Cultivating Change: A Sustainable Food Panel Discussion

Participate in an enlightening panel discussion showcasing our community's commitment to sustainability in food initiatives. Discover local champions dedicated to reducing food waste, rewilding projects, growing produce, and fostering community gardens. Hosted by Sustainable Queenstown, this event guarantees valuable insights and inspiration for a more sustainable food future in our region.

Panelists include:

Crop
Tim Baker, horticulturist, and founder of Crop says, “Today’s food system is very fragile. That’s why we should all be thinking about having the skills to be able to grow at least some of what we eat, ourselves. Our aim at Crop is to help families, individuals and businesses take their health and food supply into their own hands by learning how to grow nutrition dense food at home.

We understand that not everyone has the time to put in to growing and cultivating their own garden, and it can certainly be a confusing rabbit hole to go down with all the misinformation out there, but we are on hand to help see some clear in the fog.

Food grown at home lowers carbon emissions, it’s fresher (meaning it provides better nutrition) and you have control of how its grown (without any nasty, unnecessary chemical pesticides and fungicides). All this amounts to a noticeable difference in taste and can also help lower your grocery bills.” Join us to hear more on Tim’s story and learn practical skills to support you on your journey towards sustainable cultivation.

Happiness house
Happiness House operates as a community center, providing a variety of activities and services with a strong emphasis on fostering community connections. With a beautiful outdoor space, featuring a flourishing vegetable patch, the hub offers a unique opportunity to further enhance community bonds and resilience through initiatives such as their community garden. We’ll be joined by manager Léna Boss.

Harvest community gardens
The Queenstown Harvest Community Gardens are located just off Gorge Road, a 5-minute drive from the heart of central Queenstown. This community garden is a labor of love, entirely run by dedicated volunteers. Throughout the year, they hold working bees, informative workshops covering various gardening topics, and social gatherings. We’ll be joined by committee member and longtime local Paula Squire-Thomas. Paula says she is passionate about produce being grown for the community by the community and sharing it around as much as possible.

Kiwiharvest
KiwiHarvest rescue excess food from supermarkets, cafes and producers across Queenstown, Wanaka and Cromwell and redistribute this food to local charity recipients that are helping people struggling with food insecurity. Last year the Queenstown branch rescued a record 120,000 kilos of food equating to over 340,000 meals for locals in need. We’ll be joined by branch manager Gary Hough.

Wilding&co
Wilding & Co launched their ‘Waste to Wilderness’ initiative in 2020, embarking on a mission to collaborate with our local community on extensive composting endeavors. This effort involves transforming Arrowtown's leaf litter, surplus hotel buffet waste, and café coffee grounds into valuable compost, all geared towards supporting community food initiatives, nurturing fungi, and enhancing our forest projects. We’ll be joined by founding director, Michael Sly.

Remarkable fungi
Local champions of gourmet mushroom cultivation. Join our panel to uncover their inspiring journey and business acumen. With a commitment to sustainable practices, they've brought a diverse array of delicious mushrooms to our community.

Important information:
- This event is at the Sherwood, Queenstown, 554 Frankton Road.
- This is a free event.
- The event is on from 6pm to 7.30pm.
- Booking required.
- For more information please contact the Queenstown Library (03) 441 0600 or email queenstown.library@qldc.govt.nz