Conservation Groups Sydney

Beyond 9–5 | Life, Business & Meaningful Connections 🌿

Life is more than just work, bills and the daily routine! Are you looking to meet new people, exchange ideas, grow personally and professionally, and explore opportunities beyond your 9–5? Join Beyond 9–5 Life & Business, a welcoming community for people who believe there is more to life than simply working and going home. ✨ What we’re about: * Meeting like-minded people and building genuine friendships * Sharing business ideas, career experiences and opportunities * Personal development and learning new perspectives * Networking in a relaxed and friendly environment * Creating a more balanced, interesting and fulfilling life Whether you’re a professional, entrepreneur, student, or simply someone looking to expand your social circle, you’re welcome here! No pressure, no formal presentations — just good conversations, fresh perspectives and meaningful connections. 🌟 Beyond work. Beyond routine. Beyond limits. Come as you are, bring your curiosity, and let’s grow together!

Taronga Zoo Wharf to Neutral Bay

It’s time to smell the roses and check out the jacarandas on this scenic walk. We start at Taronga Zoo Wharf and follow the coast past Bradleys Head, Sirius Cove, Mosman Bay, Cremorne Point and on to Neutral Bay viewing roses and jacarandas on the way. We will have lunch at The Oaks. Start location: Taronga Zoo Wharf. (Meet outside the wharf entrance.) Transport: The 9.50am F2 Taronga Zoo Ferry from Wharf 4 arrives at Taronga Zoo at 10.02am. We start walking at 10.05am. Distance: Whatever your GPS says at the end of the walk🤣 Terrain: Bush tracks, sealed roads and a couple of steep hills. Time: About 3 hours walking WHAT TO BRING: Please wear good bushwalking shoes and bring a hat, sunscreen, rain jacket, first aid kit and 2L water. DISCLAIMERS: Your health and safety is our priority and we take care to minimise risk and avoid accidents and injuries. However, our Organisers and Hosts are not responsible for your health and safety and do not accept any liability for accidents or injuries that may occur during Meetup activities or events.

Australian Issues: Lauran Townsend and Vinay Kolhatkar

Dear members, We have had to switch dates for the meetup. And now we have an additional speaker, Councilor Lauren Townsend! Councillor Townsend was elected to Waverley Council in 2024. She entered politics after almost a decade of pro bono criminal defence work. Councillor Townsend has been a member of the Liberal Party for most of her life until recently. Like many, she realised that the Liberal Party has lost its identity and lost its way and has now joined One Nation. She will talk about why she switched political parties. Vinay Kolhatkar will be giving a short presentation on what it means to have Mono-, Uni-, or Multiculturalism, so we can all make up our own minds as to what’s best for us individually, and for Australia as a whole. There will be plenty of time for attendees to ask questions, make comments and interact. And please purchase a meal and/or drinks. After all this venue has been provided free by Shakespeare’s so that is the least we can do. Vinay is the author of the politically incorrect novels, *A Sharia London* and *The Frankenstein Candidate.* He is also a coauthor of Media Wars: The Battle to Shape Our Minds, and of *Modernizing Aristotle’s Ethics*, which was published by an academic press and sold to university libraries worldwide as a text for philosophy and psychology. His latest novel is Dreams of Orphans, which was released on 30th September. Until August 2026, he was the federal secretary and director of policy for the Libertarian Party and ran in two federal elections as their candidate. He is also an occasional columnist for *Spectator Australia*, where he likes to warn the western world of the incoming threat of neo-Marxism and their alliance with terrorist ideologies. See you then, Craig White

SSP FRIDAY - SUB BASE PLATYPUS & JACARANDAS IN BLOOM

Today we go to Sub Base Platypus then to see the jacarandas in bloom at Milson Park and McDougall Street in Kirribilli. We leave Chambers at 1030 to get the ferry across to Sub Base Platypus at Kirribilli. Lunch will be upstairs at the Kirribilli Hotel, booked for 1pm. 35-37 Broughton Street, opposite Milsons Point train station.

Come watch the US mid-term elections live at Cheers Bar!

Join us for a few hours of political drama, surprises and excitement as we watch the results unfold live! 📅 **Wednesday, 4 November** 🕚 **11 am – 5 pm (come and go as you please)** 📍 **Cheers Bar, Basement Level** 561 George Street, Sydney Whether you’re Democrat, Republican, independent or simply curious, everyone is welcome! Come along, enjoy the atmosphere, share a few laughs and experience the fun and excitement of American politics — **whatever your political views!** 🍻 Great company, lively discussion and plenty of election-night drama (in the middle of the day!). **Hope to see you there!** Cheers! 🍻 Craig White (Organiser)

Heritage Braai at Manly dam - Saturday 7 November

Capertee Campground/ Navigation with maps / Car Camp Wknd

🎨 She Sees Art — 2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

🎨 **Shake things up and you'll see new colours.** **Please note: She Sees Art is a women-only group and event. Women of all backgrounds are welcome.** Why not mix up your weekend routine by joining like-minded women to explore art, discover new perspectives and enjoy a coffee and good company along the way? We'll start with coffee and a relaxed chat before heading to the **Australian Museum** to explore the **2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year**. The exhibition celebrates the natural world around us, showcasing spectacular flora, fauna and landscapes from Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and New Guinea. 🎉 **THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL!** Thank you to everyone who has RSVP'd! We've reached our group limit for this visit to the Australian Museum, so RSVPs are now closed. If you'd like to attend, you're welcome to join the waitlist on Meetup. If a place becomes available, someone on the waitlist will have the opportunity to join us. Thanks for your understanding. **ART FOCUS** Nature photography · Wildlife · Landscapes · The natural world **WHERE WE'RE GOING** ☕ **Meeting point: Hydeaway Cafe, Hyde Park** 120 Elizabeth Street, Sydney NSW 2000 We'll meet here at **10:00am** for coffee and a relaxed chat and will leave for the museum from this point at 10.30am. The walk to the museum is \~8 minutes. 🎨 **Art destination: Australian Museum** 1 William Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010 We'll meet outside the museum at **10:40am** before heading in to explore the exhibition together. **Can't make the coffee? No problem!** You're very welcome to meet us outside the Australian Museum at 10:40am. * Women of all ages welcome * No art knowledge required, just curiosity! * Free to attend — exhibition entry is free; everyone pays for their own coffee and food **Coming on your own?** That's completely fine! She Sees Art is about enjoying art and culture together and getting to know other women in a relaxed, welcoming setting. I'll share any final updates, including what I'm wearing so you'll know who to look for, in the Meetup group chat. **Questions?** First time joining us, or have a question about the event? Feel free to email me at sheseesartsydney@gmail.com. I'm happy to help! I can't wait to see you all! 📷🌿 *Cover image: Fairyfloss by Lewis Burnett, Australian Museum*

Community of Practice 🗣️ - Human Hearted Sydney 🌻

Join our monthly Community of Practice (COP) where we discuss the ideas of Human Heartedness: a secular approach to life that promotes empathy and social connection based on cultivating our human social potential. Each meeting we discuss these concepts and how they can help us in practical ways to live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives. The meeting is followed by an optional lunch together nearby. This is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and find your local community! ⏰ **When:** Sunday November 8th at 11:00am 📍 **Where:** Darling Square Library, Level 1 - Ideas Space 2 (see directions) 🎟️ **Cost:** Free 🧑‍🦱 **Who should come:** anyone looking to meet new people and build connections with like-minded Sydneysiders. We’re queer-friendly and welcome people from all ages and backgrounds :) **About Human Heartedness:** The modern world’s focus on competition and materialism makes it easy to feel isolated and overwhelmed. The collapse of traditional sources of meaning like religion and local community intensify this so that we’re often left with a lack of meaning and purpose. We can try to fill the void with money and success—or to numb it with drugs and technology— but nothing seems to work. Human heartedness reminds us that the path to living well doesn’t come from money and power, but from building on the best in our own human hearts. Our human social potential. It points to a better way: to build in-person communities that build on our innate social potential and inherent value as humans. By building good relationships and social connections, we can live a more fruitful and fulfilling life (and help others to do the same). We can move from struggling alone to flourishing together. Following the human hearted way offers a secular, inclusive, forward looking solution to the meaning crisis of our times. [Learn more about Human Heartedness and our other events here!](https://linktr.ee/humanheartedsydney) **About the Community of Practice (COP):** Our human hearted community of practice (COP) offers a friendly welcoming environment in which we support and encourage each other to live more human hearted lives. Our goal is to build a community that supports us all to live more meaningful and fulfilling lives. We welcome you to join us in exploring together how to live better lives. *Human Hearted Sydney is sponsored by Humanists Australia which kindly funds our activities and keeps events like this free. Consider donating to Humanists Australia to show your support for community-building in Sydney and beyond. All our events are governed by [Humanist Australia's Code of Conduct](https://bit.ly/ha-conduct-pdf).*

Why Aren't We Working Less? The Four-Day Work Week Debate

Why do we still work so much? In 1930, celebrated economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that rising productivity would reduce the working week to just fifteen hours by now, leaving society with a novel challenge: what to do with all that free time! He was remarkably close on the productivity prediction—yet the standard working week has barely changed. So where did the promised leisure go? Did consumerism convince us to trade leisure for luxury brands and better gadgets? Did work itself become too central to who we are — our identity, our worth, our status in the world — to simply give some of it up? Or did most of the gains from productivity growth flow upward, leaving the rest of us running just to stand still? We'll explore the history of the five-day week, the evidence coming from today's four-day week trials, and whether working less could create a happier, healthier society—or simply new problems. Join us as we unpack this fascinating debate about the future of work. **Primary Reading:** ***[Why Do We Still Work So Much? The Pros and Cons of a Four-Day Week](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQCMLOhSERNXQrLX7RbhwoOjASCYnbF-FMR0fSJ4mRubaFA?e=s1NMGH)*** (a document prepared for this meetup) **Report: *[Four-Day Work Week (2026)](https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/Issues_and_Insights/2026/FourDayWorkWeek)***[ ](https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/Research/Issues_and_Insights/2026/FourDayWorkWeek) by Parliamentary Library of Australia **(Optional) Book: *The Case for a Four-Day Week* (2021) by Anna Coote, Aidan Harper and Alfie Stirling** There wasn't one ideal book (affordable and easily available in paperback) for this month's topic, so the primary reading is a document prepared specially for this meetup, It traces the history of the working week from its origins through to today's four-day trials and policy proposals, weighing the strongest arguments on both sides. It's designed to give everyone a shared, evidence-based foundation for the discussion. However, if you are fine with reading eBooks or can find it with your library, the main book I would suggest is *The Case for a Four Day Week* by Anna Coote, Aidan Harper and Alfie Stirling, which is a widely cited book-length treatment of the topic and is readily available as an eBook, though you will probably need to order it in if you'd prefer a paperback. And if you have no luck with that book, there are also two other similar books mentioned below which you may also want to try (O'Connor and Lindzon, 2026; Schor, 2025) We also recommend you look at a short, up-to-date report from the Parliamentary Library of Australia, which offers a concise local policy snapshot to complement the broader discussion in the main reading. As always, we strongly encourage you to do the reading before attending. This will enrich both your experience and our collective discussion. We’ve also included links below to further resources on the topic. So join us for a drink (and optional meal) at 6:30pm on Monday, 2 November, on the 2nd floor of the Keg & Brew Hotel in Surrey Hills (i.e. up two flights of stairs). The venue is conveniently located near Central Station and the Light Rail. We look forward to seeing you there! P.S. Please adjust your RSVP if you have indicated that you will come but are no longer able to do so. This is courteous to others if there is a waitlist. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- These are just optional links to consider. Feel free to pass on other useful links in the discussion section. **Videos** * Two short explainer videos about why we still work so much: [The five-day workweek was made up. What if we changed it?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn5-FIkFq0I) [Why do we still need to work?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KXZP-Deel4) * Two videos on the four-day work week: [TED The Case for a 4-Day Work Week by Juliet Schor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyVfUaXyyqo) [ABC Could a 4-day working week be coming to Australia?](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-29/could-a-4-day-working-week-be-coming-to-australia/105588208) * SBS Insight - Rat Race - Episode 11 2026. As post-COVID attitudes towards work-life balance continue to change, some of us are questioning our role in the rat race and opting out. For others, the choice is hampered by housing and cost-of-living pressures. This Insight explores how Australians are balancing a desire to clock-off - and doing something like a 4-day week - with their need to pay the bills. **Written** * Primary Reading: ***[Why Do We Still Work So Much? The Pros and Cons of a Four-Day Week](https://1drv.ms/b/c/adb4f7488b2eef0a/IQCMLOhSERNXQrLX7RbhwoOjASCYnbF-FMR0fSJ4mRubaFA?e=s1NMGH)*** (a document prepared for this meetup) * An Easter egg for those who have read this far: [The Case for a Four Day Week](http://reparti.free.fr/coote2021.pdf) * A Britannica overview of issues relating to a four-day work week: [The Four-Day Work Week](https://www.britannica.com/procon/four-day-workweek-debate) * Studies and trends in Australia's experience with four day work week; [Emerging Four Day Work Week Trends in Australia](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372461877_Emerging_Four_Day_Work_Week_Trends_in_Australia) [The four-day workweek in Australia: insights from early adopters](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-026-07536-x) * An annotated reading of John Maynard Keynes' 1930 lecture about what 2030 might look like: [Keynes (1930) Economic possibilities for our grandchildren ](https://www.elysian.press/p/economic-possibilities-for-our-grandchildren) * Other books which members may want to look at: *\- Do More in Four: Why It's Time for a Shorter Workweek* (2026) by Joe O'Connor and Jared Lindzon — written by the pioneer behind Ireland's national four-day week pilot, this is one of the most current, practically-minded account of how organisations are actually redesigning work around a shorter week, including in the age of AI. *\- Four Days a Week: The Life\-Changing Solution for Reducing Employee Stress\, Improving Well\-Being\, and Working Smarter* (2025) by Juliet Schor — drawing on the largest study yet conducted on reduced-hours trials (245 organisations, 8,700 workers), this is Schor's own full account of the evidence behind the case for a four-day week. *\- Bullshit Jobs: A Theory* (2018) by David Graeber — a provocative anthropological argument that a significant share of modern work is pointless by the admission of the people doing it, offering a very different angle on why we still work so much.

Forestville to Manly: Classic Bushwalk, Manly Dam, Manly Beach 16KM Medium

**Forestville to Manly: Classic Bushwalk, Manly Dam, Manly Beach 15KM Medium** This excellent bush walk has the following stages: 1\. Forestville to Manly Dam: 8km\. Toilets\, and lunch stop\. 2\. Many Dam to Manly Ferry Wharf: 8km\. What more could you possibly want from a day out!!! **Distance:** 16KM **Type of Walk:** Great bush walking in the first half, including little known trails leading onto the back of Manly Dam. Parks, well-formed paths for the rest of the day. **Difficulty:** Medium. **Walking Pace:** Steady pace all day and average 4.5 km per hour. **Meeting Place + Transport:** We meet at **Chatswood Train/Bus Interchange** to catch the **160X Service Bus**, departing **Bus Stand A at 10:02AM**, through to Forestville. Ferry back to Circular Quay or northern beaches bus services from Manly. **What to bring:** Walking shoes/boots; 1.5 litres of water, refill available; hydrolytes; snacks; lunch, light rain jacket; sunscreen, cap/hat. **NO SHOPS AT OUR LUNCH STOP, SO BRING FOOD!** **Suggested Donation:** $10 **Pub:** Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly Corso **By RSVPing to this event,** you (and your guests) agree to and are bound by the terms and conditions of SOMG which you can view here: https://www.meetup.com/sydney-outdoors-meetup-group/messages/boards/thread/53245383 **Questions?** Leave a comment below. I look forward to seeing you on this walk. I will post my mobile number closer to the day. Ted :)

N for Nasi Goreng