Sustainable House Day

Join us on Sunday September 16th as our food forest will be open for you to come and tour as part of Sustainable House Day. If you know our site – you can help show people around. Open:12:00 – 4:00pm Entry fee by Donation Gold coin – Donations supporting Sustainable House Day 2019 Project Type: Garden Only [Residence not open to public] Designer: April at Permaculture Visions Open with support of Permaculture Wollongong Institute. (info@permaculturevisions.org) Key features on display: Rainwater harvesting, in-ground water storage, Different styles of wicking gardens, rare food plants, surface-water management by gentle swales made without machinery, …

Cool Climate – Warm People

Temperate Permaculture Sometimes it’s good to step into another climate and see what foods love that bio-region. Last week a young man said to me that he would love to see permaculture theory put into practice. Now we have great opportunity to see what 40 years of permaculture in practice can do. The Southern Highlands NSW has mature sites showcasing many key permaculture strategies such as water and frost management, solar windows, greenhouses, specialist plants, community gardens, raised wicking beds, animal husbandry and more. The Southern Highland permaculture elders who will greet us are David and Anne Johnson, Peter Lach-Newinsky, …

Grow Your Own Teas

Wake Up To Home-Grown Cuppa There are many tea plants that thrive in our beautiful climate. Not only can we grow official ‘tea’ Camellia sinensis and coffee, we can grow many nutritious alternative tea herbs. We can even grow our own sugarcane to sweeten the brew. Herbal Teas Mint Orange or Lemon or Lime Blossom Citrus peel sage flowers lemongrass lemon verbeena Nasturtiums Fennel Chickory Raspberry leaf Nettle Bamboo Native Tea Wonders Lemon Myrtle Anniseed Myrtle Native raspberry leaf Native finger-lime flowers and leaves Why It Pays To Grow Your Own Growing you own saves you and the planet a …

‘Home-grown’ Softens Footprint, Boosts Empowerment

Grab a D.I.Y. Cuppa The True Cost of a Cup of Tea Most tea and coffee in the western world is served in polystrene cups with enginerred no-spill lids. The high cost to the environment of the cup is well known. But, what are the costs for the contents? Oil Oil is the main fuel used to transport the products from nation to nation. It is also used in the manufacter of many of the high-end nylon tea-bags which do not decompose. The Polystrene is made from aliphatic hydrocarbons although the original invention in Berlin in 1930s used the resin …

Getting Hindsight

Are you wondering what advantage comes from a little bit of permaculture planning before you spend the rest of your life pottering about in your garden growing food? How does design increase the success of a garden? Join us in our upcoming tour, March 4th afternoon tea and discussions at Earth Keepers in Buxton. Not only will you meet permaculture teachers Judith and Paul Collins but also be engaged in discussions about effective permaculture design with April Sampson-Kelly. The group will explore what makes this property unique, and witness how this wise couple face the challenges of being self-reliant in …