Though I work as an editor, and I love my work, permaculture is my passion.
Permaculture is a design system inspired by nature.
Formulated in the 1970s by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison, based on ancient traditions and nature’s systems, permaculture has now spread across the world.
It has been described as a revolution disguised as gardening.
Though I love to design gardens using permaculture, I also apply it to so many parts of my life and work. I’ve even applied it to my course, Story Editing Masterclass, The Ecology of Novels.
Recently I had the great privilege of working with David Holmgren on his retrofitting the suburbs book, Retrosuburbia.
I also took part in the editing and writing of Milkwood’s ‘Permaculture Living’ course, a 12-week course transforming the lives of people across the globe, and as a scriptwriter for Milkwood’s, ‘Organic Vegetable Gardening’ course.
Over several years I worked with the legendary Rosemary Morrow on her Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, which has been endorsed by the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
I earned my Permaculture Design Certificate via Milkwood in 2010 and Certificate IV and Diploma through TAFE NSW from 2011–2013.
I teach, facilitate courses and run working bees at my local community garden and am a regular Farm Hand at Sydney City Farm.
In the past, I’ve designed and run gardens and programs for vulnerable communities, including asylum seekers.
My projects on the boil include envisioning more circular economy Precious Plastics hubs in the suburbs (and hopefully across the globe, this is coming to pass in the form of Waste Free in ’23) and helping sustainability groups in Australia and Africa with online media strategies.
Though I struggle to cram any more gardening into my life, I am keen to spread the message about permaculture and its benefits.
I love to facilitate online learning about permaculture. I have appeared as a Renew Expert in Sustainability and run #TheGreatPause zoom series. #TheGreatPause sought to keep communities connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently my story was featured in the Sydney Food Innovator program, along with the stories of many other food innovators, led by Dr Sarina Kilham of Charles Sturt University, with creative and intellectual collaboration with Dr Tania Leimbach and Dr Tanja Rosenqvist.
So if you have a project that requires online training, ecological thinking and/or writing/editing skills, I’d love to help!
With thanks to olena ivanova on Unsplash for the free use of the photo above.
