Mitchells Island swim relay team qualify for State PSSA small schools final

Team members Nash Purdon, Jack Croker, Oscar Jones and Sarah Goody qualified for State by winning at zone then regional level.

For the past three weeks they've been regulars at the Manning Aquatic Centre, training under the watchful eye of Taree Torpedoes Swimming Club coaches.

It's been a few years since the school has been represented at state-level and the four are looking forward to the experience.

By Margaret Haddon

Great performances at open music group event

The Lansdowne Open Music group held their monthly show last Sunday at their new home the Lansdowne Community Hall.

There were around 70 people come to watch and listen to some great performances from 14 artists.

The hall managers were kept busy cooking up steak and sausage sandwiches from the barbecue and making tea, coffee and cakes available from the hall kitchen throughout the day.

The group will be at the Lansdowne Community Hall the fourth Sunday of each month (unless advised otherwise).

Their next show will be held on April 23 from 11am to 4pm.

Everyone had a great time with many positive comments about the new venue. All are welcome, it is only a gold coin entry fee. Phone Jenny for further information on 0431 347 772.

Fishing club fundraiser and outing

The Lansdowne Fishing Club will be holding its fundraising raffle on Saturday. April 1.

Due to the fish co op not being open on Good Friday or Easter Saturday, there will be no trays of seafood. Instead there will be 15 seafood vouchers, 15 meat trays and two fruit and vegetables trays.

Their monthly outing will be this weekend with weigh-in on Sunday from between 2pm and 4pm.

Garage sale success

The Coopernook Op Shop held a successful garage sale last Saturday.

They welcomed plenty of visitors and buyers who enjoyed getting some great bargains from the discounted items available.

But if you missed out the op shop always has plenty of bargains and they are open from 9am to 2pm every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

They are at 4 Petrie Street, Coopernook.

Hall events

Lansdowne Community Hall Managers have a busy time coming up in April.

On Saturday, April 15 is the "Blast from the Past" Lansdowne School Reunion.

On Sunday, April 23 is the Lansdowne Open Music group and on Saturday, April 29 is the Lansdowne Community Hall Market.

The next entertainment evening at the Upper Lansdowne Hall will be held on April 15 when Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges from the USA will be performing.

Born in New Orleans, raised in Texas and Louisiana, and playing blues guitar since he was two, Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges is a vibrant and enthusiastic singer and guitarist.

Accompanied by bass and drums expect a night of blues that spans all the way from traditional to contemporary with hints of his gospel singing past.

Eugene is the 21st century version of the itinerant blues man. He's a nomadic musician who, at any given point in time may be living in Chicago or Amsterdam or Melbourne.

He has released seven albums and has performed widely in the US, Asia, Britain, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

As usual a selection of tasty home-made food, tea, coffee, and cake will be available to purchase on the night or you can take along our own nibbles and drinks.

For further information check out the Upper Lansdowne Hall Facebook page.

A reminder about the Trivia Night at the Upper Lansdowne Hall on Saturday, April 1. These nights are always a fabulous time, and it is for charity.

Pennants rained out

Round five of the Lansdowne Men's Bowls Pennants at Forster was rained out last Saturday.

This Saturday April 1, Lansdowne has its first home game, hosting Harrington. Bowlers will be on green for a 1pm start. We encourage our community to go along and show their support.

Lions nominate three teams for Football MNC season

Lansdowne Football Club has nominated three sides in Football Mid North Coast (FMNC) competitions for season 2023 - Senior Men (Saturday afternoons), Senior Women (Friday nights) and an Under 12s team (Saturday mornings).

Competition is scheduled to commence on April 21 and 22. Training is presently Wednesday evenings.

A small group of younger children will also be training with view to building their football skills, having some fun and attracting more players so additional teams can be nominated in Season 2024 - which will be the club's 50 years of Football celebration.

Follow them on Facebook at Lansdowne Lions FC or email lansdownefc@footballmidnorthcoast.net.au for more information.

Moorland Community Hall will hosting its monthly community catch up this Sunday and just for the occasion, they're making it an Easter party.

Taking place on Sunday, April 2 at the new winter time of 2 - 4pm, it promises to be a fun event for all with a chance to make new friends and find support from your local community.

There will be a chance to win a giant pot of Easter eggs, fun activities for kids such as making bunny ear hats, egg and spoon race, Easter colouring, and hand stamps.

Guests are welcome to come along for a drink and chat, at a relaxed, friendly get-together as they do each month.

With these events featuring an age range of great-grandparents to newborns, it is a great chance for those without family in the area to socialise and network.

Tennis courts and recreation ground will be available on the day, and there will be preschool toys, board games, puzzles and more for the kids.

Donations of clothes, kitchen implements, tools and books are all welcome, with organisers requesting that everything be clean, in working order, and taken back by those donating should nobody present have the need for them.

Visitors are welcome to bring extra produce such as veggies, fruit or honey, to sell, swap or gift.

The event will proceed regardless of the weather as there will be access to the inside of the hall in the event of rain.

Drought, fires, floods, and COVID-19. Aussie farmers have gone through a lot in the past few years and they're probably hoping never to see such times again.

Which is not to say they won't.

Enter the Future Ready Young Farmers and Fishers course; a free micro learning program designed to help build resilience capabilities in young farmers and fishers aged 18-40 across the Mid Coast region.

Funded by the Young Farmer Business Program (YFBP), an initiative of the NSW Department of Primary Industries, the course is delivered by certified social enterprise organisation, Resilient Ready.

Focused on a series of five-minute modules, the program is for every young farmer and fisher who may think that getting "future ready" in business is too complex, expensive or time consuming.

According to Resilient Ready's program manager, Mel Peverill, the course provides valuable information that without a large time commitment from participants.

"We do the program through five minute micro-learnings as 'thought starters' to help them think about different ways that they can build resilience into their businesses," Mel said.

Delivered over a three month period, the course provides participants with 15 micro-learning modules chosen by a local steering group, two minute video case studies in each module filmed with a local business peer, and three family-friendly workshops to build connections and support shared success.

"It's a program to inspire behaviour change that will help young farmers do business better in the good times as well as set them up to thrive in the bad times."

Registrations for the course are open now with the first modules to be released at the start of March.

To register go to resilientready.org/projects/bcr-toolkit-young-farmers-in-midcoast-nsw.

For more information you can email info@resilientready.org or call 0401 566 602.

The autumn school holidays, from Monday, April 10-Friday, April 21, are only a matter of weeks away

With so much to do and see across the Mid Coast region what's not to love about being on school holidays here?

MidCoast Council has created a kid-friendly guide of fun places to go and things to do and learn.

There's plenty to keep the kids entertained.

Children can join library staff at one of the many MidCoast Council branches across the LGA who have put together a range of exciting activities.

From movie screenings, to art, craft and science workshops, tie-dying, cupcake making and creative writing - there's something for everyone.

All activities are free but places are limited and filling fast.

If getting active and exploring the great outdoors is of more interest, the guide has links to pools, beaches, hiking trails, parks and playgrounds.

Also covered are activities and events for young people at the Manning Regional Art Gallery.

You'll also find a list of handy resources to help you stay updated on important things including roadworks and closures, weather and tidal information and patrolled beaches during the holidays.

"We'll help you swap boredom for busy these April school holidays, with inspiration that includes exploring our great outdoors and an exciting program of activities in our libraries," MidCoast Council liveable communities director, Paul De Szell said.

By Anne Evans

NSW Surf Life Saving conducted a Silver Medallion Aquatic Rescue (SMAR) course at Black Head Surf Club for members of the Lower North Coast Branch.

This provided participants with the skills and knowledge to participate in search and rescue operations. Course learning outcomes included recognising when a rescue response is required, preparing for search and rescue operations, performing complex patient rescues including search and rescue of a missing person, advanced water entry, retrieving submerged objects and on-land night search operation.

The SMAR course is designed for those surf life savers who have, or wish to improve, their respective competencies as members of club and branch Emergency Call Out teams in scenarios such as the dramatic cliff base rescue at Black Head last week.

The SMAR course was facilitated by highly qualified Lower North Coast branch members Suzanne Gerrish, Nathan de Rooy and Gavin Williams.

Assistance was received from existing SMAR operators who shared their skills, experience and enthusiasm with the 12 course participants from Black Head, Forster and Taree-Old Bar clubs.

Other MidCoast Council emergency services were invited to a Helicopter Operations Workshop as part of the program. The audience comprised members of Surf Life Saving NSW and Mid Coast State Emergency Service (SES) units from Forster-Pacific Palms, Wingham, and Harrington. Also attending the training session were members of the Rural Fire Service from Green Point, Pacific Palms, Forster, Coomba Park and Diamond Beach.

The workshop was led by Kris Larkin, a training and checking aircrew officer with the Westpac Helicopter-Northern NSW service. This service provides a vital 24/7 aeromedical search and rescue service for the 1.5 million people living between the Hawkesbury River north to the Queensland border.