Resilient Farms/Resilient Landscapes/Big Ideas Conferences (August 19th-21st)

[dansunrise2009]

Dear All,

 As part of the Sunrise: Off-Grid Gathering, held from August 18th-21st at Fernhill Farm in the Mendips, we are hosting three individual conferences. 

Day 1 (August 19th) : Resilient Landscapes

This conference will be focused on matters related to Eco-Communities, Smallholdings and Land Groups. There will be contributions from planning and legal experts, as well as those with experience of living and working in these circumstances. Confirmed contributors include Paul Sander-Jackson (Wessex Community Assets), Simon Ruston (Bristol UWE - Gypsy and Traveller Planning Law), Rachel Bland (Local Authority Planning Officer), Mike Hannis (Kings Hill / Seize the Day) and Cassandra Lishman (Lammas Community).

The conference runs from 10am - 5pm with film showings afterwards. The day will be separated into a morning and afternoon panel discussions, presentations and Q&As with soapbox sessions over lunch giving audience members a chance to speak about their own projects.

Individual day tickets for this conference are £25 to include access to all other aspects of Off-Grid including the evening music line-up. Sadly, we cannot do tickets for this conference alone.

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Day 2 (August 20th): Resilient Farms South West

The second annual Farming Conference held at Fernhill Farm in the Mendip Hills. This years focus will be on building resilience in UK farming and exploring the true resource potentials of the sector. The conference will examine the potentials of ecological diversification of farms and estates, building local economic networks and brands, low carbon food production and the wider benefits of sustainable land management.

Featuring a host of presenters from across the farming world, as well as from renewable energy, waste management and environmental technology groups, the Conference will look at ways in which farmers and estate managers can diversify activity on their land to bring wider economic, social and environmental benefits, as well as building a farming sector in Somerset and the surrounds that reflects the need for greater resilience.

Confirmed contributors include Michael Eavis (Worthy Farm), Sam Henderson (Agrarian Renaissance), Chris Wilson (Estate Manager - Dillington Estate), Nick Green (Alvis Bros), Graham Harvey (Ex-Agricultural Editor of The Archers), Jay Abrahams (WET Systems), Chris Walford (Pertwood), Luke Hasell (The Story Group), Linda Hull (Foodmapper) The Somerset Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers and Eco-Engineering of Stroud.


The conference runs from 10am - 5.30pm with film showings afterwards. The day will be separated into a morning and afternoon panel discussions, presentations and Q&As with soapbox sessions over lunch giving audience members a chance to speak about their own projects.

Individual day tickets for this conference are £15.

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Day 3 (August 21st): The Big Ideas Forum

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." Buckminster Fuller

This year we have concentrated all our keynote speakers into one main session on the Sunday exploring 'Ideas that can Change the World'. Some of the ideas on show will be familiar to you, some will be opportunities to learn more about topics and others will be new ideas entirely. All the speakers have been chosen for their ability to inspire the audience and for the originality and brilliance of the ideas they are presenting.

Currently confirmed contributors are Rob Hopkins (Founder of Transition Towns), Nick Rosen (Author of 'How to live Off-Grid' and 'Off the Grid: Inside the movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence in Modern America'), Tim 'Mac' Macartney (Founder of Embercombe) on 'The Childrens Fire', Brigit Strawbridge (Environmentalist/TVs 'Its not easy being Green'), Mark Heley (Resilience and Radical Centrism), Patrick Whitefield (Permaculture for the Planet), Nicola Peel (Eyes of Gaia), Clare Hedin and representatives of the Freeman Movement.

The forum runs from 10am - 7pm. The day will be separated into morning and afternoon sessions with presentations and panel discussions around topics raised in the day. 

Day Tickets for Sunday, with access to all of Off-Grid including evening music, are £25.

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Tickets for Conferences can be booked in advance via emailing dan at sunrisecelebration.com

For directions and other info, please visit www.fernhill-farm.co.uk
For information on Off-Grid, please visit www.sunrise-offgrid.co.uk/conferences.php 
General Enquiries, Bookings and Applications: Daniel Hurring - 07792 353864 / dan at sunrisecelebration.com
Venue and Farming Enquiries: 07903 584695 or 07712 616797 / mail at fernhill-farm.co.uk 
Press Enquiries: Katherine Ritchie - 07505 197554 / kat at sunrisecelebration.com

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Please network this event via your own mailing lists and other groups, if you are interested.