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Making the Change
Welcome everyone to PermacultureWest's Enews!
This month marks the beginning of a themed enews. ‘Making the Change’ (to a more sustainable life) is the focus and what’s more appropriate than starting to grow your own food? Also you will find Joel Salatin's message on moving from consumer to producer and two interesting articles about the gardens of NAPES members Sam and Kath. Plus, find out more about the local permaculture documentary spunks (and how you can support their awesome project)!
‘Making the Change’ can be tough! What happens when you begin to make the change and you realise your idealistic heart was at first no match for the complexities and challenges of behaviour and identity change and you fail? Well, you feel a little deflated and perhaps miserable for a time, then you surround yourself with encouraging, supportive people who are also making the change and you feel a little spark of confidence. That little voice inside your head goes “I’ve got this,” and you try again… and again. It’s all about the people and listening to the wisdom nature offers to live in a balanced and productive way.
Hopefully, you will find some spark in here…
Much love,
Kel
(Co-convener)
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Meet the Committee
This month: Martina Hoeppner – Enews Editor
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Hi everyone!
Matching our theme of "Making the change", I would like to introduce myself as being one of the 'new kids on the block'. While always trying to live fairly sustainable, my life was truly changed when I completed my PDC last year. I knew I wanted to learn more, be involved more, and change from grieving for a broken world to fighting for a better one. Permaculture has given me the tools for that.
I live on a suburban northern suburbs block with my husband and three sons, nine chickens and eight quails. Originally a translator and editor, I have been a stay-at-home mum for the last few years, and am now busy with my garden, getting my Cert 3 in Permaculture, managing Karrinyup Primary School's farm garden, and writing this enews. While I'm not sure how other people fit paid work in, I do dream of making permaculture education my paid job in the future. Martina
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Bunuru is the season of adulthood and lasts from April to May. It is characterised by cooler, pleasant weather and the first rains. For the Noongar this season meant more fishing and collecting bulbs and seeds for sustenance. Read more here and here.
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Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback
"The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children unto the seventh generation"
This principle reminds us to set limits for ourselves and not to become complacent in our assumed knowledge. The earth icon reminds us that we all live on a self-regulating 'organism'. The quote warns us that negative feedback is often slow to emerge.
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Summed up beautifully by the Formidable Vegetable Sound System's tune
Limits
Source: www.permacultureprinciples.com
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Perth Green Events
For a calendar of sustainable events in Perth and the Southwest, check out Perth Green Events here.
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The Less is More Festival
1 April 2017, 10 am – 5 pm, The Grove Library, Peppermint Grove. An inspiring day of talks, demonstrations, ideas and shared experiences from Earth Carers and friends. Free Event. Find more information here or here.
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Intro to Biodynamics & Intro to Seed Saving
2 April 2017, 9.30 am – 6.30 pm, Jarrahdale Primary School. Join our very experienced organic/biodynamic farmer and teacher, Claire Coleman, for a series of hands on-practical workshops into Biodynamics and Seed Saving. Find out more here or book tickets here.
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Roots Conference
8 April 2017, 10 am – 3.30 pm, The Grove Library, Peppermint Grove. This conference is presented by The Bushfood Gardener and will focus on the vast range of Australian native food bulbs, tubers and corms. Find out more here or get tickets here.
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Jungka Jungka Woodlands Festival
14 – 17 April 2017, Fri 4 pm – Mon 9 am, Norseman. The inaugural Woodlands Festival's theme is “The Great Western Woodlands: Knowledge I Care I Opportunity”. It is organized by the Wilderness Society in conjunction with Traditional Owners. There is a full program of presentations, workshops, woodland tours and cultural performances. Register for your free tickets here.
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Gourmet Garden Tour at Fair Harvest
17 April 2017, 10.30 am – 3 am, Margaret River. Explore the Fair Harvest Gardens with founder Jodie Lane and discover the range of autumn foods available in Margaret River. Then enjoy a three course meal prepared by chef Francesca Gosling in the cafe. Cost: $80, book your ticket here.
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Permaculture Design Certificates
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Terra Perma Design
Starting 29 March 2017, Perth City Farm
Full-time PDC, now at a new location in the City. Runs Wed to Sun over two weeks, Mon and Tue off. Morning and afternoon tea included, BYO lunch. Course cost: $1400. Find more information here.
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Permaseed
Starting 6 May 2017, Benger
Part-time PDC on weekends at Permaseed's new farm in Benger. BYO lunch, morning and afternoon tea provided. Course cost: $1000. Find more information here.
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Fair Harvest Permaculture
30 April – 13 May 2017, Margaret River
This great course is taught by experienced teachers, fully catered and includes camping on the farm. Course cost: $1700. Find more information here.
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Slice of Eden
Starting 4 August 2017, Mandurah/Rockingham area
Part-time PDC on three 3-day-weekends (Fri to Sun) and two days presenting finished designs with Slice of Eden in the Mandurah/Rockingham area. Details and course cost to follow soon. Contact Damien here.
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Edge5 Permaculture
14 – 26 October 2017,
Sea Change Eco Retreat, Uoleva, Tonga
Full-time 12-day PDC with Greg Knibbs and Brittany Laidlaw. Learn how to live off-grid on an almost deserted island paradise. Limited to 12 participants. For more information click here.
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Other Courses & Workshops
>>> To check out Perth Green Events and see all of the latest sustainability events around Perth CLICK HERE!
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Candlelight Farm
Permaculture Earthworks Course
8 – 10 April 2017, Westdale
Three-day course about water harvesting strategies on rural properties. This course will not only cover theoretical aspects – two dams, drains and a large water tank will be build over the three days. Course cost: $200, includes meals and facilities to camp. Read more
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The Forever Project
City of South Perth Urban Masterclass
13 and 20 April 2017, 6 – 9 pm, Civic Centre Community Hall, South Perth
The Masterclass includes discussions on bee keeping, small scale productive orchards, chook scaping, edible gardens, soil improvement, composting, passive solar landscape design, eco retrofit, renovation and aquaculture. An intimate tour of Hami Hill Sustainable Home. Free Event. Register here.
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Swan Valley Happenings
Poultry Processing Workshop
23 April 2017, 10 am – 1 pm, Swan Valley Gourmet Farm, Baskerville
Many people raise poultry for the table and want to know how to process their birds humanely and with respect. This workshop willl cover this topic sensitively and show you how to deal with ducks, chickens and quails. Course cost: $50, $40 for financial members. Read more
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The Greenhouse Organic
Propagation
23 April 2017, 1 – 4pm, Green Life Soil Co, Midvale
This course is designed for gardeners who would love to be able to propagate their own plants and save money. Hands-on opportunities to try a number of different techniques and learn the best way to get successful germination and improved strike rate of your cuttings. Course cost: $39, includes all materials, notes, tea and coffee. Read more
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River Guardians feat. Josh Byrne
Your Garden
26 April 2017, 6.30 – 8.30 pm, Piney Lakes Environmental Education Centre, Winthrop
These fun, informative and interactive workshops will go for 2-hours and are designed to teach us all how sustainable gardening practices can save you time, money, water and angst, while also helping to attract birds and other wildlife to your gardens. Free Workshop. Read more here.
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Fair Harvest
Holistic Management Practitioner Training Course
Dates confirmed after sufficient numbers are reached, Margaret River
Four two-day sessions over two months. Holistic Management can be employed in every aspect of life and human endeavor. For the purposes of this course it will be taught in the context of managing animals, however it is relevant to all businesses. Course cost: $2,200, includes training materials, morning and afternoon tea. Read more
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Joel Salatin in Perth
Master class, Jarrahdale, and Urban Farming Talk
Three recent events with Polyface founder Joel Salatin have inspired and motivated many of us. His masterclass taught the principles behind Polyface, he explored the question of what is holding us back in Jarrahdale and gave a free talk about becoming a producer instead of a consumer at the Urban Farming Talk in Victoria Park.
If you weren't lucky enough to see Joel Salatin during his brief stint in WA, read Kirrin's full article about her day with Joel at Jarrahdale Primary here.
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Volunteers Needed for Garden Festival
Thursday 27 – Sunday 30 April 2017
PermacultureWest is hosting a stall at The Perth Garden Festival 2017 again and needs volunteers to fill the shifts. Junior and senior permies required, no experience necessary!
To find out how you can help, click here. |
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Permaculture The Documentary
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A 60-minute film about permaculture, shot here in Perth, crowdfunded by all of us, to show the world our solution to climate change – this is what Craig and Geoffrey Clitheroe are attempting to do. Get behind these guys, tell them what you want in the movie, open your gardens to them, and show them what we can do. This is a project that deserves our full support on all levels, as it is an excellent opportunity to spread our message far and wide.
Find their website here or support them on Facebook here.
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Making the Change
If you are reading this enews, chances are you are already well on your way to a lifestyle with small environmental impact. But if you feel you are still at the start, you are not alone.
Read all about local member Sam's Making the Change in her life and garden here.
Committee member Kath has recently started to record her harvests. Read about the benefits here.
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Say No to Roe 8
Many people feel like there's not much that we can do to get change to happen. But every now and then there is obvious proof that Yes, it does matter. Yes, we can change the world. By civil disobedience, by voting, and by speaking out loud.
Western Australians have just shown that Making the Change doesn't just happen on a personal level, but on a larger scale as well. Read more about the implications of election outcome on transport in WA here.
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Shoestring Sustainability
love planet, no money, no worries
Rachel Pontin lives on a farm in WA’s South West. She has been renting in different situations for over a decade – city, country, single, married, sharehouse, cottage, townhouse, community. When she first ran a household, she began to experiment with herbs and gardening. She didn’t have much money, so she learned a lot about saving money or even living without it. Along the way, she became more and more interested in this thing called sustainable living – living in a way that doesn’t leave a negative impact on further generations. Parenthood made it all seem more urgent. Permaculture gave her inspiration and hope.
Discover her blog here.
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The Permaculture Kitchen
How to Cook Delicious, Honest, Seasonable and Sustainable Food from the Garden or Local Market
by Carl Legge
Many of us cook this way already, but this permaculture cookbook is a great resource for those starting out in the kitchen and wanting to learn easy basic recipes that can be varied according to seasons and availability of produce. While not an Australian book, it is written to be universally usable with whatever ingredients you have at hand. A great resource for beginner permaculturists or cooks. Read more or buy the book here.
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Chicken Feed Alternatives
Chooks make excellent waste disposal units for unwanted kitchen scraps, but their high-protein egg-laying requirements mean they need a little more in their diet to keep them healthy. For most of us, this comes in the form of commercial feed, which while it doesn’t cost much, might make even the most seasoned self-sufficiency convert feel… well… insufficient! But there are alternatives, many of which can be rustled up in your own backyard, and are closer to a chook’s natural diet in the wild.
Read the full article on chicken feed alternatives here.
And don't forget that you can still get a 10% discount on new Pip subscriptions with the voucher PCWEST7.
Picture credit: Jay Black
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City of Stirling Green Living Grants – Up to $5000 for community projects that fit in one of four sustainability categories if you contribute half of the amount you're applying to. Read more here.
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City of Joondalup Environmental Development Community Funding Program – Small-scale grants for community groups and schools for sustainability projects. Read more here.
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Residential
10 week, on farm learning opportunity
If you are planning to start your own farming business, this is an excellent learning opportunity that won't repeat itself in a hurry. Starting Sun 26 Feb, Sun 4th June, or Sun 10 Sep, nine positions in total. Find more information here.
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Know of a great workshop coming up? Or a permablitz near your place? Is your garden looking fabulous or are you’re just bursting to share photos of your community or school garden? Would you like to introduce your Permaculture business? We’d love to hear from you!
Your input is what really makes this Enews special and relevant to local readers here in WA. Plus, it helps us showcase all the great stuff we’ve got going on to readers from other parts of the world. Let’s show them what we’re made of!
Send your updates to: news@permaculturewest.org.au
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