Environmental Events

Wingecarribee Shire Council supports and promotes a number of events each year, funded by the Environment Levy. These events include Schools Environment Day, Earth Hour, World Environment Day, the Southern Highlands Future Forum and more.

The events help educate and inform the community about environmental and sustainability issues of significance in the Southern Highlands. 

Click on the Read More link for each event to find out more. 

Earthflix

Every quarter Council screens a FREE environmentally themed film at the Empire Cinema. Have a look at the project page here: 
Earth Flix: Cinema 4 Change | Wingecarribee Shire Council

Clean Up Australia Day

First Sunday of March yearly.

Clean Up Australia Day inspires and empowers communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment, not just for one day, but every day.

Earth Hour

Usually, the last Saturday of March.

Each year, to celebrate Earth Hour, the Council runs an event to raise awareness of the importance of caring for our planet. This includes learning how your family can improve their recycling habits, planting native plants in your garden, or becoming an advocate for our local environment.

In the past, we have run events including a recycled materials sculpture competition with the Southern Highlands Botanic Gardens, movie screenings, and planting days that have helped reconnect areas of Southern Highlands Shale Woodland, which is a threatened ecological species and allocasuarina species essential for Glossy Black Cockatoos. 

World Environment Day

5 June yearly.

World Environment Day is an international day of environmental awareness and action. Council runs events each year based on the year’s theme. Past themes have included “Our Land. Our Future: Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience” and “Solutions to Plastic Pollution”.

Plastic Free July

Plastic Free July is a yearly campaign designed to get us thinking more about the abundance of single use plastic in our lives.

Southern Highlands Future Forum

Council runs an annual Future Forum on a weekend day during the winter months. Experts speak on a special topic and attendees have the opportunity to chat with stallholders during the lunchbreak, who are either experts or local businesses that provide a service related to the special topic.

So far, we've had the following themes:
2025 - Sustainable Buildings: Build smarter, live more efficiently, have more future climate resilient homes, save on energy costs and reduce our environmental impact through better design and materials.
2024 - Energy Future: Energy generation, renewable energy, peer-to-peer virtual energy networks, reducing energy bills, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and charging solutions.

Swaptember

Each year Council holds swap events in Swaptember that build a more circular economy by reducing waste going to landfill and increasing the use and resilience of the resources we already have. Our annual clothes swap is a huge success, with people donating clothes and then leaving with armfuls of new ones - getting a whole new look for their wardrobe. We have had a youth clothes swap and a seed swap, so keep an eye on the events page to see what's happening.

Biodiversity Month (September)

Held in September every year, Council hosts a range of activities in Biodiversity Month, such as exhibitions, nature spotlighting and citizen science activities like flora or fauna counts.

Threatened Species Day

7 September yearly

Threatened Species Day is a day is when Council turns the spotlight on native plants, animals, and ecosystems that are under threat and reflect on how we can protect them into the future. The day also celebrates the amazing work of our passionate conservationists, researchers, volunteers, and community experts. 

National Bird Week

Usually in the second last week of October.

Council usually runs a few events around National Bird Week. You might join a birdy breakfast, bird count, or see a screening of a bird film as part of the Earth Flix: Cinema 4 Change films.

Water Week

During National Water Week in late October, Council runs a tour of the Wingecarribee Water Treatment Plant at Glenquarry. This is a unique opportunity to witness the journey water takes before it reaches your home. Gain an understanding of what also happens to water after you use it, and what that means for water efficiency and sustainability.