SPEAKER UPDATES AND CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

GROUNDED 2026 is coming together nicely and we’re excited to announce some fascinating international and local speakers – see the list below.

In other news, Christmas is coming, very soon and indecently fast. So, if you’re after that unique, joyful, once-in-a-lifetime, transformative gift for your food and farming-obsessed loved ones, then a GROUNDED festival 2026 ticket is just the thing! 

Check out the discounted rates for students, groups, GROUNDED returners, Community ticket for locals and the Early bird deal that ends on 1st February.

GROUNDED 2026 Speaker Update

The line-up is growing as the programme takes shape but the real trick is how to clone yourself so you can simultaneously be in three tents and a workshop and not miss anything. We haven’t solved that challenge yet, but in the meantime here are some of our confirmed speakers to get you excited. We’ll be announcing more as we go and posting them on our speaker page.

• Dr Steven Chen, American food as medicine expert and CEO of Recipe4Health.
• Clara Coleman, American sustainable four-season farming expert, TEDX speaker, farmer mental health advocate and podcaster.
• Helianti Hilman, Indonesian food biodiversity advocate, entrepreneur, and founder of Javara, working with thousands of smallholder farmers and artisans.
• Dr Jake M Robinson, researcher working at the nexus of microbial ecology, ecosystem restoration and human health, prolific communicator with three books, two podcasts and a YouTube channel. 
• Joshua Gilbert, NSW Worimi farmer, author of Australia’s Agricultural Identity – an Aboriginal Yarn, internationally-renowned food and sustainability advocate, fresh from addressing COP 30.
• Jo Lawson and Dan Hunter, gardener and chef from local, award-winning,  Brae restaurant talking about collaboration from soil to stomach.
• Siobhan Toohill, pioneer in corporate sustainability strategy and policy, member of the Australian Government’s Nature Repair Committee, non-Executive Director.
• Rowan Reid, local agroforestry expert, author of Heartwood: The Art and Science of Growing Trees for Conservation and Profit.
• David Watson, ecologist, biodiversity champion and mistletoe expert.
• Vince Heffernan, 6th generation NSW sheep farmer, leading biodynamic landscape regeneration. 

This is Vince Heffernan at his Moorlands Farm. Photo by Alan Benson.

Improve things today, dream big for tomorrow!

(If that sounds like advertising spin, that’s because it is. Prepare yourself for another shameless plug for GROUNDED Festival 2026…)

As always, there’s a lot going on in food and farming right now.

Our friends at the Food Connect Foundation are promoting the concept of food hubs to build regional resilience and a ham made from a pasture-raised, heritage pig defied convention by winning the blind taste test for Good Food’s 2025 best ham. A ringing endorsement of the link between healthy landscapes, healthy food and delicious flavour. All good news!

But meantime, Lancet’s latest global report on the links between ultra-processed foods and chronic disease reveals Australians’ consumption is worryingly high – almost half of the average diet; and the announcement of the members of the Federal Government’s National Food Council tasked with developing a national food security strategy had many in the food and farming world expressing concern about the prospects for meaningful progress.

All of which makes even MORE sense to get yourself to GROUNDED Festival 2026, an event that asks the question – how can we improve things today and dream big for tomorrow? GROUNDED offers broad, practical expertise for driving better food and farming outcomes along with great company, food, drink and music. It’s exactly what what we all need right now.

You know what to do…  

“…the event is truly redefining how agriculture and food should come together to be celebrated, rather than the silos that often occur.” – Joshua Gilbert, Indigenous Consultant, Agriculturist, Author

A word from our sponsors…

See that gorgeous dam pictured above? It’s one of many picturesque sites at the Stewart family’s Yan Yan Gurt West Farm in the Otway Ranges, the location for GROUNDED Festival 2026. As Australia’s only roaming food and farming festival, local relationships are crucial to the success of a GROUNDED festival.

We’re so pleased to be presenting GROUNDED Festival 2026 in partnership with the local Upper Barwon and Central Otway Landcare Networks. 

The discounted Community ticket for locals is supported by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority.

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW ABOUT GROUNDED!

• We want every farmer and every eater joining in the better food revolution.       
• Read the latest Media Release.
• Special ticket offers for locals, students and groups.
• Coming back for more? GROUNDED returners get a discount… 
• Check out our previous speakers and programmes. 
• Find out more about the GROUNDED 2026 location and region.

SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS

• GROUNDED FESTIVAL 2026 is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust.
• GROUNDED FESTIVAL 2026 is presented in partnership with the Upper Barwon Landcare Network and the Central Otway Landcare Network.
• This event is supported by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Landcare Grants.
• Upper Barwon Landcare Network
• Central Otway Landcare Network
• Corangamite Catchment Management Authority
• Sustainable Table
• Stone and Wood