2007 December | Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

Leonie Shanahan has been teaching Sunshine Coast school children how to grow their own food at school and then enjoying yummy vegetables harvested fresh from their own Permaculture gardens.The innovative program, introduced into seven schools across the Coast, provides the children with the opportunity of learning how food is grown using Permaculture principles and the results have been very encouraging.

In partnership with local schools over a period of 12-18 months Leonie teaches the students about Permaculture and assist the students to design their own Permaculture vegetable garden.

Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton

Combine forces to teach the

PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE COURSE

Monday 7th - Saturday 19th January 2008 • Melbourne University

“This course has already changed a lot of the world –
Come help us finish the job!” ~ Bill Mollison April 27, 2005

BILL MOLLISON, the legendary Permaculture teacher, promoter and designer - who, over 26 years of non-stop travelling, designing, teaching and writing, personally planted the seeds of Permaculture in over 120 countries. Bill is the founding director of The Permaculture Institute, the first and longest running Permaculture Institute in existence.

And
GEOFF LAWTON who is world renowned for field expertise and extensive teaching experience in the ecological “badlands” of Earth, areas of extreme cultural conflicts, as well as more friendly environments. Founding director of the acclaimed Permaculture Research Institute, Geoff is working in more countries and co-ordinating more projects on the ground than any other Permaculture Institute today.

Earth’s ecosystems are in crisis. Permaculture offers practical, sustainable solutions. You can be part of the exciting adventure of positive world change.

Permaculture Cairns is a recently formed permaculture group, located in the wet tropics region of Far North Queensland, Australia. Cairns has a Tropical climate, with generally hot and humid summers and milder drier winters. The cyclone season is normally confined to between December and April and the average annual rainfall is 1992mm. Nowhere else on earth do two World Heritage listed sites sit side by side –With the education of Permaculture at its core, the aim of the group is to spread permaculture throughout Cairns and the Far North, and give demonstrative examples of permaculture at work in such a unique and challenging environment. The Great Barrier Reef and Australia’s Tropical Rainforests. Both are in severe danger of being lost forever, in part due to the unconscious urban design for an ever-increasing populous and destructive agricultural practice.

Since being formed in July, a great deal of interest has been shown and the number of members (all ages) on our forum site has rapidly grown to its current level of 42. The group has been successful in attracting new members, particularly through its participation in two notable local festivals: the annual “Empower Energy Festival” and “Envirofiesta”, a community event, this year attended by more than 5000 people, that showcases the natural and cultural diversity of the region.