Sustainable Future Festival - The Entrance
Reconnecting with place: reflections from the Reconnection & Regeneration Panel discussion
The Sustainable Futures Festival brought together a group of speakers, lead by Lottie Dalziel, featuring voices from Indigenous culture, permaculture, environmental activism, and community gardening. What linked them wasn’t a single strategy or slogan, but a shared interest in helping people rebuild a relationship with the places they live.
Seeing Country as family
Tim (Selwyn) opened with a view that set the tone for the whole session: land, water, plants and animals form a family system, not a backdrop. He described the sky, soil and underground life as connected layers of one body. When he spoke about walking “softly” and slowing down enough to sense where you stand, the room fell quiet. His reminder that no one needs permission to reconnect with the land — because being born here already ties you to it — landed strongly.
“Land, plants, animals are our family.” – Tim
Permaculture as everyday decisions
Kerry (Anderson - Synergy Permaculture) shifted the focus from worldview to routine. She described permaculture as a set of ethics that shape small choices: how we grow food, what we give during high-waste seasons, where we shop, and how we share tools or skills with neighbours. Her stories about gratitude rituals around food and community composting groups made the idea feel practical rather than abstract. She also stressed that resilience grows through community, not isolation.
What emotions tell us about the world
John (Seed - Rainforest Information Centre) drew on decades of direct action — from Terania Creek to the Franklin River and the Daintree. He explained that blocking bulldozers protected specific forests, but the larger issue is the belief that humans sit apart from the rest of the living world. He spoke plainly about emotions like grief and fear. Instead of seeing them as obstacles, he described them as signals passed down from ancestors who had to read their environment accurately to survive. When people push those feelings away, they often freeze instead of acting.
“The illusion of separation is the core of the environmental crisis.” – John
Curiosity as a daily practice
Costa (Georgiadis - Gardening Australia) approached the topic from another angle. For him, curiosity is a steadying tool. He spoke about bird counts that require twenty minutes of stillness, or noticing pollinators while walking. These aren’t grand gestures; they’re interruptions to a routine that usually runs too fast. They create a pocket of attention where connection can grow. He encouraged people to treat these moments as part of their week, not as occasional treats.
“Become your own time machine. Generate time.” – Costa
Examples speak louder than arguments
A theme that kept resurfacing was the idea that persuasion rarely works on its own. People tend to change after watching someone else live in a way that feels honest and doable. A reusable cup at the café, a small veggie bed on a balcony, a visit to a community garden — simple actions are surprisingly influential because they’re concrete.
Local places that weave people together
The panel pointed toward many starting points: neighbourhood compost hubs, repair cafés, produce swaps, local art and cultural gatherings, and regional climate actions. These aren’t niche subcultures; they’re meeting places where people can participate at their own pace.
A quiet message running underneath
Across all the conversations, one idea held steady: connection comes from repeated, small moments. Long walks, brief pauses, shared meals, tending a plant, joining a working bee — these habits shape how people see the world around them. Big shifts often begin with changes that barely register at first.
The panel ended with a simple challenge: create time for the things that matter, rather than waiting for the schedule to clear. As Costa put it, time isn’t found; it’s generated by changing what you treat as important.
