Things to do

Bushwalking in Penrith

Go for a bushwalk and enjoy our wonderful natural areas! Take your time to look and listen for the sights and sounds of life.

You can discover remnant vegetation, flowering plants, native animals, nesting boxes and interpretive signage with information about the biodiversity which call these places home.

Ready to go bushwalking? Look for your nearest reserve and plan your walk!

Use these exciting Bush Trackers Guides to discover the following local bushland reserves:

• Agnes Banks Nature Reserve
• Castlereagh Nature Reserve
• Mountain View Reserve
• Werrington Lakes Reserve
• Wianamatta Regional Park

Wildlife Wednesday Photo Competition

Our popular Wildlife Wednesday Photo Competition has closed out its second year with over 300 entries submitted across Facebook. Instagram and email by our community celebrating the natural beauty of Penrith.

In 2021-22, we had over 400 entries submitted.

Winning entries will be featured in our Bushcare calendar, which will be available for free at the end of the year, and will win one of 10 packs of plants grown by Council’s Nursery and a nature-themed book.

With the competition closed, we encourage everyone to continue taking photos! You can share these on Instagram with the hashtag #penrithwild or email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for your chance to be featured in the monthly Bushcare Bulletin and on our social media channels as part of our Wildlife Wednesday program.

Children's Bushcare Printables

Want to learn more about nature? These Bushcare Printables aim to engage young people with nature and encourage a life-long love and care of our environment.

• Colour By Number
• Colouring In
• I Spy
• Maze
• Nature Hunt Walk
• Penrith Platypus Activity Sheet
• Word Search

Children's Activities 

If you’re looking for a set of activities you can do from the comfort of your own backyard, look no further! These activities aim to engage young people with nature using items that you have right at home. (You can also collect the items you need for some of these activiites while on your bushwalk.) 

If you want to show off any of your creations, take a photo and either email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or share it on Instagram in #penrithwild!

What's in Your Backyard? Activity Sheets

“What’s in your backyard?” That’s the question we’re asking with our special “What’s in Your Backyard?” activity sheets. We held an interactive webinar series in September 2021 with Australian Environmental Education and learned about the minibeasts, insects, nocturnal animals, and frogs local to Penrith. Even if you couldn’t make it to the webinar series, you can still get the most out of the activity sheets!

Minibeasts in your backyard
Learn about the minibeasts living in your backyard. Discover why they’re important and learn how to find them in your garden or local bushland reserve.

Noises in the Night
Are you curious about the nocturnal animals living in your area? Learn how to look at some of the clues they're leaving behind for you to discover.

Create a frog-friendly backyard
Do you have a lot of frogs around your house? Learn more about frogs, vertebrates, and see if you can discover your very own frog!

How to make an insect hotel
Curious about the types of insects that live in your backyard? Learn how you can make an insect hotel out of the materials you may have stored away in the garage.

The activity sheets were created by Australian Environmental Education for the “What’s in Your Backyard?” interactive webinar series.

Bushcare Boosters 

Want to know more we do what we do at Bushcare? Learn more about the techniques, ecology and science behind Bushcare with the following three training modules produced by Local Land Services.

The series includes:

Module 1 – Working safely and weed control techniques

This module covers weed characteristics, basic weed control techniques, and general safe work practices and methodology.

Module 2 – Bushcare and the ‘Big Picture’

This module will help you understand the values and key concepts of Bushcare and provides guidelines for developing action plans for Bushcare sites.

Module 3 – The birds and the bees of Bushcare

This module looks at the often-forgotten side of the Bushcare equation, the fauna. While it will not give you detailed solutions for every situation, we aim to provide some tips for making your Bushcare project as fauna friendly as possible.