CONVERSATION HUB

Join us for a thought-provoking talk with Annmarie, from Education Navigator Australia - expert in sustainable family education. In an ever-changing world, parents and caregivers are seeking innovative and eco-conscious ways to nurture their children's growth and development. This talk will dive deep into alternative education options that align perfectly with the values of sustainable families.

Don't miss this opportunity to glean a wealth of knowledge from experience permaculture educator Pete the Permie! In this talk he'll focus on the basic ideas for a good permaculture designed Home Orchard.

Some topics covered will include:

- Innovations in rootstocks

- that mean we can grow “Olde heritage varieties” of most fruit in a more controlled manner, so the family get the fruit not the Birds, Bats & Possums. (new netting laws discussed).

- How can we layout trees to help each other, so we get best performance from these weather conditions normal to extreme?

- Are Dwarf fruit trees viable, can you make your own. - Why are grafted trees the most productive ones and who does not need grafting anyway.

- Design methods to beat the Fruit fly menace plus other pests & disease. Peter has been designing these for 30 years in all sorts of situations & teaching fruit, cider & cheese classes for 20+ years.

This session will be followed by a grafting demonstration back at our stall about 1 hour later.

To save Australia’s unique animals and plants, we need to preserve and restore large areas of native habitat. That’s where you come in: private landholders have an amazing opportunity to be part of the story of healing Australia’s environment.

Join Nicki Munro, senior ecologists from Trust for Nature, for a discussion about the benefits and joys of private land conservation, and what landholders can do to strengthen biodiversity in their backyards while enjoying a deeper connection with nature.

Conversations around the end of a garments useful life need to be had. Sending our unwanted garments to poorer countries, burning unsold clothing is no solution. The challenges we face and how as consumers and designers we have the power to change the formula. Changing a formula that has a strong hold within a culture isn’t an easy road. We have designed this brilliant T-Shirt here is Australia. I want to talk to you about how we did it and where we go from here. 

This is a wonderful opportunity to start your natural bee-keeping journey the right way with advice, tips and insights into taking a natural approach. In this very special hour and a half presentation Adrian and Ben will take you through the basics of natural bee-keeping including discussions about the differences between commercial style conventional bee hives and a more sustainable approach to caring for bee’s in Kenyan Top Bar Hive’s.

Full talk details coming soon. 

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Daryl Taylor - Environmental Health, Mental Health, Public Health, Systemic Resilience, Change Leadership and Strategic Innovation

Elena Pereyra - Architect, Co-Housing Australia Co-Chair and Regenerative Development and Urban Commons consultant 

Yin Paradies - Professor and Chair in Race Relations at Deakin University and Board Member of Regen Melbourne

Josh Floyd - Engineer, Energy, Systems and Society Fellow at The Rescope Project and Strategic Foresight practitioner

Serenity Hill - Regenerative Farmer and Co-Founder of Open Food Network and Director of Open Food Foundation 

Part 1: Learn how greywater can be put to good use as an irrigation source via simple diversion systems to create water-wise gardens/farms. Some examples of both DIY setups and off the shelf products will be explained. Anthony will also go through the details of greywater reuse in both town and rural settings and the regulations to understand. 

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Part 2: Anthony will continue the discussion and go through greywater disposal systems and reedbeds. Learn about simple techniques for managing greywater in off-grid setups including simple trench systems and reedbed treatment systems etc.

In this intro to grafting Charlie will take you through the different types of grafts, why graft at all, best time of year to graft, knife safety, rootstocks, scion wood and permaculture tips and tricks.

With stories from his own personal journey and that of his family business Black Barn Farm, this will be a workshop not to be missed. 

Most people understand solar power as part of their and the world’s future, but fewer recognise the other solar energy source freely available to most in rural Australia; Wood Energy.

David Holmgren has a lifetime of experience with wood cooking, heating and hot water and a passion for growing and harvesting wood as part of permaculture designed property management. Beyond these modest and low-tech options he has a bigger vision for modern wood technology to keep rural Australia powered and mobile using the abundance of nature while helping keep our rural communities safe from bushfire. This message from a Deep Green pioneer with a chainsaw shows how we can rekindle our ancestral connection with fire using low and high(er) tech.

With such a thriving farmers market scene in Australia the birth of the farmers market cheese maker has begun!

Creating your own micro dairy can not only generate a sustainable income, but give you a life full of passion and pride.

My name is Cameron Rowan and I have 15 years experience in making cheese and dairy products and started my own micro dairy 10 years ago. Come along and let's chat about all things micro dairy!

An interactive session, covering all the fun stuff about bees and more, this talk will blow your mind on how interesting and intelligent these little insects are.

Peter Axis, a passionate permaculturist and commercial worm farmer from the Manning Valley NSW, shares his knowledge from years of vermiculture and composting experience. Peter will address common concerns and queries related to worm farming, covering a wide range of topics such as feeding and caring for worms, maintaining the right conditions for optimal productivity, and utilizing the resulting compost effectively.

Including Q&A for all your worm related questions.

Sarah from Halve Waste discusses all things recycling and composting. She emphasises that striving to be a 'zero waster' may not be feasible for the average Australian. Sarah highlights the challenges of waste avoidance, acknowledging that it's nearly impossible to avoid in our plastic covered, consumer driven world. Instead, she encourages embracing small successes and being kind to ourselves. Additionally, Sarah addresses the topic of soft plastics recycling in Indigo Shire. The presentation lasts 45 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A session on recycling and composting.