The CEN is an alliance of community and environment groups from Lake Macquarie, Wyong and Gosford. We are a non-profit organisation working to protect and improve our local environment. The aims and objectives of CEN are as follows:• to increase effectiveness of community groups • to be a regional voice on…

The Coastal Open Space System (COSS) is a network of reserves supporting natural vegetation that are managed by Gosford Council for a number of environmental and community values. COSS lands provide important ecological habitats (or homes) and essential linkages (wildlife corridors) for diverse fauna and flora. These natural areas are…

Whenever I go into the CEN office located at Ourimbah campus, to attend meetings or catch up on tasks as the volunteer in chief, I am always greeted by the wonderful energy of community members in our centre.  It is great to catch up with staff and the inspirational work…

It Takes A Village ... Is originally, an African proverb. We have all heard it and understand that raising children and the next generation requires multiple members of the community, such as extended family, teachers, mentors, surrogate family members and friends to support and help them develop. Parents are not enough,…

CEN would like to remind the Community and CEN Members that The Central Coast Council's Draft Waste Resource Management Strategy is currently open for Public Exhibition.   https://www.yourvoiceourcoast.com/our-coast-our-waste The team at Community Environment Network hosted a discussion with Kariong Eco Garden about the Strategy.Check out CEN's facebook page for some more…

Local Systems As a member of the Local Futures network a global organisation that recognises, that the future lies with the local community. We share ideas, stories and models of operating that work in our localities with the aim of developing socially inclusive and sustainable communities. So, we understand, that…

We are looking for nursery hand volunteers to assist the nursery coordinator at our Ourimbah Wildplant Community Nursery 2-15hrs a week.   Duties include: watering, tidying, weeding of plants, stocktake, preparing plant orders and labelling. No experience needed, onsite training provided.   Please contact CEN if you are interested.  Nursery hand Volunteer…

Central Coast Council's first draft Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) is on exhibition until the 8th June. This is an important document as it will strongly influence if not direct how and where local development will take place over the next 20 years If you want to have a say on the…

The CEN office is closed to the public until further notice. There will be skeleton staff working at the office, if you have any queries related to CEN please contact us via email or phone.  02 4349 4756 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Health Crisis? The recent outbreak of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) has forced authorities to take measures to practice self-isolation and physical distancing. So hence CEN has had to cancel its upcoming events, that engage us with our natural environment and each other through our numerous programs. As well as being a…

The year is 2050 and our Central Coast Youth are now leading in their respective fields in our communities across the coast. The transition to renewable energy production is now complete, the local economies are interdependent on sustainable industries, run and owned locally. Community gardens are a hive of activity and…

If you think about our first response to emergencies and disasters, we generally look out for our fellow community members. We offer them shelter, feed and care for them, it’s in our DNA, we just do it automatically without giving it much thought. Recently, a wider cross section of our…

Depending on who you ask, ‘what is human nature?’ You’ll receive a completely different response. The lens with which the world is viewed is the key here. An economist may say human nature is to strive for development and growth, a health practitioner may say human nature is to strive…

Last night, 28 November was CEN’s End of Year get-together where we celebrated together the achievements of this past year. We also presented the 2019 Be a Team (BAT) Awards and CEN Staff gave a brief update on their activities for the year. The 2019 winners are: Most outstanding all-rounder “BAT”…

The recent catastrophic fire conditions have highlighted the deep disconnect we have with nature and lack of understanding of our interdependency with this living system, of which we are a part. This ignorance at all levels of our complex societies, has detached the connection between deforestation leading to soil erosion…

Please make a submission - they close on Monday, 11 November, 2019.  Central Coast Council has recently exhibited a draft Biodiversity Strategy. We note that there are many good actions in the document that staff have prepared. It is also a well presented document with lots of good information and illustrations.…

Nature is diverse, connected, interdependent, restorative, and regenerative which has with time generated resilient communities of species and natural wonder. Those of us who do enjoy spending time in our natural environment would recognise this quality about being human, we are aware of nature’s beauty and bounty.

Building our Youth, for the future is something as community members and leaders we should be refocusing our energies. To quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, “We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.” As a community campaigner over the years…

We face challenging times across the globe with global warming and climate change, these challenges also bring opportunities to develop sustainable development, that is in balance with our basic needs of clean air, water and soil to grow our foods and plant our trees. A balanced approach is needed to…