Residents are encouraged to make their homes and gardens more sustainable by learning about permaculture, composting, worm farming and keeping chickens at a new eco education garden at Buttonderry Waste Management Facility.

The garden is being used for eight free community workshops during Wyong Lakes Festival, and bookings are essential.

It contains raised garden beds, tepee display posts, gardening table, brick area for functions, foot bridge, children’s garden and play area, training amphitheatre and edible and native gardens.

Council’s Senior Project Officer, Ms Narelle Peterson, said the garden had been specifically designed to facilitate community workshops where residents could learn to reduce waste and their use of household chemicals.

“The garden was developed as part of Council’s Waste Less Recycle More program and the workshops are designed to teach the community how they can reuse and recycle,” Ms Peterson said.

“Permaculture workshops will teach people how to harvest and maximise water, sun and other natural resources such as leaves, bird droppings and dust.”

“Simple things such as planting seedlings in newspaper pots that can then be planted straight into the soil help minimise the amount of work needed in the garden and it’s environmentally friendly.”

Some workshops include free starter packs which are limited to one per household. Attendees of the Worm farming workshop will receive a small worm farm kit to take home, and those who attend the Gardening in small places workshop will receive a small garden pack, including tools and seedlings, to take home and so they can get started straight away.

The garden is mostly made of recycled materials - the pathways are made from crushed old roof tiles and the garden beds are made from old railway sleepers.

Bookings are essential.

Visit wyong.nsw.gov.au/wyonglakesfestival and go to What’s On.