reduce their impact, such as selling reusables, composting kitchen
waste, having no single-use sugar packets and more. Caring for our
planet doesn’t cost the earth, and their eff orts are noticed.”
Another local who’s passionate about putting Noosa on the eco map
is Darren Walters from electric bike company Ecotekk. Darren has
been working with the council to implement pathways to connect all
of Noosa for easy cycling, and his electric bike venture helps visitors
and residents explore the area without adding to the busy roads. Dar-
ren is a board member on multiple groups working on sustainability
initiatives, including the Noosa Community Biosphere Association,
Cleantech Industries Sunshine Coast and Zero Emissions Noosa, all
working towards Noosa becoming carbon neutral by 2026.
Reducing emissions is also a major priority for Chrissy and Craig from
Shambhala Farm in Doonan, on the outskirts of Noosa. The husband
and wife pair, who met on a yoga teacher-training retreat in Bali, grow
produce using regenerative farming techniques on their lush 12-acre
property. Craig previously ran a wheatgrass health-drink business in
Sydney, and after moving to the coastal region he started volunteer-
ing with a local farmer where he fell in love with the process of food
growing and getting to know where his food came from. When the
ageing farmer retired, Craig had an epiphany about the importance
of the food system knowledge and the risk of it slipping away. “I
realised that if I didn’t learn it, that wisdom he had would just disap-
pear. Then an opportunity came up to buy a farm in Noosa – and that
was a dream, as I love surfi ng – so I decided to take the risk,” he says.
The farm utilises sustainable agriculture and extensive composting
techniques, which are not only better for the land but signifi cantly
reduce carbon emissions. Assisting with C02 reduction is their new-
est family member, Peppa the pig. “Peppa’s a long-term thing here;
she’s not going to get eaten, she’s going to be part of our sustainable
system,” Craig explains as the family hand-feed Peppa some apples.
“Her main food source is all the food waste – all the leftover veggies- and then she’ll turn them into manure. We’ll use that manure to put
into compost, and then we’ll use that compost as organic fertiliser
for the farm,” he says of their closed-loop system.
Educating others about the food system is important to Craig, and so
the farm encourages visitors to volunteer their time by getting their
hands dirty, or attending food and farming workshops on the leafy
property. To help complete the cycle by incorporating health and
wellbeing, the couple have built their own ‘Yoga Shala’, a Balinese-
inspired barn-like building among the organic veggie fi elds, where
Chrissy teaches yoga classes and runs retreats while the calming
sounds of birds and pure silence (an unknown sound to many city
folk) fl oat through the open-air, fairy-lit structure. “It’s fun when peo-
ple come to yoga – sometimes they’ll just come here afterwards and
have a little sit with her,” says Chrissy of Peppa and her part in inspir-
ing mindfulness. Shambhala have recently opened an Airbnb cabin
on the farm, which is decked out beautifully with a natural fi t-out and
its own garden box fi lled with fresh greens, so guests can make their
own superfood smoothies while learning how to grow their own food.
“The vision for this is people coming and doing private yoga, learning
a bit more about food and farming, and having a retreat-style experi-
ence,” Chrissy says of their plans to provide a fully holistic getaway.
Chad’s optimistic about what the future holds for the area. “The
vision for Noosa is having a community where it’s easy to avoid
unnecessary single-use plastics for all visitors and residents because
they simply aren’t provided anymore,” he says. “These items were
born out of convenience and if, collectively, the community makes
it hard to access them, we all do the best for the environment by
default. We want Noosa to be an example of great implementation,
while top-down approaches continue to strengthen our eff orts.
We’re really proud of our businesses and industries that are actively
participating in the program and we encourage the community to
support them. They are the true champions.”
TO PLAN YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, HEAD TO VISITNOOSA.COM.AUTOP: CHRISSY AND CRAIG WITH PEPPA THE PIG FROM SHAMBHALA
FARM, VANILLAFOOD RAW TREATS, CHAD FROM PLASTIC FREE NOOSA
AT VANILLAFOOD (photo supplied by Plastic Free Noosa)