Thrive: Field & Flavour Festival
13-14 June 2025, Dungog
Celebrating sustainable farming, and the importance of healthy food systems in the Dungog region
About Thrive Festival
Thrive is an annual weekend festival showcasing young stars of agriculture and food, along with demonstrations of innovative farming practices in the Dungog region. Join us for a celebration of responsible modern farming, food, and lifestyle practices as we work toward establishing the region as an Australian ‘centre of excellence’ for farming education and healthy food systems.
Festival Highlights
On-Farm Workshops
Experience sustainable agriculture in action
Inspirational Films
Screenings at the historic James Theatre
Talks and Discussion
On agriculture, health, food systems and more
Festival Schedule
Two-day program preview with key events:
Friday 13 June
5:30PM – 7:30PM
Future of Farming
James Theatre, Dungog
Saturday 14 June
9AM – 12PM
Consumer Talks in Food System Resiliance and Health
CWA, Dowling St, Dungog
9AM – 4PM
Pasture and Land Management Workshops, Talks, Discussions
Rocking Chair Farm
365 Marshdale Rd
Marshdale NSW 2420
5:30PM
‘Rachel’s Farm’ Film Screening, Q+A with Rachel Ward
James Theatre, Dungog
Featured Speakers & Hosts
Meet our presenters:
Rachel Ward
Rachel’s Farm
Film director and actress Rachel Ward is embracing a movement to restore the health of Australia’s farmland, food and climate.
Rachel’s Farm featured in the 2023 documentary of the same name showcases regenerative management and follows Rachel’s struggles and triumphs to build a herd of animals that deliver healthiest, tastiest grass fed and finished meat with a holistic vision for sustainable land care.
Tammi Jonas
Jonai Farm / Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA)
An agroecologist in principle and in practice; an agrarian scholar activist with a focus on ethical, ecologically sound, and socially just food systems and farmer and Butcher at Jonai Farms & Meatsmiths. Widely published on a diverse spectrum from food ethics and politics, agroecology, agrarian reform, peasantries, capitalism, multicultural foodways, feminism and food, and culinary cosmopolitanism. Tammi is also President of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA).
Jake Wolki
Wolki Farm
Jacob Wolki, a passionate farmer based in Albury, NSW, is on a mission to change the modern-day dinner table. He’s working hard to ensure more families have access to healthy, nutrient-dense, flavour-packed protein – because your family’s health is important. All animals on Wolki regenerative farm are raised on pasture, free from cages and chemicals. Jacob’s not only creating superior quality produce, he’s improving our landscape for generations to come. Jacob’s mission takes a community effort, which is why he’s spreading his message far and wide – so we can all eat better without it costing animal welfare or our environment.
Grant Hilliard
Feather and Bone Ethical Butchery
Grant has been sourcing whole, pasture-raised, heritage-breed meat and poultry directly from sustainable, local farms since 2006 for his whole-animal butchery in Marrickville Sydney. It’s no accident that food like this, grown in healthy landscapes and packed with nutrients, knocks conventionally farmed food out of the park when it comes to flavour allowing customers to play an active role in supporting better land, animal and human welfare.
Ben Sharp
Beneficial ag and Garden
Living and working in our region Ben is well respected voice in the agriculture community bringing knowledge, experience and passion to every project. Ben provides consultation, coaching, mentoring on all things Regen including, Infrastructure planning, Grazing management, Natural Sequence Farming advice & planning, Multi species cover cropping and biological advice
plus much more! Growing thriving resilient soils is his focus and he will be showing you how you can do the same.
Matthew Coxhill
Counsellor, Mediator and Life Coach
Matthew’s career spans diverse roles in Australia and overseas, from fish farming to corporate, small business, and academia. Now in private practice, and is a casual academic at the University of Newcastle, where he teaches in the School of Environment and Life Sciences. Talking on mental health in our communities and the effect healthy food and farming systems can have on this.
Graham Creed
Farmer and Author
Beloved former ABC Weatherman Graham now grows Cut Flowers, Garlic and produces Honey on his farm near Stroud. Being immersed in the weather every day, rather than just reporting on it from a studio, has been an eye-opening and transformative experience. Despite utilizing his deep knowledge of the weather and climate to inform his farming choices, the realities of flash flooding, bushfires and drought have presented unexpected challenges.
Graham is an active and valued member of the food community in Dungog as a board member for our local Wholefood Co-op.
Lee Fieldhouse
Island Biologicals
Lee is the Founder of Island Biologicals, and Chief Worm Wrangler. He has a passion for nature, with a particular interest in working with natural processes in bolstering food production. He has been professionally composting and vermicomposting since 2013, and now focuses on the production of a Biocast, and consulting on farm-scale composting systems.
Andrew Yeo
Yeo Farm
Andrew and his family run a small lamb operation on a beautiful 100 acres located at Bulahdelah on the Mid North Coast of NSW. Andrew and Em have hosted incredible talks and workshops and have integrated many concepts and design elements into their farm that make them on of the most innovative in the area.
Additional speakers to be confirmed
Due to busy and constantly changing schedules some guest are yet to be confirmed. We are excited to share these guests as soon as we can.
Be Part of Thrive 2025
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