Some of the finest iterations of the permaculture ethic, Fair Share, are the various events held in local communities where people bring their surplus to share with others. There are loads of different variations, and they remind me that one of permaculture’s greatest strengths is flexibility; take the ethics and the principles and use a design cycle to apply them within your own context and see what happens! Many unique and innovative elements, tools and techniques have been developed this way. Our local event was held last Sunday. It’s run by a small group of volunteers (including me) and w ..read more

Someone asked, “What kind of bowl should I give my child?” and people offered all kinds of ideas for another version of plastic.  I wanted to give her child a bowl of clay, shaped by loving hands and baked in fire. I wanted to teach her child about soil and earth and how all life depended upon it. I wanted her to hold the lesson of fire that can burn or warm us, and to understand the only difference was our intention and the choices we made. I wanted her to understand that not everything bounces when you drop it. Some things break and cannot be properly mended, and that’s okay because the ..read more

I’m often asked what the difference is between a standard vegetable garden and a permaculture garden. The short answer is “lots”! When most people think of a vegetable garden they imagine rectangular raised beds, each with only one or two kinds of plant. These gardens are a source of great enjoyment for many people, but often the cost of the inputs, including fertilisers, soil conditioners, sprays and mulches, exceeds the value of the vegetables coming out of them. Many first-time vegetable growers abandon their hobby, deciding it’s easier and cheaper to just buy from the local farmers’ market ..read more

I have been spending a lot of time updating resources for the Permaculture Central Coast Edible Garden Trail. They have a great system of QR codes linked to permaculture elements, so garden hosts can display them and visitors can access information. This saves hosts repeating the same information and gives visitors ongoing access to resources. I’ve just finished the one on composting and thought I’d share it here. WHAT IS IT? Compost happens! Visit any forest any you’ll see nature turning fallen leaves, dead creatures and all kinds of other organic matter into humus. This magical ingredient is ..read more

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My previous post provided a map of the teaching session we offer for this subject. As promised, here’s a description of the various items on the table, and some that didn’t make it this time around but which have often made an appearance. Here’s the photo again, for reference. I’m working roughly left to right in sort of rows. Remember that some items are totally aligned with the permaculture ethics, some are heading in that direction and some are compromises. Students are encouraged to have conversations in pairs before we amalgamate their ideas during a group discussion. Here’s a sample of ..read more

I’m thinking it might be fun to spend the next little while sharing some of my teaching methods. We are close to the end of our latest Permaculture Design Course (PDC) and that’s always an opportunity for me to stretch myself. The goal is to create what I think of as “sticky” learning experiences for students. We know that traditional lecturing is the least effective form of teaching. It can be improved by the addition of socratic method (asking good questions) and visual aids, including powerpoint presentations, but really effective teaching sets up an experience for students that will stay w ..read more

My first full garden was part of my first owned home. Up until then I had snuck avocado trees into rental properties, knowing they would not all survive but imagining the day that someone blessed the unknown stranger with the foresight to plant a tree that would give them silky, scrumptious fruit each year. I improved dusty soil with compost and mulch, knowing that future tenants were likely to neglect a thriving herb garden and hoping that some would cherish these small green places as I had done. I walked away without regret. It was enough that these ephemeral gardens had graced me with chiv ..read more

The cost of living is biting hard for many people and invariably that leads to a surge of interest in permaculture generally and growing food in particular. I’m getting lots of questions from first-timers interested in growing food on a budget. Here’s my top ten tips: Get to know your site There’s a pattern I see all the time that wastes big dollars; people get excited about growing food and spend a lot of money on plants or seeds only to have them fail. They decide they have a “brown thumb” and abandon all hope. Please know that there is no such thing as a brown thumb and all you really ne ..read more

This post is in response to a request I received at the recent Permaculture Convergence 2023. “Hey Meg, what advice would you give me as someone running a local permaculture group?” A lot of this will also apply to any volunteer organisation. That’s a big topic. There are many different styles of leadership and mine is just one of them. I prefer the “leader as facilitator” model, and my focus is very much on supporting others while keeping up enthusiasm. I’m also a fan of the “leader as designer” model, and prefer to be in a role where there is a clear mandate for improving upon the existing ..read more