Hi Landcarers

Homegrown Parkes is running on Saturday, 25 March 2023, with special guest Costa Georgiadis!

The day will commence at 8am with Costa’s official welcome from 9am. Activities include locally grown and locally made markets, children’s activities, a bus trip to a local garden and a section of the event will be dedicated purely to crop swapping.

What is crop swapping you may ask! Crop swapping is the cashless exchange of homegrown and homemade products at community markets. These events are aimed at reducing waste, while building community through the sharing of goods, knowledge and ideas.

Items for exchange could range from (but are not limited to) fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, eggs, honey, preserves, baked goods, nuts and seeds, flower cuttings, seedlings, manure, worm castings, and homemade cleaning or personal care products.

We are hoping that this will also be an opportunity for people who may have excess produce from their garden, to be able to share this in a community space to avoid food being wasted.

The Higgins family have kindly offered to show people around their garden during the morning, with a bus trip organised to their property.

Chris and Vee Vian Higgins are working parents to three young children. Their garden is their side hobby and they are the first to admit that they have wins and failures just like everyone else. Their children are involved in the evolution of the garden as well, with the family also enjoy eating from their garden and processing the food they produce.

Recognising the need for the opportunity for locals to share produce, particularly at those times of the year when we can be overwhelmed with a ‘glut’ of produce, Vee Vian set up a Facebook page, Homegrown produce free/swap (Parkes), aimed at sharing gardening advice and providing an opportunity for people to give away their produce. Not only does it provide a safe space to ask questions, but also learn from others growing in similar conditions in the Central West.

If you are interested in being involved in the Homegrown Parkes community event as a participant, stallholder, crop swapper…or you are just keen to meet Costa, we have set up an Expression of Interest form so that we can keep you in the loop with further developments and registrations in the lead up to the March 2023: https://form.jotform.com/223517358303857. This event is run in partnership with Central West Lachlan Landcare and Parkes Shire Council.

Links are also on our website at www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @cwllandcare