Introducing our exciting line up of course contributors
Gary Williams
Water and soil engineer, biodynamic farmer and forester, permaculture activist and natural philosopher. Gary lives with Emily at their farm Hanawera, in Horowhenua, cultivating a wide diversity of farming and forestry activities. These include home gardens and orchards to staple crops, animal grazing, firewood and plantation forests, and regenerating native bush. Their stewardship of this land is guided by the principles of permaculture and the practices and methods of organic and biodynamic agriculture. See more at Waterscape.
TEACHERS
Sarah Adams
Urban agriculture advisor, gardener, Hakomi practioner and mindfulness teacher. Sarah brings a love of getting her hands in the soil, community and personal development and is practising the art of living the permaculture principles in an urban reality.
Emily Williams
Emily is a landscape architect and longtime tutor of organic horticulture. She is an enthusiastic gardener, passionate about soil and loves harvesting the bounty in autumn with bottling, chutneys, drying etc. Winter is a time for home crafts such as weaving, spinning and reading by the fire. Occasionally Emily runs a farmhouse kitchen weekend workshop with a friend which includes bread and cheese making, fermented foods, bone broths, low sugar and carb options, edible weeds, preserving and more. See more at Waterscape.
Rachel Pomeroy
Rachel brings a love of star watching and reverence for living soil, cows, and perfect compost! She is a tutor and course advisor for the Taruna Certificate of Applied Organics and Biodynamics in Hawkes Bay and contributes the moon calandar and gardening notes to the magazine Organic NZ. Rachel brings her practical and poetic expertise of enlivening soil for vibrant, vital communities.
Jenny Lindberg
Together with Steve, Jenny offers skills that enable deep nature connection through bushcraft and wild living. Jenny blends her expertise in midwifery, native parenting, wild food foraging and compassionate communication, as well as her jovial and gentle spirit into a living example of what it means to live simply and deeply with the land. See www.human.org.nz
Jessica Hutchings
Jessica is a biodynamic and hua parakore grower on 10 acres in Kaitoke, Upper Hutt. She trained as a multi-disciplinary researcher in the fields of environmental studies, Māori studies and kaupapa Māori, has a PhD in Environmental Studies and has taught in this area for 15 years. She also completed the Diploma in Biodynamics at Taruna College. Jess has a deep investment and passion to undertake, teaching, research and on-farm practices that support the broad area of Māori development, hauora, wellbeing and tino rangatiratanga. She is a member of Te Waka Kai Ora, the National Māori Organics collective and has been involved in the development of the hua parakore system for growing kai. Jess looks forward to sharing some of the ideas gathered through kōrero and experience in the māra.
Doris Zuur
Doris brings a love for life and ‘living it’! She worked for 20 years, co-founding and developing Te Ra Waldorf Primary School and is now an all rounder, living the permaculture principles on a daily basis! Doris is well know for her sourdough bread, was a founding trustee of Orientation Aotearoa, and now of Toru Education Trust, supporting learning through experience.
Lucy Carver
Lucy loves autumn and turning compost. Interested in alternative education models, living soil and lively communities, Lucy has worked with Summer of Soil (Sweden), Orientation Aotearoa and Toru Education Trust. Bring a story, a poem, an instrument or a good joke!
Steve Porteous
Together with Jenny, Steve kindles renewed reverence and curiosity for the natural world. Steve proves an excellent mentor for bird language, tracking, bushcraft, survival skills, foraging, natural building and more. He champions other ways of knowing and won't mind challenging your edges! See www.human.org.nz
Let's be honest. Nature is our greatest teacher.
Matt King
Matt has been using permaculture approaches to land development, business practices and emergency response for 12 years, both in NZ and in remote areas of Papa New Guinea and Indonesia. He currently develops a 2 ha section of land in Otaki, including food forest, tiny home and appropriate technology. Matt started the social enterprises Green Earth and Emergency Compost Toilets, working with organisations, communities and individuals to develop and implement appropriate solutions for sustainable living.