Podcasts about melliodora

Check out Botanical Bazaar festival here: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Rsvdfl⁠The Gold Coast's Premier Gardening and Sustainable living festival August 2nd and 3rd.  Pack your gumboots and curiosity — we're heading to Melliodora! In this episode of The Practical Permaculture Podcast, Alysse sits down with the incredible Su Dennett: community builder, local food champion, and one half of the dream team behind Melliodora, Australia's iconic permaculture homestead.Together, they chat about what it really means to live simply in a not-so-simple world. From buying land and growing food to building deep connections with neighbours, Su shares her lived wisdom on relocalisation, resilience, and why slowing down might just be the ultimate act of resistance.Expect heartfelt stories about motherhood, identity, and navigating the chaos of modern life with a grounded, generous spirit. Su reflects on her roots, her cultural influences, the power of passing down knowledge, and how being a role model (even when it's messy) helps shape future generations.You'll hear: 

David Holmgren is the co-originator of the permaculture concept following publication of Permaculture One, co-authored with Bill Mollison in 1978. David is globally recognised as a leading ecological thinker, teacher, writer and speaker promoting permaculture as a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism. David lives at Melliodora in Central Victoria, Australia, on the unceded land of the Djaara People. https://holmgren.com.au/ nutritionwithconfidence.com  

Charlie Mgee -- permaculture troubadour and Formidable Vegetable frontman -- composes swingin' tunes on a ukulele that address climate change, food security and regenerative sustainable living.From 'energy-descent electroswing' to 'post-apocalypso', his unforgettable music provides permaculture earworms that entertain and educate. Maybe you're humming one right now?In this energetic convo, we quiz Charlie about the role of art and creativity in changemaking; how music has a knack for bridging gaps and delivering powerful messages through melody. Charlie talks about his childhood in the bush, his wandering spirit, what it's like living in a tiny house at Melliodora with Brenna Quinlan, and his vision for a more beautiful world.*** Now you can support the show by shouting us a cuppa! Click here to check it out. ***SHOW NOTESHight energy artistic life in a tiny house with Brenna QuinlanStories from permie childhood Why chickens are a gateway drug into alternative livingFinding ways of synthesising complex concepts and making them accessible All pervasive gratitude A pledge to stop flying & touring Australia in biodiesel converted vanCoping with covid by understanding joy and grief are two sides of the same coinAcknowledging the hard stuff to build the good stuffIndividual vision post covid lockdown Daily life at MelliodoraPushing against the treadmill to move towards intentional simplicityBeing OK to be a bit different Managing multiple communities in your lifeThe accidental creation of an annual festivalYearning for a deeper connection to placeAvoiding tribalism Staying open minded to ensure a rounded world viewSeeing all of life as equal to oneselfListening more and talking lessThe risk of being interpreted as a dogmatic idealist who will show us all the wayThink global, act localHow music and the arts is the ultimate universal language Why he doesn't copyright his musicThe power of regenerative creativity - how we imagine the worldGo hug a tree! LINKS YOU'LL LOVEFormidable Vegetable on InstagramFormidable Vegetable onlineMelliodoraDavid Holmgren's RetrosuburbiaBrenna Quinlan on InstagramCharles Eisenstein - The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is PossibleThe Patterning Instinct - Jeremy LentSupport this podcast by shouting us a cuppaSupport the Show.Support the Show.

David Holmgren is the co-originator of Permaculture, self-aware contrarian and contemplator of everything. I'm lucky enough to be part of his extended household, so rather than shooting the breeze about the state of the world while sowing parsnips I figured I better bloody well get him on the podcast. We dig into David's own internal landscape as well as the contours of his life at Melliodora, and I was especially eager to quiz him about land sharing and housing alternatives; prime listening for those in the debt-avoidant club. Listen out for our new Reskillience segment: Word Association – which sees me peppering David with all kinds of words and phrases to see what he'll volley back. Such fun. And David said it's unlike any interview he's done before, which I'm taking as a good thing.Maya WardPermaculture principle #8 – Integrate rather than segregateBill MollisonEdges talk given by David in LisbonPermaculture principle #11 – Use edges and value the marginalDavid Holmgren's collected essaysEssay ~ Pandemic broodingEssay ~ Crash on Demand Essay ~ The ApologyBook ~ The Golden Calm by M.M. KayeMelliodora propertyEcoBurbiaIvan IllichGerman Permaculture AcademyCall of the Reed Warbler ~ Charles MasseyRetroSuburbia Chapter #25: Changing Habits for Self-Reliance + ResilienceBook ~ RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future ~ David HolmgreneBook ~ Trees on the Treeless Plains ~ David HolmgrenPermaculture events + workshops

Today's yakkity yak is with one of the most radical women in permaculture -- and you know how wild those permies can be. It's Su Dennett! Life partner of David Holmgren and unspoken ruler of the roost at Melliodora. Su is a seventy seven year old inspiration, a permaculture matriarch and precious repository of ye old skillz. I sat down with her in the teahouse, a few moons ago now, and record this conversation. (This was actually the first interview I ever recorded for Reskillience, so don't be alarmed by the references to winter, the bushfire season ahead and fabricated listener questions.) What is totally timeless is Su's take on food, the gut, kids and parenting, eating animals, talking to animals, household roles, wealth, community, and small town gossip. Get into it.Online course ~ Do with SuCute zine ~ Do with SuCome to the Do with Su online launch with Costa!Holmgren Design onlineThe Holmgren bookshopThe RetroSuburbia community on FacebookRetroSuburbia ~ The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future

Remember this beautiful human? She spent some time in your ears way back in series  one & two before heading off for a life of adventure & learning in the intellectual home of permaculture.  Catie Payne is a courageous one-of-a-kind character full of love and laughter who challenges 'normal' and beats to her own drum.Join us for this joyful, 'been-too-long-catchup between Jade & Catie & delve into the last two years of Catie's artistic, rewilding, permaculture filled days. Show notesCatie now lives at Melliodora permaculture working in exchange for food and accommodation - what is this really like?Completed a re-wilding leadership course with Claire Dunne taught her so much about herself  and our culture. Why storytelling has been an important learning for her and what she now plans to do with this.Hiking on a sacred songline in Nitmiluk National Park near Katherine NT, led by the Jaywoyn traditional owners.Connecting to nature through sit-spots and wandering in the bush.To guide our kids she suggests “rights of passage” rewildling programs that give a reference point to a more grounded, wild and connected life.Current reads for Jade and CatieReactivating her love of medicinal weeds through a monthly community herb circle Building a vision for women to reclaim the role of natural healers in their communities.As the Futuresteading podcast takes an extended break. Catie and Jade relish the many characters and conversations they have shared through the pod. Learning that just asking a question unfolds a whole conversation and opportunity to see things from a different perspective.Thank you to everyone who has popped Futuresteading in your ears, all of the comments, the tears, the shared knowledge and camaraderie. References“Plants - Past Present and Future” by Zena Cumpston, Michael Fletcher, Lesley Head: https://store.holmgren.com.au/product/plants-past-present-and-future/“Wilder, a journey back to life” by Meg Berryman: https://www.megberryman.com/“Rewildling the Urban Soul” by Claire Dunne: https://www.naturesapprentice.com.au/Ntimiluk Adventures: https://www.nitmiluktours.com.au/Podcast partners ROCK!Nutrisoil Wwoof Australia Buy the Book - Futuresteading - Live Like tomorrow mattersSupport the showCasual Support - Buy Me A CoffeeRegular Support - PatreonSupport the show

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who strives to make the world a better place through her art and her actions. She has ridden a bicycle across the Americas, taught permaculture in Brasil, Chile and Argentina, and lived for four years at Melliodora, the permaculture demonstration site created by permaculture co-originator David Holmgren and his partner Su Dennett in Central Victoria, Australia. As an illustrator, Brenna has worked with the Australian Red Cross, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, Plan International, Milkwood Permaculture, the Bob Brown Foundation, CSIRO and Costa Georgiadis, among others. As an educator, Brenna has taught alongside the biggest names in permaculture, including Rosemary Morrow, David Holmgren, Dan Palmer, and Hannah Moloney. She co-runs Grow Do It Permaculture Education, a project focused on bringing climate solutions to kids (and their grown-ups) through art, music and creativity. Brenna is currently building her own strawbale house out of reclaimed materials in Western Australia on Noongar boodja. Contact details: Website: brennaquinlan.com Instagram: @brenna_quinlan Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/brennaquinlan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permacultureillustrator Grow Do It: https://www.growdoit.org/ ------- GLC aims to share knowledge and education with our cherished listeners through this Podcast. It's about time we connect the pieces: sustainability is a sacrifice but are we ready? Congratulations

I sit down with Catie Payne of the Futuresteading Podcast to discuss: armpits and podcasting adventures; Catie's "tree-change" - moving to Permaculture hub, Melliodora; living intuitively; Catie's love story with luscious partner, George; and volunteering on farms through HelpX. Show links: Catie's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/catieofthesouthernwild/ Catie's webpage - http://www.catie.com.au/ Futuresteading Podcast - https://www.futuresteading.com.au/ Melliodora webpage (where Catie is moving) - https://melliodora.com/ HelpX - volunteering on farms (give it a go!) - https://www.helpx.net/

So we don't leave you twiddling your braincells while we record the next season, we've done you the favour of going waaaaaaaay back into the archives of season one and dusting off four our our faves for you to stick in your ears for your weekly dose of inspiration.   Next season kicks off on Monday 11th October - until then, enjoy these humans of wonder!ARCHIVE 1 of 4  If you're looking for reasons to be hopeful, this conversation with Brenna Quinlan provides a lifetime's worth. You probably know her as “that permaculture illustrator” - and boy, can she communicate complex environmental and social ideas with a few deft flicks of her paintbrush!Although she now lives in WA with her permie partner in crime Charlie McGee,  at the time we chatted with Brenna she was  a tiny-hut-dwelling resident of Melliodora and she shares what life looks like day in day out when living with the co founder of permaculture.Brenna is a breath of fresh air and optimism, with oodles to share about where humanity's headed - and how we can make the transition altogether more joyful.Listen in. Smile big. Draw a (hopeful) picture.SHOW NOTESBrenna's early love of art and “crashing” adult art classes.Her story of riding across the Americans in her early 20s, learning about farming and community.How she was “the right sized piece of the puzzle” when she fell into illustrating Retrosuburbia... and making creativity her career.Why she didn't stress about "using her uni degrees" and instead let creativity and opportunities germinate where they may.How and why to be part of a greater movement, rather than going it alone. The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.Her simple daily rituals and joyful pleasures featuring: goats, uphill bike rides, library books.Why cycles of day and night, the seasons and and end-of-day gratitude practice are essential parts of her existence.Why ‘alternative living' is an opportunity to connect more with others, rather than persisting with unfettered individualism (the death of community?).How her life at Mellidora works: rent for work exchange, living alongside others, zero waste, a permie bubble. Why taking a leap of faith into a different life = nothing to lose. How she channels her environmental grief into positive forward motion.How to find what makes you come alive - and go for it!LINKS YOU'LL LOVEWebsite: Brenna Quinlan @brenna_quinlanBook: Retrosuburbia: The Downshifters Guide to a Resilient Future - David HolmgrenBook: On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal - Naomi KleinSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/futuresteading)Buy the Book! Futuresteading - Live like tomorrow mattersSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/futuresteading)

Donate to The Permaculture Podcast Online: via PayPal Venmo: @permaculturepodcast Browse the Archives. In today's interview, the first in a two-part series, my friend and colleague Dan Palmer of Making Permaculture Stronger, gives me a sense of vicarious joy to share with you, as he's done something that's on my list of dream podcast experiences. Dan sits down face-to-face with David Holmgren at Melliodora and together they have a conversation about the early history of permaculture. From David's lips to our ears we hear the first-hand account of his days at university, meeting Bill Mollison and their initial work together, to the impact of David's second permaculture mentor Haikai Tane.

In today's interview, the first in a two-part series, my friend and colleague Dan Palmer of Making Permaculture Stronger, gives me a sense of vicarious joy to share with you, as he's done something that's on my list of dream podcast experiences. Dan sits down face-to-face with David Holmgren at Melliodora and together they have […] The post David Holmgren’s Design Journey (Part 1) appeared first on The Permaculture Podcast.

PODCAST EPISODE 55: Brenna Quinlan, permaculture illustrator, co-author of the Bee Detectives, Western Australia. I like art that is joyful. Playful. Often childlike. The kind of work where the artist's hand lightly brings people, objects, animals and places to life in a way that seems completely effortless. I like colour, too. The kind of combining of colour that sparks energy, vivacity, and shows a certain sensitivity shared between the artist and the world. Artists, in my experience, have a way of connecting with the world that is unique. They build a relationship with it, speak with it, and through those intimate conversations, they make new representations of how it feels to be alive and in connection with other humans and the planet. It seems big, and it is! We need more people that take the time to envision the times in which we are living with a new sense of positivity—to make pictures of a bright future so we can make that vision happen. For that reason, I am thrilled to introduce the crazily talented Brenna Quinlan to the BEES WITH BEN beekeeping podcast for episode 56. Permaculture illustrator, co-author of the remarkable Bee Detectives, activist and educator— I am sure that you will all be as overjoyed with Brenna's work as I am. Little vegies pop out from plump garden beds. A pair of young and wide-eyed detectives with oversized magnifying glasses seek out and explain the life of bees. Native plants are drawn in their stunning colours and marvellous forms. And diagrams of permaculture cycles and processes are articulated through illustrated flow charts, making science easy to understand. Brenna Quinlan is a fantastic illustrator. I came upon her work on Instagram, where I marvelled at her incredible drawings and visions of the world; they made me feel like a kid again, but also like I had (which I do) a responsibility to make this world and planet a better place. Her book The Bee Detectives— co-authored with Vanessa Ryan-Rendall—made me smile from ear to ear! Brenna is also an educator, and I can see how children and adults alike would be beyond thrilled to be her student. She is part of the Formidable Vegetable teaching team for the School Permaculture Tour program run in association with Resource Smart Schools Victoria, and she teaches and collaborates with Milkwood Permaculture. For the past four years she has lived a low-impact lifestyle at Melliodora on Dja Dja Wurrung country—a permaculture demonstration site created by permaculture co-originator David Holmgren and his partner Su Dennett in Central Victoria, Australia. This community grows its own food, keeps happy animals, and builds sustainable living arrangements. There is no doubt in my mind that Brenna's lifestyle is a perfect vision for the future we see illustrated in her amazing artworks. Tune in to hear Brenna and I talk about bees, native flora and fauna, art and sustainability. https://www.brennaquinlan.com https://www.instagram.com/brenna_quinlan/

Two Natural Ladies interview Charlie Mgee creator of the Australian band Formidable Vegetables: Charlie Mgee, created his band after doing a two-week permaculture course. His aim: using music to save the world! Charlie has a huge mission to heal the world using permaculture and music. Living at Melliodora in Daylesford, Victoria at David Holograms' property, he has been fortunate to live in a community and be sustainable during the crazy times of the pandemic of 2020. Charlie and his partner have not been idle, having created a schools program “Grow Do It” for upper primary aged kids. Charlie also talked about community living, inspiring the next generation and using our neighbourhoods to create gardens and support for each other. AND ask yourself and other ‘What has you come alive? What are your passions?' follow that and you will find your way. AND be part of the solution. *********** For more information about the Two Natural Ladies visit https://www.twonaturalladies.com.au/ Or follow the Two Natural Ladies on Facebook or Instagram @twonaturalladies https://www.facebook.com/twonaturalladies https://www.instagram.com/twonaturalladies/ Or to find out more about what we do join our group at http://bit.ly/2nlgroup Please subscribe to the Video podcast on the Two Natural Ladies YouTube Channel at http://bit.ly/tnlyoutube Video production sponsored by Nurture Queen Videos https://www.nurturequeenvideos.com

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who strives to make the world a better place through her art and her actions. She lives at Australia's most well-known permaculture demonstration site, Melliodora, where she grows food, milks goats, builds soil and engages with the community - or, she did. Mark and Eav caught up with Brenna on her last day at Melliodora to talk about her art and illustration, her process, and Our Street, the new book for kids about permaculture that brings Retrosuburbia to a new generation. Thanks to Formidable Vegetable for their permission to use some excerpts of their tracks.  For more episodes of Serially Curious find them here, or for Art Breaker find and follow from here.  See /privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who strives to make the world a better place through her art and her actions. She lives at Australia's most well-known permaculture demonstration site, Melliodora, where she grows food, milks goats, builds soil and engages with the community - or, she did. Mark and Eav caught up with Brenna on her last day at Melliodora to talk about her art and illustration, her process, and Our Street, the new book for kids about permaculture that brings Retrosuburbia to a new generation. Thanks to Formidable Vegetable for their permission to use some excerpts of their tracks.  For more episodes of Serially Curious find them here, or for Art Breaker find and follow from here.  Support the show: https://www.climactic.fm/p/support-the-collective/

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who strives to make the world a better place through her art and her actions. She lives at Australia's most well-known permaculture demonstration site, Melliodora, where she grows food, milks goats, builds soil and engages with the community - or, she did. Mark and Eav caught up with Brenna on her last day at Melliodora to talk about her art and illustration, her process, and Our Street, the new book for kids about permaculture that brings Retrosuburbia to a new generation. Thanks to Formidable Vegetable for their permission to use some excerpts of their tracks.  For more episodes of Serially Curious find them here, or for Art Breaker find and follow from here.  Support the show: https://www.climactic.fm/p/support-the-collective/

Brenna Quinlan is an illustrator and educator who strives to make the world a better place through her art and her actions. She lives at Australia's most well-known permaculture demonstration site, Melliodora, where she grows food, milks goats, builds soil and engages with the community - or, she did. Mark and Eav caught up with Brenna on her last day at Melliodora to talk about her art and illustration, her process, and Our Street, the new book for kids about permaculture that brings Retrosuburbia to a new generation.Thanks to Formidable Vegetable for their permission to use some excerpts of their tracks. For more episodes of Serially Curious find them here, or for Art Breaker find and follow from here.  See /privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are you keen on the idea of permaculture but find the idea of starting an acreage in the country a bit much? Do your cortisone levels go through the roof whenever you see productive farmland being torn down for more cookie cutter suburbia? Are you baulking at the thought of perfectly good houses on your street being pulled down for battleship grey pre-fab concrete apartments? Would you prefer that you could do more things for yourself and with others at home rather than having everything outsourced for you at a price from the not-so-free market? According to David Holmgren, co-founder of permaculture, ‘Retrosuburbia’ can make all of this and more, a possibility. But what IS Retrosuburbia (https://retrosuburbia.com/)? Well, I suppose I could paraphrase it badly for you, or we could hear it straight from the co-founder of permaculture himself! Given that David Holmgren (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Holmgren) is a household name, especially in the environment movement, I am very honoured that he agreed to be interviewed for this podcast! David Holmgren co-founded the Permaculture (https://permacultureaustralia.org.au/) movement in the 1970's together with Bill Mollison. David has written many books on the subject and continues to write and speak on permaculture, and alternatives to the growth based society that we currently find ourselves living in. This includes solutions to the high-rise versus suburban sprawl dichotomy that is so dominant in current urban planning mentality. This approach is a central premise of the Retrosuburbia movement, a movement which has culminated in a large and colourful bestselling book (https://retrosuburbia.com/). This book appears ubiquitously in the book collection of many environmental enthusiasts and rightfully so as it makes for essential reading! In addition to exploring Retrosuburbia, David discusses the current predicaments and shortcomings that are inherent in the current system, such as inefficiency, waste, and erosion of community, the pressure and displacement of renters – not to mention the environmental toll. David explores his vision of a post-growth world in which the Retrosuburbia and Permaculture movements play a fundamental role. Following David Holmgren’s interview I invite Mark Allen, the founder of Town Planning Rebellion (https://holisticactivism.net/town-planning-rebellion-tpr/) and Holistic Activism (https://holisticactivism.net/)to say a few words. Mark is a sustainable town planner and activist who is deeply committed to systemic change and how our towns and cities should adapt and evolve in a post-growth, post climate change world. Mark also encourages people to take a Holistic Activism approach to emotive topics such as population. His approach is to encourage nuanced discussion by looking for the common ground on those issues that underlie divisive topics such as, in the case of population, the need for systemic change, international mutual aid and the empowerment of women. If you are keen on exploring some of the ideas in this episode in greater depth, we recommend heading to Melliodora publishing (https://melliodora.com/publishing/). It is a small specialist publisher dedicated to producing a limited range of books and other media by David Holmgren, co-originator of permaculture, and other authors. Their titles 'aim to support individuals in their personal permaculture journeys'. The choice of song today is 'Grow A Garden' by 'Formidable Vegetable' (http://www.formidablevegetable.com/). Formely known as 'Formidable Vegetable Sound System' their permaculture and system changed themed songs have been an inspiration and the soundtrack to many of our lives! If you ever get a chance to see them live, they are utterly mindblowing, in the meantime, you can listen and buy their music on Bandcamp. (https://music.formidablevegetable.com.au/) Special Guests: David Holmgren and Mark Allen.

Charlie Mgee -- permaculture troubadour and Formidable Vegetable frontman -- composes swingin' tunes on a ukulele that address climate change, food security and regenerative sustainable living.From 'energy-descent electroswing' to 'post-apocalypso', his unforgettable music provides permaculture earworms that entertain and educate. Maybe you're humming one right now?In this energetic convo, we quiz Charlie about the role of art and creativity in changemaking; how music has a knack for bridging gaps and delivering powerful messages through melody. Charlie talks about his childhood in the bush, his wandering spirit, what it's like living in a tiny house at Melliodora with Brenna Quinlan, and his vision for a more beautiful world. *** Now you can support the show by shouting us a cuppa! Click here to check it out. ***SHOW NOTESHight energy artistic life in a tiny house with Brenna QuinlanStories from permie childhood Why chickens are a gateway drug into alternative livingFinding ways of synthesising complex concepts and making them accessible All pervasive gratitude A pledge to stop flying & touring Australia in biodiesel converted vanCoping with covid by understanding joy and grief are two sides of the same coinAcknowledging the hard stuff to build the good stuffIndividual vision post covid lockdown Daily life at MelliodoraPushing against the treadmill to move towards intentional simplicityBeing OK to be a bit different Managing multiple communities in your lifeThe accidental creation of an annual festivalYearning for a deeper connection to placeAvoiding tribalism Staying open minded to ensure a rounded world viewSeeing all of life as equal to oneselfListening more and talking lessThe risk of being interpreted as a dogmatic idealist who will show us all the wayThink global, act localHow music and the arts is the ultimate universal language Why he doesn’t copyright his musicThe power of regenerative creativity - how we imagine the worldGo hug a tree! LINKS YOU'LL LOVEFormidable Vegetable on InstagramFormidable Vegetable onlineMelliodoraDavid Holmgren's RetrosuburbiaBrenna Quinlan on InstagramCharles Eisenstein - The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is PossibleThe Patterning Instinct - Jeremy LentSupport this podcast by shouting us a cuppaSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/futuresteading)

I'm thrilled in this episode to share the first part of a two-part interview in which David Holmgren shares his journey with permaculture design process over the decades. Scroll down to access the full transcript of this conversation, with huge thanks to David for sharing the historical photographs which really bring the story to life. Note that in collaboration with David I had also previously created a downloadable PDF showing the timeline of David's design process journey that might provide a helpful supporting reference. Finally, be sure to check out the brand new Reading Landscape with David Holmgren documentary project website which is so closely related to this episode. The Full Interview Transcript (Edited for flow and readability) Dan Palmer (DP):Welcome to the next episode of the Making Permaculture Stronger podcast. I'm super excited today. I've travelled about half an hour up the road and I'm sitting at a permaculture demonstration property and home called Melliodora. Sitting next to me is David Holmgren. David Holmgren (DH): Good to welcome you here. DP: I'm very excited to be here with this microphone between us and to have this opportunity to have you share the story of your journey with permaculture design process over the decades. David and Dan co-teaching in 2018 DH: Yeah, and that's something we've worked on together in courses: our personal journeys with that. Certainly through those courses, working together has elicited and uncovered different aspects of me understanding my own journey. Childhood DH: Thinking about design process through the lens of childhood experiences, I was always a constructor/builder, making cubbies, constructing things and yet never had any family role models for that. My father wasn't particularly practical with tools, and yet I was always in whatever workshop there was in our suburban home as a young child. So making things, imagining things which don't exist, and then bringing them to life was definitely part of my childhood experience. I don't know, particularly, why in my last years of high school I had some vague notion that I might enrol in West Australian University in architecture. But I left to travel around Australia instead because I was hitchhiking mad in 1973. And in that process, I came across a lot of different ideas to do with the counter culture and alternative ways of living. Studying Environmental Design in Tasmania Most significantly, I came across a course in Tasmania in Hobart called Environmental Design and I met some of the enrolled students. I'd realised by that stage that I was not cut out to do any sort of conventional university course. I was too radical and free in my thinking and wasn't wanting to be constrained within any discipline or accounting for things through exam processes. DP: What age were you? DH: I was 18 at that time, and this course in Environmental Design really attracted me. Undergraduate students, who were doing the generalist degree in environmental design, were sometimes working on projects with postgraduate students who were specialising in architecture, landscape architecture or urban planning at the post graduate level. Mt Nelson campus where Environmental Design School was part of the Tas College of Advanced Education 1970-80 There was no fixed curriculum. There was no fixed timetable. Half the staff budget was for visiting lecturers and outside professionals. There was a self assessment process at the end of each semester, which then led to a major study at the end of the three year generalist degree. There was the same self assessment process for the postgraduate level. So you got up to the finishing line, and then had to show your results, and that was to a panel that included outside professionals that you had a say in choosing. DP: Suitably radical. DH: I believe it was the most radical experiment in tertiary education in Australia's history.

In this fourth episode of Sense-making in a Changing World, I am delighted to welcome Dr David Holmgren, co-originator of permaculture to explore how permaculture can help us practically navigate these challenging times and create locally resilient communities.Grab a cuppa and enjoy this wide ranging conversation. It is always a delight to talk with David!David lives at his permaculture property, Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria, with his partner Su Dennett. Here's a video of Melliodora that featured recently on ABC Gardening Australia with Costa Georgiadis.David's most recent book is the incredible manual, Retrosuburbia: A Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future. There's a pay-what-you-feel digital download available too and study materials to work with your local community and an active Retrosuburbia facebook community you can get involved with. Melliodora publishing is just about to release a their first novel, 470 by Linda Woodrow (my next guest). Link coming very soon.TranscriptComing soonSubscribe & ShareThanks for tuning into my podcast today, SENSE-MAKING IN A CHANGING WORLD. It has been a pleasure to have your company. I invite you to subscribe (via your favourite podcast app like iTunes) and receive notification of each new weekly episode. Please also feel free to share.Each Wednesday I will share more wonderful stories, ideas, inspiration and common sense for living and working regeneratively. Positive permaculture thinking, design and action is so needed in this changing world. What is permaculture?Take a look at my free 4 part permaculture series or Our Permaculture Life Youtube and my permaculture blog too. For an introduction to permaculture online course, I recommend The Incredible Edible Garden course. Become a permaculture educator (Permaculture Design Certificate and Permaculture Teacher Certificate) through our Permaculture Educators Program, and involve your young people in permaculture through Permayouth (11-16yos)Please support our permaculture work with refugee children, the Permayouth, by donating to our registered permaculture charity The Ethos Foundation. Every dollar goes directly to support these young people.Warm regards,Morag GambleFounder, Permaculture Education InstitutePhoto of David Holmgren: Jesse GrahamI acknowledge the Traditional owners of the land from which I am broadcasting, the Gubbi Gubbi people, and pay my respects to their elders past present and emerging.Thank you to Kim Kirkman (Harp) and Mick Thatcher (Guitar) for donating this piece from their album Spirit Rider.

If you’re looking for reasons to be hopeful, this conversation with Brenna Quinlan will provide a lifetime’s worth. You probably know her as “that permaculture illustrator” - and boy, can she communicate complex environmental and social ideas with a few deft flicks of her paintbrush!But did you know that Brenna is also a brilliant thinker, permaculture educator and tiny-hut-dwelling resident of Melliodora?Yep. Brenna is a breath of fresh air and optimism, with oodles (of positive stuff!) to share about where humanity’s headed - and how we can make the transition altogether more joyful. Listen in. Smile big. Draw a (hopeful) picture. SHOW NOTESBrenna’s early love of art and “crashing” adult art classes.Her story of riding across the Americans in her early 20s, learning about farming and community.How she was “the right sized piece of the puzzle” when she fell into illustrating Retrosuburbia... and making creativity her career.Why she didn't stress about "using her uni degrees" and instead let creativity and opportunities germinate where they may.How and why to be part of a greater movement, rather than going it alone. The importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.Her simple daily rituals and joyful pleasures featuring: goats, uphill bike rides, library books.Why cycles of day and night, the seasons and and end-of-day gratitude practice are essential parts of her existence.Why ‘alternative living’ is an opportunity to connect more with others, rather than persisting with unfettered individualism (the death of community?).How her life at Mellidora works: rent for work exchange, living alongside others, zero waste, a permie bubble. Why taking a leap of faith into a different life = nothing to lose. How she channels her environmental grief into positive forward motion.How to find what makes you come alive - and go for it!LINKS YOU'LL LOVEWebsite: Brenna Quinlan @brenna_quinlanBook: Retrosuburbia: The Downshifters Guide to a Resilient Future - David HolmgrenBook: On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal - Naomi KleinSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/futuresteading)

In many homes worldwide, David Holmgren is a beloved name. As the co-creator of the global permaculture movement, his work has touched millions of lives, and can be seen etched into the gardens of inner city projects to community co-operatives to large-scale farms.The term permaculture was created back in the mid-1970s by David and university professor Bill Mollison, and is a combination of the terms ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’ to create a symbolic union. Its 12 principles are based around three pillars - care of the earth, care of people and return of surplus - and over the last forty years it has evolved into an organic, adaptive movement to expand alongside modern times.Behind the movement, David is not only promoting a sustainable lifestyle, but a powerful alternative life away from dependent consumerism. As such, the principles of permaculture transcend the humble garden to see homes flourish through non-monetary economies, communities blossom through connection and to celebrate a life handmade through the imperfect art of creation.Kayla had the pleasure of interviewing David at his home of Melliodora in Central Victoria, one of the best documented and well known permaculture demonstration sites worldwide.In this episode you'll learn David's tips for the first place to start when greening your home, and the easy ways that you can introduce permaculture into your life.

David Holmgren is one of the founders of Permaculture, a movement devoted to both a permanent culture, and a permanent agriculture. We caught up with him and had a yarn at Melliodora, his home and one of the best documented and well known permaculture demonstration sites in the world.

Part 1 of a 2 part interview with David Holmgren, the co-originator of Permaculture.  Holmgren is co-author of Permaculture One, the book that introduced Permaculture to the world.  In part one of this interview, Holmgren speaks about the beginnings of Permaculture, his home Melliodora; one of the best documented and well known Permaculture demonstration sites, and his book Future Scenarios: How Communities Can Adapt to Peak Oil and Climate Change.  Interview by Jill Cloutier of Sustainable World, and Wes Roe of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.

“Permaculture” or “permanent agriculture” was originally conceived almost 30 years ago by Australian ecologist Bill Mollison. Observing aboriginal culture and forest ecosystems, he conlcuded that we could deliberately design agriculturally productive ecosystems, echoing diversity, stability, and resillience of natural ecosystems. Permaculture designs provide food, energy, and shelter for people and animal inhabitants while linking the needs and outputs of each element. Permaculture is a holistic approach to land use, which works with nature’s rhythm and patterns, weaving together the elements of microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animal, water and soil management, and human needs into intricately connected and productive communities. Guests Gregoire Lamoureux – Kootenay Permaculture Institute/Spiral Farm – The Kootenay Permaculture Institute is located just outside of Winlaw in the Slocan Valley of British Columbia. Gregoire is a permaculture designer, consultant, and teacher. He has worked with permaculture systems for over 15 years and taught courses in many parts of Canada. He taught the permaculture design course as a Summer Session at the University of Manitoba in 2005. Gregoire is on the Board of Directors of the Slocan River Streamkeepers and has served on the Board of Seeds of Diversity Canada for seven years. He is a founding member of the Kootenay Organic Growers Society. He has written for Natural Life Magazine. He has been a guest lecturer at the BC Organic Agriculture Conference, and the Guelph Organic Agriculture Conference. Peter Bane – Publisher, The Permaculture Activist – North America’s leading (and the world’s oldest) permaculture periodical. Based in Bloomington, Indiana, since 1985 the publication has informed on permaculture design, edible landscaping, bioregionalism, cooperative action, aquaculture, natural building, earthworks, renewable energy and more. Audio Clips David Holmgren – “Permaculture Strategies in a World of Declining Fossil Fuels” – recorded on September 10, 2005 by the Necessary Voices Society. David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of “Permaculture One” in 1978. Since then he has written several more books, developed three properties using permaculture principles, conducted workshops and courses in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, USA, Israel, Italy, France, Britain, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. He has consulted and supervised on urban and rural projects in Australia and New Zealand. Within the growing and international permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependant consumerism. At home (Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria), David is the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. The Fryers Forest Eco-village, also in central Victoria, has been a major project in recent years, where he performed many roles including planner and project manager. As well as constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, David is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, the focus of his seminal book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.