The weather is getting chilly. That must mean that the Mudgee Small Farm Field Days are just around the corner.

Watershed Landcare will once again be at the Field Days with the Waterwise Garden demonstration site, plant sales, workshops and of course the lecture series.

The Mudgee Small Farm Field Days will be held on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July, this year.

Watershed Landcare have invited Diego Bonetto, facilitator of knowledge and discovery of useful plants in the public domain, to share his knowledge in our straw bale lecture theatre.

Diego is an artist, father, keen naturalist and award winning cultural worker. He collaborates extensively with chefs, herbalists, environmentalists and government bodies promoting new understanding of what the environment has to offer.

He is well known around Sydney for his workshops on Wild Plants, teaching people how to identify plants and forage for wild food and medicine.

Diego is also one the people behind Wild Food Map, a free community based app to identify public domain food and medicinal plants living in the landscape, sharing locations and related knowledge through social media interaction. The project has received a substantial amount of media including a Gardening Australia segment and articles on Marie Claire, GQ Australia, LonelyPlanet, SMH, ABC Radio and SBS Radio.

Diego will be presenting a lecture on 'Weeds as a money making venture' on both Friday and Saturday at the Field Days in the Straw Bale Building (L40).

Diego's talk will challenge growers not to 'curse the weeds'. This talk will look at a number of common pesky plants that take effort and time to eradicate.

With changing perceptions on the soil nutrient depleting effects of monocultures, Diego will encourage us to embrace the benefits of pioneer species.

If you are investing energy in eradicating 'weeds', you might just as well go a step further: harvest and sell. The market is there, the clients are awaiting, just package and send off!

We will have two days packed with lectures on diverse topics, including backyard beekeeping, building a sustainable home that will save you money, and more!

Come and chat to other Watershed Landcare members, learn about some of our projects and field days, equipment available for hire and how to become a member.

These events are supported by Watershed Landcare through partial funding from the Central Tablelands Local Land Services and is part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.