Sustainability and understanding are the key themes of LandcareLearn, which is a new and integral part of the Bellingen Energy Festival this year. Energy and land management form a natural partnership in the world today and increasing sustainability in both areas will be a key challenge for humanity over the coming decades.
LandcareLearn will provide an opportunity for landholders to gain skills in sustainable land management through a series of practical and informative workshops. The Landcare Learn event will run throughout the day and sessions will be grouped in three themes: soils, grazing management and biodiversity on your land. Individual sessions will provide information on soil health measurement and maintenance, planning and managing electric fencing systems, local birds, how to identify eucalypts, local weeds and their management and how to plan your property or farm for the best returns for you, and the environment.
Keynote speaker for the LandcareLearn event will be Dr Lukas Van Zwieten who is a world authority on Biochar, a substance produced from domestic and industrial waste which has been shown to significantly promote crop plant growth – a sustainable fertiliser! Lukas’ presentation will link biochar with the hot topics of soil carbon and climate change.
LandcareLearn is a new direction for the Festival, but event organisers Craig Stehn and Colin Matthews (Landcare Coordinators for Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Dorrigo) anticipate that Festival goers who come along to a session or two will energise their interest in the local environment and learn new skills to help them manage their property (from backyard to farm) in a more sustainable way.
The festival will run from 8.30am to 3.30pm on Saturday 3rd September at the Bellingen Showground and will coincide with the start of Landcare Week. For more information, contact Craig Stehn (Coffs Harbour) on 6651 1308, or Colin Matthews (Bellingen) on 6655 0588.
