extension of the Sculp­ture Down the Lachlan trail.

For more information about the project and to view the proposed plans, visit www.forbesartssociety.com

In recognition of National Volunteer Week (19-25 May), St Vincent de Paul Society NSW held a very special morning tea. It provided the opportunity to thank all of the Parkes volunteers and members and present some special awards.

Christine Cox, Parkes Vinnies Retail Team Leader, was award­ed the honor of NSW Vinnies Volunteer of the Year, Christine was nominated by Tanya Godden West Region Retail Manager. Chris­tine said she volunteers because: “There are plenty of rewards – the company of the volunteers and customers and the opportunity to be able to make a difference to the lives of others.”

After receiving the award Christine said “I’m a bit stunned. It was lovely. I have a very good team of volunteers and if I didn’t have them and my family, I couldn’t do it.” Christines Mum, Frances Charlton, was also a former Vinnies volunteer of 37 years before passing away recently.

Other awards were presented to:

• Krys Szabo, Parkes Conference Member and Retail Volunteer – Life Membership Award on recognition of her active and dedi­cated 30 years of service with the Society.

• Liz Jones, Parkes Conference Member and Retail Volunteer – Life Service Award on recognition of her 20 years of service with the Society.

• Christine Curteis, Parkes Retail Volunteer – 25 Year Service Award

• Marlene Freeman, Central Council Statistician – 15 Year Service Award

• Elaine Charlton, Parkes Retail Volunteer – 15 Year Service Award

• Paula Sutherland, Parkes Conference President and Retail Vol­unteer – 10 Year Service Award

• Irene Trueber, Parkes Conference Member and Retail Volunteer – 10 Year Service Award

• Brenda Davies, Parkes Retail Volunteer – 10 Year Service Award

• Ruth Beuzeville, Parkes Retail Volunteer – 5 Year Service Award

• Trish Prior, Parkes Retail Volunteer – 5 Year Service Award

Learn more about volunteering with St Vincent de Paul Society NSW at: www.vinnies.org.au

The iconic Variety NSW Bash is back for its 33rd year, aiming to raise $1 million to support children who are sick, experienc­ing disadvantage or living with a disability.

From Sunday 18 May to Saturday 24 May, 78 colourful cars and 255 participants will embark on the exhilarating seven-day road trip, congregating at Mount Panorama and ending in Newcastle.

The Variety NSW Bash is a one-of-a-kind motoring adventure that unites car lovers from all walks of life in a colourful celebra­tion of community and cause. Spanning just over 3,000km, the event is packed with fun, friendship, and purpose — with $41,647 in grants to be awarded to rural schools and communities along the route.

Participants are encouraged to decorate and theme their vehicles; from Men in Black, Scooby Doo, SpongeBob SquarePants, Pokémon to Minions, all while raising criti­cal funds for Variety–the Children’s Charity NSW/ACT.

Stops along the way include Bathurst, Young, West Wyalong, Weethalle, Coleam­bally, Hay, Pooncarie, Broken Hill, Ivanhoe, Griffith, Euabalong West, Parkes, Bogan Gate, Yeoval, Mudgee and finishing with a Family Fun Day in Newcastle.

“We’re thrilled to bring the Variety NSW Bash back for another year,” said Tony Warner, CEO of Variety NSW/ACT.

“It’s more than just a road trip, it’s a pow­erful fundraising event that directly sup­ports kids who are sick, disadvantaged or living with disability right across NSW.”

This year, school beneficiaries include Weethalle Public School, Kalinda School, Coleambally Central School, Pooncarie Public School, Ivanhoe Central School, Euabalong West Public School, Yeoval Central School. Each school will receive between $3,000 and $5,000 for education­al resources and sporting equipment such as projectors, workbooks, sensory play equipment, EDU classroom drone kit, and even a Variety Sunshine Coach!For more information or to donate, visit: https://fundraise.varietynswact.org.au/event/nswbash25