The Living Classroom (TLC)

2022 Pulse of the Earth Festival: September 2 – 4.

View program below.  [Find out more…]


Bingara’s Living Classroom is pivotal to Bingara’s own regeneration. While being situated at the heart of one of Australia’s most productive agricultural and educational regions, Bingara exists on a knife-edge like so many other rural towns.

The Living Classroom logoTLC is key to the four pillars of Bingara’s future economic prosperity ~ agribusiness, education, tourism and conferencing.  It will create a visually beautiful and natural wonderland which showcases and demonstrate the future and wonder of food ~ from the soil up to paddock, to our plates and then back again. It aims to provide inspiration and know-how for the next generation of farmers and the regeneration of rural communities.

To fulfill this purpose 150 hectares of degraded town Common, located on the outskirts of Bingara are to be fully regenerated into a highly productive forest of food by combining a wide range of complementary agricultural activities with horticulture, aquaculture and forestry. The synergy between these activities is key to nutrition, productivity, profitability, health and the natural environment.

This work is an exercise in broad collaboration and integration, being designed and created by the collective efforts of the many participants of the modern food system as well as harnessing the best knowledge from traditional through to scientific and other contemporary farming methods.

Read The Living Classroom’s Archived News items to see how the project has unfolded.


The Living Classroom & The Carbon Farm  – Birds eye fly-over view from the nth east.

From the north east corner of TLC this flight takes you southwards, upstream from the Great Lake, over the Aussie Farm Dam Makeover project.  To the right is ‘Paradise Found’ the Mediterranean Garden. To the left is ‘Nourish’ – The Bush Tucker Garden. South of the Main Dam lies The Carbon Farm site, before the view turns back towards the sun and the buildings at TLC.

Enjoy the flight!

[Note: For best effect Click on the HD button and view in full screen.]

The Living Classroom: From Degraded Town Common to Centre for Regenerative Agriculture


Weather Stations & Olive Tree monitors

‘The Living Classroom’s Weather Station is a cooperative endeavour between Gwydir Shire Council, ITC International from Armidale, Bingara Central School and ACARA (The Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority). It provides instantaneous information on temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction, and precipitation.

Sam Fisher representing ICT International installed the station and its related devices…Sam explained the use of LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) to enable connectivity to sites and projects particularly within the agriculture sphere. The Weather Station, designed and constructed by ITC International has been coupled with other environmental monitoring devices.’

Read news article “The Living Classroom’s Weather Station”  >>

* Visit TLC Weather Station >>


* Visit Olive  Tree 1 (Oleo Europaea “Kalamata”) Monitor >>

* Visit Olive Tree 2 Monitor >>


Pulse of the Earth Festival Highlights

This video shows highlights from Pulse of the Earth: a Festival of Regeneration and Groundswell from the weekend of 7th-8th September, 2019 in Bingara, NSW. The setting is The Living Classroom, an organisation on the Bingara Town Commons founded to demonstrate and support sustainable, ecological land management. The Living Classroom, Bingara’s Vision 20/20 committee, and the Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation (KSCA) developed these events as part of the 2 year project ‘An artist, a farmer and a scientist walk into a bar…’.

This project has supported a number of collaborations exploring regenerative farming, soil health, Aboriginal country, solar energy, carbon sequestration and wild foods. The two events were supported by many local volunteers and organisations and welcomed people from across NSW and further afield.

  • Camera and Video Edit: Justin Hewitson
  • Camera: Isaac Carne

Links below to podcasts with audio from some of the Groundswell program lectures, workshops and discussions.


The Living Classroom in Drought

Taken December 2019.


Flow Form

The Flow Form is now installed and is active oxygenating and energizing the water from the lake back into it at the Fish Cove.  I’ts certainly worth a visit.

Flow Form


Photo Gallery


Video Gallery

The Living Classroom in Bingara is a part of the Gwydir Learning Region program conducted by Gwydir Shire Council.

The Primary Industries Trade Training Centre at TLC forms part of three TTC’s within Gwydir Shire and is used by local schools as well as many across NSW and Queensland and several Universities.

STEM in Agriculture focuses on preparing students for the exciting work prospects linking our agriculture with science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Living Classroom Bingara. From Degraded Town Common to Centre for Regenerative Agriculture.

Carbon Farming – A Climate Change Solution

The Living Classroom STEM and Regenerative Agriculture.


Consider TLC for your next function

In 2011 the Gwydir Shire Council commenced development of the TLC with 27 hectares fenced and water harvesting systems developed through the construction of numerous swales and three dams.  The buildings have been completed and include a residential bunkhouse and a multipurpose teaching facility which includes a full kitchen, landscaped gardens, outdoor entertainment and parking areas.

TLC is available for private functions, seminars, workshops, special events and more.


Conference, Workshop, Meetings or Private Function Hire Bookings only:
Jen Mead, Tourist Officer
Gwydir Shire Council
Bingara Visitor Information Centre
Tel:  02 6724 0066   |   Mob: 0400 826 551
Email: bingaratourism@gwydir.nsw.gov.au

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