Organic Insights Magazine - Summer 2022

Organic Insights / Summer 2022 / 27

OUT & ABOUT CELEBRATING WORLD SOIL DAY

World Soil Day is on December 5 every year, and this year members of the NASAA Organic team were out and about once again, involved in events to celebrate this important day.

A fantastic, family-friendly day, with featured activities for children, and the delicious local food and wine for sale. Matthew Evans, The Gourmet Farmer and author was a draw card for the event, alongside many soil experts who presented on better ways to manage soil health. The event was jointly funded through the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, Soil Science Australia SA Branch and the Mount Barker District Council. On December 5 Lee attended Australian Organic Recycling Association’s (AORA’s) Christmas Networking Function in SA at the Adelaide Zoo, again offering the fundraising showbags for sale. The assembled guests enjoyed a gourmet barbecue and drinks and special guest, Deputy Premier & Minister for Climate, Environment & Water, Susan Close MP was in attendance. The event was made possible by sponsors, including NCO Certified Operator Peats Soil and Garden Supplies, CavPower and Chase Finance.

Peter Wadewitz OAM, Managing Director of the Peats Group, and Master of Ceremonies at the AORA event.

It’s a day when we recognise and celebrate soil as a critical piece of the puzzle that is our natural world and as a vital contributor to human health. It was also a time to reflect on the long recovery journey ahead for the many farmers affected by the 2022 flooding events. NASAA Organic’s Alex Mitchell and Lee Mastus, and NCO’s Carolin Möller attended the Where Food Begins event in Meadows, South Australia on December 4. The kindness and generosity of NCO certified organic businesses enabled Lee to put together show bags for sale and a basket of NCO certified goodies to raffle. All proceeds from the sale of the showbags and raffle are to be donated to BlazeAid and ORICoop, organisations assisting in the support of flood affected farmers. ORICoop assists certified organic farmers by organising emergency feed runs for stock and by providing FREE soil tests as part of the affected farmers pasture and land recovery programs. NASAA Organic extends a very big thankyou to Paxton Wines, Food to Nourish, Native Oils Australia, Strathbogie Flavours, Grampians Olive Co, Organic Times, Desert Shadow and Jurlique for their support in donating products.

NASAA Organic’s Alex Mitchell, Lee Mastus, and NCO’s Carolin Möller at the Where Food Begins event in Meadows