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 is back for its fourth year!

Last year, we had over 500 entries submitted across Facebook, Instagram and email by our community celebrating the natural beauty of Penrith. We drew 10 winners who won a nature pack each and had the chance to be featured in Council's Bushcare calendar.

This year, aspiring photographers are entering the draw to win one of 10 Nature Packs, including 1 x ‘Habitat: A Practical Guide to Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Australian Garden’ by AB Bishop, 1 x Biodiversity Pack of 10 pre-selected native plants supplied by Council’s Nursery, and the opportunity to be featured in the Bushcare Calendar 2026.

How long is the competition running?

The competition is open from Wednesday 1 November 2024 and closes 5pm Saturday 1 February 2025.

How do I enter the competition?

We have three different ways you can enter the competition:

• ON INSTAGRAM: Post on Instagram including the hashtags #penrithwild and #wwcomp, a brief description of what your photo is and where it was taken, and the year. Entries without #wwcomp and posted privately on accounts will not be considered entered. Accounts must be public for photos to be entered.
• ON FACEBOOK: Post your photo as a reply to our photo competition posts on Facebook. Photos shared in posts that are not dedicated to the photo competition will not be considered entered.
• VIA EMAIL: Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject “Wildlife Wednesday Photo Competition Entry” and a high-quality version of your photograph. Please provide a description of what you photographed and where you captured it.

How many times can I enter?

As many times as you like! You will only have the chance to win one Nature Pack per household. We will only select one of your photos as a winning entry.

What are the prizes?

Each pack includes 1 x ‘ ‘Habitat: A Practical Guide to Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Australian Garden’ by AB Bishop and 1 x Biodiversity Pack of 10 pre-selected native plants supplied by Council’s Nursery.

Winners’ photos will be displayed for a month at Penrith City Library and have their photograph featured, with full credit, in Council’s free Bushcare Calendar 2026, which is given to over 200 volunteers every year.

Terms and conditions

Please ensure you read the terms and conditions before entering.

If you have any questions, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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.