Macedon Ranges council and a local non-profit sustainability group are partnering to host a week-long festival focused on promoting environmental action at a grassroots level.
Titled Changemakers, the festival will run from Saturday, March 15 to Sunday, March 23, and is a collaboration between Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (MRSG) and the council.
The week will begin with the Riddells Creek Enviro-Energy Expo, hosted by the Riddells Creek Cool Changes group.
Cool Changes action group leader Vince Mulkerin said the expo aims to build community knowledge around climate change and then offer actionable solutions.
“We’ve got 25 different displays of what individual people have done to address their own household climate plans,” Mr Mulkerin said.
“The whole theme of the expo last year and this year … is what’s good for the planet is good for your pocket as well,” he said.
There will be three panel discussions at the event – the first focusing on advocacy, the second about action in and out of the home, and the third a youth discussion with local students.
Melbourne University emeritus professor David Karoly will talk about news from the world of climate science research, and Green Planet Sport founder Annabel Sides and bronze medallist race walker Rhydian Cowley will discuss sustainability within sport.
MRSG president Lenka Thompson said that it is “really great” to partner with the council, and that she hopes the Changemakers program continues into the future.
Council planning and environment director Rebecca Stockfeld said the festival “provides a wonderful opportunity for people from all walks of life to come together and learn a new life skill, and work towards making a real change”.
“Collaboration in our community is what we love to see, and the changes that we make today, can have a profound impact on the generations to follow,” Ms Stockfeld said.
A free event, the Riddells Creek Enviro-Energy Expo will run from 10am–3pm on Saturday, March 15 at the Riddells Creek Leisure Centre.
Details: mrsc.vic.gov.au/Live-Work/Environment/Climate-Change/How-you-can-take-climate-action
