Encouraging environmentalism at SpringFest

THERE’S lots for all ages to learn about sustainability at SpringFest’s Spring Garden on Sunday, 24 November.

Coordinated by Grampians Central West Waste & Resource Recovery Group, the garden will not just be educational, but fun. Executive Officer, La Vergne Lehmann said there will be a big focus on recycling.

“We’re calling it our Recycling Magical Mystery Tour to take people on a journey of recycling, not just putting things in your recycling bin,” she said.

“Now, we’re moving people back into looking at things when they go shopping. Recycling starts at the point you buy something, whether it’s about looking at the type of packaging, or whether you need to buy a product that’s packaged at all.

“It’s about the choices people make to reduce their waste in the first instance. We want to create more ethical consumers, change focuses and have fun with it,” Ms Lehmann said.

There’ll be advice about managing the disposal of textiles, appliances and e-waste, how to make cleaners at home, and tips about ‘on-the-go’ recycling, carrying water bottles and reusable coffee cups.

“Obviously, we want people to save these things for the environment, but it saves you money ultimately too, so why not?” she said.

Captain Compost will be on site to chat about waste reduction and worm farming, encouraging kids to get their hands dirty, while the Litter Superheroes give basic reminders about bin use.

“We want people to enjoy getting out in the local environment, on hopefully a beautiful Spring day, and if we all do a little bit more for our environment, we manage to keep it that way,” Ms Lehmann said.

SpringFest Director, Robert Glass said 2019 is the festival’s 26^th year, and the Market Sunday is an opportunity to help groups spread the word about things that matter to the community.

“The fact that Grampians Central West have come on board as a sponsor is tremendous, and it’s important to us to help them with their message,” he said.

“We’re working with them to improve our waste recycling, so we’re actually changing our method of collecting rubbish this year.

“We’re hopeful we raise a lot of money, hopefully between $35,000 or $40,000, for the community groups involved and our Rotary Club of Ballarat projects in general.”

SpringFest Ballarat, presented by Optus, is project of the Rotary Club of Ballarat. The huge event is set for Sunday, 24 November. Visit ballaratspringfest.com.au for more information.