PA member and former PA Board member Dr Cally Brennan is a permaculture designer and educator based in Canberra, and founded Canberra Permaculture Design. Prior to working in permaculture, Cally held roles in academia and in the public sector, working in energy and climate policy.She is also the designer of one of the PA limited edition T shirts with the slogan ‘Permaculture. Do you dig it.’
Cally spoke to PA volunteer Julia about why permaculture came at the right time in her life, and how her past experiences have shaped her understanding of it.
How did permaculture come along, and how was it shaped by your background working in academia and climate policy?
I have always had an interest in sustainability and I have always loved gardening. My grandfather was involved in the Dig for Victory campaign in the UK, we had some lovely holidays visiting his garden. This first sparked my interest in gardening. I have worked in academia, mostly from realising that it was fun to educate people, and like many people in the world, you disconnect your degree from what you want to do in life. So, I tried a range of things until I settled on permaculture. I studied ethnomusicology, a mixture of music and anthropology that explores how people use music to express their cultural identity. I was also lucky enough to do some fieldwork in Malaysia and Singapore. Predictably, there were not many jobs in this area! So, it was on speck that I decided to join the public service.
I came to Canberra in 2006 as a graduate and then found myself in an analytical role in economic research. It didn’t quite fit with my moral side however, as I was coming to conclusions that I fundamentally disagreed with. I ended up working in energy efficiency and climate policy. Working directly on the ground in dealing with climate change policy was a lot! I found that there was a lot of politics involved in climate policy, on both sides. The urgency of the issue was such that I didn’t want to spend the next few years writing and working on things that were basically there to pretend things were on track when they were not. I felt I could make a bigger impact doing other things with my life. So that’s where permaculture came in. I had learned about permaculture when we had first moved to Australia in about 1994. I first remember visiting a garden in Freemantle, WA which had a lot of tyres in its designs. So my conception of permaculture around then was lots of straw mulch and old tyres! It wasn’t until I joined Permablitz ACT in 2009, that I learnt what permaculture was really about. I met a horticulturalist in the group who knew a lot about plants. He had the ability to make you feel like you could try anything, and that it was good to try new things and to not feel constrained by tradition. My conception of permaculture changed to something that was exciting and different and new. I did a PDC with John champagne and Phil Gould back in 2011 and that was the usual brain-popping experience when I realised it was just about common sense. What struck me was how good it would feel to be doing something on an individual level that was regenerative and helpful. I could do both important civic participation through protesting and doing a small thing in regenerative permaculture. Permaculture was an area where I could learn about how nature worked.
I later set up Canberra Permaculture design, because I could design, draw well, and use my interest in sustainability. I built a client base and some confidence. I’m now rushed off my feet with people who want to find out more about permaculture, which is great! For a while, it was a good balance to be working on the big picture stuff (but no direct connection with people) to actually legislate on building standards or energy plans, and then the small picture stuff of doing something with my own life and my own garden.
Wow! So you’ve done so many different things, how do they overlap? Where do you see parallels between permaculture and energy policy?
Having worked in energy policy, it’s amazing to know how much permaculture is about energy, and energy efficiency is fundamental to permaculture design. Permaculture is about capturing energy in your house and your garden. It’s nice to see this linked: the more I learned about energy from work, the more I deeply understood the workings of permaculture.
That’s really fascinating, and it’s great to see how all the varied experiences in your life have combined together to help you understand all of these different processes, and your background seems to have influenced significantly your perception and understanding of permaculture! I was particularly struck when you were speaking about your days in Permablitz ACT, where the horticulturalist in the group had this “can do” attitude about trying new things and seeing what worked. Has that philosophy influenced the way you approach permaculture design in your garden, home and life, and new clients who may not be familiar with permaculture?
The experimental side of my permaculture practice is reserved for what we do in our garden! I make the mistakes on behalf of other people so I can share what I have learned. The most effective design incorporates water into its heart. Canberra is a semi-arid climate normally (though this year it’s quite moist), and last year was terribly dry. I’m now very aware of passive water harvesting. I experiment with these designs in our garden, and then I suggest ideas on water harvesting. I generally build my designs about passive water harvesting: everything is about water here. There’s a lot of opportunities though to capture water: it’s very often wasted in residential properties.
What are some of your most effective passive water harvesting techniques you’ve found on your own properties?
French drains and swales are two of the most effective designs and are at the right scale for a residential property. In ours, we’ve used drainage channels through our driveway, so we’ve diverted water from our driveway and directed into a small swale around a raised bed. It has worked really well I love it!!
Anything you’re listening to that’s inspiring you at the moment?
What are your New Year’s permaculture resolutions? Anything on the horizon?
Balance is what I need to work on. I need to work out how to balance my business and the important service that I provide with everything else in my life. We’re still establishing this garden, and haven’t run workshops this year. We had a massive hailstorm that hit us in late January of this year that smashed everything up, and along with the poor air quality and smoke in January and COVID later on, we couldn’t run any in person workshops outside. We’re at the moment now doing a lot of infrastructure work: putting in a chicken coop and a greenhouse. I’m trying to find a balance between doing designs for other people and getting onto the things that I have to do now: putting in the greenhouse, getting the beans in and all of those big and small tasks that come up all the time. I need to make sure I have more time for us: my family and myself as well. It’s easy to run yourself ragged because people want help and you can help them!!
More information:
Dr Cally Brennan is a professional member of Permaculture Australia, the national member-based organisation in Australia. Sign up as a member here today to join hundreds of members across Australia like Cally advocating for permaculture solutions.
This article aligns with the permaculture ethics (Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share) and permaculture principles including Produce No Waste, Catch & Store Energy, Integrate rather than segregate and Use Edges and Value the Marginal. Find out more about the permaculture principles and ethics here.
Cally is wearing one of the Permaculture Australia T shirts, featuring her design ‘Permaculture: Do you Dig it’. These limited edition T shirts can be purchased here.
PA member, educator and permaculture design consultant Janene Price chatted to PA volunteer Julia about the lessons she’s learnt from lockdown, how we can effectively inspire people to take up the cause of permaculture and its popularity under the new normal (plus some design tips for public gardens who get pesky visitors!).
PA member Janene Price is a permaculture educator and consultant, whose business,Love to Grow, in Byron Bay helps people implement effective permaculture garden design. As well as private gardens, she works with public gardens, most notably at Harvest Newrybar, where she also runs permaculture and gardening workshops for the public.
Julia’s interview with Janene Price.
You can follow Janene though her social media on Instagram and Facebook. You can also check out her website Love to Grow.
“As more emphasis and urgency is placed on the need for sustainable living due to the Earth’s health, through societal norms, economic drivers and (hopefully) legislation, people will turn to learning from and employing those with permaculture skills.”
Jo Bussell’s permaculture journey started with two weekend permaculture introduction courses in 2010 and 2011. In 2013 she completed a PDC in Fremantle with Sparkles, Harry Wykham and a range of presenters, followed by an Advanced PDC with Ross Mars and Graeme Bell in 2016. Only a year later, Jo opened Urban Revolution in Perth, WA. Martina from the PA Education team chats with Jo about the permaculture skills required for her retail employees & opening a permaculture store in Perth, WA.
Jo, you have the only permaculture ‘brick-and-mortar store’ in Perth. Tell us a little bit about the concept and how you got the idea to open this store.
Permaculture sparked (like for so many people) a passion in me to make my home food gardens efficient and mineral dense, followed by helping friends and family implement permaculture design elements into their gardens. This moved onto paid permaculture design work. There was a need to recommend tools and soil inputs to have a successful food garden in Perth. This morphed into working with Men’s Sheds to make plastic free gardening tools such as our first product, a seedling flat. I then created an online store and went to markets offering the products, permaculture advice and design work. The bricks and mortar store came to fruition due to the number of products we were supplying and the need to take the business out of our home.
What are the goods and services available in your store?
The store offers garden, cleaning, homeware and personal care products that are made from materials that are compostable, plastic free or are better for the Earth. The gardening products are aimed at growing food along with a fabulous range of local, heirloom and open-pollinated veggie, herb and flower seeds. We assist and educate people individually on how to grow food, create soil and compost everyday organic waste. We randomly present on various permaculture related subjects at community events and in schools. We also connect interested people with permaculture courses, teachers and designers.
I know your employees have done Permaculture Design Courses and at least one has done her Certificate III in Permaculture. Is permaculture knowledge something that is needed for the work at Urban Revolution?
Yes. Permaculture knowledge is key to assisting our customers with product use and our free advice on how to create soil, compost, grow food, and modify or add elements into an urban garden using permaculture design techniques. Skills I am looking for in particular are a holistic composting knowledge, soil creation specifically for growing vegetables, experience in growing various vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers; companion planting, backyard chickens and integrated pest management knowledge.
Are you encouraging further permaculture studies for the people you work with and your customers?
Yes, absolutely. Out of our six staff, three have Permaculture Design Certificates (PDCs) and two have completed further permaculture education – and we all would like to do more. The remaining three are growing food at home and are eco aware with other skill sets. They are learning about permaculture by just working in the store. When possible, I hope they will all complete a PDC. In addition, our customers are consistently recommended to do a PDC at every appropriate opportunity!
There aren’t many permaculture jobs advertised at the moment. Do you think this will change?
Yes, I think it will change and gain momentum. For example, why hire a mowing company to maintain your garden? Y ou can hire a permaculture-based gardening company to improve and manage your garden’s health, grow food, educate and provide garden design. As more emphasis and urgency is placed on the need for sustainable living due to the Earth’s health, through societal norms, economic drivers and (hopefully) legislation, people will turn to learning from and employing those with permaculture skills. Ultimately our business goal is to employ permaculturists to provide presentations and workshops to schools, businesses and especially in our communities. At the moment this is a longer-term goal due to cash flow and providing an appropriate venue.
Additional information
Martina Hoeppner holds a Diploma in Permaculture and a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment, teaches PDCs and Certificate III in Permaculture in Perth and is the current Co-Convenor of Permaculture West. She contributes to Permaculture Australia’s Education Team and tries keep alive her own garden and three sons in her spare time. More information on the different types of permaculture education completed by both Martina and Jo can be found here.
Martina and Jo are Professional and Organisation members of Permaculture Australia, the national member based organisation in Australia. Sign up as a member here today to join hundreds of members across Australia advocating for permaculture solutions.
Urban Revolution Australiais anEco & Garden Store and Online Shop with household, personal and gardening products to make it easy to have a thriving garden, wasteless kitchen and greener lifestyle. There have a current vacancy to join their team which would suit someone with a permaculture background (a Permaculture Design Certificate would be highly regarded).
“We get so much from each of the projects we’re involved in and meet some amazing people – I guess the best part of my job is seeing the transformation of the land we work with to produce healthy and happy plants that in turn contribute to improving and contributing to the environment around them.” Bob, WaterUps
PA’s Kym chats with Bob from WaterUps about waterwise growing & community permaculture projects.
1. Tell us about the team behind WaterUps and your involvement in permaculture?
Each member of the WaterUps team brings their own skills and passion for nature and sustainability. Several have completed permaculture-based courses and locally we’re members and regular contributors to projects run by Permaculture Sydney North and Permaculture Northern Beaches. One of our staff’s family are practicing regenerative agriculture at their farm in the Southern Highlands, another is doing a part time Horticulture course at TAFE whilst another is working towards creating a Permaculture based property in Byron.
2. How does your product/company relate to some of the permaculture principles and ethics?
Our product and the results they help achieve “tick” pretty much all of the ethics and principles. We didn’t “invent” wicking, rather, we use the natural capillary action of soil and water (Observe and interact) to help grow plants sustainably. Growing food is a great way to help catch and store the energy of our sun. Obtaining a yield is a key component of how and why our product is used. As I look at each of the principles and ethics there is alignment to what our product does and how we run our business – that’s not surprising as one of the product inventors was on the first Permaculture Northern Beaches committee.
3. Sounds like WaterUps has supported some great community projects over the years which is fantastic. Tell me about some of your favourite projects & why your team gets involved with these?
Gosh! There have been some great projects and new ones come every day. I guess I have a soft spot for the West Pymble Community Garden as this was our very first community food growing project and it was great to help turn a dusty block of land in to a hub where people meet to grow food. More recently, working with Sophie Thomson to support a Community Food Growing garden on Kangaroo Island after the horrendous bush fires “killed” the soil was a special project.
We’re very excited to be working with a number of Urban Agriculture projects to help grow food sustainably for local community (and also teach them how to do it!).At this working bee at the Naremburn Community Garden, WaterUps staff worked with local volunteers to remove an old defunct and rotting timber bed and helped replace it with a new raised bed giving around 4m2 of growing space for locals to grow food (before and after pictured left)
At the Hawkesbury Valley Permaculture Community Garden near Richmond the team worked with local volunteers earlier in the year to help turn a barren waste land in to a thriving community food growing hub with over 100m2 of wicking bed gardens providing the irrigation solution (pictured left).
We get so much from each of the projects we’re involved in and meet some amazing people – I guess the best part of my job is seeing the transformation of the land we work with to produce healthy and happy plants that in turn contribute to improving and contributing to the environment around them.
4. What are some of the biggest challenges you see being faced at present in the community/globe – and how can permaculture & sustainable living support these?
There are people far more skilled and knowledgeable than me that can answer this but from my perspective drought and climate management are then key challenges to be addressed and managed. Whilst focus is rightly on government and large business, I’m also a big believer in the power of a little bit done by a lot of people can also amalgamate to deliver significant change. Waterwise practise, lowering our carbon footprint by growing some of our own food, using less throw away packaging in our homes… the list goes on as to how individuals can really help contribute to positive and meaningful changes.
5. Why should folks consider wicking beds?
Water wicking as an irrigation method for growing food and plants is a proven and effective way to combat water waste and in time of drought and increasing water use restrictions provides a reliable, low-tech and sustainable watering solution for an increasing number of gardeners and growers. There are many designs available in print and on-line to help people build wicking beds. However, a significant number of these designs rely on sand or scoria/gravel like products to wick the water. As much has been written about the environmental impact of gravel mining and river dredging for sand it’s great to see an Australian made wicking product doing so well that uses neither of these resources and instead makes use of waste plastic by re-purposing it for something useful. The WaterUps From Down Under wicking products are made from re-cycled plastic and can reduce water needs by up to 80% – a recent order from a commercial tomato grower in Austin Texas in the US diverted over 5,500kg of plastic from landfill and will save an estimated 3.5m litres of water in the first year of operations! Most gardens can often be left several weeks without the need for the beds to have additional water added so they are also very popular for gardens that might not be able to be tended to on a regular basis.
6. Anything else you’d like to share?
WaterUps are able to help with advice on designing and building new gardens and also supply a number of how to guides on retro-fitting existing growing spaces to help save water and the time needed to keep gardens happy and healthy.
We are thrilled to offer PA members a 20% discount on a variety of products, with more details here. Not a member of PA? Sign up here today to access a great range of discounts, and help us advocate for permaculture solutions.
“These are the interactions with people who live so close to us, yet I doubt we would have chatted if not for our little stall… I can’t even describe how nice that feels. It’s somehow… hopeful.” Koren Holbig
The year of 2020 has seen a renewed interest in a growing food & a sustainable and local food supply. This week we have a guest post from PA member Koren Helbig, on Kaurna Land, South Australia. Koren chats to us about her new project – The Local Yum – an urban street stall promoting local food with some unexpected positive outcomes along the way.
“In September 2020, we launched our tiny Adelaide honesty stall, @the.local.yum. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. A way of connecting with the community, sharing the story of growing good food in urban areas, and inching (in a small way, admittedly) toward more local resilience.
Months of planning ensued, as I sought advice from friends, fellow gardeners and members of the Permaculture Australia Official Facebook group about the do’s and don’ts, as well as other useful lessons folks could share from their experiences.
Some of my favourite tips included:
Keeping a little notebook on the stall, so neighbours can leave feedback and words of encouragement.
Using the word ‘honesty’ in signage, a reminder to people of what the whole project is about.
Ensuring prices are round figures, the kind that are both easy to add up and easy to pay for with small change or notes ($4 rather than $3.50, for example).
Including bank details so even folks who don’t carry cash have a way to get involved. (This has actually worked so well!)
Carmelo working on the salavaged wooden stall
My partner Carmelo and I pondered for months on how exactly to make our stall. We didn’t want to buy anything, but rather reuse materials wherever possible. Then one day, walking home, I noticed a giant junk pile in a neighbour’s front yard – and spied some brilliantly rustic old shelves amid the jumble. We returned that arvo and this neighbour was delighted to lessen his landfill pile, even chucking everything in his van and delivering it for us!
Then our lovely next-door neighbour let us use his tools – and his considerable knowledge – to repair the broken doors, attach a roof, and grind a money slot in the old blue cash box I picked up at a secondhand store. He even gave us some off-cuts from his decking project, which I turned into hand-lettered signs.
All was going well. And yet. I was simultaneously being hit with a pre-launch neg storm, often from people who’d never tried anything similar before themselves. “It will be stolen overnight.” “People will just take things without paying.” “In that area of Adelaide? It will never work.” “You’re naive.”
It all got a bit much there for a while. I started to lose faith. But thankfully I had kind and calm words to guide me when I freaked out. Sally has run her brilliant @jembellafarmhonsety stall at Angaston (Barossa Valley) for years.
She was realistic, yet encouraging. It was a lifeline. She helped me see this wasn’t such a crazy idea after all. “Give people a chance to be honest,” Sally suggested. Such beautiful wisdom.As we set up the stall on launch weekend, amazing things started to happen — even before we sold anything.
Danny, a local chef, stopped by to chat and offer help in any way we wanted. A handyman named Spog passed by right as Carmelo needed a hand fixing our fence. When Spog returned with his tools, he brought us goji berry cuttings, native finger lime seedlings and a luffa from his own garden. That last one is just too coincidental; I’d been hunting for local luffa seeds for weeks without success. Thanks to the stall, they were literally delivered to us. Free. Oh, and we got to pat a greyhound! ⠀
These are interactions with people who live so close to us, yet I doubt we would have chatted if not for our little stall. We made three sales on our first day, all from lovely nearby neighbours. I can’t even describe how nice that feels. It’s somehow … hopeful.
We can’t know what will happen to our stall in the future. But I love that it’s already pushing me to redefine my definition of success. Yes, the willingness of people to buy our things is heartening, exciting even.
But there’s so much more to this, I think.”
More information:
Koren is a member of Permaculture Australia, the national member-based organisation in Australia. Sign up as a member here today to join hundreds of members across Australia like Koren advocating for permaculture solutions.
This article aligns with the permaculture ethics (Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share) and permaculture principles including Produce No Waste, Integrate rather than segregate and Use Edges and Value the Marginal. Find out more about the permaculture principles and ethics here.
Jed Walker is a PA member and volunteer with PA’s Permafund, coordinating the small grants program that supports permaculture projects across the globe. In this guest post, Jed shares the success of local fundraising for Permafund in the Blue Mountains, bringing together community over food and shared ideas.
“From Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, local permies Jed Walker and Rebecca Norton offer this simple idea that has so far raised nearly $1000 from low-key community evenings.
Through word-of-mouth, acquaintances were invited to a private home for a dinner and movie night. Pre movie entertainment included a short talk and Q&A from Permafund Patron Rowe Morrow on evening one, and a talk from Jed about Permafund projects, including a clip from John Champagne, Permafund Convenor (below)
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Then two courses – curry and cake with chai – were served, the lights were dimmed, and the movie rolled. A home stereo and projected image made the experience pretty similar to being at the real movies. The first movie night had an ecological theme, the second movie night was more about social justice.
Attendance was free, and people were asked to make a donation, if they wished. People loved the opportunity to have an intimate yet socially distanced gathering. They donated what they thought was what they spend on a movie and dinner which averaged about $30 each.
They not only want to come to more dinner and movie nights, but also want an evening devoted to more talk and tales from Rowe Morrow.
This scale of event is very easy to set up and prepare – no insurance, hall hire or publicity required. It really is as simple as having a few mates around for dinner and a movie, with the costs being so low they can be absorbed by the host. The local Blue Mountains Food Co-op will make a monthly donation of food for future fundraising evenings.
If you are based in Katoomba or wish to find out more about the events or run one yourself to fundraise for Permafund, please contact Jed via permafund@permacultureaustralia.org.au. The next scheduled movie night will be held on Saturday 12th September 2020.
More information:
Permafund (as part of Permaculture Australia) provides small grants to community permaculture projects across the world. Since 2012, 38 projects have been funded in 14 countries – with more projects soon to be announced in the 2020 grant round. We are volunteer run and funded entirely by donations, read more about the different ways to donate here. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Rosemary (Rowe) Morrow is a permaculture pioneer. Permafund patron, author and teacher. For almost 40 years Rosemary has worked extensively with farmers and villagers in Africa, Central and South East Asia and Eastern Europe. Rosemary has especially dedicated much of her efforts to refugees the people of war-torn nations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Kurdistan and East Timor, and to communities experiencing the serious effects of climate change like the Solomon Islands. When not working overseas, Rowe is based in Katoomba, NSW.
The Blue Mountains Food Co-op is a member-owned not for profit organisation that values community, respects the environment and promotes equality and social responsibility.
Jed Walker
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