0:00

Hello, my name is

0:00

Jeremy Melder, and I'm the

0:02

presenter from Beaming Green.

0:02

Before we start, I would like to

0:07

acknowledge that this podcast is

0:07

being held on the traditional

0:11

lands of the Bundjalung people

0:11

and paying our respects to

0:15

elders both past, present and

0:15

emerging. The Beaming Green

0:22

podcast is a weekly podcast,

0:22

which will help you to take out

0:27

some of the stress and confusion

0:27

about how to live your life more

0:31

sustainably. And we do this by

0:31

introducing people that have

0:36

first hand experience and

0:36

expertise in all aspects of

0:40

sustainability. So you can get

0:40

some amazing insight. You can

0:45

implement the simple and

0:45

practical solutions to enhance

0:49

your life and the lives of your

0:49

family. Anyone been to the

0:54

murwillumbah farmers market.

0:54

It's located the Showgrounds in

0:58

northern New South Wales. Now,

0:58

if you have never been there,

1:02

you will be in for a great

1:02

surprise because it's

1:04

beautifully surrounded by the

1:04

Caldera, and Mount Wollumbin.

1:10

This is a place where the

1:10

community gathers to support our

1:13

local farmers and artisans every

1:13

Wednesday, from 7am till 11.

1:19

It's a great place for the local

1:19

economy, and cuts down on carbon

1:23

emissions due to the travel of

1:23

food to the marketplace. So

1:28

today, I want to welcome Sue

1:28

Beckinsale, who manages the

1:32

Murwillumbah markets to tell us

1:32

more about what goes on there.

1:37

Sue, welcome to Beaming Green.

1:40

Thank you,

1:40

Jeremy. I'm so happy to be here.

1:43

It's really

1:43

lovely to have you here. Sue,

1:46

you are what I call the

1:46

custodian looking after the

1:51

farmers market in Murwillumbah.

1:51

Can you give us a little bit of

1:55

background as to when this

1:55

started and so on?

2:01

That's a wonderful question, Jeremy, because we're about to celebrate

2:02

10 years,

2:05

10 years.

2:07

So in April this

2:07

year we celebrate the market

2:10

actually, having been open to

2:10

our customers for 10 years. And

2:15

so the history of that is it

2:15

came out of the caldera economic

2:20

transition plan. There was a

2:20

process that took a couple of

2:23

years. And I think the plan was

2:23

finally written in 2009. And one

2:28

of the four key outcomes that

2:28

they wanted to achieve was to

2:32

establish a farmers market in

2:32

Murwillumbah to support our

2:35

local growers, and to help with

2:35

the economics and social

2:39

development of the area.

2:41

Yeah, that's

2:41

fantastic. Now, What part do you

2:44

play in terms of organizing?

2:44

This is are there any other

2:49

people that assist you?

2:52

Ah, I managed

2:52

market, which means really doing

2:55

everything. Yeah. But the market

2:55

is a not for profit. Yeah. So it

3:01

came as the caldera farmers

3:01

market. Murwillumbah Inc. Yeah.

3:05

And so we have a committee, and

3:05

the committee has a very

3:08

important role. Because

3:08

ultimately, they're responsible

3:11

for the market. Yeah. But the

3:11

manager is the one who ensures

3:16

that the market happens every

3:16

week. And anything to do with

3:22

making sure that it happens

3:22

every week, is what I do.

3:26

So rain, hail, or

3:26

shine, or even if you're ill,

3:29

you still managed to, hopefully

3:29

not when you're ill. But you

3:33

know, especially with COVID-19

3:33

about,

3:36

I've been very

3:36

lucky, I think in the, in the

3:38

eight years that I've actually

3:38

been managing the market. And

3:41

its eight years for me coming up

3:41

in June. I think I've only

3:44

missed one. Yeah. Because some

3:44

adverse occurrence in my life.

3:51

I remember going

3:51

early on, I think, in in when he

3:55

first when it was first started.

3:55

And you know, it's so wonderful

3:59

to say how it has grown over the

3:59

time and seeing all these lovely

4:05

people with kids and music and

4:05

you know, all these people just

4:12

sitting around chatting in the

4:12

sunshine when it's sunny. And

4:17

just really, it's a community

4:17

event, isn't it? Really, every

4:22

Wednesday, people between seven

4:22

and 11. In the morning, they're

4:27

together to be with each other.

4:30

And you've absolutely hit the essence of the market. I see myself as

4:32

simply the facilitator. Yeah, of

4:37

an event that is about

4:37

community, for the community

4:41

with the community. Yeah.

4:41

Without the community we

4:44

wouldn't exist. And that

4:44

community is wide and,

4:47

embracing, yeah. So from the

4:47

people who put the seeds in the

4:51

ground or the seedlings in the

4:51

ground to begin with, to people

4:56

who have an idea about a

4:56

business they'd like to create

4:59

and think how do I do that the

4:59

economics behind that can be

5:03

quite daunting. But if they can

5:03

start small and start at the

5:07

market, yeah, then it's not so

5:07

frightening. Yeah. So the market

5:13

facilitates the development of,

5:13

of small producers, as well as

5:19

our growers. Yeah. And it

5:19

facilitates the gathering of

5:22

people every week. People will

5:22

say to me, it's my happy day.

5:27

Yeah, I come to the market. I,

5:27

even people who work on

5:31

Wednesday, I just they work

5:31

schedule, where they can to be

5:34

able to come to the market. And

5:34

they say, because it's my happy

5:38

morning. And in fact, one mum

5:38

used to run into the market. And

5:40

she'd say, quickly, I've got to

5:40

pick up some things for the kids

5:43

school lunches, but I'll be back

5:43

later, she'd run in and she'd

5:47

get what she needed the

5:47

essentials to make an easy

5:50

lunch, yeah, morning tea,

5:50

whatever, for the children or

5:53

breakfast. And then she'd come

5:53

back and do the real shopping

5:56

and catch up with friends. Yeah.

5:56

So it really is a gathering

5:59

point.

5:59

Yeah, absolutely.

5:59

Now in terms of like the

6:02

criteria for people coming into

6:02

the marketplace, I know there's

6:08

a lot of organics and so on, is

6:08

there some sort of way of

6:12

evaluating who gets in and who

6:12

doesn't get in?

6:15

Absolutely. And

6:15

that's the beauty of having a

6:19

market that's run by a committee

6:19

and being a not for profit, we

6:23

have a clear set of guidelines.

6:23

For instance, any farmers that

6:28

have applied to come into the

6:28

market, they have to be able to

6:31

demonstrate that they're growing

6:31

what they sell. Yeah, and they

6:35

have to agree to an independent

6:35

order, before they start. So we

6:38

have an independent auditor come

6:38

and visit them and have a look

6:40

at what they grow, and what

6:40

they've applied to bring into

6:43

the market. And they are

6:43

responsible for accepting an

6:48

audit annually or biannually, as

6:48

determined by the committee to

6:51

ensure that what they're selling

6:51

is what they're growing. Yeah.

6:56

And likewise, with our producers

6:56

and others who come into the

6:59

market, there is a process the

6:59

committee considers every

7:01

application. And that process

7:01

evolves and changes, as the

7:06

market has accepted and grown

7:06

with more and more stallholders.

7:12

our need for duplication is not

7:12

there. Occasionally, we

7:16

duplicate but it's a very finely

7:16

nuanced growth factor of making

7:22

sure that I mean our priority

7:22

really is I suppose if a

7:26

stallholder begins at the

7:26

market, we want them to be

7:28

successful. Yeah. So that's

7:28

about making sure that we don't

7:32

have too much overlap. Yeah, of

7:32

course, with our projects, we

7:37

have our wide variation between

7:37

our farm stalls. And I think

7:41

we've got that about right.

7:41

They're all being successful. We

7:45

can't just accept every farm

7:45

stall who apply as much as we'd

7:48

love to. Yeah, because we can

7:48

only accept stalls at the rate

7:53

of growth of our customers. Yeah.

7:55

Do you have an

7:55

idea as to how many people

7:59

attend? on a Wednesday? I did,

7:59

like have a rough estimate.

8:04

When I first

8:04

came on to manage the market,

8:08

eight years ago, I think we had

8:08

about 450 on the first survey.

8:12

Within a year or two, it

8:12

increased to about 850. And I'd

8:15

say we're well over 1000,

8:15

probably 1500. Most weeks.

8:19

Wow. The car park

8:19

is always full.

8:23

Yes, it does. It

8:23

fills up and we have those who

8:26

come and hang around for most of

8:26

the morning. Yeah, because of

8:30

the music and the ambience of

8:30

the market, which has been a

8:33

very considered decision to

8:33

create that, that place that

8:38

center gathering point for

8:38

people to come to, but some

8:40

people pop in and go quite

8:40

quickly. So there's a lot of

8:43

traffic through the market, a

8:43

lot of turnover vehicles and a

8:47

lot of people coming and going

8:47

Yeah, and that's wonderful.

8:49

That's exactly what we want to see.

8:51

Yeah. In terms of

8:51

the vision, as you've got it,

8:55

basically, it's determined on

8:55

what what the size or the growth

8:59

of the market is as to what you

8:59

can put in there. Isn't that in

9:02

terms of what else you can add

9:02

to it

9:04

that and adding

9:04

diversity? So when people

9:07

approach me and say, I'd love to

9:07

have a stall at the market, I

9:09

say what are you bringing? You

9:09

know, have you been around the

9:12

market had a look is what you're

9:12

offering something different to

9:14

what we already have? Do you

9:14

make it? Yeah, because you must

9:17

be the maker, or you must work

9:17

within the organization that

9:21

makes the product that is being

9:21

sold. And we are a farmers

9:25

market. So we do put food as our

9:25

absolute priority. And that's

9:30

complemented with a few little

9:30

other things that local makers

9:32

make, but it is really all about

9:32

the food. And our food producers

9:38

are also asked to use the

9:38

produce that our growers and

9:42

farmers produce. Yeah, so that

9:42

stallholders support one

9:45

another. Yeah, if someone's

9:45

making pesto to sell and they're

9:49

not growing the basil or the

9:49

coriander for the pesto, we ask

9:52

that they buy that from the farm

9:52

stalls. And that's very

9:56

important. It's it's an organic,

9:56

self supporting process and

10:00

really important.

10:01

So that then a

10:01

community of people that are

10:04

buying locally can know that

10:04

they're actually supporting

10:08

local, which is really

10:08

important. Now, I want to just,

10:11

we talked about this before

10:11

offline, about the Griffith

10:15

University survey that was done

10:15

on it's a very small sample,

10:19

just to tell our listeners that

10:19

it is a small sample that was

10:23

done. But it was very

10:23

interesting. There's a graphic

10:25

here that I'm looking at, that's

10:25

basically showing, the reason

10:28

why people actually go to a

10:28

market is that they want to cut

10:33

down on food miles, which is a

10:33

really important thing. It's

10:36

also supporting sustainable

10:36

farming in the local area. And

10:40

it's also reducing waste. And

10:40

another important thing that we

10:45

seem to have forgotten in the

10:45

modern era is about seasonality.

10:50

Because we can buy mangoes all

10:50

year round if we wanted to

10:55

bananas all around, but we've

10:55

forgotten this whole thing of

10:58

seasonality. Whereas going back

10:58

a few generations that you could

11:03

only get bananas in a particular

11:03

season, or oranges in a

11:07

particular season, or apples in

11:07

a particular season, not every

11:10

day. So it's kind of one of the

11:10

things that was really that

11:14

highlighted that to me also, the

11:14

main thing that I thought was

11:18

really highlighted here was the

11:18

connection for the social, the

11:23

social connection for the local

11:23

community, which we've already

11:26

talked about, and the

11:26

entertainment, the activities

11:29

are there. And it enhances

11:29

community spirit, doesn't it?

11:33

It really does.

11:33

It's a focus point. Early on, I

11:37

remember seeing young mums with

11:37

bubs come in. And it became a

11:43

gathering and sometimes they

11:43

didn't come to shop, they really

11:46

came because it was a safe place

11:46

to gather and talk. And then the

11:51

babies grow into toddlers. And

11:51

then the next baby appeared in

11:55

the pram and we'd see the

11:55

munching on a carrot or cucumber

11:59

or an apple from the Apple

11:59

Stall. And so we decided that it

12:04

would be really lovely to have a

12:04

gathering spot for families,

12:08

young families. So we

12:08

established what we call Kiddies

12:11

corner. And one of the beautiful

12:11

aspects that I love about our

12:16

community is that sense of

12:16

supporting and helping one

12:21

another out. And so Paula

12:21

LaBelle from the Family Center,

12:24

and I work closely together to

12:24

have that little family, young

12:29

family, young kids gathering

12:29

area at the market. And she

12:33

actually organizes that, and

12:33

organizes the volunteers and the

12:37

activities for that area. And

12:37

she's delighted because it gives

12:41

her a way of connecting with

12:41

young families, that's part of

12:44

her role within the family

12:44

center. So that sense of working

12:48

with others, as I said, I just

12:48

facilitate in working with

12:52

others to make this happen. And

12:52

so that being a gathering point,

12:57

we have people with computers

12:57

who have meetings at the market.

13:00

Tomorrow, I've got 30 volunteers

13:00

coming from the Tweed

13:06

Information Center to have a

13:06

look at the market. And that's

13:08

about them recognizing how

13:08

important the market is for

13:12

bringing people into the Tweed

13:12

or being part of the whole Tweed

13:16

experience when they're

13:16

traveling into the area through

13:18

the area. And I hear from people

13:18

from all over the country who

13:22

will ring and say is such and

13:22

such a store still at the

13:25

market. I used to just pass

13:25

through Murwillumbah and now I

13:28

stay a couple of nights in the

13:28

area. Because then I plan my

13:31

visit around coming to the

13:31

market. So it's lovely to have

13:34

that reach within the community

13:34

and beyond the community. And

13:37

we're also a place where

13:37

families when they have visitors

13:41

from other parts of the country

13:41

can take their visitors. And in

13:46

fact, a lot of the accommodation

13:46

places from all along the coast,

13:52

I have people from Eleonora down

13:52

to Pottsville to or further up

13:57

the coast who will bring their

13:57

international visitors or the

13:59

local visitors who are staying

13:59

at their b&b to the market.

14:03

Yeah. They say it's a

14:03

destination. And so the market

14:07

can be a starting point for

14:07

their day in the Tweed, go to

14:09

the art gallery, do whatever.

14:09

Yeah. And seasonality is a

14:13

really important part of that

14:13

authenticity is important. And

14:17

that doesn't mean that that's

14:17

easy to manaage. There are

14:20

always challenges and there are

14:20

always people who want to break

14:22

the rules. Yeah. But what we say

14:22

to our farmers, is really about

14:28

educating our customers about

14:28

the seasonality of produce. This

14:32

study that the Griffith uni

14:32

students did was really

14:34

interesting. Then nutrition and

14:34

dietitian students. And so we

14:38

had two groups come through last

14:38

year, one who looked one group

14:41

looked at the seasonality of

14:41

produce. And they did something

14:45

that I'd been trying to work on

14:45

for years and just didn't have

14:47

time to have finished and I

14:47

produced a seasonality chart for

14:50

the year. So of course, it needs

14:50

a little bit of tweaking, but

14:54

only the other day, I was

14:54

talking to one of the committee

14:56

members and we thought about how

14:56

we could display that to our

15:00

customers, because it is an

15:00

educative process, as you said,

15:04

when we become so accustomed to

15:04

seeing everything in the shops

15:08

available all the time, it

15:08

almost becomes a subliminal

15:12

expectation. If you can't get

15:12

it, what's wrong? or if we're

15:17

really supporting our local

15:17

growers, and eating seasonally,

15:22

we have to learn that sometimes

15:22

things that we love aren't

15:26

available. But you know, there's

15:26

a flip side to that Jeremy. And

15:29

I say when I write my weekly

15:29

newsletter for our customers

15:32

sometimes, yay, avocados are

15:32

back in and I've been so missing

15:36

them. Yeah. And like avocados

15:36

are just fading out now. Yeah.

15:39

But they'll come back in around

15:39

March, April, March, April on

15:43

the coastal area, the ones from

15:43

Burringbah, April, late April.

15:48

So there's an excitement in the

15:48

joy of seasonality and the

15:51

eating with the seasons. And I

15:51

think it's good for health.

15:54

I totally agree

15:54

with you. From a health

15:57

perspective. I think there is a

15:57

reason for that, right? why

16:00

we've got these fruits in summer

16:00

and some of them in winter. It's

16:05

helps with our digestive cycles

16:05

as well, I would say, and very

16:10

important. Now, one of the

16:10

things I wanted to find out

16:14

about was you've mentioned a

16:14

committee. Right, be nice to it.

16:18

You know, there are obviously

16:18

people in a committee that are

16:20

helping you then are there who

16:20

are those people that are on

16:23

your committees that don't mind being mentioned,

16:24

the committee is

16:24

comprised of always has a number

16:27

of stallholders, and we have two

16:27

community position. So we want

16:31

the committee to represent the

16:31

customer and the store holder,

16:35

because the community votes on

16:35

new applications and votes on or

16:40

move, you know, moves various

16:40

changes that we might want to

16:43

see in the market. So right now,

16:43

our president is Ian McCray

16:48

have Nigel nuts. Yeah. Our vice

16:48

president is Fabian Fabro from

16:54

woollen Valley eggs. Okay. Our

16:54

Treasurer is Jeremy, who brings

16:59

the kombucha? Yeah. Our

16:59

secretary is Mal of Vietnamese

17:06

Lotus. Okay. And so and Will

17:06

Everest is what we call an

17:12

ordinary member that ordinary no

17:12

means described No, doesn't

17:16

really describe at all he's not

17:16

ordinary at all. And the value

17:20

that he brings to the decisions

17:20

made is really important. So

17:24

that committee changes annually

17:24

or can change annually. Yeah,

17:27

there might be slight changes,

17:27

or there might be changes. But

17:31

yes, so that committee would

17:31

meet maybe every four to six

17:35

weeks. Yeah. And, you know, I

17:35

report back to them, or if

17:39

there's any things that I'd like

17:39

them to consider or make

17:41

decisions about or support,

17:41

things that I'd like to do, like

17:44

with our 10th birthday coming

17:44

up, there are all sorts of ideas

17:49

that I have. And at the moment,

17:49

we're looking at calling out to

17:53

the community to submit recipes,

17:53

seasonal recipes for their

17:57

favorite simple, quick and easy

17:57

meal. Because what we're going

18:02

to do for our 10th birthday is

18:02

actually run some workshops at

18:06

the market to show how to use

18:06

our local produce to make quick

18:10

easy meals, simple meals for

18:10

families.

18:13

What a great idea. And we were just discussing this before that, you

18:15

know, we're running out of ideas

18:18

for recipes, I am anyway, yay, I

18:18

could always do with some great

18:23

ideas. Now, one of the things

18:23

Sue, during COVID, you know, we

18:28

had quite a few more, we had to

18:28

all shut down for six weeks. And

18:33

I presume you were not able to

18:33

operate in that time, or where

18:37

you were at did while you were

18:37

able to we did so I stayed at

18:40

home. So because I'm vulnerable

18:40

due to a poor immune system, so

18:42

I didn't go anywhere.

18:44

Well, markets

18:44

were considered long with

18:48

supermarkets as an exception.

18:48

Farmers markets, I should be

18:51

quite clear on that. Not all

18:51

markets. So farmers markets were

18:55

definitely considered an

18:55

exception. And that was such a

18:59

busy time researching daily the

18:59

changes and having new signage

19:03

made every week. And we

19:03

completely changed the layout of

19:09

the market during that period.

19:09

We made several changes. The

19:12

first change was to move, move a

19:12

lot of the farm stalls out at

19:16

the pavilion.

19:17

So that's what happened. Okay.

19:19

So that we can

19:19

allow the social distancing for

19:21

the all our customers queuing.

19:21

Yeah. But then we found the

19:26

queues were so long, we still

19:26

didn't have room. Yeah. So we

19:29

moved further out outside the

19:29

area that the market normally

19:32

inhabited. And that was done in

19:32

consultation and with support

19:36

from the Showground trust, and

19:36

this is again, where community

19:40

we have such a wonderful

19:40

supportive community.

19:43

Can't agree with you anymore. Yes.

19:44

Showground trust

19:44

was just wonderful and I work

19:46

with are so closely they're

19:46

working with us right now, you

19:49

know, a little bit late this

19:49

morning because I had a phone

19:51

call with them working on

19:51

something that's about to be

19:54

another change at the market.

19:54

But yes, so they agreed that w

19:59

could move our farm stalls righ

19:59

out to allow for that extr

20:03

space and the social distancin

20:03

that was considered so importan

20:07

right through that anxious tim

20:07

in the early and middle days o

20:12

COVID. Yeah. But you know, lik

20:12

most things in life, I think ou

20:17

of difficulties can emerge grea

20:17

things. Yeah. And really, it ha

20:23

been fabulous for the market, w

20:23

didn't quite know what t

20:26

expect. And we thought tha

20:26

maybe, and farmers have now I'

20:31

trying to say two things a

20:31

once. So just take one strand a

20:34

a time. Farmers plan three o

20:34

six months in advance, so the

20:38

have a planting ratio. And the

20:38

have to plan for the seeds t

20:42

the seedlings to the plant i

20:42

the ground to the fina

20:45

harvesting. So they have

20:45

regime that of planting that'

20:49

based on their expectations o

20:49

what they're likely to sell

20:52

Yeah. And then COVID hits. Yeah

20:52

and coming from a farmin

20:56

background myself, my whol

20:56

concern was, we can't have foo

21:00

rotting in the ground, like

21:00

keeping this market going is a

21:03

absolute priority from tw

21:03

points of view. We need ou

21:07

farmers, our farmers at ou

21:07

farmers market, our small famil

21:11

farmers, yeah, they're not th

21:11

big, massive farm growers tha

21:18

grow maybe only carrots o

21:18

massive acreage, these are ver

21:23

diverse, Market Garden, smal

21:23

family farms, and most of the

21:29

now we're intergenerational. S

21:29

we've got the younger generatio

21:31

now growing, which is wonderful

21:31

So my absolute priority was t

21:37

keep the farmers selling so w

21:37

could keep our farms viable, an

21:42

give the population give ou

21:42

wonderful loyal customer bas

21:46

access to that fresh produc

21:46

more critical than ever

21:50

Possible health challenges Yeah

21:53

these things shut

21:53

down to such a large extent

21:56

that, you know, we were very,

21:56

very reliant on local produce,

22:01

you know, and that's a great

22:01

thing for us to think about more

22:04

so from a, from a global

22:04

perspective, from from an

22:09

Australian perspective and say,

22:09

Well, what can we do locally, to

22:13

support our local communities

22:13

and be more self sufficient.

22:17

And, you know, that's why it's

22:17

wonderful to have these, you

22:20

know, we've got, you know, the Murwillumbah market, but he's also got, you know, the Mullum

22:22

markets and the Byron markets,

22:26

that that do support our local

22:26

farmers. And that's really

22:31

important, isn't it?

22:32

It's so

22:32

important and Jeremy during this

22:34

time, we worked the Northern

22:34

Rivers markets, we all know one

22:37

another. The managers, we had

22:37

lots of telephone calls to one

22:40

another checking on what we were

22:40

each doing. And in the early

22:44

days, right at the beginning of

22:44

COVID, we actually got together

22:48

and collaboratively decided on a

22:48

small advertising campaign. Now

22:52

we don't normally have the money

22:52

to put into advertising. We are

22:56

not for profit, we run out on a

22:56

really lean. But by working with

23:02

the others, were able to run a

23:02

series of tv adverts, and so we

23:07

do collaborate, we support one

23:07

another. Yeah. And a lot of some

23:10

of our farm stalls are at some

23:10

of those other markets. So there

23:13

is overlap. So that was

23:13

important. But you know, people

23:17

were very fearful in the early

23:17

days and looking for a safe

23:19

venue to shop. So we did remove

23:19

our marquees, we removed our

23:23

tables and chairs, because the

23:23

focus then was to shop and go,

23:29

yeah, yeah, we needed that

23:29

turnover. So we had the space

23:32

for people to queue. Yeah. We

23:32

had the open air and we had the

23:35

sunshine. Yeah, we had the

23:35

healthiest environment. And you

23:39

know, there are so many days on

23:39

that Wednesday morning, when it

23:42

looks as if it might shower, I

23:42

just hold the clouds up, because

23:46

I just want the market to have

23:46

that sunshine. That's part of

23:49

the happiness. Yeah. And unlike

23:49

some of the other markets, I

23:53

think I chose to keep the

23:53

musicians because I recognized

23:56

that while people were queuing,

23:56

and the queues were much longer

24:01

and it took much longer to go

24:01

through and buy what you came

24:04

for, the music was uplifting. So

24:04

we really put the focus on

24:08

having happy music, engaging

24:08

music, and keeping people

24:12

occupied in a really positive

24:12

way. Yeah, yeah. But, you know,

24:18

it highlights the importance of

24:18

local food. Yeah, food security,

24:22

is something that is always in

24:22

the back of my mind. And, and

24:27

through various floods over the

24:27

years. It's made me much more

24:31

aware of how fragile that food

24:31

security is. Yeah,

24:35

absolutely. Yeah,

24:35

you've very, you've raised a

24:38

very important thing there that

24:38

that is food security is so so

24:42

important, isn't it? And our

24:42

populations are growing, and we

24:47

need to be able to sustain our

24:47

local communities. Now there's a

24:51

lot of people apparently

24:51

speaking not speaking of floods,

24:54

but a lot of people apparently

24:54

moving to our region. And I was

25:02

just at a meeting yesterday,

25:02

which is called Murwillumbah

25:06

Life. And they were talking

25:06

about having a stall on the 24th

25:15

of March. Is that right? to

25:15

welcome our people that are new

25:21

to Murwillumbah. And do you

25:21

know, give them some loving,

25:25

say, welcome to Murwillumbah and

25:25

maybe share some information

25:29

about Murwillumbah and, and the

25:29

2484 region, because it's a lot

25:34

bigger than just Murwillumbah.

25:34

And then just this will be like

25:38

the first first introduction,

25:38

but not everyone will be able to

25:42

make it because it might be you

25:42

know, as we're talking about

25:45

working, and so on, they might

25:45

not be able to pop in on that

25:48

day, but we're gonna have a

25:48

series of these in the future.

25:52

And the first one is going to be

25:52

on the 24th of March. at the

25:56

farmers market.

25:57

Oh, that's

25:57

lovely. Do you know, every week

26:00

I meet up to the area? I get to

26:00

know familiar faces. I don't

26:04

remember everyone's name. I

26:04

would love to Yeah, but I doubt

26:08

it. But I remember faces. And,

26:08

and yes, almost every week, I

26:13

speak to at least one or two

26:13

people who've moved into the

26:16

area. So having a way of helping

26:16

those people connect with other

26:20

locals is so important. So that

26:20

initiative is a wonderful idea.

26:24

And at the market, we like to

26:24

support our community

26:27

organization. So we try to

26:27

support them in a rotational

26:32

basis. Yeah. And so we give

26:32

community groups a free spot.

26:39

Providing I know about it. And

26:39

they agree to the guidelines

26:43

that their given. And they have

26:43

their insurance cover. Yeah.

26:46

Yes, we like to give them a spot

26:46

at the market. And we rotate

26:49

that around so that people get

26:49

to know what services there are

26:53

in the area, or how to make

26:53

connections, or where to find

26:57

help if they need help with

26:57

their finances, or family help,

27:02

or just someone to talk to, or

27:02

someone to know. Absolutely.

27:06

And so just a

27:06

little shout out is a very to

27:10

people that are interested in

27:10

wanting to know what's going on

27:13

in Murwillumbah. There is a very

27:13

new website called

27:17

Murwillumbah.life. Yes, it's a

27:17

funny name. But that's all it

27:23

is. It's Murwillumbah dot life.

27:23

And if you go in there, you'll

27:27

see some of the events that are

27:27

being listed in there. And also

27:30

the farmers market have a

27:30

Facebook page, don't they?

27:33

We have a

27:33

website. Yep. And the Facebook

27:36

page and Instagram page. On our

27:36

website, we're encouraging more

27:40

and more of our customers to

27:40

sign up for the weekly

27:42

newsletter. I do a lot of

27:42

writing Mondays my writing day,

27:47

I write and design a newsletter

27:47

that goes live every Monday

27:50

between one and three. And the

27:50

customers are stallholders. Let

27:54

me know that customers read

27:54

there and come and say, Oh, I

27:57

hear there's this or where do I

27:57

find whatever they've just read

28:00

about. And Jeremy, you might be

28:00

interested, we include recipes

28:03

in there.

28:03

Fantastic. I'm

28:03

gonna subscribe today.

28:06

So this week,

28:06

for instance, we like to talk

28:11

about what's new. Yeah, and

28:11

there was a lot to talk about

28:13

what's new this week, because we

28:13

have three new season, things

28:18

coming to market. We've got a

28:18

new season royal gala, apples,

28:21

and a new season quinces and a

28:21

new season black mascot grapes.

28:25

But we also have things that are

28:25

grown and produced by some of

28:28

our farmers that are less known

28:28

about like Egyptian spinach, or

28:32

Timor lettuce. So this week, we

28:32

shine spotlight on both of those

28:38

and included recipe that you can

28:38

use Egyptian spinach in just to

28:42

provide a catalyst for people to

28:42

try something a little

28:44

different.

28:45

Yeah, that's

28:45

really, that's fantastic. I will

28:47

be definitely signing up. And I

28:47

encourage all our listeners to

28:52

also sign up. And also share

28:52

info about what you love about

28:57

the farmers market. You know,

28:57

because that's kind of important

29:01

feedback for the people that

29:01

are, you know, volunteering

29:05

their time, you know, because it

29:05

takes a lot of time. And I know

29:08

Sue, and the team put a lot of

29:08

effort into doing this, and and

29:13

share this, you know, share this

29:13

information with people because

29:16

we've got, I think around 10 or

29:16

15,000 people in this region

29:22

that may or may not even know

29:22

about the market, you know?

29:25

That's right.

29:25

It's amazing. It still amazes me

29:28

when I when people arrive and I

29:28

say Oh, have you just moved into

29:31

the area? Oh, no, I live down.

29:31

There might mention a spot some

29:34

way away, but they've just heard

29:34

about the market and we think

29:37

fabulous. Yeah. And you know,

29:37

one person came because she's

29:41

lost her job through COVID.

29:41

Yeah, her job involved a lot of

29:45

international travel and she now

29:45

says I wouldn't miss it for the

29:49

world. Yeah, you know, it's

29:49

given her something when so much

29:53

has been taken away so slowly,

29:53

but we have people coming from

29:56

Brisbane, there was one person

29:56

who used to message me

29:58

periodically, saying She comes

29:58

down every week. Yeah, she loved

30:02

the drive down. She loved the

30:02

Murwillumbah area I mean,

30:05

who who wouldn't want to who

30:07

wouldn't you

30:07

drive into mall and borrow long

30:09

cane road? That view? Yeah. is

30:09

just so glorious. It is

30:14

gorgeous. It's such a beautiful

30:14

area. And there's such a lovely

30:17

feel in the area. Yeah. So

30:17

people come from all over the

30:20

place all along the coast. And

30:20

now that the borders the border

30:24

barriers have gone. Yeah. And

30:24

there's free movement again,

30:27

between states. A lot of people

30:27

who weren't able to come for a

30:31

while, so pleased to be able to come back.

30:33

Yeah, I think

30:33

it's really, really great for

30:36

people to participate in the

30:36

farmers market. But also,

30:40

there's lots of things that are

30:40

beautiful art gallery here as

30:42

well. So Sue, I really want to

30:42

thank you for being on Beaming

30:48

Green. And for our listeners,

30:48

please, if you'd like this

30:52

episode, please share with your

30:52

friends or family. And hopefully

30:58

we get you know, people really

30:58

looking at sustainability in our

31:03

local communities, but also

31:03

within our own lives. And this

31:06

is what Beaming Green is all

31:06

about is trying to enhance our

31:10

lives. So thank you. So

31:11

thank you so

31:11

much, Jeremy for having me. It's

31:14

been lovely to be able to talk

31:14

about the market, the market is

31:16

my passion. I can tell we love

31:16

hearing back from our customers

31:20

too. And just another little

31:20

one, if if anyone would like to

31:25

share a recipe on Facebook on

31:25

Instagram, hand it to me at the

31:28

market. For our 10th birthday,

31:28

I'll be displaying those recipes

31:33

at the market for other people

31:33

to see and be inspired by and

31:37

we're hoping to produce a

31:37

calendar this year for next for

31:39

2022, which will have a

31:39

selection of those recipes in it

31:43

sounds wonderful.

31:43

So until next time, see you and

31:47

keep on Beaming Green. Thank you

31:47

for being part of the Beaming

31:51

Green podcast. The music for

31:51

this podcast is produced by Dave

31:56

Weir. Now we need more people

31:56

to get on board and raise

32:01

awareness about sustainability

32:01

and climate change. And the more

32:05

of us that are shining the light

32:05

on these issues, the more

32:09

government and business leaders

32:09

will listen. We would love you

32:15

to subscribe to our podcast, and

32:15

share and engage in social media

32:21

so that we can get some

32:21

traction. Let's support one

32:24

another and envision abroad

32:24

future. Thanks for listening and

32:29

see you next week.