The Central Coast Edible Garden Trail is a weekend of inspiration, connection and so much fun! Garden hosts will share their passion, wisdom and practical know-how to a steady flow of visitors. If you’re looking for in depth information on a particular garden be sure to arrive for a scheduled tour where the host will take a group through their garden and explain their systems, design and plant choices, what’s worked and what hasn’t. Or feel free to wander through on your own to enjoy each beautiful and unique space. All of our garden hosts and organisers are volunteers, giving their time and wisdom freely. The funds raised through ticket sales are redistributed to our local community – read more about what we did with last year’s monies. The Trail is self-guided so you can decide which gardens you’d like to visit. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about:

• Food forests

• Small animal systems including deep litter, chook tractors and integrated food forests

• Water management including swales, rain gardens and ponds

• No dig raised beds and sheet mulching

• Keeping bees – Native and European

• Habitats for wildlife

• Building healthy soil through compost, worm farms, deep litter, chop and drop and green manure crops

• Mandala gardens

• Gardens for biodiversity.

The Central Coast Edible Garden Trail is a weekend of inspiration, connection and so much fun! Garden hosts will share their passion, wisdom and practical know-how to a steady flow of visitors. If you’re looking for in depth information on a particular garden be sure to arrive for a scheduled tour where the host will take a group through their garden and explain their systems, design and plant choices, what’s worked and what hasn’t. Or feel free to wander through on your own to enjoy each beautiful and unique space. All of our garden hosts and organisers are volunteers, giving their time and wisdom freely. The funds raised through ticket sales are redistributed to our local community – read more about what we did with last year’s monies. The Trail is self-guided so you can decide which gardens you’d like to visit. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about:

• Food forests

• Small animal systems including deep litter, chook tractors and integrated food forests

• Water management including swales, rain gardens and ponds

• No dig raised beds and sheet mulching

• Keeping bees – Native and European

• Habitats for wildlife

• Building healthy soil through compost, worm farms, deep litter, chop and drop and green manure crops

• Mandala gardens

• Gardens for biodiversity.

Food Fairness Illawarra warmly invites you to join us for our annual Connecting Over Fair Food event to hear from those who are actively working within our food system and explore ideas around building food resilience in our community!

The theme for this year is Know, Share, Grow and our focus is on the steps we can take as a community. From making food choices that improve both our health and that of our food system, to not letting sustainable habits fall by the wayside, we all have a role to play!

Be inspired by our speakers
In a conversation with Maree from Hidden Harvest presented with an inspiring smorgasbord of easy & tangible steps that you can take to contribute to the building of a fairer food system. by the following:

Emmanuela from Farm it Forward, a not-for-profit urban farming social enterprise model connecting landowners and local young people who are passionate about growing food. The project fosters youth and community mental health, develops skills, training and job opportunities, while tackling social isolation and increasing community wellbeing.

Suzy & Sarah from FOODTALKS Illawarra, where growers, producers and anyone interested in local food systems and challenging their consumer habits can meet, listen, converse and learn from each other. Suzy is doing a PhD in sustainable food systems in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions. Sarah is the founder and head gardener of Popes Produce.

Narelle from A Garden For Life, who is a garden designer and horticulturist who specialises in native gardens and permaculture design, with a passion about creating ‘living’ spaces that are nurturing, productive and sustainable

Have a chat to our stallholders
Upon arrival you'll be welcomed by a great variety of market stalls and fair food information to browse, connect and learn about the many awesome initiatives we have in the Illawarra! Do you want to be a stallholder instead of an attendee? Fill out our Stallholder EOI form!

Have a bite to eat while you browse the stalls
Included in your ticket is a selection of canapes provided by the Civic Square Café! They are based within the Civic Centre and work hard to source premium ingredients and cook everything from scratch with love. If you have any dietary requirements please let us know when registering for your ticket. If possible, please BYO reusable cutlery, drink bottle & keep cup to save unnecessary waste.

Join the Crop Swap
Crop swaps are a great way to build local community, reduce food waste and eat better, for less. We are calling on all backyard, verge and balcony growers to bring along anything surplus to swap! Think of a glut of garden greens or excess mulberries, maybe you have a bay leaf tree or rosemary that can benefit from a trim, or you have herbs almost coming out of your ears. Anything edible is welcome to be shared!

Stay for a special screening of Rachel’s Farm
In this triumphant film, where director and actress Rachel Ward voyages from her own willful ignorance about the ecological impacts of conventional agriculture, to championing a movement to restore the health of our farmland, food and climate and in doing so the wellbeing of the farming communities that sustain the nation, and ourselves.

Accessibility
The Civic Centre is an accessible building and includes designated accessible parking spaces, elevator access, accessible toilets and hearing loop. There is additional parking across the street.
If you have any further accessibility requirements that you think we should be aware of, please let us know when registering for your tickets.

Tickets
All revenue from the tickets is invested back into Food Fairness Illawarra, to enable its collaborative work towards a more sustainable, stronger and resilient local food system.

Partnerships for the goals (SDG17: Zero Hunger)
This event is organised as part of Global Climate Change Week by Food Fairness Illawarra, in partnership with Shellharbour City Council, Wollongong City Council, Kiama Municipal Council, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, University of Wollongong and Healthy Cities Illawarra.

Spring time is here! and it’s time for SALAD!!

As part of Fair Food Week celebrations this October Southern Harvest Association is hosting another sensational seasonal Long Lunch: A Spring Salad Spectacular!

This lunch will feature fresh produce and ingredients from our Southern Harvest region producers in a menu designed to showcase the very best of the season. If you’ve ever thought salad is boring, or that vegetables can’t be the star of the show THINK AGAIN!
It’s gonna be a multi-course, veggie-licious celebration of Spring featuring local ingredients and regional wines.

Southern Harvest all-rounder Lucy Ridge will be returning to her cheffy roots and leading the kitchen for this sensational day.

$45 for SHA members, $57 for non-members, includes non-alcoholic beverages.

Our local food movement friend Elise Pulbrook- foodie, Masterchef contestant, Mildura Community Water Bank board member and community recipe gatherer is coming to visit us!

We will be hosting a talking circle about food, family, cooking and culture. We will explore the legacies that are created by those special recipes that remind us of family and home.

Our recipes will be gathered and shared in a community cookbook.

Bring a family recipe to share or just come along for a yarn.

BYO chair or rug, snacks provided.

The Head, Heart and Hands team are hosting an online panel of five Hastings locals who are coming together to discuss ideas and vision for our resilient local food system into the future.  

Held via Zoom, registered participants will have the opportunity to watch the discussion, ask questions and enjoy the viewing with the family over dinner. 

Attendees (and their friends and family) are invited to make 1-3 minute videos of what they are doing in their own life. Whether it is a COVID garden, a food forest, Landcare activities, community gardens, or swapping produce and seeds with neighbours... please share what you are doing!  Videos will be put on the HHH public Youtube channel, and will go in the running to win a copy of the acclaimed ‘Retrosuburbia’ or ‘Milkwood’.   We want to show real people, sharing imperfect actions they are doing that make a little difference to their own life. Little actions add up! 

The showcase is part of a NSW Government, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) “Increasing Resilience to Climate Change” Community Grant.  Head, Heart and Hands are part of the Port Macquarie Hastings Sustainability Network, the program is auspiced by the Port Macquarie Community Garden.  

Register at https://events.humanitix.com/imagining-our-hastings-food-future

If you are interested in sending a video, or the broader HHH project please email the Project Coordinator, Kate Medcalf at headheartandhandsportmac@gmail.com

Now in its fourth year, this is a gritty gathering for all those who embrace, support and farm FAIR!
The day is designed to be informative, naturally unstructured, open minded and build solidarity with others who are on the same page.

This years theme is 'Connect and Grow'

Fast paced and engaging, we will raise the challenges and opportunities of creating a fairer food system. Representatives from a broad range of sectors attend: farmers, chefs, value adders and eaters!

A shared community pot luck lunch provides a great chance for everyone to chat and learn from one another.

We will keep the formalities brief this year to allow the cooking pot to work its own magic but a little facilitated activity will still take place.

Held at the the Beechworth Food Co op there are just 50 tickets available. We have sold out every year and numbers are limited this year so be sure to buy your tickets early if you plan to come. All money collected from tickets simply go towards covering costs. 

oin herbalist Brodie and naturopath Kirsten for a walk around the Hills Community Garden beds and Cockatoo Creek to discover and discuss the plants we find growing there and in our community medicinal garden beds. We'll talk about ways to identify, harvest and prepare the plants as food and medicine. 

To celebrate the start of Spring, we’ll show you how to make elderflower cordial and herbal incense that you’ll be able to take home with you.

We'll be gathering at the garden beds near the playground at Alma Treloar Reserve at 10am for our morning session and 12.30pm for our afternoon session.
Remember to bring your own keep cup to enjoy a tasty herbal tea brewed from leaves we pick on the day and to try some delicious elderflower cordial. 

Because this event is held outside, weather appropriate gear like umbrellas and gumboots are recommended. It can get a bit muddy!

The proceeds from this event will go towards purchasing seeds and plants for our community medicinal garden. The medicinal garden bed is used to grow medicine that we share with the community and use as a platform to teach others how to look after themselves with natural medicine.

Bookings are essential and places are limited as we need to cap numbers to adhere to social distancing. Our July walk sold out so get in quick!

PLEASE NOTE: there are now two different session times to choose from - 10am and 12.30pm. Please select your preferred time when purchasing your ticket.

Hills Herbal Collective acknowledges, recognises and respects the Ancestors, Elders, and families of the Boonwurring, Waddawurrung and Wurundjeri of the Kulin nation who are traditional owners of the land in Victoria.

Welcome to Sunshine Butterflies Introduction to Bees event, hosted by registered local Beekeeper with Biosecurity QLD John Writer, who is also a member of the Sunshine Coast Beekeepers group!

During this 2 hour educational event you will learn all about the life of bees and their environmental benefits.

Experience a morning in the Noosa Countryside at Sunshine Butterflies beautiful 5-acre facility, 'Our Backyard'. 

Join a lively provocation from two of the authors of AFSA’s groundbreaking new book Farming Democracy, AFSA President and pastured pig and cattle farmer Tammi Jonas of Jonai Farms from Victoria, and Queensland pastured poultry farmer and on-farm abattoir owner Daniel Cordner. We'll be discussing the real costs and value of farming, what it takes to build a better food system from the ground up, and what part everyone can play in growing and eating our way to a better future for all. After the palaver, enjoy an ethical and ecologically-sound meal with comrades old and new, sourced from Food Connect’s amazing local growers - one drink included in the ticket price and more available at the bar.

The Farming Democracy Palaver is part of the Food Sovereignty Convergence program. Head to the Convergence ticket page and book your spot for the Palaver now!

Join us on the eve of World Food Day, during Global Climate Change Week to celebrate our thriving fair food community!

Get inspired, encouraged and nourished amongst other local fair food champions, as we connect and consider how we can make healthy and sustainable diets available and affordable to everyone.

The evening will feature a number of expo stalls, interactive demonstrations, the screening of the brand new and inspiring film 2040 (Damon Gameau, the director of That Sugar Film), and a panel of local guest speakers.

All while enjoying some local and ethically sourced food.

Connecting over Fair Food takes a "Contribute as you can" approach with all donations from the night supporting future Food Fairness Illawarra events to fuel the Fair Food conversation through events like this.

Places are limited, so bookings essential. Book tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/connecting-over-fair-food-tickets-71329627837?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger is more than just addressing hunger. And there are many opportunities to get involved in changing the food system together, so we look forward to seeing you there.

Farmers market supporting local, regenerative producers in the Geelong region.

Is it possible to transform the food system without addressing the economic system of capitalism? What can we learn from struggles to change the food system, from “voting with your fork” to the need to build longer-term movements dedicated to systemic change?

In this community event, Eric Holt-Giménez from Food First, California, will discuss the role of capitalism in structuring the global food regime, knowledge which is essential for any foodie who wants to better understand the political, financial, governmental and market structures that presently work against sustainability and food justice. Eric will also identify spaces within global capitalism where change is possible – including examples from agroecology, food sovereignty, cooperatives, the commons, fair trade, urban agriculture, land justice and community organising.

Eric will be joined by a panel of local fair food advocates and practitioners from the SEQ region, who will offer their insights into how these global lessons might apply to building a fairer food system in our own backyard. While capitalism certainly structures the global food system, local change is possible!

This will be followed by an open Q&A session and discussion. Tickets cost $6

Faciliator and Chair:

Dr Carol Richards, is a Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Queensland University of Technology and co-founder of the Brisbane Fair Food Alliance. She researches and publishes on the topics of food security, food waste, supermarkets and food system governance. In addition to her academic work, Carol co-authored Australia’s People’s Food Plan, and co-produced a fair food documentary whilst serving as the Vice-President of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.

The Panel:

Dr Kiah Smith, Research Fellow in the UQ School of Social Science, and co-founder of the Brisbane Fair Food Alliance. As a Sociologist in environment and development, Kiah’s work broadly examines social and political contestation within the corporate food regime. She has researched and written on fair and ethical trade, resilience, land speculation and financing, social solidarity economy, gender empowerment, green economy and the SDGs.

Joel Orchard is a food systems activist, passionate advocate for young farmers and local food and an activated industry networker. His interests are in exploring the social sustainability of local food production and tackling the issue of an ageing farmer population. Joel has been instrumental in establishing Future Feeders, a young farmers hub, peer support and community farming program and associated capacity building networks - the Northern Rivers Young Farmers Alliance and Young Farmers Connect group. His other principle projects include FEED Northern Rivers - participatory guarantee system & the Community Supported Agriculture Network Australia and New Zealand

Emily Arbuckle is a Leader of the Brisbane Chapter of the Youth Food Movement (YFM). YFM is a national, volunteer-led organisation that aims to build the skills, knowledge and experience that young people have around food. She studied a Bachelor of Biomedicine, followed by a Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, aiming for a career in health promotion. Upon finishing her studies she moved north to the Gold Coast and launched a healthy snack company with the goal of building a new platform from which to promote healthy eating. Although the business is no longer running, the experience exposed her to the world of food manufacturing, labelling and marketing, sourcing and sustainability, and opened her mind to the concept of 'conscious capitalism' in the food industry.

Eating: It would not be a food event without some delicious treats. A Fair Food BBQ (with meat and vegetarian options) and drinks will be available for purchase on the night.

Rug Up: As the event will be held in the very groovy food connect warehouse, you may need to bring warm clothes.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/a-foodies-guide-to-capitalism-with-author-eric-holt-giminez-tickets-49581705215

In celebration of national Fair Food Week, Shellharbour City Council's nursery is having a special open day and plant sale on Saturday the 20th of October from 8.30am - 3.30 pm.

• 20% off all edible plants (fruit trees, veggies) and bagged products
• 10 free mini-workshops starting every 30 minutes from 9am – 1:30pm (last workshop finishes at 2pm) covering the following topics: 
o Seed saving
o Attracting native bees to your garden
o Making seed bombs for native bees
o No-dig garden
o HealthyEarth gardening products
• Free 'pot up a veggie seedling' activity for kids 

Check Council’s Facebook page for details of the specific workshop times coming soon.

The nursery is located at 132 Industrial Road, Oak Flats, with parking and the entrance from River Oak Place. Everyone is welcome to come along, not just Shellharbour City Council ratepayers.

Link to book tickets: http://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/Events/Nursery-Open-Day-and-Plant-Sale

Come along to connect with other foodies and celebrate national Fair Food week, while enjoying local and ethically sourced food from The Red Kitchen and The Pines Kiama.

The theme for this year's Connecting Over Fair Food is ‘Together shaping the future’ with a focus on exploring the question ‘How do we best equip the next generation to enjoy good food and create a sustainable food future?’ There will be a panel of speakers, a range of expo stalls, and the opportunity to contribute to the Fair Food poster wall.

Connecting Over Fair Food takes a “Pay As You Feel” approach with a sliding scale starting at $10. All donations support future Food Fairness Illawarra events to fuel the Fair Food conversation! 

Places are limited and bookings essential at www.foodfairnessillawarra.org,au or call Healthy Cities Illawarra on 4283 8111. 

Speakers include: 
• Amelia Berner, Manager of OzHarvest’s Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) Program, which combines nutrition, food waste and sustainability in a curriculum ready package for Australian schools. 
• Aaron Sorenson, a Permaculture practitioner, teacher and designer who has been working with community gardens and school Permaculture gardens over the past 20 years.
• Jenny Norman is a dietitian currently working in a research who has investigated the effects of unhealthy food advertising on children’s dietary intake.
• Rosi Johnston works for ISLHD Health Promotion Service supporting early childhood centres, primary and high schools with a focus on implementing the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy. 
• Marie Armstrong Smith, a teacher and writer with a strong interest in environmental education for young children. Her early childhood service Early Years Care provides educative learning on sustainability including - food programs, and Little Diggers Play school at the Barrack Heights community garden.
• Berbel Franse, a Health Promotion Officer in Food Security & Food Sustainability at Healthy Cities, the Secretariat of Food Fairness Illawarra and founder of homegrown food waste initiative Hidden Harvest.

If you are interested in having an expo stall or a poster to provide information/display fair food related activities please email Berbel@healthyillawarra.org.au. 

The event is accessible for people with a disability and supports will be provided upon request.

This event is organised by Food Fairness Illawarra, with support from Shellharbour, Wollongong and Kiama Councils, NSW Health, and Healthy Cities Illawarra as part of National Fair Food week.

Link to book tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/connecting-over-fair-food-together-shaping-the-future-tickets-49589628915

Collingwood CWA is baking to ‘Share our Surplus 'and invites you to come to an afternoon tea, hear various speakers and brainstorm a plan to get a Collingwood food share off the ground.
With this 'Barn Yarn' we want to bring local gardeners and community members together to find out how community food share works, then hatch a plan to set one up at the Farm.
We're looking for enthusiastic locals with a vision to trade a bag of lemons for some fresh silverbeet….or, if your persimmon tree is loaded, harvest it and donate excess to the Farm for their fundraising stalls. 
Come to the Barn Yarn, help brainstorm ideas, and find out how you can be part of this great initiative.
Speakers:
• Peta Christensen - Urban Harvest
• Peter Barber - Plot gardener Collingwood Children's Farm
• Keiran Dickson - Collingwood Children's Farm Committee of Management

Collingwood Country Women's Association: https://collingwoodcwa.org

Book tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sharing-our-surplus-barn-yarn-tickets-50567650203?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete