POSTPONED: FARM CHATS // SOIL

Under the current restrictions on public gatherings, all our community workshops and events are postponed until further notice.

If you would like to be notified when this event will be rescheduled, please register your interest to add your name and contact details to the waitlist.

Can we chat? Since 2018 Pocket City Farms has been gathering people to share conversations around food and farming. Our urban farm in Camperdown is a perfect place to gather like minded people to share our Australian stories and spark ideas and action. This June we are turning our attention to the birthplace of everything - soil.

As farmers at Pocket City Farms, we aren’t just growing vegetables. We are growing soil. When you get down to it, soil is where all growth begins. Our soils inform the way rainfall and groundwater move across the land, the way carbon is sequestered (or not), the nutrient density of the food humans and animals eat, and the kinds of plants that are able to grow.

Whether you are considering vegetable systems, animal systems, land management, horticulture, forestry or any use of land for enterprise, understanding your soil is vital to making informed choices leading to successful outcomes.

THE PANEL :

Adam Walmsley of Buena Vista Farm - Adam Walmsley is owner of Buena Vista Farm, a small mixed farm in Gerringong on the South Coast of NSW. His farm operates under organic principles and he spends the majority of his time milking goats for on-site cheesemaking. He also farms pasture-raised meat chickens and laying hens, pigs, bees, ducks and coffee. Adam is dedicated to practicing sustainable agriculture and encouraging people to make connections with where their food comes from. He’s passionate about strong local food systems and in between the general fiascos of farming life, he concentrates on trying to improve the fertility and resilience of his little part of the world.

Emmanuela (Manu) Prigioni - Manu is a Permaculture designer and regenerative grower with a background in soil health and soil ecology. She coordinates Farm It Forward, a Blue Mountains based peri-urban farming initiative, and teaches the food growing and Permaculture workshops at Lyttleton Stores Coop. Her work has featured on ABC Gardening Australia and ABC Landline.

Mark Brown Purple Pear Farm is manager of the farm at Purple Pear and works with Kate Beveridge to bring a model of Permaculture, as well as Biodynamics to people looking to ensure their future and that of their families. Their slogan of “Permaculture in Action” comes from a deep ethical perspective driven by Kate towards following the Permaculture Ethic. Mark did his PDC with Bill Mollison back in the mid 1990’s at Tyalgum and has since been involved in the Local Permaculture Hunter Group as well as teaching the PDC with Faith Thomas in Dungog, and running a few Community Gardens in the Hunter Valley. He and Kate have been offering the PDC since their move to Anambah in 2006 when they also set about designing the Mandala Market Garden and developing the property as a model for small scale farming along permaculture principles. The Hunter Biodynamic Group is based on their farm and from there they make, store and distribute the preparations to the members.

More Panelists to be announced soon…

When: Wednesday June 3rd, at 6pm. Panel will finish by 8pm and beers & chats are welcome to continue.

Cost: $30

Provided: Your first beer thanks to our brewing mates Young Henrys, kombucha by Ballsy Brewing, roasted veggie dips, and bread by Brickfields.

Bring: Coins for beer donations. All donations go directly to our school education program.

The Panel: