Cecilia Macaulay at the 10th Australasian Permaculture Convergence
Conferences, Social Gatherings — by Patrick Blampied October 14, 2010
I had the honour of presenting the Worldwide Permaculture Network people and projects database to the 10th Australasian Permaculture Convergence (APC 10) with Geoff Lawton. During the breaks, coffee and cookie in hand, I met some really wonderful people.
I’d heard about the work of many of these people and felt like I already knew some of them yet I still didn’t know their story.
So in keeping with the theme of the people and projects database, I made a few films asking some of the people I met who they were and what their permaculture story was. Meet Cecilia Macaulay.
Meeting APC Attendees – Rosemary Morrow
Conferences, Social Gatherings — by Patrick Blampied October 4, 2010
I had the honour of previewing the Worldwide Permaculture Network people/projects database to the 10th Australasian Permaculture Convergence (APC 10) with Geoff last week. During the breaks, with coffee and cookie in hand, I met some really wonderful people.
I’d heard about the work of many of these people and felt like I already knew some of them yet I still didn’t know their story.
So in keeping with the theme of the people and projects database I made a few short videos asking some of the people I met who they were and what their permaculture story was. First up, meet Rosemary Morrow.
Comments (2)
Weekly Linkfest – Edition 11
News — by Patrick Blampied
Welcome to round eleven of our (normally!) Weekly Linkfest, where we share the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain interesting from what we’ve seen this week.
I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculturenews.org with links (and ideally a summary sentence outlining the key point of each link) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet.
A big thank you to Øyvind for his contributions to this week’s linkfest!
Off we go:
Good News (coz we all need it):
- Good Monsanto news! Worries about birth defects have affected their stocks. Lets hope the real news on all their activities continues to erode their value on the market.
- Vietnamese fruit growers, are using a bug bait developed by Australian researchers and made from the waste of beer brewing. Trust the aussies to develop a another great use for beer!
- The UK is now producing more off shore wind power than the rest of the world put together with the launch of their new 100-turbine off-shore wind turbine.
- Paris and Milan have set up free town water fountains that offer chilled, room temp and sparking town water for free in an effort to curb plastic bottle waste.
- Very cool chain-less bike design that is more efficient than traditional bikes.
- More people waking up to the importance of the rain forests and their ability to create rain. This article has dubbed the amazon a "self-contained cloud-producing biogeochemcial reactor"
Interview with Jesse Lemieux, Who is Soon to Teach at Zaytuna!
Courses/Workshops, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied September 25, 2010
I had an amazing chat to Jesse Lemieux today and luckily… I recorded it!
Jesse is farm-sitting Zaytuna while Geoff’s away and also teaching a PDC there starting on November 21st. With such big shoes to fill I thought I’d pick his brain on all things permaculture to see if he’s up to it.
We talked about the newly launched PRI Canada and the permaculture explosion in the region, his background, being taught by Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, his experience teaching, the perils of temperate gardening in the extreme arid conditions in Jordan, and where he thinks Permaculture is heading over the next 60 years.
Just chatting to him for that short time I already feel like I’ve known him for years and I’m certain he’s up to the job. Have a listen. Click play below:
Interview with Jesse LemieuxComments (3)
Weekly Linkfest – Edition 10
News — by Patrick Blampied September 13, 2010
Welcome to round ten of our Weekly Linkfest, where we share the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain interesting from what we’ve seen this week.
I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculturenews.org with links (and ideally a summary sentence outlining the key point of each link) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet.
A big thank you to Øyvind and Nick for their contributions to this week’s linkfest!
Off we go:
Good News (coz we all need it):
- In a rare move, logging giant Gunns has broken ranks with Forestry Tasmania and conceded it’s time to stop logging native Tasmanian forests after a decade long battle with environmentalists. A spokesperson said most Australians didn’t support old growth logging anymore and it would move to plantation timber.
- Prince Charles hosts a green garden party in an attempt to get people started on the path to sustainability.
- This one isn’t new but there’s always room for some well placed Monsanto bashing. This article is about Haitian farmers commitment to burning the 60,000 seed sacks ‘donated’ by Monsanto. Very good to hear that the offering has been seen as an attack on small farmers who would be reliant on purchasing chemicals, fertilisers and new seeds next year.
- These 50 green pioneers only scratch at the surface of those whose work is not yet widely known. Who else should we be celebrating?
- A window glass that could save 100 million birds every year: Working on the principle that birds possess the ability to see light in the ultraviolet spectrum, the company’s Ornilux Bird-Protection Glass borrows a trick from orb-web spiders that protect their laboriously woven webs from birds flying through them with a special UV-reflecting silk. Recognizing this, the company developed the glass with a patterned UV reflective coating that makes it visible to birds while maintaining transparency to the human eye.
- European Investment Bank abandons Ethiopia mega dam.
- The world’s largest wave energy hub now installed in the UK.
- New Nanotech Purifier Filters Water 80,000 Times Faster.
- A quite amazing flax-based bike!!
- PUMA Debuts Mopion Commuter Bike With a Serious Cargo Hold.
- Concept Bike Would Adjust as Kids Grow.
Weekly Linkfest – Edition 009
News — by Patrick Blampied September 3, 2010
Welcome to round nine of our Weekly Linkfest, where we share the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain interesting from what we’ve seen this week.
I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculturenews.org with links (and ideally a summary sentence outlining the key point of each link) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet.
Off we go:
Good News (coz we all need it):
- Hollywood star Daryl Hannah is in cairns with Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson’s eccentric nephew, Ned RocknRoll. They are both taking a PDC and attending the APC10.
- Sounds like permaculture – The Rainforest Alliance has launched a new certification aimed at helping cattle farms improve their environmental and social performance. "This can be accomplished by giving the animals a diet that is easier to digest – generating fewer methane emissions – treating their manure and conserving trees on pasture lots, in forest reserves or as live fences," Oliver Bach, Rainforest Alliance standards and policy manager, said in a fact sheet on the new standard.
- One of the lessons from BP is it doesn’t pay to lose focus on sustainability. In fact according to a new book large and small business must embrace green concepts to help the bottom line http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10669220&ref=rss
- US fast food giant Burger King said it would no longer buy palm oil from Sinar Mas or its subsidiaries after Greenpeace campaigned against the Indonesian group’s land-clearing practices.
- Poaching for ivory and increased conflicts between people and elephants because of their dwindling habitat are key problems faced by India’s wild elephant population, estimated at about 26,000. A recommendation has been made that India should protect its elephant population by creating new reserves, curbing poaching and restricting development in the corridors they use to travel between forested areas.
- Businesses are starting to see the advantage in green buildings. The Subway sandwich shop on Chicago’s State Street may look like any other new restaurant, but its tile, crown molding and most wall coverings are made from recycled materials. In the bathroom, sensors control water flow, timers manage lights, and the toilet has a low-flow option. A smart air-conditioning system normalizes temperature between the bread ovens and the eating area.
A GMO Promoter Didn’t Like My Article
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Patrick Blampied August 13, 2010
So I’m back in my favourite little trendy organic cafe in Melbourne as I write this, but for those who missed the point of why I would eat here last time I wrote about it I’ll drop the ironic humour. It’s not about being trendy. It’s about being stuck in a food desert devoid of any solid guarantee that what I eat will actually be what I consider to be food.
Today I’m writing to address an ‘article’ from Paula Fitzgerald from Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited. A colleague recently forwarded me her attempted rebuff to my article “10 reasons to go organic beyond being trendy”. Ms. Fitzgerald’s response to my article was titled “Serious about sustainability or terrified of not being trendy” (PDF). Take a look. I can understand where the author is coming from, as it would appear her role is to protect the interests of the organisation and its founding members – CropLife Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation and the National Farmers’ Federation, as well as the sugar industry which supports their activities and the red meat industry who it partners with.
Their disclaimer:
Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited gives no warranty and makes no representation that the information contained in this document is suitable for any purpose or is free from error. Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited accepts no responsibility for any person acting or relying upon the information contained in this document, and disclaims all liability. August 2010. – Agrifood Awareness (PDF)
It would be a shame if more farmers were given poor information that led them to “voting with their feet” and going GM when the real rewards for them and their family’s future could be in regenerative agriculture. My advice to the aforementioned partners, supporters and funders: find or form an organisation that produces credible information that is suitable for at least some purpose. My advice to farmers: stop and think before going GM. It’s so important that information about the way we grow food is as accurate as possible and not clouded by vested interests, as we’re playing with lives here.
Comments (10)Port Kembla Part 1 and 2
Community Projects, Urban Projects — by Patrick Blampied August 9, 2010
Part 1: Geoff put me in touch with Benn Wolhuter, a very active permie from the coal and steel town of Port Kembla. So on my trip through NSW I got in touch and Benn kindly gave me a tour of some impressive Permaculture projects throughout the region.
In Part I Benn is talking about the laneway project where a small group of volunteers have taken to the lanes, transforming them from bland overgrown backstreets to pleasant, rich & productive places to go for a walk, relax or feed yourself.
It’s really good to see Permaculture spreading like wild fire in an area that according to some reports has significant environmental and health problems due to its industrial emissions.
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 10: Peppi in Malta
Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Podcasts — by Patrick Blampied July 29, 2010
Aerial view of Bahrija valley and surrounding cliffs
 Peppi Gauci |
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
This week I’m speaking with Peppi in Malta about his project, Bahrija Oasis, which he setup eight years ago in Rabat, Malta.
Click play to hear all about it!:
Episode 10: Peppi in Malta Comments OffWeekly Linkfest – Edition 008
News — by Patrick Blampied July 28, 2010
Welcome to round eight of our Weekly Linkfest, where we share the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain interesting from what we’ve seen this week.
I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculturenews.org with links (and ideally a summary sentence outlining the key point of each link) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet.
Off we go:
Good News (coz we all need it):
- The best use of a backyard pool that I’ve ever seen! It feeds a whole family – a very clever little permaculture design. See more on this topic here.
10 Reasons to Go Organic… beyond being trendy….
Consumerism, Health & Disease, Society — by Patrick Blampied July 27, 2010
When you’re heavily involved in a movement like Permaculture and only interacting with people within those circles it’s easy to think everyone’s on board, but walking the busy streets of Melbourne you promptly get jolted back to reality. It appears clear the necessary goals of Permaculture (and other similar movements) are far from the mind of the masses who are still completely immersed in their individual pursuits unaware of the growing cracks under the pavement.
Needing lunch I stopped into a favourite organic cafe in Degraves Street. It’s squashy and loud, there’s graffiti on the walls, branded clothing and slick mobile phones everywhere. I can see why people love this place – cultural Melbourne is my favourite place on earth as well and I can’t help but feel trendy as I grab an organic, free-trade, soy mocha-latte.
Comments (27)Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 9: Andy in Morocco
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Village Development — by Patrick Blampied July 19, 2010
Editor’s Note: I made a boo-boo. When I put this post up the other day, I checked the podcast code was working as it should, so you could all play and enjoy. It checked out okay. After that I added some code for a Digg/Reddit plugin, but failed to notice this clashed with the podcast code and broke it! Then the post slipped down the main page, as posts do, without my realising people couldn’t play the podcast. As such, I’m putting it back up top to ensure it gets heard, as it’s a great discourse deserving of a good listen. Apologies to all.
‘Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker’ is a weekly podcast show from PRI Australia aimed at documenting the experiences of people out in the field and making more information available about what’s happening in the Permaculture world.
This week I’m speaking with Andy of Tribal Networks about his project in Morocco and the Irish NGO he’s set up which supports and networks connections to remote areas of the world.
Click play to hear the interview (and read further below for more details):
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 9: Andy in Morocco
Subscribe to Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker.
Weekly Linkfest – Edition 007
News — by Patrick Blampied
Welcome to round seven of our Weekly Linkfest, where we share the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain interesting from what we’ve seen this week.
I would greatly appreciate readers getting involved in this weekly linkfest. Please email editor (at) permaculturenews.org with links (and ideally a summary sentence outlining the key point of each link) to noteworthy articles and news reports on the internet.
Off we go:
Good News (coz we all need it):
- A forward thinking Sicilian town has ditched its expensive, smelly, dirty diesel trucks in favour of donkeys for collecting the garbage (on YouTube and as podcast). This serves as a good proof of concept for the Maribyrnong council in Melbourne which is one of only two councils in Australia with a public peak oil policy. The policy mainly covers how to keep council services such as waste disposal running, as society as we know it starts to collapse.
- Major wins as biotechs back-off in Brazil and organic beats GE in India.
- An article about our perpetual assault on ‘weeds’ and permaculture as the answer to a war that can only end with nature winning, whether we join it or not.
- A New Orleans’ Zoo is teaching kids about the impact of the Gulf Oil Spill, and the effect we’re having on the environment.
- The creation of new power capacity from renewable energy has exceeded new fossil fuel power generation in the United States and Europe for the second year running, according to two United Nations reports published Thursday.
Confessions of a Permaculture Aid Worker, Episode 9: Andy in Morocco
Aid Projects, Community Projects, Conservation, Demonstration Sites, Developments, Education Centres, Networking Sites, People Systems, Podcasts, Village Development, Water Harvesting — by Patrick Blampied July 14, 2010
Comments OffHow to Plant Bamboo and its Application in Creek Restoration
Conservation, Gabions, Land, Plant Systems, Rehabilitation, Water Harvesting — by Patrick Blampied July 13, 2010
Recently I joined Nick Huggins on a farm near Wagga to see what he was up to. (Here are the details of his first visit in case you missed it.)
This time the main purpose of the trip was to repair the creek that ran through the property. The creek is nothing special, it runs half the year and doesn’t have much living in or around it. There was a lot of evidence of erosion, not a lot of soil left and no protection from flood events.
So Nick got to work, spending the week installing rock gabions and bamboo every few hundred metres or so.
What looks to the untrained eye, and the catchment authority, as works to block up the creek and stuff up the natural ecology is actually a process of fast tracking the repair that happens naturally as trees and other debris fall across the flow and slow down the water, holding back nutrient and kick starting the soil building process.
