Woodfordia invites you to leave the world behind and immerse yourself in a weekend of music, creativity, and deep connection to nature as The Planting returns early May.
The Planting is a heartfelt gathering that celebrates community, sustainability, and the enduring beauty and diversity of nature.As the sun sets, the weekend will come alive with an evening programme filled with soul-stirring music and vibrant performances. This year, the likes of the evocative Jem Cassar-Daley, the electric William Crighton, the enchanting harmonies of Charm Of Finches, and the storytelling mastery of Tim Freedman will take to the stage.
The ever-inspiring dirtgirlworld (featuring Costa the Garden Gnome) joins the weekend alongside the infectious energy of Formidable Vegetable. Audiences will also be treated to the melodic soundscapes of Charlie Needs Braces, Apolline, Rupert Bullard, and Lottie McLeod.
During the day, The Planting offers a sanctuary for learning, hands-on experiences, and peaceful relaxation in nature. Dive into engaging discussions on citizen science, regenerative practices, and real-world solutions for sustainable living. Get your hands dirty with environmental working bees, or witness inspiring demonstrations of practical eco-friendly techniques.
After a pause during the pandemic, this year marks a joyful and significant revival – a call to the community to come together and breathe life back into this beloved gathering. "We designed The Planting to be hands-on, heart-filled, and full of joy. It's a beautiful time of the year to be in nature," Amanda Jackes, Managing Director and co-founder of Woodfordia, says.
Here, Formidable Vegetable shares 5 tips on how you can make a difference in sustaining the planet as we currently know it.
1: Start seeing yourself as an inseparable part of nature
A lot of older cultures around the world don't even have a word for 'nature', as it was just assumed that everyone knew just how interconnected everything is.Then, somebody spiked the Kool-Aid and a bunch of us decided that human beings were the sh.t and everything else was just ours for the taking (including some unfortunate fellow humans who weren't deemed worthy of the definition by some powerful white dudes). This has been the source of just about every problem that we've faced since, so the sooner we can get out of that mindset, the better.
2: Make friends
As much as the giant, polluting companies who don't want to take a shred of responsibility for the messes they've made would like you to believe, you can't 'solve' the climate and ecological crises all by yourself.Stop creating doom-scrolly clickbait for Emperor Zuck and TikTok's algorithms to cash-in on; throw your 'carbon footprint calculator' (thanks BP for creating THAT brilliant distraction!) into the compost, get outside and go hang out with some real-life people in real-life.
The revolution will not be televised, advertised or dopamine-ised folks, so start by joining your nearest cuddle-puddle and get yourselves a big fat dose of oxytocin instead.
3: Reduce, reuse & recycle
Oh hey, boomers! Remember the '90s when all you had to do to feel good about yourself was to change your lightbulbs and put your glass bottles in the recycling bin? Sorry to say, but this hasn't actually worked for guaranteeing us a future on Planet Earth. Not that the ethos behind it isn't worth salvaging, though.Basically, if we can stop consuming so much crap that we don't need (hint: you don't actually need crap to be happy), and use and reuse the absolute crap out of the crap that we already have and, finally, find a better place for said crap at the end of its life than the local landfill/ atmosphere/ river/ ocean (aka The Magical Land of Away), then we may increase our chances of survival severalfold. See point #1 for an idea of how to change this habit.
4: Grow something
Plants are people, too. Bring more of them into your life with the simple act of sticking a seed or cutting in the ground, planting some trees in prominent places where they can live long, full lives. You can even start growing your own food with the hope of cutting Coles and Woolies out of your life forever. Wouldn't that be grand?!5: Vote for someone who'll take meaningful action
This should probably be #1, considering the election is just around the corner, cos seriously, with your help, there is potentially some exciting sh.t about to happen!Check to see if there are any candidates in your area (some of whom are independent and not aligned to any party, but actually care about what people want) who have openly stated they will focus on climate, environment and getting big money and corruption out of politics.
Spoiler alert: if you vote for them, they might actually win and do something good to change the things causing some of these problems.
The Planting is staged at Woodfordia (Sunshine Coast Hinterland) 2-4 May.
The Planting 2025 Artist Line-up
Charm of FinchesFormidable Vegetable
William Crighton
Tim Freedman
dirtgirlworld (with Costa the Gnome)
Charlie Needs Braces
Apolline
Jem Cassar-Daley
Rupert Bullard
Lottie McLeod
Aaron Pratt
CC The Cat
