Eco Events

Come and check out the Eco Events for tons of handy hints, tips and advice that will show you how to easily reduce your impact on the environment.

2008 Special Eco Events Around The Park

Bikes on Show @ 2008 Newtown Festival - presented by BIKESydney For the first time bicycles will play a feature role at the 2008 Newtown Festival. A special bike area next to the Vocal Local Village will play host to an exciting range of bicycle-related events including an exhibition of bicycle messenger photography and a social art ride touring local art galleries. A big feature of the bike related events at the festival will be Sydney’s first “wheel-off” with cyclists and unicyclists and battling it out in trial riding events. Bikes on Show at Newtown Festival arrives as part of the International Bicycle Film Festival Sydney 2008, a showcase of cycling across the globe. This cultural celebration of cycling through film, art, parades and festivities will be take place across a variety of Sydney venues throughout November.  10am - Art Ride - Social Gallery hop ride 12pm - Bike trials 1pm - Unicycle trials 2pm - Wheel Off: Two vs One Radical Incursion – photographic exhibition Bike Valet Parking

Planet Ark @ 2008 Newtown Festival All Day -  Planet Art Park (near the children’s playground) What’s the one recycling question you’ve never had the opportunity to ask?  What to do with bottle tops?  Where to take your old computer?  Can pizzas boxes go in the recycling bin?  Well here’s your chance.  Come and visit us at Planet Ark Park at the 2008 Newtown Festival and we’ll answer all your recycling questions.   All Day - Planet Ark Park Recycling Collection Point There are lots of recyclable items that can’t go in your home recycling bin.  So Planet Ark is setting up a Recycling station at the Newtown Festival. We’ll be collecting Corks Batteries (rechargeable and single use) Printer cartridges Eye glasses (sunglasses and prescription) and Mobile phones Community Launch – Vocal Local Village Planet Ark is proud to launch National Recycling Week at the 2008 Newtown Festival at 12noon on the Vocal Local Stage followed by a special performance by the National Junk Band.   The Great Recycling Week - Clothes Swap Event Come and join Planet Ark’s Great Recycling Week Clothes Swap to get fancy frocks, tempting t-shirts, jackets, jeans, jumpers and more – all free. Go through your closet for all the clothes and accessories you no longer want.  Make sure they’re clean and in good condition and bring them along to the Planet Ark Park area between 12 midday and 4pm.   Drop them off.  Collect your tokens.  Check out what’s on offer.  Then take as many new items as you have tokens. Visit RecyclingWeek.PlanetArk.org/Swap for more information.

WORMS GALORE @ THE 2008 NEWTOWN FESTIVAL Graeme’s worm farm will promote worm farming and composting in the community all day at the 2008 Newtown Festival. There will be demonstration worms and free worms for worm farms and a couple of prizes of compost bins to be won. All of the festival’s organic waste will be collected for the worm farm for processing on the day. And did you know the average time for the worms to convert a batch of organic waste to castings and worm liquid is about one month! So come along and see zillions of those slippery little critters gobble up your festival biodegradable waste and get some great tips on how to set up your very own worm farm at home.

THE BOWER @ 2008 NEWTOWN FESTIVAL The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre is a community based, not for profit, co-operative and charity that provides reuse solutions for unwanted, reusable household items that could otherwise end up in landfill. This year The Bower will feature in the Vocal Local Village, carrying out ‘live’ furniture repairs and providing information on reusing household items. Also a feature will be the building a huge sculpture from your pre-loved items. So come along to the festival and see everyday household items created into a sculpture that celebrates the festival’s 30th anniversary. Back at Addison Road Community Centre, The Bower accepts donations of pre-loved goods and sells them back to the community at reasonable prices. The service is supported by 11 councils (Ashfield, Canterbury, Canada Bay, Sydney, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Randwick, Rockdale, Ryde, Waverely and Woollahra) and refers to over 1000 organisations including charities, secondhand shops, community and recycling services. The Bower is responsible for diverting 245 tonnes of household 'waste' from landfill annually.  That’s 4.7 tonnes per week!

THE WATERSHED @ 2008 NEWTOWN Festival The Watershed Sustainability Resource Centre is an innovative, community education initiative operating from a busy shop front on King Street, Newtown. The Watershed is pleased to be attending the Newtown Festival again this year where it will field questions and queries on sustainability issues and facilitate a number of workshops. A Worm Farming and a Natural Cleaning workshop will be facilitated near the Watershed stall in the Vocal Local Village. In the Kids Zone, the Watershed will also be facilitating two workshops throughout the day. Come along and get some great tips from the highly trained Watershed staff on sustainable living - from worms to architecture!