Short Talks

Short Talks

Loving the Planet, Loving Yourself ~ 9:30am

 - Donna Storey, Author, Metaphysical Practitioner and Teacher

No.1 Best Selling Author on Amazon.com - “The Soul of Myself”.

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.
How do you change the world? One person at a time.
If we are to create positive change for a healthy planet then it is up to each person to create the changes within their own life.

Not only do we have to love our planet and want to do what we can to help reverse the negative impact humans have had on Earth, but we have to love ourselves and care about our bodies enough to want to live and thrive in a healthy environment and have access to products and produce that will support our health and vitality.  We can only do this if we can appreciate who we are beyond just being a human.

Donna will share with you her journey of understanding the truth of who we are and why we are here.  Her insights will give you a new appreciation of yourself as a spiritual being having a human experience, which in turn will show you just how powerful, magnificent and amazing you are, despite what you may think.  Loving yourself will inspire you to seek out the healthy and positive options, and through those choices you make, you help build the momentum that will bring about changes for the betterment of our beautiful planet Earth and the lives of future generations who will be living on her.

Healthy Green Homes ~ 9:30am

- Bridget Puszka. BP Architects

Bridget Puszka BP Architects

Bridget Puszka is an award-winning architect who has worked in India, Malaysia, and Germany and here in Australia for large companies in Melbourne and Sydney.

She started her own architectural business, BP Architects, in 2000 to design healthy green homes.

All of the houses she has designed require very little heating or cooling and have good indoor air quality.  She has trained in the German method of Passive house and studied at the University of East London in a Masters of Science in Architecture in Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies.

Paddock to Jumper;   Keeping Fleece Animals as Part of an Artificial Chemical – Free Permaculture Style System ~ 10am

- Eucy Redd Raw Ecodyes

Eucy REDD Raw Ecodyes

My passion is to combine the natural beauty of plant dyes and producing my own fibre, with the urge to be increasingly self sufficient on my little patch while leaving lighter footprints on the Earth. I feel that fibre and fabric are an integral and necessary part of human existence, and producing them ethically from scratch is a vital part of sustainable self sufficiency. I will share my experiences and ongoing learning journey  in setting up my still young and evolving system to include my animals, keeping them as healthy and happy as possible, and using their fibre sustainably, while also using their services to contribute back to the health of the system.

Keeping Carbon on the Farm and Sustainable Farming ~ 11:15am

- Sam Doolan. Doolan Farms

“Keeping Carbon on the Farm” through Heytesbury Landcare and DWELP.  Sample plots of different mixtures of compost and biochar are underway on their “Pilot Farm”, along with testing and researching happening that will hopefully encourage it to become mainstream farming in the future. They will share and go into more detail of the key points they have achieved and will do in the next 12 months as a short term plan ie. full energy audit with Jane Stanley and team (alter water heating and milk cooling systems to be more energy efficient, etc), solar panels, lighting upgrade, planted 5000 native seedlings, putting compost and biochar into the soil, dung beetles putting carbon back in, feeding barrels of biochar directly to the cows as they walk out of the dairy which will then in place be digested in the rumin and passed through back into the paddocks - creating less burping and ‘farting’ also. Dam extension to hold an extra 200meg was a big 6 month task that is now complete also along with purchasing further water rights.

Off-Grid and Solar Battery Systems ~ 1pm

- Aaron Lewtas. Off-Grid Energy Australia

Off-grid Energy Australia specialises in off-grid and battery storage systems. Since its inception in 2011, they've completed over 600 off-grid systems all over Australia.  Aaron Lewtas manages for Victoria & Tasmania for Off-grid Energy Australia and has more than 12 years of experience in solar & battery storage systems.  With things moving quickly in this industry, Aaron will give an overview of what's involved with going off-grid, the economics of battery storage, new products and some examples of residential and commercial systems that they've installed.

Backyard Beekeeping ~ 1pm

 - Fraser McKenzie

Frasier McKenzie

Fraser is a very well known registered Bee Keeper who started out 24 years ago with a handful of hives and now manages 125!  Sustainable Backyard Bee Keeping includes setting up for Bee Keeping, handling bees, harvesting techniques and honey appreciation. 

Greenwashing & the Myths around Sustainability ~ 4pm

- Camilla Novotna. Ecokit Director

When a word becomes so popular you start hearing it everywhere, it means one of two things - either the word has devolved into a meaningless cliché, or it has real conceptual meaning.

"Sustainability" is currently one of the most popular business buzzwords. Not surprisingly, there's plenty of myths regarding sustainability. Worse, these myths can lead to unsustainable practices such as greenwashing. 

Despite its simplicity, sustainability is a concept people have a hard time wrapping their minds around. Let's debunk those myths together and get set on a journey to a true sustainability.