Foster's Prom Health has been named a finalist in the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) Rural Health Awards, recognition that the team says reflects a year of significant growth and a shared commitment to community health.

South Gippsland Shire Council has celebrated its latest round of community grants at a presentation night, with twenty organisations sharing $122,959 to support projects ranging from equipment purchases and facility upgrades to events, programs and other community initiatives.

More than 40 volunteers turned out on Saturday 8 August to plant 1,100 native seedlings along Battery Creek in Fish Creek, restoring vital Wet Forest habitat and building on revegetation work already underway in the Hoddle Range.

The Bass Coast South Gippsland Food System Alliance is offering an Introduction to Permaculture weekend in Fish Creek in November, and it’s open to complete beginners and those with some prior knowledge alike.

Foster Primary School is investing significantly in its Prep and Year 1 classrooms this year, introducing a co-teaching model that places two teachers and an Education Support Staff member in the room together every morning to deliver targeted, small-group learning.

H5 bird flu has been confirmed in South Gippsland, with a positive case in a Greater Crested Tern recorded on 15 August at Hourigan’s Camp Lane, Sandy Point, and several other sick and dead birds reported to the authorities at the Spit at Sandy Point, as well as a Black Swan at Shallow Inlet.

Local performers will have a strong presence when FAMDA’s 24th South Gippsland One Act Play Festival takes over the Foster War Memorial Arts Centre on August 29 and 30.