By Amber Rodd, Energy & Sustainability Officer, AlburyCity
This year’s Albury Wodonga Sustainable Living Festival is better than ever with a new, improved and extended format. Our month-long program covers all of November and includes more than fifty events, from workshops, talks and films through to markets, exhibits and tours.
Green thumbs will love our open gardens in Jindera and Middle Years College as well as our workshops on portable wicking beds and pollinator insects. Spend time outdoors at the Friends of Willow Park tenth anniversary barbecue, hunt for eco-treasure on the green places geocache or feast on stunning Lake Hume views during the Maher’s Hill bushwalk.
If energy, electricity and buildings interest you, we highly recommend the Elmwood Living sustainable building tour, the solar and battery storage forum with Professor Ross Garnaut and our ‘Life after the Solar Bonus Scheme’ workshop.
Enjoy cooking or crafting? Try our cheese making or sewing workshops. Kids are catered for too with mindful making workshops.
As always we have a strong focus on ways to help you refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle. You’ll feel empowered to refuse the frivolous after viewing the award-winning Minimalism – A Documentary About the Important Things. Reduce your children’s clothing purchases at our children’s clothing swap. One person’s trash is another’s treasure, so if your home needs a clean sweep, you’ll be inspired to re-home responsibly at our de-cluttering workshop. Broken bikes, books, battery-operated appliances, clothing and furniture can be fixed at our Repair Café and for a glimpse of state-of-the-art recycling, the brand new Albury Recycling Centre is opening its doors with guided tours.
To complement the Festival, the popular Twilight Market is going green. Come along to QEII Square on Thursday 10 November from 5.00-8.00pm to talk to a range of community groups and businesses. Bring along your house plans and book a free speed date with a sustainable designer, create Christmas cards from our stack of pre-loved cards or make and sow your own herb seedling pot. Learn how to supercharge your salads and smoothies with edible weeds and check out our recipes for home-made cosmetics and cleaning products.
The Sustainable Living Festival is brought to you by AlburyCity and City of Wodonga and partnered by Halve Waste and Powershop. For details visit: alburycity.nsw.gov.au/slf2016.
