The Eco-Social Matrix (ESM) developed by permaculture designer, Robyn Francis, provides a useful tool for bioregional planning, human settlement and ecovillage design, transition initiatives, and for thinking more deeply about the consequences of where we live in terms of accessing our needs and interacting with community
There is a growing need to bring food security into the cities and to urban areas throughout the country. One trend that reflects the permaculture principle of ‘using edges and valuing the marginal’ is the utilisation of small spaces in our urban areas to grow food.
Transition Towns – Tommy Welham – Open Day 2012 Transition Towns are part of a world wide shift in lifestyles and local structures in response to climate change and energy descent.
My grandmother was a great source of practical wisdom — born in the 1880’s she grew up in a world kept clean and hygienic with simple natural ingredients and common household items. The world changed post WWII as we entered the era of booming corporations, consumption and petro-chemical products. Suddenly the washing had to be …
Davidson Plum Davidsonia pruriens var. jerseyana A bombshell of colour and intense clean, tart flavour, Davidson Plum has become one of my favourite bushfood fruits in the kitchen. This tall (3-4m) slender rainforest plant will grow and bear in the tiniest garden space. It prefers a semi-shady location and does well under the canopy of …
Robyn Francis reports, March 2012 We learned of the importance of ozone in the stratosphere when it depleted to allow harmful levels of ultra-violet rays to reach the earth’s surface, so ozone up there is a good thing, but not so good closer to earth in the troposphere. At ground level ozone is killing trees …
Glyphosate toxicity – impacts on the environment and non-target species
Photo journal of a pig tractor garden Pigs are amazing biological ploughs – their snout is exceptionally strong and designed for excavating the earth in search of tasty morsels buried underground, especially tubers and roots, and also fungi and insects. In Permaculture there is frequent reference to use of pigs as tractoring animals and I’ve …
Urban food foraging – coming to a city near you! ‘And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger’ God
Annual Open Day 2011 organised by APT students at Permaculture College Australia
