The third Bundeena Maianbar Sustainability Expo is now part of the Art of Living Festival! As well as being a headline event on the Saturday program, it also signals a new focus on sustainability across the entire festival. The Expo showcases how we, as individuals and a local community, are striving to live more sustainably and protect our beautiful natural environment. The day includes talks, demonstrations and hands-on activities on everything sustainable.

Do EVs actually produce more emissions than petrol cars? Do the batteries wear out? Will they overload the grid? Can you drive one to Adelaide? Do they take hours to charge? Are they a fire hazard? EV owner and advocate Jay Banyer tackles some of the common myths and questions around electric vehicles.

Jay Banyer is an EV owner and advocate for the transition to sustainable energy technology, including the electrification of transport. Jay’s household has owned three different EVs and hasn’t owned a petrol car for three years. Jay works in the new energy sector (solar, batteries and EVs) and is also a co-founder of Sunny Shire, alongside Jonathan Prendergast.

An audio/visual documentary presentation showing what the shorebirds look like and how they use their Port Hacking habitat. Learn what to look out for when you are out an about on the beach and tidal flat areas of Maianbar to help keep the habitat a safe space for the birds.

Julie has spent the last 10 years studying the resident & migratory shorebirds of Port Hacking. Leading a volunteer team the group managed to raise the first endangered pied oystercatcher chick on a public Sydney beach in around a quarter of a century. Data is collected which is then used to help government decision making on shorebird habitat. Because of her work with shorebirds over the last 10 years, Sutherland Shire Council awarded Julie the Environmental Citizen of the Year award for 2022 on Australia Day.

This talk will cover what native bees are, and three ways to introduce them to your garden: planting flowers, bee hotels, and stingless bee hives.

Isaac is the founder of Bush Bees. He’s been keeping native bees for 5 years, since the age of 13. Bush Bees provides services surrounding native bees, and produces a range of products made with native bee ingredients.

Council’s Greenweb program identifies key areas of bushland habitat and establishes corridors to connect them. This will assist in the movement of both animals and plants to help maintain healthy populations and diversity. Council’s Native Plant Selector can help in selecting the right plant for your area to assist in the creation of these wildlife corridors.

Geoff Doret started his environmental career at Fairfield Council as the Tree Preservation and Landscape Assessment Officer in 1994.
In 1998 he started work at Sutherland Shire Council as the Noxious Weeds Officer. Since 2002 Geoff was involved in the creation of Greenweb and as the Greenweb Officer, and has assisted residents in the restoration of their properties ever since.

Why is Wedding Cake Rock white? Where are the relic cliff dunes and how did they form? A brief look at some of the features and mysteries of the landscape around Bundeena in the context of the geomorphology of the Sydney Basin.

Mark has lived on Dharawal land most of his life. Growing up on banks of the Georges River he now resides at Bundeena. As Convenor of the Spring Gully Protection Group, Mark is a passionate advocate for the conservation of the cultural and natural heritage values of the local environment.

The Koala Corridor is a call to action- an issue based documentary film that examines the issues that have led to the Koala being upgraded to Endangered status. It sets its sights on the lack of effective government action which is leading to the predicted extinction of the koala in the wild by 2050. It asks how did we allow it to happen and what can we do to help save the Koala?

A trailer for the film will be shown, followed by a talk about the issue and about the crowdfunding efforts the filmmakers are making to raise the budget they need to make a blue-chip television documentary feature.

Georgia Wallace-Crabbe is an Australian film producer/ director responsible for the creation of numerous documentaries, dramas, and television series. She and her partner Gregory Miller are making the film together, through their Bundeena based prod co Film Projects.

Humans have long had a relationship with animals. We live with them, invite them into our backyards, feed them and are fascinated by them, but is our interaction with our local native animals helpful or detrimental to their survival? Sue, Louise and Annabelle, three of WIRES south branch wildlife carers will share their experiences of different animal rescues and how these could have been avoided if our human interaction with animals changed. We will look into common household pesticides and their effect on wildlife, plastic pollution and everyday living with wildlife.

Sue is a WIRES rescuer, carer and education officer. Louise is a WIRES rescuer, carer and a South Branch avian coordinator. Annabell is a WIRES rescuer, carer and is a conservation biologist.

Passive House construction results in highly energy efficient buildings, which require minimal heating and cooling, and also provide super comfortable, healthy living environments. We will look at the five basic principles of PH building – airtightness; super insulation; mechanical heat recovery ventilation; high quality windows and doors; no thermal bridges.

About the presenter: Having lived in many houses which were poorly designed or thermally uncomfortable, and usually both, the opportunity to design and build our own house was a dream come true. We will talk about what led us down the Passive House path, the people who influenced us, and our experiences and journey so far.

Join us for a conversation with Bridget Cama, Uluru Statement Youth Dialogue Co-chair, as she discusses the importance of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the journey so far and the key reforms that the Statement calls for – VOICE, TREATY and TRUTH. Learn about what action you can take towards justice for First Nations peoples in our country and for a better future for all Australians.

Bridget Cama is a Wiradjuri/Pasifika Fijian woman and has been working with the Uluru Statement movement and Uluru Senior Leadership under Professor Megan Davis and Aunty Pat Anderson since March 2019. Bridget works closely with Allira Davis as Co-Chairs of the Uluru Youth Dialogue to provide a national platform for First Nations youth voices to be heard in the Uluru movement towards a constitutionally protected First Nations Voice to Parliament, Makaratta (Treaty and Truth Telling) and in First Nations affairs more broadly.