Tino Carnevale, ABC photo

Media Release

Friday 26 November

Tino Carnevale is stoked about the Cygnet Herb, Health and Organic Expo! Its on this Sunday 28th November!

ABC TV gardening guru Tino Carnevale is excited about this weekend’s Cygnet Herb Health and Organic Expo. The Gardening Australia host will headline an exciting new forum event discussing the issue of ‘food, forests and family.”

“I’m stoked, its the first time U’ve attended the expo. The forum is an opportunity to share ideas and practical tips that will hopefully be useful in their everyday lives,” Tino explains.

The forum will complement a range of over 40 stalls selling local organic products, plants, herbs and health products. There will also be information stalls, where you can network and learn from organic producers and community organisations.

Workshops and demonstrations ranging from permaculture to tai chi and healthy cooking will provide even more information and entertainment.

The special forum event, featuring speakers such as Mercury garden expert Paul Heally, Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne and University of Tasmania Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick, has an overarching theme of ‘building resilient communities’.

“The whole idea of achieving self sufficiency is a very empowering one,” Tino Carnevale believes, “I think people have become more aware of how their actions impact on the big picture.” The forum will cover a range of topics, from the big-picture political dimension, to simple backyard solutions.

“Seeing as I am a gardener and not an environmental scientist I will be sticking to what I know: the edible garden and its benefits for the community,” Tino says.

The Huon and Channel regions provides a perfect backdrop to this weekend’s celebration of sustainability. “It’s a famously beautiful area with fertile soil and a temperate climate,” Tino says.  “The communities that live there are a meld of old school agricultural knowledge and new ideas who appreciate that they have a quality of life worth preserving.”

“The forum is an opportunity to share ideas and practical tips that will hopefully be useful in their everyday lives.” Tino Carnevale said.

Hosted by the Huon Valley Environment Centre Opening at 9am, the Expo runs till 4pm, with workshops starting at 10:30am.  The forum Food, forest, family; building resilient communities runs from 1pm – 3pm. Entry for the whole day to all venues is $3. Kids under 12 are free.