These are my main services. For your other needs in Permaculture or Environmental education, please contact me.
Workshops and longer format courses from my Permaculture garden
These short workshops and courses are designed for everyone, no matter what the size of your own space, from a balcony to acreage, for renters, community gardeners and homeowners alike. The short workshops are of 3 hours duration and the courses are scheduled over 6 sessions of 3 hours each, delivered over consecutive weeks. Weekly attendance will allow you to put your learning into practice in your own garden and return the following week with any questions and to share successes.
These short workshops and courses are held in Holgate, on the Central Coast, NSW, near Gosford. The address will be provided to ticketed attendees before the course commencement. The sessions will proceed in wet weather, there is a lovely undercover training area overlooking the pristine rainforest, with coffee and tea on hand at all times. We get to undertake practical experiences in an established Permaculture Garden and see all the different strategies used in the Permaculture garden design.
This workshop will teach you the basics so you can successfully create your very own productive edible garden at home. As prices in the supermarket skyrocket, there’s no better time to learn how to grow your own. It is designed for beginners and will include;
- Planning your vegie patch – what to grow where and when?
- Soil, nutrient cycling and natural fertilisers
- Planting and harvesting for abundance
- Companion planting, diversity and polyculture
- Natural pest and disease management – organic methods of gardening
- Waterwise gardening – maximizing productivity in all weather conditions
This short workshop gives you an overview of how to create a permaculture life. A life of connection, abundance and purpose, that helps you tread more lightly on this planet. How to create good habits that nurture you and your family as well as nature. You will learn about the origins and ethical basis of permaculture and gain a basic understanding of the principles of permaculture that inform everything we do. Yes, they apply to edible gardening, but permaculture is so much more than that. Come and find out more. This workshop is designed for beginners and will include;
- What is permaculture?
- The three ethics of permaculture and how to apply them in your life
- The Permaculture Principles – what do they mean?
- Strategies for designing your permaculture life
- Community connection – how to find your people
- The three Ps; Positive Permaculture Practices – what can you commit to changing for a future lived with more consciousness?
Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive. By learning basic propagation and seed saving skills you can create an abundant, productive garden very quickly. This workshop will teach you how to successfully propagate plants (making new plants from old) from vegetative and root cuttings, layering, division and seed. Basic seed saving information and practical experience is included. You will get hands on experience making a propagation mix, practicing the different types of propagation and making newspaper pots. You will leave the workshop with new skills, a sense of achievement and take home some newly propagated plants for your own edible garden.
This workshop is designed for beginners and for those who want to improve their skills. It will include;
- How to create new plants using different types of propagation
- Tools for propagation
- Basic seed saving skills
- Make propagation containers from upcycled materials, including newspaper pots
- Learn the fundamentals of potting mixes and make our own potting mix
- How to use your worm castings in propagation
- Hands on experience propagating
In this workshop you will learn how to support the health and abundance of your edible garden with a natural approach to building great soil, fertilising and pest and disease control. Learn about testing your soil type and pH, improving your soil, Integrated Pest Management, good bugs and bad bugs, companion planting and how to make natural fertilisers and pest control from your garden and pantry. This workshop is designed for beginners and for those who want to improve their processes. It will include;
- How to test your soil texture and pH
- Soil improvement strategies
- Identification of pests and diseases
- Beneficial insects and other creatures in your garden ecosystem
- Integrated Pest Management – what is it?
- Companion planting – is it useful?
- Natural fertilisers – what to use and how often?
- Natural pest control recipes
This workshop will teach you how to successfully establish and maintain composting and worm farming systems to increase productivity in your edible garden and avoid green waste going to landfill. The foundation of successful gardening is increasing soil fertility, which can be achieved through inputs such as finished compost and worm castings. This workshop is designed for beginners and for those who want to improve their processes. It will include;
- How to set up and maintain different types of composting systems
- Which system suits my situation?
- What can I put in my compost bin?
- Getting the balance right in my compost
- Do I need to turn my compost?
- How to use finished compost?
- How to set up and maintain different types of worm farms and towers
- What can I put in my worm farm?
- How to harvest castings?
- How to use outputs from the worm farm; liquid and worm castings
In this workshop you will learn how to successfully transition to cool season planting and maintenance in your edible garden at home and learn what you should be doing in your garden during Winter for maximum productivity. It is designed for those people who have already completed our first workshop “Your Edible Garden” and those who already have some basic edible gardening knowledge and skills. You’ll be learning how to create abundance as the seasons change and the weather gets chillier and will include;
- Planning for cool season planting in your vegie patch – what to grow at this time of year?
- When to start the transition to cool season annuals?
- Succession planting and spacing
- Companion planting specifically for cool season vegetables
Winter jobs in the garden, such as pruning, cool season green manure, frost and wind protection, mulch and cold frames
Grow your own nutrient dense food successfully! In this course you will learn how to create your own edible garden and live more sustainably, using permaculture practices. The course will be held on my own productive property and will provide an opportunity for practical experience and to learn about the different permaculture strategies to create an abundant garden. It is held over 6 weeks, 3 hours attendance each week.
Workshops or talks in your home, community space or workplace
I have 30 years experience as a trainer and have specialised in sustainability and Permaculture education for over 15 years, both in community and in tertiary education, working with all age groups from early childhood to retirees. I also have extensive experience in the disability sector. I have worked for various Councils in NSW, including Central Coast Council and Hornsby Council facilitating Sustainability/Waste Wise Workshops. I can offer Sustainability, Organic Gardening and Permaculture Workshops and Talks one on one, for small groups or larger audiences, providing a slideshow or just speaking without utilising that technology. I also offer practical workshops, where participants get “hands on”. I am passionate about inspiring others to make informed choices for a more sustainable future. I aim to provide all my students with the knowledge and practical skills to tread more lightly on this planet and feel inspired and empowered to live their life to the fullest, with consciousness and accountability.
I can talk for 5 minutes or multiple hours on many aspects of sustainability, in a casual one on one capacity, in a demonstration setting, to a large audience or in a workshop capacity where participants can get hands on and go home with something they have produced. Below is a list of the workshops I currently offer, but please also be aware I can custom design a workshop for your needs, if it is within my skillset, so please do ask if you had another topic in mind or you would like more details. Please contact me for further details and a quote.
- Composting
- Worm Farming
- All About Soil
- No Dig Gardens
- Organic Gardening
- Your Recycled Kitchen Garden
- Propagation for Your Edible garden
- Backyard Permaculture
- Natural Fertilisers and Pest Control (or Pests, Predators and Companion Plants in Your Garden)
- Keeping Chickens in Your Backyard
- Wicking Garden Beds
- Small Space Gardening
- Propagating and Using Herbs
- Sustainable Eating
- Beeswax Wrap Making
- Sustainable Eating and Beeswax Wrap Making
- Sustainable Eating for Christmas
- Beeswax Wraps and Gourmet Food Gifts – Making Sustainable Presents
- Sustainable Christmas
- Worm Farming for Kids
- Composting for Kids
- Making newspaper pots/propagation mix and planting a seedling (and/or seed saving and planting a seed)
- Decorating terracotta pots – using paint, string or glass jewels and plant it out with a herb or vegetable seedling to take home.
- Painting a worm tower – take home a worm tower
- Scarecrow making – group activity (to be erected in the Garden)
- Leaf rubbings and candle holder decorated with Autumn leaves
- Paint a polystyrene box and create a No dig garden
- Paint a polystyrene box and make a wicking bed garden
- Egg heads planted with sprouts
- Painting pebbles for garden labels (take home your own painted pebbles)
- Terrariums
- Make a seed bomb and sprout head
- Make an insect hotel
- Tic Tac Toe
- Nature weaving
- Propagation for kids
Mentoring, in person and online, and edible garden advice
I’m excited to announce I am now offering one on one and small group mentoring in Practical Permaculture; Let me help you successfully grow awesome tasting vegies, manage your garden organically without the need for any toxic chemicals, know what to plant when, how to create wonderful nutritious soil, consider which type of garden best suits your situation, reduce your food miles, consume consciously, build community with other like-minded people and overall improve your health and the health of the planet by living a more connected lifestyle.
How to transform your life using the ethics, principles, knowledge and skills that Permaculture has to offer. For most people that translates into how to create and maintain an organic vegetable garden, though for others you will realise that Permaculture is so much more than that, it is a lifestyle based around the Ethics of Earth care, People Care and Fair Share. A conscious way of living with less adverse impact (or a positive impact) on Earth’s resources.
I can help you with:
- Vegetable Garden Planning
- Seasonal Planting
- Companion Planting
- Natural Pest Control Strategies
- Soil Building
- Different styles of gardening such as – No Dig, Hugelkultur, Wicking Beds
- Propagation techniques and seed saving
- Waste reduction strategies such as – composting, worm farming, resource wise gardening
- Reduce your food miles – consuming consciously
- Connecting with your community
I can offer Mentoring both online and in person, customised learning to suit your lifestyle, availability and learning style. I have over 15 years of experience in teaching students of all ages and from all walks of life. The most common feedback I receive from my students is that they feel inspired and motivated to make change. I am passionate about living a permaculture lifestyle and I want to help you feel empowered to make positive change in your life.
Disability support and Horticulture as therapy
I have extensive experience supporting people with disabilities and assisting in the development and implementation of organic/permaculture gardening programs and educational opportunities according to a person’s abilities.
The therapeutic benefits of being in a garden and connected with nature are widely recognized and include improved mental and physical health. I have seen firsthand how these programs can build practical skills, confidence, connection and well-being.
Edible Garden Tours
A wonderful and fun way to learn about Permaculture and edible gardening is to walk around an established and abundant organic garden. You can see, smell and taste many edible plants growing and thriving in the right microclimates. Observe which companion plants help support the vegetables, fruit trees and herbs and see different Permaculture gardening strategies such as swales, hügelkultur, a food forest, no dig gardens, multiple nutrient cycling systems such as composting and worm farming, frog ponds, an ephemeral pond, ollas, chooks, a native bee hive, insect hotel, edible water plants and native food plants lining the boundary fence. You might even go home with a few cuttings or some seed to start your own garden.
“It’s up to all of us and we do have the tools and we can all do it together in cooperation, not competition. That’s the only way we’re going to move forward. There is no us and them, we are all just a part of life on our beautiful Planet Earth.”
