Earth Fest Photo Exhibition for the month of June!

Earth Fest 2012 Rap-up

Thank you to all who came along and shared a wonderful weekend with Earth Fest 2012.


A big thank you to:


Stratford Courthouse Theatre for hosting the Friday night opening film


Community College Gippsland for hosting Saturday's showcase market day


Maffra & District Landcare Network for auspicing Saturday's event


Wellington Shire Youth Council for the support of this year's event and for putting together some great music and interesting information as part of the Youth Space


Wellington Sustainability Group members who participated in the planning Committee and produced a really diverse and exciting festival.


Check out photos on our facebook page:
Showcase Market Day
Vegie Open Garden Tour


And last but not least, if you missed our online event survey in the Internet Room on the day, we would still love to have your feedback so that we can build 2013 as an even strong event: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/earthfest2012  Thanks!!

Homemade and Homegrown - only weeks away til the third annual festival

It all starts today with the film night at Stratford Courthouse Theatre!!!!

You can follow us on Twitter @earthfest2012

Check out the A-Z of Stallholders to find a site map for the main festival day this Saturday, 24th March 9am to 3pm.  And never fear, we have a plan B if the weather is less than outdoor-ish!!

Edith Maclean - Keeping Happy Chickens Workshop

At the Earth Fest Showcase Market Day we will be presenting a range of workshops around the Earth Fest 2012 theme: Celebrating our Sustainable Future.


Edith Maclean and her chickens will be there all day to strut their stuff, but at 11am, Edith will be sharing her knowledge about how to keep happy chickens.


Here is some information from Edith that was printed in February 2012 Green Magazine:


What started as a short project along the way to a Master of Sustainability turned into an eight year mission that ended with a more sustainable backyard chook.

I have taken the best qualities from eight pure breeds and after generations of development, thousands of hours of observation and scientific measurement I arrived at the perfect chook designed for small gardens.

Selected for a range of beneficial behaviours, these new designer chooks are less destructive in the garden than many purebreds, preferring only light ground disturbance on their endless quest for insects. The three-fold benefit to your garden is aerated soil, turned mulch and chemical-free pest control. This shallow scratching action, and other positive behaviours, is taught to chicks by good mother hens.

Keeping a small, low maintenance flock also raises your performance in the kitchen sustainability stakes by converting vegetable peelings and leftovers into nutrient rich fresh eggs.

Unlike your compost heap, chooks present an effective recycling option that does gratefully accept meat products and daily top-ups. Their manure can be added to compost heaps between layers of green materials.

Sawdust or straw from the bottom of nesting areas can also be shovelled directly into compost. By the time you need to replace their bedding it is usually close to the perfect 25:1 carbon/nitrogen ratio necessary for making great compost.

If you'd like to hear more of Edith's secrets, come along to Earth Fest and be part of a great family day out!