Eco Living Expo Goes Digital

By Nicola Smith on August 28, 2020 in News

Craig Reucassel, from War on Waste to Fighting for Planet A. Photo: Reece Eikle

The popular Randwick Eco-Living Expo will return this year in its new online format as the Eco Living Online festival held from September 18-20.
The weekend festival is usually held at the Randwick Community Centre each September, offering interactive workshops, organic food, and a bike repair clinic, but this year it has been relocated online to ensure the maximum number of people can attend while still accounting for social distancing and the potential return of lockdown restrictions.
“We’ve taken a different approach to the Eco Living Expo this year by making the majority of it available to people to access online,” Randwick Mayor Danny Said told The Beast.
“Our talks and workshops, which will be offered via Zoom and live stream, still celebrate all things green and sustainable, but this year the information will be broadcast directly to people’s own homes.”
This year’s expo will have a focus on energy, gardening and waste, as well as workshops on healthy snacks, sustainable fashion, composting, worm farms, electronic and bicycle repair workshops and more. The main event of the weekend will be broadcast on Saturday, featuring Australian comedian Craig Reucassel, and Dr Karl on Sunday. They will also be joined by fashion sustainability expert Clare Press and social researcher and author Rebecca Huntley discussing the human factor in climate change. Each will host a talk and question and answer session. Clare Press is the host of The Wardrobe Crisis podcast and author of The Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion.
The expo is designed to promote sustainable living within the Randwick Local Government Area, encouraging residents to have a smaller impact on the earth.
With 2020 being the 15th year of the Eco Living Expo, adapting to the online format will allow it to go ahead despite uncertainty around restrictions due to COVID-19.
Randwick Council hopes that every person who attends the festival, whether online or in person, will leave with a new piece of knowledge about how they can bring sustainable practices into their everyday life.
Mayor Said told The Beast that the online format will also bring flexibility to the expo, making it accessible to a wider range of Randwick residents.
“Unlike previous years, talks and workshops will be available across the entire weekend so people can dip in and out if they please, or binge on sustainability sessions for the entire two and a half days. This interim format will help residents make a positive impact on the environment and continue on their sustainability journey,” Mayor Said explained.
A further highlight of this year’s expo will be the screening of the 2018 documentary The Biggest Little Farm in partnership with the Ritz Cinema. A question and answer panel will follow the screening.
While some popular elements of the workshop, like the bike repair clinic, won’t be available in the online format, Mayor Said hopes that Eco Living Online will continue to encourage Randwick residents to make changes to their lifestyles.
“There will be a focus on giving people all the knowledge, confidence and encouragement to make big and small changes to their homes and lifestyles to benefit the environment,” he told The Beast.
Eco Living Online will run from September 18-20. Registration details for the various sessions will be available at www.randwick.nsw.gov.au.