Location: Gympie Showgrounds; Date: Sunday June 23rd 2024, Time: 9 am to 3 pm.

Sustainable Futures Festival

Sustainable Futures Festival

Sustainable Futures Festival has evolved from the combination of both the Gympie Landcare Festival and Envirotech Gympie. These were organized by Gympie and District Landcare Group (GDLG) and Gympie and District Sustainability Alliance (GADSA).  Their similar objectives with emphasis on different areas of the sustainability story is what makes the Sustainable Futures Festival a unique local event, incorporating all aspects that make up our wonderful region: environment, community and business.

GADSA and GDLG recognize that for a sustainable future, as a matter of urgency we need to:

• reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases, to reduce the advance of climate change,
• restore and protect our biosphere with its incredible biodiversity, 
• use our natural resources in ways that ensure the health of these resources, including minimising waste,
• adopt best practice across all industries, to ensure our natural resources are restored and maintained; and that our community enjoys resilience and well being for all.

There are a wide range of options, across all sectors of our community, that can make this happen. Everyone has a part to play and the accumulation of many small impacts becomes significant for both our region and the planet.  

If you have technologies, ideas or products to promote sustainable communities, please use this link to apply for a stall at the event. Application

Sustainable Futures Festival will demonstrate ideas and ways to ensure a positive future for community, environment and business for the Gympie Region.  This will include:

• Promotion of renewable energy systems to reduce our use of coal and gas for energy making the energy grid more resilient, lower in cost and greenhouse gas free,
• Promotion of the best land and water management practices to sustain agricultural production, biodiversity and food security for our community,
• Promotion of building energy efficiency tools to reduce energy use by households, especially in social and rental properties and making these more suitable for our warming climate,
• Demonstrations of Electric Vehicles to reduce the cost of fuel imports and air pollution which improves the health outcomes for many urban populations,
• Demonstration of how waste can be minimised by careful sorting and judicious reuse,      repurposing or recycling of many items to reduce our energy use to make new products, while also reducing our need for new raw materials.
• Support our biodiversity by restoration and protection of our natural landscapes, planting of native species in our gardens and wider landscape, and helping our native species to survive their altered environments.
• Ensure our community is inclusive, tolerant and supportive of all within it.

Business, Not for Profit Groups and individuals are invited to have displays of their products and ideas that will promote our communities’ sustainability.  There will be food and drinks available on site but all disposable items must be plastic free and compostable or recyclable.  There will be a speakers program covering many of the topics above as well as activities for the youngest in our community with entertainment and games.  

This free event is open to everyone. Come along and look listen talk and we hope you can find some actions you can take to help make our community more sustainable. Remember, many small changes can make a huge cumulative impact.

This Document explains why it is necessary to make our community sustainable and why Sustainable Futures Festival is necessary. Come along, look discuss, learn and then act to make a better future.

Really looking forward to the 23rd of June this year – I’ve invited my friends and family to come along!

Regina Dodd