I do hope you enjoy this conversation. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Robina over the past weeks offering children’s permaculture programs – Patterns in Nature and Design with Nature, and organising a community screening of her film, SOS: Save our Seeds which documents community seed saving initiatives throughout New Zealand.

I am also really excited about sharing more permaculture conversations soon. So many wonderful people to explore ideas with…..

The post Permaculture Lifework: Morag Gamble and Robina McCurdy in conversation: part 2 (12 mins) appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

The post Social Permaculture and Community: Morag Gamble in conversation with Robina McCurdy (9 mins) appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

True Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) – a familiar plant in our everyday landscapes – typically overlooked as a source of great food and medicine.

Of the dandelion family (also known as False Dandelion) is Cat’s Ear (Hypochoeris radicata). It is a familiar plant in my landscape. It has a blander taste than true dandelion and tends to be less bitter – young leaves are less fibrous. The leaves are also edible – raw or cooked. The root can also be roasted as a coffee substitute. Not good for horses to consume too much.

WHY EAT DANDELION GREENS?

• Dandelion greens are rich in antioxidants which prevent free-radical damage to cells, and are high in:
• Vitamin K (building strong bones, preventing heart disease)
• Vitamin A (healthy teeth, bones, mucus membranes, skin and eyes)
• Iron (essential for producing red blood cells and transferring oxygen from the lungs to your body)
• Fibre (helps body shed waste)
• Potassium (to help regulate heart rate and blood pressure)
• Also vitamins C and B6, thiamin, riboflavin, calcium, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, and copper.

USING OTHER PARTS

The post Three Great Uses For Dandelion Leaves – Wild Harvest this Edible Weed in Springtime appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Me threshing grain in Ladakh, India in the early 1990s – here I learnt the importance and significance of local food.

The film touches on many of the issues caused by and impacting upon our current unsustainable food system including climate change and peak oil, and points to the relocalisation of food systems as a key strategy for working toward a more ecologically sustainable, healthy and socially just society.

I made this film in 2008, but I find the issues all are still very current and the examples of ways forward possibly even more pertinent now. I will be following up each of the key themes introduced in this film in the short films I am making each week and posting on my youtube channel: Our Permaculture Life. You can subscribe there so each week you’ll get another short film about permaculture, ecovillage living and sustainable local food systems.

PEOPLE INTERVIEWED

Fritjof Capra (source: www.fritjofcapra.net)

There are interviews with:
• Dr Fritjof Capra – Author, Physicist, Educator, Activist
• Morag Gamble – Permaculture/Community Food Educator, Designer, Writer
• Evan Raymond – Advisor, Climate Change Adaptation
• Kirsten Lyons – Associate Professor  Social Science (incl. Food Politics)
• Les Nichols – Community Supported Agriculture/Farmers Market
• Anaheke Metua – City Farmer/Farmers Market Organiser/Weaver
• Sequoia River – Farm Shop
• Isabella Siodmak – Natural Health Practitioner, Natural Attitudes
• Chris Bond – Chef

COUNTRIES VISITED

The film includes footage and images taken over a 15 year period in 15 countries by Morag Gamble and Evan Raymond:
• Australia
• Bulgaria
• Bahamas
• China
• Cuba
• Denmark
• Germany
• India
• Indonesia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• South Korea
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• USA

Maple Street Cooperative – my favourite local food store.

ABOUT THE FILM

This film was made in 2008 with the support of the Maleny Film Society and launched at the 2008 Maleny Film Festival (hence the many examples from Maleny). Since then, it has been screened around the world by community groups looking to cultivate change in their local area, and in schools to raise awareness about local food issues.

Directed by: Morag Gamble and Evan Raymond
Editorial Director: Gregor Gamble

The post Think Global: Eat Local – a short film by Morag Gamble appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

I filmed my talk about Incredible Edibles at the Kitchen Garden Stage of the incredibly popular Queensland Garden Expo on July 10. In this talk, I share my passion for and knowledge about some of my favourite plants and strategies. The plants I talk about here are also very helpful for verge gardeners, small-space gardeners, and community gardeners.

Congratulations and thank you to all the volunteers who set up the WONDERFUL edible demonstration gardens at the Expo with the verge garden theme – a huge effort!! It was great to ramble through it with Costa Georgiadis, Jerry Coleby-Williams and chat with old and new friends.

This recording is 42 mins.

FILMING NOTE: This is the first time I have tried to film my own talk (I usually have a helper) and of course, I forgot about the camera. At one stage I moved too close – oops – half a head.  A few minutes later I realise and move back again – please excuse this!

Take a look at my other short films:

In my award-winning garden, Crystal Waters Permaculture Village.

Film #2: Our Permaculture Life: Community Permaculture Garden (9 mins 30 secs)


At the Yandina Community Gardens – I’ll be teaching a Permaculture course there each Friday from 23 September.

In my award-winning garden, Crystal Waters Permaculture Village

The post Film #4: Incredible Edibles Talk with Morag Gamble at the QLD Garden Expo appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

One of the most transformative experiences for me was spending about a year at Schumacher College in England, as a student in 1992 and as a guest scholar on a course called Design for Life in 2003 with Janine Benyus (biomimicry). The course I ran was also a Permaculture Design Course. Schumacher College is essentially a green university – I love it!

Back in 1992, I so was incredibly inspired by learning at Schumacher College with people such as Fritjof Capra, Vandana Shiva, Helena Norberg-Hodge and Satish Kumar.  Immediately after taking courses at the college I made a pilgrimage around the UK to places such as Findhorn, Scotland and the Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales.

I had also arranged with Helena to volunteer in Ladakh with her at the Ladakh Project (Local Futures). While in India, I also visited Vandana’s Navdanya Project (since evolved into Bija Vidyapeeth or Earth University). My mind was exploded and my heart sang with possibilities.

A few years later, I visited Fritjof Capra a few times in Berkeley California. He introduced me to the Center for Ecoliteracy which he founded and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center  – places rethinking education and supporting teachers to change. Creating opportunities for children to experience connection with nature and to be exposed to ecological systems thinking has been at the forefront of my work since. (Fritjof had also been a regular teacher at the Esalen Institute.)

ETHOS FOUNDATION 

Back at home, I have been persistently passionate about creating similar opportunities here in Australia for locals and for people around the world who would love to come together to:

• connect with nature, community and self
• deepen our understanding of the ecological paradigm
• explore thinking and ideas that will help guide us towards a sustainable future
• experience a different, more connected way of living and thinking
• learn very practical skills for living simply and sustainably
• nurture young leaders in sustainability
• offer nature connected education for children

After many years – helping to start Northey Street City Farm, the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network, school garden projects,  Local Futures study circles, offering permaculture education in 20 countries, I am now focussing all my efforts on creating a space for head, heart and hands learning, predominantly based here at the ecovillage.

This is what my organisation the Ethos Foundation, a not-for-profit charity, is all about. I have created programs such as Nature Kids, Young Ethos Scholars, and Permaculture Life and will be offering a few Permaculture Design Courses (PDC) each year. I see the PDC is an amazing door to a more sustainable way of life.

Ethos Foundation Permaculture Design Course – August 29 – Sept 9

I hope you can join me from August 29 – Sept 9 for an excitingly practical, intellectually stimulating and incredibly relaxing time here at Crystal Waters, where I have been living for the past 18 years. This course integrates my learnings from Ladakh, Schumacher, and all the other centres. I will be joined by indigenous leader Wiruungga, the amazing Robina McCurdy from New Zealand’s Tui Community. We’ll visit Maleny’s amazing coops including: Maple Street Organic Food Cooperative and the Maleny Credit Union. We’ll explore the ecovillage at Crystal Waters, the wonderful neighbouring Baranbali Farm, and visit school and community gardens in the region.

More information about the course will be uploaded to this website very soon. Please contact me for more information.

Films about amazing centres for learning:

Here are a few of the places which significantly influenced my thinking over the decades:

Schumacher College England

(with Vandana Shiva and Satish Kumar, Polly Higgins, Stephan Harding, Terry Irwin)

Earth University, India

Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, California

Local Futures (A short version of their recent film, The Economics of Happiness)

Esalen Institute, USA

The post Education as if the earth mattered: Green Universities, Permaculture and Centres for Positive Change appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

The wonderful Costa Georgiadis of ABC’s Gardening Australia led a huge group of people through the verge garden with his fabulous commentary of why verge gardens are the bees knees – it’s got me thinking about what more I can do along the street at my place. Always wonderful to see him and get a big beardy cuddle.

Costa espousing the benefits of having a salad garden on the verge.

Gardening extraordinaire, Barbara Wickes, president of the cottage garden group The Perennial Poppies, coordinates the extraordinary effort it takes to get the Giant Kitchen Garden displays ready for the expo each year.

After Costa’s ramble through this amazing demonstration garden, he sent the crowd across to the Kitchen Garden Stage where I talked about my favourite incredible edibles. I had a table full of cuttings from my garden that provide an abundance and resilience in subtropical gardens – a diversity of perennial and self-seeding plants and a selection of common but overlooked edible leaves.  (The video of this will be ready soon.)

Me launching into the Incredible Edibles talk.

The Giant Kitchen Garden is like a meeting of old friends – I caught up with Roman Spur of Spurtopia, the Yandina Community Gardens, Northey Street City Farm, Robin Clayfield, Brisbane Organic Growers and many more… Jerry Coleby Williams also led a great wander through the verge garden.

ABC Gardening Australia’s Jerry Coleby-Williams talking about verge gardens.

Here are some of the people I met along the way and some garden features on display…

I was delighted to hear the latest news from Roman Spur of Spurtopia – new baby girl and new house (bought from savings – no debt).

I caught up with Cath Manuel of Soil to Supper, then saw part of her no-dig garden presentation.

Beautiful kales.

The display garden demonstrated how you could set up a street side stall to share verge garden produce in the community.

These are great to help increase homes from microbats in urban gardens.

Showing the potential for a verge garden – from children’s play spaces, herb, vegetables, flowers, fruits, upcycled pots, interpretive signage, habitat logs …

An interesting pot of strawberries….

Looking down the main street of the verge garden displays.

The bug hotel in the centre of the verge garden roundabout.

The boot flower garden.

The stiletto palette garden!

The post Verge Gardens and Incredible Edibles: catching up with ABC’s Costa and friends. appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

During the celebration of community at the Yandina Community Gardens today I made this little film to share with you.

There’s lots of fun for kids here too. Check out their website for some great plant info and recipes too – www.yandinacommunitygardens.com.au

The post Film #2: Permaculture Community Garden with Morag Gamble (9 minutes) appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

Here’s a lovely article “Community Gardens – Valuing Shared Spaces” just published in Natural Artisan Magazine.  It includes an interview with me about the wonderfully positive impact these shared gardens bring to communities and those involved.

Grab a cuppa and enjoy ….

If you scroll to pages 14-17 on the magazine below, or click this link to see the four-page article. https://issuu.com/thenaturalartisan/docs/the_natural_artisan_-_winter_2016/14

Speaking at the Northey Street City Farm Winter Solstice Fair Food Forum last weekend – with Emma Brindal, Dick Copeman and Thor Svenson. The gardens were just thriving with people, music, great food and such a fabulous eco-community vibe.

I will definitely be including an exploration of community garden design and development in our Permaculture Design Course coming up from August 29 – September 9. I hope you can join us.

The post Urban Food: Community Glue: Community Gardens – Sharing Simple Sustainable Living appeared first on Our Permaculture Life.

I recognise that I have a tendency to saying ‘yes’ to just about everything that sounds interesting, positive and worthwhile. This past month for me has been so wonderfully busy, that I think I have actually found new levels of capacity.

I love being down at the University of Sunshine Coast Community Garden. I’ll be there again in the morning.

These past few weeks I have led a workshops most days of the week – permaculture, sustainable living, community gardening…

I do need to remember to be gentle with myself and I thank my family for being onto this – they read my energy levels before I do, and the kids especially encourage me to delight in the present moment.

With a little one around, I am always reminded to slow down, get outside and play.

I am a mum with 3 children under 10, two of them homeschooled. I run an education and design business from home and a not-for-profit foundation. I love to cook things from scratch and tend our edible landscape. Our house is often open to the public so I need to keep it looking relatively neat.

In busy times, doing all this can sometimes be a stretch – we don’t have cleaners, gardeners or childcare – but somehow it all works and I love it. The kids are thriving. I feel nourished by my work. Evan and I love feeling productive and active in our communities of practice. We all spark off each other’s enthusiasm for what we do.

I value simple living. That doesn’t always equate with a ‘quiet life’, but for me it’s a ‘good life’.

This is how I stay calm, relaxed and focussed when the simple life sometimes gets a bit too busy….

Be Organised

1. I actively plan my time.
2. I have become a supreme list maker – so things to remember are not swirling around in my head.
3. I always carry a notebook and jot down ideas and new things to do – lots of mindmaps.
4. We plan our family’s week together to make sure everyone’s needs are being met and keep a shared calendar.
5. I aim to get everything ready the night before (lunches, clothes, workshop resources) so our morning can be relaxed and happy.
6. I have found my quiet niche – the time when everyone else is asleep – no TV, radio, music – just me and my myself. At this time, I can clearly and effectively think, plan, write, focus, create…
7. When things do get busy, I let go of some non-essential expectations I have of myself (e.g: writing every day).

I love riding my bike!

Stay Healthy

1. I eat well and usually take homemade food out and about.
2. I carry a glass jar of water infused with rosella, lemon myrtle, tulsi, turmeric and ginger (vitamin C, relaxing, refreshing, immune-strenghtening) and sip throughout the day.
3. I take a nap cuddling with the kids (I do this at their bedtime) – that extra hour or two makes all the difference especially to be able to do my ‘quiet-time’ shift at night.
4. When I need to ‘veg-out’ I avoid the telly or shops – instead play, talk, make, read, walk, think, write….
5. Ride my bike, or play tennis, walk and bounce on the trampoline with the kids.

Baking with the kids – we always love to experiment with healthy sugar free ideas.

Connect

1. I potter in my edible garden – planting, tending, harvesting – noticing the little things along the way.
2. I cuddle the chooks and talk to the birds.
3. I spend time outside in fresh air and amongst the wildlife (I make my office on the front verandah – birds visit, kangaroos pass by, waterbirds visit lake below and I cast my eyes regularly to the hills and national park across the valley).
4. We sit and eat meals together and check in with everyone, tell stories, joke around.
5. We play music and dance together after dinner. (We have a great big box of instruments.)
6. I lie down outside with the kids and watch the clouds or stars, chatting about their questions and big ideas.
7. I love to play with the kids – whatever story they make up. I’m often a horse for little Monty!
8. I ring my parents (interstate) and have a long chat.

Paint, create, get messy and have some fun!

Cuddling chooks always brings a smile.

A slow stroll through the garden, smelling the flowers and noticing the small things always helps me to refocus and slow down.

Stay Positive

1. I spend time in community gardens with wonderfully positive and engaged volunteers
2. I acknowledge the positive things that are happening and think about how I am contributing, and can add more value to that.
3. I regularly reflect on what is important, try to keep things in perspective, and keep the bigger picture in mind.
4. I am conscious to not complain about being busy. I make it so. There is a good level of busy-ness.
5. Smile – and the world does smile back.

Be Mindful

1. Mindfully do housework. When I wash the dishes, I am just dishwashing (or daydreaming out the window) not thinking about the next thing.
2. When I go to bed – I empty my mind, slow my breathing, relax my body before drifting off to sleep. Sometimes I set my self a challenge – to come up with new ideas in my dreams – but usually I aim to just ‘be’.
3. I remind myself to breathe – especially when there’s a need to finish some work and the kids also need my focussed attention.

 

Flowering rocket and in the background, mustard spinach – it’s great to just sit and watch what happens around these flowers – so much life!

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