Festival Day Line-up
Tell us you’re coming – you could win an eco-gift!
If you tell us you’re coming to the Festival, you will automatically be included in the draw to win one of many special gifts from Koala Eco®. On Festival Day, visit the EcoNetwork Information stand to check if you have won. Have your e-ticket and ID handy.
Speaker Program in the Auditorium
Professor Veena Sahajwalla is heading up the impressive program of speakers and presenters at the Sustainable Futures Festival on 11 September 2022. Register your interest below. All presentations are free of charge.
Professor Veena Sahajwalla
Director, Sustainable Materials Research & Technology Centre, University of NSW.
A smart vision for a sustainable future – creating sustainable materials and products from waste
Award-winning scientist, engineer and the NSW Australian of the Year, Professor Veena Sahajwalla has invented technologies for converting waste into products like steel and ceramics. In 2018, Veena launched the world’s first e-waste micro-factory and the following year, a plastics micro-factory.
Veena’s industry-integrated research program has resulted in a world-first, patented process called Polymer Injection Technology for recycling end-of-life plastics and rubber in electric arc furnace steel making, resulting in the production of so-called ‘Green Steel’.
Veena has delivered keynote addresses at many prestigious research conferences around the world and has published more than 250 refereed papers in leading publications in her field.
11 September 2022 – 10.30am
Dr Hedda Askland
Senior lecturer in Anthropology, University of Newcastle’s School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences.
Living in a non-place: mining, solastalgia and the loss of home
Hedda is conducting an ethnographic study in the Upper Hunter and her presentation is about the sense of loss of home in the context of large scale development and environmental change, as well as ethics of development. She is raising awareness of the issues around mining and displacement focussing on Wollar, a historic village surrounded by three open-cut mines, her case study for over 5 years.
Hedda brings in the notion of solastalgia, as well as the concept eritalgia, which she has developed as a third concept in the triade of nostalgia-solastalgia-eritalgia. She will explain why we need ‘to expand the current concepts we have for explaining displacement to something that is about people’s lived experiences and incorporates their imagined futures.’
11 September 2022 – 1.30pm
Dr Jarra Hicks
Founding Director, Community Power Agency
Stories of Community Power
Jarra will share stories about the power of communities to take action together, and share some examples of how this is being done to transform our energy futures. She works with communities across Australia who are actively making positive change towards a more sustainable, resilient and just future through community-owned renewable energy projects.
Jarra is a founding director of the Community Power Agency, a worker’s cooperative that supports communities to participate in and benefit from the transition to renewable energy. She is also a parent and a survivor of the 2019 Bushfires that rocked the mid-North coast of NSW, where she lives.
11 September 2022 – 2.30pm
Workshop Program
Lachlan Storrie
Permaculture consultant, garden designer and ecologist.
Understanding and working with nature in the design and maintenance of productive and sustainable systems.
Want to grow healthy organic food for your family in your own backyard? Want them to discover first hand where real food comes from? Have you ever said ‘I can’t have a garden, I like to go away on holidays?’ Through practical demonstrations, Lachlan will answer your questions on how to have the best of both worlds by creating a self-regulating system.
Lachlan will introduce us to permaculture and some basic sustainable gardening techniques such as encouraging beneficial insects for natural pest control. He will show us how we can set up our gardens to maximise these and many other benefits.
11 September 2022 – 10.30am and 2:30pm
Dr John Shiel, Christine Rogers and Brian Tehan
Saving money and energy at home – living sustainably in comfort all year round.
Dr John Shiel, is the Principal of EnviroSustain and author of Cooling your Home published by Beyond Zero Emissions.
Christine Rogers is a former Beyond Zero Emissions Hunter Region leader and IT Manager.
Brian Tehan is an executive member of EcoNetwork Port Stephens, his specialist area is in energy efficient homes and he contributed to the above publication.
John, Christine and Brian will provide ideas in installing cost-effective retrofits, updating appliances and other useful tips to save money on energy costs.
11 September 2022 – 12.30pm
Jessica Hodge
Founder and owner of Resourceful Living, Beresfield and 2022 Hunter Business Awards winner Outstanding Startup, and 2022 Australian Small Business Champion Finalist.
Recycled plastic- a new raw material
Many people think plastic is the worst material ever invented, assuming it’s all single use. Jessica Hodge from Resourceful Living shows us how her local start-up business is proving that ‘recycled plastic is the new raw material’ and explains how plastic stacks up against other materials and applications.
In less than 3 months, Jess and her team recycled more than 1 tonne of plastic waste and plans to do much more! Resourceful Living is a start-up family business dedicated to curbing the plastic waste crisis and Jess will show us products for our homes or workplaces ranging from homewares to tables, artwork to kitchen benchtops. There will be items for sale so come along and support living resourcefully!
11 September 2022 – 1.30pm
Nadine Samwell
Founder and Editor of Eco Edition
Renovate, decorate or design your home using sustainable and healthy materials.
Nadine is a passionate interior designer (obsessed with sustainable and healthy materials), serial home renovator, founder and editor of Eco Edition, course creator and sustainable materials consultant. What we buy to renovate or build our homes can have an impact on the environment – and it’s our choices that will determine whether this impact is a good one or not.
A sustainable material has been made in a way which respects the environment through every stage of its production and there is an ever-growing list of new manufacturers and suppliers on the market with materials and finishes for the interiors of our homes. Come to Nadine’s workshop and find out how to decorate or renovate your home while making a positive difference to the world around us.
11 September 2022 – 2.30pm
The Sustainable Futures Festival is being held at: St Philip’s Christian College, 182 Salamander Way, Salamander Bay NSW 2317. (Port Stephens near Nelson Bay).
How to get here: No.130 Bus from Newcastle to Salamander Central Terminus or if driving, some parking is available at the school.