Hi Landcarer’s

Homegrown Parkes….where to from here?

Now that the dust has settled on Homegrown Parkes event, we are busy reviewing our options for potentially running another event with the same intent of encouraging people to get out into the community, get out into their gardens, support locally produced goods.

As with every event that is run on a shoestring budget, funding is a consideration. We were very fortunate to be able to work with Parkes Community Arts who had funding to bring in activities and entertainment and Parkes Shire Council, who provided the Park, staff and equipment to support the event in kind, and, of course, Central West Lachlan Landcare has been running much of the background support and organisation for the event, with mostly volunteer contributions.

We estimate that approximately 1800 people attended the day and activities like face painting, alpacas, jumping castle, drumming, insects and performances definitely contributed to making the day a success.

I should say a massive thank you to the Parkes Potters and Parkes Painting Group, and Steven Lindsay for delivering such a high standard of exhibition in the Pavilion, just to top everything off.

Feedback via our survey has been extremely positive! Thank you to those who have responded. I look forward to sharing that information soon. Our survey has closed, but if you would like to provide any additional feedback, please email homegrownparkes@gmail.com

We want to be able to bring in more educational aspects to any future Homegrown Parkes events and continue to encourage real and positive engagement in the community, provide opportunities for local stallholders to sell their products and be a space for learning and sharing.

We are also hoping that Crop Swap will become a more regular stand alone event after the success of the first Swap at Homegrown Parkes. Not only is this an opportunity to swap produce, but also an opportunity to learn from others, see what is being grown locally and go home with extra goodies that you have swapped. Crop swapping is a great way for those who grow their own food to make sure nothing is going to waste.

If you want to fit in a bit more ‘homegrown’ action, the Forbes Farmer’s Markets are on this Saturday (22 April) between 8am and 12pm at Victoria Park, with regional and local stalls.

For further information on this article, please go to www.centralwestlachlanlandcare.org, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare