Happy New Year Landcarers! I am very aware that Homegrown Parkes is just over two months away.

This was a topic of discussion at our final meeting for the year. The Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL) Committee met at Bogan Gate Pub ahead of enjoying a Christmas Dinner. We were fortunate to just about have a full contingent of Committee members, which was fabulous.

Homegrown Parkes is an event that has taken on some momentum and meets a need in the community, which we are thrilled about. We are also fortunate to have a separate Homegrown Parkes Committee operating as the immediate go to for decision making. These events don’t just happen. There is a lot of planning and preparation to ensure that everyone is safe and that we are providing the best possible events that we can deliver.

At our December meeting, the CWLL Committee agreed to support Homegrown Parkes delivery for the next four years. This might seem like a bit of a no brainer, but we have to weigh up coordinator hours, funding requirements and importantly, insurance requirements, to continue running this as a free, educational community event.

A massive thank you to my Committee of volunteers who show up every month to keep driving Landcare in the Parkes and Forbes Shires. They have also taken on some additional responsibilities supporting our Central West region as well. I can’t do what I do without their support and forward thinking.

This also provides us with a more options to pursue funding to keep this event as accessible as possible. We would love to continue bringing a celebrity to alternate events, but this all takes funding and planning. Surprisingly, our October event just naturally expanded and we had no celebrity guest. This is only because of our communities amazing support!

We still have our stallholder bookings open, so if you are interested in placing an expression of interest, please follow up the link on our website under the Homegrown Parkes link.

I’m hoping that wherever you are in Parkes or Forbes Shires, that you get the opportunity to check out the Elvis Festival events over the next few days. Don’t forget that many of these events are free. For me, people watching is as rewarding as an event half of the time!

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