Meantime, the Bega Valley Beekeepers and Bega Rotary are running a beekeeping course with Bega High School.  It's a course over Term 3 teaching a group of 10 students from their Special Education Unit.  The project is called 'The Art of Beekeeping' and students are learning how to build their own beekeeping equipment and will be painting their hives in unique designs (which is quite unusual), as well as getting hands on experience with bees. 

Members of the Bermagui Country Club Social Anglers’ Club are reminded that this coming weekend, August 11-13 is the monthly fishing comp.  On and off shore will be the go - with a get-together at 12.30pm Sunday for a barbecue.  See you there!

The Cobargo Garden and Friendship Club will meet on Monday,  August 14, at the home of Connie Woodberry, Hoyer St, Cobargo. Arrive at 12 noon and bring your own lunch. Coffee, tea and cake provided. The sign outside the home says “Ria group. Heal the earth.”

Join us for this most interesting garden club. New folks always welcome. Ring Robyn on 6493 8324 for more information.

Bega Valley Shire Council’s Children’s Services team is celebrating Early Education Week from August 7-11.  You are invited to visit one of our centres for a guided tour and a cuppa with our friendly, expert staff. Learn about the educational programs in place and see how our kids socialise, play, and learn. 

On Friday, August 11:  Eden Child Care Centre will be open between 9am and 10am and between 2:30pm and 3:30pm;  Bandara Children’s Service in Bega will be open between 9:30am and 10:30am; Sapphire Mobile Pre-School invite you along to Bemboka Community Hall between 9:30am and 10:30am.  To RSVP or more info call 6499 2222.

Barrie and Angela Austin (Millingandi) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family at "The Wharf" restaurant, Merimbula. Barrie & Angela married at All Saints church Parramatta on August 3,1957 and moved to the Bega Valley 40 years ago where they enjoyed life on the land at the farm in Tantawangalo, before moving to Acacia Ponds, Millingandi, a few years ago.

Spiral Gallery is presenting a Ceramics Workshop Series with Margaret Brown and Dimity Goldie. Learn how to hand build and decorate your own unique cup with Margaret Brown. Learn how to throw and decorate your own unique plate and bowl with Dimity Goldie.

Course Dates are: August 26, September 9 and September 23, with the cost $70 for the three sessions, all materials provided. The workshops run over three Saturdays from 10am-3pm at Bega Valley Potters (Old Bega Hospital). The tutors, Margaret and Dimity, are skilled potters and teachers. Their work is held in collections locally and internationally. Morning tea is provided, bring your own lunch. Maximum 8 participants.

For bookings, please contact Spiral Gallery ph: 6492 5322. The workshops are presented by Spiral Gallery Co-operative and sponsored by the Mumbulla Foundation, the Community Foundation of the Bega Valley Region.

Boomerang Bags Bega Valley Sapphire Coast raffled off our Basket Number 1 during the Variety Night “Everything goes” at The Funhouse Bega recently. The lucky winner was Pat Jones from Bega, who on that night was busy herself, fund-raising for the Old Bega Hospital. 

BB Bega Valley Sapphire Coast has got two more raffle baskets to go and still accepts donations via crowd-funding to help cover the costs for thread, sewing machine services, printing ink, cutting equipment, pins, our fuel costs and hopefully for one day for one of us to be in attendance at the Funhouse Repair Café.

Most Friday afternoons, co-orinator Dörte Planert also sets up an info stall in Bega town centre about plastic pollution and climate change, where non-plastic alternatives are on display as well: e.g. bamboo toothbrushes, stainless steel & bamboo straws, glass or stainless steel lunch boxes and take away containers, keep cups, bee’s wax wraps, paper or cellophane instead of cling wrap, Razormate sharpener for plastic razors, baby nappy training pants and washable pads for women.

As part of the remakery, we also offer repairs of clothes and now have a free lending service for sewing machines. Enjoy fun, support and learn sewing skills, currently Fridays 10am-1pm at The Funhouse Bega, 3 Hill St. Next time Friday, August 11.

Not all eucalypts are gums but all gums are eucalypts.  Really?  Are they?  At the Australian Plant Society South East NSW group’s last meeting held at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden, President John Knight discussed the features which help us recognise which eucalypt is which.  Only eucalypts found in the south east of NSW were featured in this talk.

The day began with a presentation showing how to arrange the various eucalypts into smaller groups using simple easily recognised features.  Using a revised but simple recognition key, first developed by ERBG’s then employee Ryan Harris for the BGANZ conference in 2008, features can be further divided into groups to determine what eucalypt we are looking at. 

Our usual  “show and tell” segment provided an array of blooms and foliage from members’ gardens and lunch was enjoyed as always in the beautiful environs of the Botanic Gardens.

It’s now 20 years since a meeting of 16 interested persons at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens formed the South-East NSW regional group on May 3, 1997. The area covered by the group was defined as east of the escarpment from Milton to the Victorian border.

Twenty years and several committees later we are still a vibrant group on the south coast with many more members.

Bega Birth to Kindergarten members have been busy buying board books to give away after receiving an IMB Community Foundation Grant of $3000 earlier this year. Bega Birth to Kindergarten gives away a board book to every baby born in the Bega Valley to promote the love of books and to support literacy in our communities.

Members have decided to extend the program by donating a bundle of board books to playgroups in the Bega area. If any playgroups are interested in receiving a small selection of books from Bega Birth to Kindergarten, please contact Anne Moore on 6499 2242.

The Sapphire Coast Orchid Club will be holding it’s annual Winter Orchid Display on the following dates: Friday and Saturday, August 18-19, 9am–5pm. Sunday, August 20, 9am–1pm. Location – Twyford Hall, Merimbula. Entry is free. Some orchid plants will be on sale. For further information please contact Les on 6495 9012.

Wolumla Public School is holing an open day on Friday, August 18. Potential students, families and interested community members are invited to come along and visit.  The agenda for the day is: 9.25am – Welcome to visitors in the assembly area; 9.30-9.50am – Morning tea with the P&C in the Library; 9.50-10.30am – Guided tour of school accompanied by the 2017 School Captains, Crystal and Jackson; 10.30-11.30am – Whole school assembly showcasing and congratulating our musical, performing arts and academic talents followed by a sausage sizzle. 

The Sapphire Coast Volunteer Branch, RSPCA NSW will be holding its Annual Trivia Night on Saturday,  August 12 at Club Sapphire, Merimbula at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Tickets are $15 per person, tables of 8 or individual tickets can be purchased from Club Sapphire. 

Our latest raffle will be drawn at the Trivia night and raffle ticket selling commences this week.  The Trivia night is one of our major fund-raisers and all funds raised by the Branch are used locally.