Hello everyone,

As you may be aware the committee put on a celebration last November to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the Permaculture Association of WA.  We think it’s a big deal turning 40, so we sent out a survey to see if you thought so too. We were really keen to hear how you would like to celebrate this 40 year milestone. And wow! What a great response we got! So firstly thank you! Of the 64 respondents, 94% were happy to attend a celebration.

Turns out that a Permaculture Festival open to the public was the preferred way of celebrating (64%) followed by Open Garden Days (61%). It was important to you that we spread the word about Permaculture to the general public (78%) and have opportunities for learning new skills and sharing knowledge (65%).

You are very keen to contribute your time, especially by volunteering on the day a whopping (67%). Other ways of volunteering that were popular were catering (31%), planning/organising (21.5%), taking photos (21.5%) and giving a talk (19.61%). Four people offered a venue, which is fantastic! Please be in touch with us – as we would love to talk with you ASAP!  And last but not least, around half of respondents wanted a celebration in the Perth Metro area and half in both regional and Perth Metro.

So based on the above results and like any successful event we need a tribe of people to bring this together.  We have formed a sub-committee to organise the "2019 Permaculture Festival" and "Open Garden Day/s" here in WA in line with the results of the survey, designing from pattern to detail. If you would like to join myself, Tamara, Jenny and Lionheart in planning and organising either of these events then please send an email to convener@permaculturewest.org.au. 

Members from all around the state are welcome to be part of the sub-committee, provided you have access to a computer or smart phone with internet and Zoom (similar to skype). We will be starting a closed group page on Facebook to keep in communication throughout the event planning.  If you don’t have Facebook the alternative is email correspondence.

Lastly 80% of respondents were unsure if their local group could help out and that’s understandable, it would have to be a group decision. We eagerly await to hear from your local groups so we can “Integrate rather than Segregate” and have many elements performing one function.

Thank you once again for your time and commitment and we look forward to delivering a memorable event.  So stay tuned so when it is announced you can save the date!

Tan Fowler
Convener PermacultureWest

Hi, my name is Kath. I am blessed with many different skills. I can cook, sew clothing and make it fit well, play guitar, sing, do face painting, grow vegetables, make marvellous preserves...Permaculture ties together a large number of things I've been passionate about for a long time.

I studied human nutrition and worked helping people to eat well on a limited income. Understanding the biochemistry of what food works for which people is fascinating. I never thought I would some day be applying those skills to making compost, caring for the soil and helping vegetables grow better! The human gut microbiome and soil microbes have a lot in common.

My Husband David's worsening disability curtailed his work in regional WA and forced our move to the city (and eventually his retirement, I am now his carer). A house of our own! But I felt anxious, depressed and fenced in. I didn't manage the move well at all. Surrounded by so many people I felt very isolated. I got involved in church and school activities but something was missing.  I had grown vegetable gardens at every rental house, repurposing what was available, and making things better. I was concerned about caring for creation, about people, and about ethical living long before I knew about Permaculture. Gardening is a good practical therapy for mental and physical health. And it feeds us well. Getting involved in my local permaculture group (NAPEs, the Northern Active Permaculture Enthusiasts) and helping to get a community garden started (Duncraig Edible Garden) also gave me connections with others who are similarly passionate.

On the Permaculture West committee, my area of interest (shared with Marina Grayden) is Community Gardens. What is better than gardening? Permaculture Gardening! And I see that Community Gardens based on permaculture have many more benefits than gardens which don't have the ethical basis holding the activities together.  Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share! Caring for creation, for people and making sure it is all good for every level of being...being good stewards of the earth, leaving it better for our having been here. It is a big ask, and I think it is well worth the effort!  

All the best on your Permaculture journey,

Kath 

The Ferguson Valley Open Garden Trail showcased seven very different, private gardens over the weekend of 10th & 11th November 2018. The weekend was a great success with each of the gardens recording in excess of 300 visitors over the two days.  Tony and Lisa Ferris’ Permaculture property, ‘Gaelic Lodge’ was Garden # 2 on the trail.  400 visitors came through the garden with $4500 raised, and the proceeds donated to two drought charities, Buy A Bale and Drought Angels.

Gaelic Lodge is a 40 acre rural property, set on the edge of the Dardanup townsite, in SouthWest Western Australia. The house and surrounding garden are set on less than 1acre, with the remainder of the property used to graze dairy cattle and grow hay.  Tony and Lisa Ferris have skill fully transformed the garden over the last 5 years. Lisa first became interested in Permaculture in the early 90‘s after attending an Introductory course at the Bunbury TAFE and Gaelic Lodge is their third property designed utilising Permaculture Ethics and Principles. It is a wonderful example of uncluttered sustainable living, accomodating two residences.
Four generations of one family gather and enjoy this property, with the garden divided into different ‘rooms’ or zones creating a mix of productive, entertaining and relaxing spaces.    Mature perennial plantings define the edge of a lawned area, that doubles as a cricket/ pitch or ballet stage for when the grandkids visit.  This focus of this diverse and sustainable garden is on clean, green, seasonal eating.  The thriving organically managed vegetable patch, ‘Grandpas Gym’ as it is affectionately known, is a compact and productive space.  40 annual species are grown in uniquely shaped lasagne beds, with a bountiful surplus delivered regularly to Bunbury Foodbank.  Happy, healthy hens roam freely beneath the dozen orchard trees. This area is divided into three separate runs, so as to best manage the chickens tendency to scratch.  The girls are valued garden residents, loved not only for their fresh eggs and colourful antics, but also for their important fertilising and biological pest control services.  The woodland zone provides a cool and calming space on hot summer days. It is a haven for people, a home for a myriad of birds and provides forage for the properties bee hives. Developing along the lines of a multilayered FoodForest, the area is planted with over 130 edible and medicinal plants.
As the dust settles, we have had time to reflect. The aim of showcasing a Permaculture garden in a mainstream platform was to raise the profile of Edible Gardens and provide a productive example of what can be achieved on less than 1 acre.  The feedback from visitors was heartwarming.  Everyone was really positive and we even had people phone days later to tell us what an enjoyable experience they had. Many of the visitors came from the local Bunbury region, however there were also a significant number from Perth, Bridgetown and Albany.  One gentleman was on a business trip from Sydney and decided to drop in on his way to Margaret River for the weekend.
Opening your garden to the public requires a significant amount of work and organisation. On reflection there were a few things that contributed to the event being successful.  As planned, all construction, maintenance and gardening work was completed two weeks before the Open Garden weekend.  This allowed for much less stress and the ability for a few last minute organisational details in the week leading up to the event. It is really important to enjoy the process and not become overwhelmed.  On the day, when each car arrived, they were warmly welcomed and given a sheet of paper with information on the Garden and a mud map.  Strategically placed around the garden were laminated information sheets outlining the Permaculture Principles and how they have been applied throughout the house and garden.  These allowed us to be in multiple places at once and disseminate more information.
The weekend ran smoothly thanks to family and friends donating their time.  We enlisted the help of 8 volunteers at the event. Two were positioned at the entry gate, taking money, counting people and directing traffic.  Two were at the plant stall, answering questions, leading garden tours and discussing all things Permaculture. The other Four ran the kitchen, kept the cups of tea & coffee, yummy cakes and food flowing. We also had fabulous help from the members of our local Edible Garden Group (EGG) in the form of delicious donated cakes, slices and muffins.  While the garden was the initial drawcard, we also wanted to showcase the skills of other talented people within our community. A handmade quilt display was hung in the ‘Granny flat’ carport and these talented ladies could have sold their quilts ten times over.  We also had local artist, Rick Stacey in the garden. He completed a gorgeous charcoal still life sketch using pumpkins from the garden and a jar of our honey.  He also captured a bit of garden whimsy in an oil painting and fielded a myriad of questions.
We are really grateful to Onsite Rental Bunbury, who donated the hire costs of a Portable Toilet for the weekend.  This was fabulous as it meant no added pressure was put on our septic system and it kept foot traffic in and out of the house to a minimum.  If we were to run the event again, we would consider advertising more widely.  The main advertising was done via social media and very few maps were made available locally.  Garden centres, local libraries and businesses are great places for people to pick up these and it widens your target audience.   We also underestimated the number of large cars, sedans and 4WD’s.  We had allocated a small area for these, with a larger area for smaller cars.  Car Parking is a significant logistic element and needs careful consideration, especially if you are to accommodate Coaster Buses or Coaches.
It was a really successful event and we are proud to have raised a significant amount for very worthwhile charities and raised the profile of Permaculture in our area.

Thank you to Tony and Lisa for sharing their story with us.  To discover more about their beautiful space visit their website

Candlelight Farm, in conjunction with Skills Strategies International, are offering CIII and Diploma Permaculture courses starting in January (Diploma) and February (CIII), 2019.

CIII Permaculture is ideally suited to those who have undertaken a PDC and wish to broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding. The course is very practical-orientated and students learn about propagation, pest control, irrigation, construction, soils, site assessment, impacts of weather, organic crops, permaculture products and integrated plant and animals systems. Fifteen units are undertaken over one year.

The Diploma Permaculture is a course for those who wish to become designers and consultants. Twelve units are undertaken over a year or so, and include both rural and urban designs, managing projects, strategic planning, field research, managing soils and erosion, advising clients and using particular species in design work.

Both courses are undertaken on weekends, typically once a month at Candlelight Farm in Mundaring.

For information please contact Ross Mars on 0439971213 or email rossmars@waterinstallations.com, on behalf of Co-teachers Fiona Blackham, Martina Hoeppner and Lisa Passmore.

Looking at RPL for a Permaculture Qualification?

If you have undertaken a PDC some time ago and have been active in permaculture since that time, you might like to consider applying for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to obtain an Accredited Certificate. Ross Mars is able to assess anyone from CIII to Diploma Permaculture. The fees are about two-thirds the cost of actually undertaking the course over a year, and you decide how long you will take assembling the evidence and answering the particular questions that relate to specific units. Ask Ross to send you the unit list, and you can look up the details on the Govt website - training.gov.au. If you are satisfied that you can meet the outcomes for those units contact Ross about the process. rossmars@waterinstallations.com.

The key to vibrant plants which resist drought, heat, frost, disease and pest attack lies quietly under mulch in an aerobic living soil.  The smallest things on Earth may also be the most powerful.  Reinstating the ancient partnership between soil microbes, plants and animals could be the only way to reverse pandemics of chronic disease and catastrophic climate change, yet soil’s beneficial microbes can be quickly destroyed by fertilizer, ploughs and pesticides.  Conventional farm soils are inert & the food shaped- objects they grow contain a quarter of the nutrients our grandparents ate (plus untold poison residues).  Conversely, soil “probiotics” create the rare aromatic flavours in real food responsible for health. Probiotics can be bred up in wormery’s and compost heaps. Organic farmer Bee made compost for 40 years but in 2014 learnt to make quality compost from Dr Elaine Ingham. Suddenly the farm is more profitable. People too are thriving as they eat nutrient dense foods covered in friendly bacteria, we will see them under the microscope. Quality compost can be brewed into a tea to inoculate large acreages with the whole soil food web.Learn regeneration of the soil by many methods. See cell grazing in action, permaculture strategies, inspirational swales, hugekultures and food forests. Receive your 78 page manual when you register, and pre -read if you like. Our gut lining is integral to health and functions just like the soil. Good soil takes the work out of gardening so you can grow the food that transforms lives.

The amazing, the astounding SYMPHONY of the SOIL takes place at Nannup’s Merri Bee Farmacy this February 9th and 10th, 2019. Cost $385 plus GST and Eventbrite booking fee. Couples and car poolers discounts available!
More info: merribeefarmacy@gmail.com or via event details on Facebook

Published on Feb 20, 2017
"It’s possible that this is one of the smallest homes that we have visited on the show so far and yet without doubt it is one of the most spectacular in it’s design. Japan is a country already world-famous for it’s small space designs, and so it should come as no surprise that when Japanese master-craftsman Tagami Haruhiko turned his attention towards the tiny house movement, amazing things would happen".

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