Wk 6 Individual Project One Statement

It’s 2112. Woodfordia and the Woodford Folk Festival still provide the opportunity for people to come together to escape the everyday. The 6 day festival still attracts an aggregate audience of 120000, 70% of which are return visitors.

However, there are growing issues within the Woodfordia site that are threatening its future sustainability including:

• Power bill costs & associated carbon emissions
• The spiraling cost of the festival
• The sensitivity of WFF’s financial position to extreme weather events (which are increasing in frequency due to climate change) & associated land degradation
• The increasing amount of waste produced during the festival (even though some of this waste is recycled & still has high associated carbon emissions) 

The festival is thriving in social, spiritual and cultural terms however it’s not sustainable economically and environmentally.

A number of broader issues in Queensland, Australia and beyond are calling for Woodfordia’s role as a spiritual, cultural and learning hub, centred on self-actualisation, social connection and self-expression, to be strengthened and expanded.

A diverse program of spiritual, cultural and learning activities including the festival will run throughout the year, revitalizing the site and providing a community hub for the people from the local area (which is now suburban due to population growth and sprawl) and beyond. Seemingly disparate people including retirees, lonely & disenchanted urban dwellers, spiritual leaders, artists, farmers, students and techies, will connect and learn from each other through the activities and the site.

The spiritual, cultural and learning activities will be centred on connection to and understanding of the environment and will generate income that will be invested into turning the site into a self-sufficient community with renewable energy production and permanent residents who will live on site and maintain food production and planting. They will oversee the activities in conjunction with Traditional Owners, staff and other specialists.  Waste from activities such as the festival will be turned into building materials and other installations which will be used in the learning activities.