Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre 2021

Hawkesbury EarthCare Centre

Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRAA) and Renew Western Sydney will each have a stall and members of each group will be available to answer your questions. Plants, seeds and books will be on sale.

Tours of the building and gardens will be conducted if/when its approapriate

The EarthCare building utilises passive solar design, and a variety of building materials and techniques to demonstrate sustainability options in domestic and commercial construction. There are walls of rammed earth, mud brick and straw bale.

The interior is finished in a combination of rendered mud and plasterboard, with ceilings of straw panel. There is an underground tank for greywater and a composting toilet. The corrugated iron roof supports panels for a grid-interactive solar power system (the panels are currently being replaced). The kitchen benches are recycled timber slabs and other materials have been used wherever possible. There is an outdoor mud brick pizza oven.

The Centre is managed by HDRA, has developed organic gardens maintained by members and covers half a hectare. These gardens are a living demonstration of sustainable growing methods. The gardens feature organically grown fruit and vegetables, and demonstrate ecologically sound farming methods.

The EarthCare Centre demonstrates what people can achieve when they work together. The building project has been completed almost entirely by volunteer workers using materials donated by sponsors. Money for the building has also mainly been raised through voluntary fundraising efforts.