 An article written in the Gatton Star about the School sustainability program I work on for many years by FRANCIS WITSENHUYSEN 29th Mar 2016 2:30 PM ST MARY’S School sustainability garden has become a special place students can go to escape the craziness of the school yard. The garden was started after the 2013 floods when the school received some funding towards the mental health rehabilitation of the students. A Holistic orchard, fairy garden, veggie patch, chicken pen and native bees make up the garden, with room for more installations to be added. Students and 2016 sustainability gardening committee member, James, said his favourite part of the garden was the chook pen. "I get to feed the chickens, collect their eggs and learn about the benefits of compost," he said. "But the most important thing I’ve learnt in the garden, is to always water the plants. "I like to come down here when I have a headache. It’s nice because its quieter and cooler.” St Mary’s School Officer, Michael Wardle, helped to get the garden going three years ago. "It’s a place for the kids, made by the kids," he said. "The students own it from the ground up. “And they get hands-on, in the dirt while learning about where there food comes from.”  Michael said the garden was a good place for kids who are having issues to come down and have space and reflection time. "I work with some kids who are having troubles in the class room so I bring them out here and do some practical things and relate it what they are doing in class. That way they have some hands on learning," he said. "This is a space where those kids can come to play and express themselves without interruptions." Michael said the garden also helps the school to be more sustainable "We have processing tools too so all of our organic waste ends up here,” he said. “And 60 per cent of what people use is organic waste, so the school has reduced its waste by 60 per cent and growing veggies at the end of it. Mr Wardle said typically there would be between 30-50 students down in the garden, of a lunch-time. 
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 "Savour Soils was recommended to us by a friend who had heard we had moved. As busy people, with only slightly ‘green’ thumbs, we were keen to engage a consultant who could provide a property-specific report, complete with local knowledge – so that we wouldn’t be wasting time, energy and money planting the wrong plants in the wrong places. When we contacted Michael he outlined the three levels of consultancy services he provided. As we had settled on a large rural residential lot and wanted to plan our long term future there, we engaged Michael on a full consultation basis so that we could commence the permaculture design, with an understanding that a number of elements take three to five years to implement. Michael visited us on a number of occasions, taking observations of the property, our lifestyle, and asking many questions. Most importantly, Michael listened to our dreams and goals and also took into account our limitations, particularly as we are time-poor, and provided a report that will help us create a garden that will feed our family and look after itself in an energy efficient way. So the overall outcome was a property report that will help us achieve our goals and break them down so they are not as overwhelming. Michael’s knowledge has provided us with a 25 year plan of growing our own food, educating our children and enjoying our property. He has been so approachable and eager to answer our questions and design our garden our way. We wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Savour Soils for anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding of permaculture, or anyone seeking holistic advice on how best to feed their own family from their garden." - Megan and Jacob  Did you know we also do Land Design? Using our unique approach, adapted over time we will
Below is what we offer for those interested in taking their ideas further along the permaculture journey Verbal Design Consult First is a verbal, little research and no report, consult where I come to your site, talk to you and any others living at the site, asking a few questions, to discuss your time, energy and financial budgets, what you would like out of the site (e.g., how much and what kinds of food) and what elements you would like included in the design then we tour the site talking about various options - $300 (approx.. 3 hours onsite with 1 hour offsite research) Concept Design Consult Second option is the same but with research, 30 page report and doing a concept design (rough outline), after which we sit down and look at the report and again walk around the property talking about the design.. Depending on how extensive the concept and size of the block - approx. $700 (subject to scope) (approx..10 hours ) Working Plan Design Consult The Working Plan design which includes report, concept and a much more detailed design, and again walk around the property talking about the design.. Again depending on size of block, research and level of detail - approx $1250 (subject to scope). (approx.. 50 hours) Adaptive Design Consult The Adaptive Design Consult is where we truly embrace the design principle 'Creatively use and respond to change' and over the course of several years we design and create your design on the ground suited to your context. We are engaged for a period of 3 years and over that time we come and work with you to help fulfill your dream of a flexible permaculture design. - approx $4500 over 3 years      An article written in the Gatton Star about the seed library that we help start with our local Library
by FRANCIS WITSENHUYSEN 2nd May 2018 1:21 PM FROM little things, big things grow. Did you know there is a seed library where you can borrow seeds just like books? Any member of Lockyer Valley Libraries can borrow up to two packets of donated seeds to take home and grow. Then as the plants begin to produce seeds, members can save the seeds and bring them back to the seed library. The range of seeds available include herbs like basil, coriander and sage as well as vegetables like pumpkins and capsicums. There are also some flowers including marigold and cone flowers. Lockyer Valley Regional Councillor Michael Hagan said the seed library encouraged community spirit and sharing. "So far, more than 280 packets of seeds have been loaned,” Cr Hagan said. "It's really growing in popularity.” The seed library was started in January 2017, when Michael Wardle of Savour Soil Permaculture and Nicole Kilah from Lockyer Libraries brought the concept into fruition. "While the idea of a seed library has been around for awhile, it's the first of its kind in the region,” Mr Wardle said "The more a seed is germinated in an area, over successive generations like this, the more adapted it becomes to that particular region.” "The seed library is important because it builds community resilience, and it's helping to support the community in growing their own food.” He said to keep the service flourishing, more seed donations were always welcome. To donate, write your name and the seed variety on an envelope or plastic bag and drop the seeds into either the Gatton or Laidley libraries. Bioponics, Aquaponics, Hydroponics By Michael Wardle The journey to Bioponics has been a long and interesting one for me spanning 15 years. In what seemed almost a lifetime ago I was interested in the idea of hydroponics as a way that a huge volume of food could be grown in a small space to help feed the world. While we never quite achieved the goal of feeding the world, we did however manage to grow a large quantity for ourselves. While this may have sounded like a good thing, there was always something that bothered me with Hydroponics in that an industrial chemical was given to the water as a means to provide nutrient to the plants. To cut a long story short, there was no life in the system at all and that the addition of the hydroponic mixture to the water over time meant that the salt build up in the same waters would have to be flushed out at least once a month, but those same waters and salt levels meant that the water could not be used in the garden or elsewhere. Needless to say to this showed the system was not a closed looped one and that there was a huge waste and nutrient density issue. Feeling unhappy about the level of investment I had put into something that ultimately was not what we were looking for lead me to delve further into the possibilities and this lead me to Aquaponics. My first encounter with aquaponics was a conversation I had with my then father in law who was concerned with the future. In his own words, he was getting older and he worried about the future for his family. We lived in an area that had little rainfall due to being in a rain shadow and we were looking at adding tour food security. During the course of that conversation he handed me a copy of the local ‘big’ paper (The courier mail) which that week and published an article about someone called Murray Hallam who was working on something called aquaponics. The combination of growing fish and vegetables in a loop system providing both protein and greens using a minimum of water. While we both talked about going to one of Murrays courses, we never got around to it. I did however manage to attend a couple of other courses and did start to spend time researching and playing around with various ideas and concepts. We eventually ended up moving from the property we had to our current abode. While the distance between to 2 was not far all the infrastructure for the old system was left behind as we were not certain if we would continue the journey with aquaponics. A couple of years later I finally met Rob from Robs aquaponics and back yard farm which re-sparked my interest in aquaponics and I invited him to come run a workshop. After some thought he agreed, but was uncertain as he had never run a workshop before and would appreciate my help. We built a new system here and this lead to the running of two workshop over a couple of years. Oddly enough, this is when I started to wonder about aquaponics. Due to the nature of what I do with consults and education, there are times when I am not here and while I did leave instructions with my children on what needed to be done with the predictable “yes Dad” that goes with it, I was finding upon my return that while the fish had been fed there were other things that were not done which lead to more work than what I was prepared to do. For any who have done a workshop with me or had me come to consult, there is one thing I always say “Limitations set design” Looking at the limitations of aquaponics and the time frame I had available to manage the system showed that while it is a brilliant way of being able to grow your fish and vegetables together, for me there was always buffering issues, the need to check the PH morning and night (hard when I was not here) the constant purchase of food (I have heard of people using black soldier fly larvae and mealy worms to feed their fish, but I found the fish never took to them for long and again I needed to be here to manage yet another level of complexity to the system), weighing the fish to make sure there only got what they needed so that there was not a nutrient build up in the system etc etc etc. While I was home all the time, it was not an issue, but when I went away then it became one. This leads me back to before I received my fish for the current system. There was a delay in the fish arriving and rather than wait I started cycling my system with different brews that I had that was used in other areas of my design here at home. It took 4 months for the fish to arrive (honestly I had given up) finally and in a subsequent conversation with Rob I mentioned what I was doing, and he laughed and said I should TM that. (A quick google search killed that idea as I discovered it was not a new one – Thanks Rob ;)) I spent the next 3 year looking at the various way of closing the loop here at home, and as a baseline, I looked at soil and its mineral and nutrient cycling to give me some guide into how it might work, so I experimented with different combinations. While you can have fish, oysters or redclaw etc. in your Bioponics system, you do not have to make it work. I have found that since switching to this particular model that the growth rate may be slightly less than aquaponics, it is still healthy and lush (many people have commented on the taste and quality of the parsley)  Recently we held our first workshop on Bioponics. While it was not our intention to workshop it, I was teaching at an urban farming workshop when I first started experimenting with it, and I happen to mention that I was. One of the participants at that urban farming workshop spent the next 3 years asking me to run a seminar on it and I finally ‘caved in’ and did so. It was terrific, and with a full house, we spent the day in a hands-on environment so that people could not only learn about it but have the confidence to go home and do it themselves. I have been happy to hear that many did so even to the point of stopping into local hardware stores to pick up what they needed on their way home on the day of the workshop itself. "The workshop was fabulous. So much information. Loved the hands on as you remember it better and it makes the process so much easier" - Workshop Participant I have since learned others are now starting to look at the possibilities of Bioponics and have been experimenting with it for the last 6 months, and I can see others running workshops or videos soon. I love the evolution of the process and look forward to pushing the limits of it further I the future About the Author
Michael began his permaculture journey 25 years ago when he first picked up a copy of Permaculture One and the Introduction to Permaculture. He has applied the ethics and principles of permaculture to his personal life and is now enjoying the wonderful opportunities of being able to apply them in his workplace and community. He enjoys learning about the many different facets of permaculture and design. Through his learning, he has also come to love teaching. He has completed 4 PDC's, Permaculture Teacher Training with Rosemary Morrow and Nick Ritar. Dynamic groups Dynamic learning with Robin Clayfield, he has also completed the Advanced Permaculture Principle workshop with David Holmgren and the Advanced Permaculture Design with Dan Palmer, Edible Forest Garden Design Intensive with Dave Jacke and the REXonline with Darren Doherty and many others. He hopes to be as inspirational and effective as his teachers. He continues to run workshops, designs and consults through his own business - Savour Soil Permaculture and continues his learning journey to advance his knowledge and to increase the value he provides in his teaching, projects and consultations. Permaculture, Organisation, Leadership, Succession Written by Michael Wardle What is successional leadership? It is a concept that where might be able to use when designing our social systems especially with regards to our networks and organisations. Perhaps even a metric of success of these same organisations. This year, 2018 has been a thought-provoking year with numerous different groups and community gardens. While not being actively involved in them myself this year (for the first time in many years) it gave me the opportunity to observe the different interactions. With the AGM’s falling in September this year, there seemed to be a great ‘bloodletting’ with many committees being voted out with some hostility or just people not willing to step up into vacant positions and some of these organisations closing down. This got me thinking that while we talk about designing our landscapes using succession as our guide, how often do people think of incorporating the same idea into out associations and organisations? While I am far from being an expert in the subject, it just seems that even though we talk about cooperation rather than competition, the competitive aspect appears to be so ingrained that we as a species still act on it, yet we have the best of intentions. Every new committee feels the need to do better than the last –More events, raise more money, and have more of an online presence – whatever the goal that is set at the start of their tenure. Moreover, we tend to judge the success of the same committees with the same brush – How many new members, how much money was raised, how many more events were facilitated during the last year etc. Dave Jacke talks in his book about ‘Edible Forest Garden’ as one of the defining principles of “shifting the burden to that of the intervenor” where if you intervene in a system you bear the responsibility of maintaining that system or restoring its functional integrity. What if we looked at our social systems in the same way and designed them with succession in mind. Where we are not only looking at advancing the cause, plan or structure of the organization, but creating it so that people are willing and eager to move into the various roles allowing for a smooth transition and celebrating not only that as a metric of success but also acknowledge the contributions of those that have come before, while building for the future leadership in those same roles. We can make things as easy or as hard as we like and as Allan Savory talks about, most of the problems we have today come from someone, somewhere making a decision that turned out not to be the most positive for our futures. Just some of the rambling thoughts that have been going through my head lately. I would love to hear your thoughts? Michael WardleHe began his permaculture journey 25 years ago when he first picked up a copy of Permaculture One and the Introduction to Permaculture. |
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