Eco-living on show at festival

SUSTAINABILITY was the topic of the day at the Garden for the Future last Sunday.

The Bendigo Sustainability Festival featured 60 stallholders and nine keynote speakers, from solar energy providers Cola Solar and conservation organisation Biolinks Alliance to Landcare groups, the Australian Plants Society and ADAPT Loddon Mallee.

Attendees got the chance to learn about new and creative solutions to implement in their lives at home and work.

“It’s really about bringing together all this amazing stuff in one location for people and let them see it all and see there’s various ways you can improve the way you’re living sustainable,” said John McDonald, research and support officer at BSG.

“An event like this brings everyone together. People get a chance to look at other stalls and get an idea or combine it with what they’re doing, that’s the goal.

“Bendigo’s turned on a great day, over 60 stalls which is huge for a town like Bendigo, and we’ve got lots of people here so it’s really great.”

The main drawcard for the event was professional horticulturalist Millie Ross, who presents on ABC’s Gardening Australia.

Ms Ross gave her insights to the world of horticulture, captivating the crowd and inspiring novice gardeners to just “have a crack”.

“I don’t call myself an advocate for anything other than gardening, because I think it’s great connection that people can have in their own backyard to some of those bigger issues of sustainability, living within our means and doing things better,” she said.

“I’m into what you can do in your own backyard, but I think it inevitably leads to a better understanding of what’s happening in the big backyard.”