The final round of the Murray League’s home and away season will be played tomorrow, with the Deni Rams hosting Barooga at home.
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In a celebration of football and netball efforts across the region, the Rams are offering free gate entry to any member of the local Picola League clubs.
You must show your Blighty, Deni Rovers or Mathoura membership card to take advantage of the offer.
The Rams are marking R U OK? Day at the Hardinge St Oval tomorrow.
Traditionally held the second Thursday or September each year, R U OK? Day promotes having regular, meaningful conversations with the people in your club, social circle or winder community.
These conversations help build trust and normalise talking about what’s really going on, so when the people in your world find themselves struggling, they know you’re someone they can talk to.
It could be a conversation that can change a life.
• Anyone requiring crisis support can contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Resources are also available at www.denimentalhealth.org.au.
Not just any old bat
Pastoral Times readers have helped shed a little more light on the upside-down winged visitors to the Deniliquin Waring Gardens.
While it’s still not quite clear how they came to be in Deniliquin specifically, we’ve learned they are grey-headed flying foxes.
And according to Australian Geographic, they do more than just create a spectacle.
“Australia’s grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) aren’t just adorable; they’re vital pollinators that disperse thousands of fruit seeds each night as they feed,” the well-known publication’s website states.
Flying foxes are also known colloquially as fruit bats.
Once thought to be threatened with extinction, a recent CSIRO study has shown the population has been relatively stable since 2012, when surveys began under the National Flying-fox Monitoring Program. But they are still listed as ‘vulnerable’.
“During the day, flying foxes like to hang out together. They rest and socialise in large roosts,” the CSIRO says.
“As the sun sets, they take to the sky, departing in large streams to forage during the night in the surrounding landscape.
“Their food of choice is nectar from a wide variety of eucalypt, bloodwood and melaleuca species.
“In return, they play an important pollination role, as if they were nocturnal bees with a one-metre wingspan.
“Individuals regularly change roosts. They move throughout the species’ range, following food resources.”
Sounds like it may not be a spectacle for too long, so get out and see them while you can.
Initially spotted in the palm tree near the toilets on the Cressy St side of the park, some of the flying foxes have already relocated to other trees in the park.
Book Week fun at the library
Don’t forget to pop along to the Edward River Library in Deniliquin this afternoon for the Children’s Book Week Fun Day.
Running from 3pm to 5pm, there will be a chance to participate in some sidewalk art and other great activities.
Also on offer will be a sausage sizzle.
The theme for this year's Book Week is ‘Reading is Magic’, touching on the power of reading, the places it can take you to and sparking curiosity in children.
Activities that have been hosted at the library this week for Book Week have included a book swap, magic wand making, art competitions and scavenger hunts.
Nominate a top woman
The search for the most inspiring and extraordinary women and girls in NSW have begun, with the opening of nominations for the NSW Women of the Year Awards 2025.
The annual awards program recognises and celebrates women and girls who inspire us with their actions, whether they are ground-breaking thinkers, everyday heroes, social reformers or innovative role models.
The five award categories include:
• Premier’s NSW Woman of Excellence
• NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year
• NSW Community Hero
• NSW Regional Woman of the Year
• NSW Young Woman of the Year
Nominations have also opened for the Ones to Watch category, recognising 10 rising stars between the ages of seven and 15.
The recipients of the awards will be announced at the NSW Women of the Year Awards ceremony on Thursday, March 6 2025, as part of NSW Women’s Week 2025 (March 2-8).
Nominate as www.nsw.gov.au/women-nsw/awards-and-events/nsw-women-of-year-awards.
Charity opens photo comp
Australia’s most trusted rural charity has opened its annual photography competition to the public for its fifth year.
Spirit of the Bush is an Australian-wide photography competition run by Rural Aid, and is a great way to get a glimpse into life on the land.
Twelve winners will be featured in Rural Aid’s 2025 wall calendar and will also receive a $250 pre-paid VISA card.
The competition closes October 1, 2024.
Entrants must submit a high-resolution, landscape image via Instagram or Facebook, with the hashtag #SOTB2024 and tag @ruralaid in the picture.
Photos can also be uploaded to the Woobox link found at https://www.ruralaid.org.au/spirit-of-the-bush/, where terms and conditions will also be listed.
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