Thursday, October 7, 2010

sticky beaking...

Day four permaculture design certificate and we were out and about taking in the local (permy) sites. that meant a visit to four places, in various stages of permaculture implementation - from old timers like Chris and Bev... to stalwarts Bill and Carol....  the legendary Harry Black and then off to a new venture in Tilba Tilba....


Chris and Bev Frank's place (just up the road from 'the crossing')...



Chris and Bev have been pioneers in the district in numerous fields - mohair, meat rabbits, free range meat chickens... but perhaps this doggie is their greatest legacy - Chris and Bev are noted maremma sheepdog breeders (here's one helping out the group now...)


It was so lovely to visit the farm - I have been here years ago (waaaaaay back in the 1990s) and have known the Franks family since the 1970s. Chris speaks with great passion for the land and life on the farm... he's the real deal and a real character!


After a nice cuppa it was time to get the group on the road again....





Into Bermagui township and Bill and Carol Broadhead's 'urban' permaculture vegie garden....



Bill is another tremendous character... and another face from the past - waaaaaay back in the early 1980s, when Bill moved to the area with his family, he was my judo instructor (during my brief flirtation with the sport). Gosh this was turning out to be a trip down memory lane!

Bill is passionate about growing your own food free of icky stuff (pesticides, herbicides), and creatively responding to climate change and all the challenges ahead. His garden was an absolute inspiration (and I scored an invitation to return anytime to gather some seeds/cuttings/grand tales)


 

(ps that's our intrepid permy course leader - John Champagne.... )


At Fairhaven (just a few kms out of Bermagui) Harry Black, a retired scientist and explorer (for lack of a better way of describing this extraordinary man), established a sub-tropical orchard in the 1980s.... Harry's garden is a thing of wonder - with custard apples, bananas, sapotes, and many other subtropical species that it's thought impossible to grow on the far south coast of NSW....


I meet Harry in the early 1990s - he was a constant at little markets around the area - I always seemed to be heading home with fruits of all types (he also grew amazing heritage-variety tomatoes). And the tales he told of some of his adventures (Harry ventured to the Antartic twice and led expeditions to the Himalayas) made every trip to the tiny markets he frequented an adventure....


Harry passed away in July.... so I found the sight of his hats on their pegs really quite poignant....

Harry's house and garden will be sold sometime in the next year and his amazing orchard may be lost forever (already many of the stone fruit in the orchard have died in the extended dry period.... and without supervision and loving attention its survival is on the line) Harry's family has given permission for folk (like the local permaculture peeps) to collect matter from the orchard to graft/strike new stock to at least keep some of his genetics in the area should the orchard be 'dozed under...


 ahhhh me


Last stop for the day was a new and developing garden beside the highway at Tilba Tilba....


(don't you just love the view to Najanuga - the rock formation in the background there..... you'll have to remind me to tell you the tale of Najanuga in another post sometime soon... this has already turned out to be an emotionally draining day....)


I'm beat!




...

6 comments:

  1. Thanks, Rhonda, for sharing some of your day with us. That was really lovely. I ahd a bit of a trip down memory lane too as I knew of some of these people in the past. Permaculture so great, isn't it? I practice it in part. Not a perfectionist by any means but I love adding elements to the philosophy where I can.
    PS I went to Moruya yesterday and drove past your lovely nest;)

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  2. Some names are familiar to me, too. (But mostly from writings)
    And yes, do tell us the story of Galuga's sons. :-)

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  3. Thanks for allowing us to sticky beak over your shoulder, Ronnie. Next best thing to being there.

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  4. Hi Ronnie, no wonder you're exhausted - I got tired just looking at the pictures! We will be trying to make ours a permaculture garden although I need a more inspiring book. I got one on Permaculture design but since our garden has a lot of "features" that didn't really appear in the book I got a bit disconsolate and resigned to the fact I might have to work it out for myself! Which is also enough to tire me out,just thinking about it. Sara x

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  5. Looks like you're having a great time, ronnie! I do hope you'll share a little of your "learnings" eventually. My idea of permaculture is planting my seedlings in really good quality potting mix (well I do live in a unit) and steadfastly refusing to spray as I complain furiously about whatever is chomping its way through my precious herbs! Well! at least my heart is in the right place, if not my head!

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  6. phew its now saturday and I've just finished day 6 (and get a day of rest tomorrow..... boy do I need it!) before heading into the second half of the course..... its very intensive and thorough and guaranteed to challenge some of your long held beliefs (even when you figured those beliefs were rather greenly tinged already....) many mention that undertaking a permaculture course is life-changing - and as I've long been a permy convert I dismissed this.... but it's very true... I can feel big changes as I'm under-going a radical paradigm shift.....

    now wonder I need a day of rest!

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thanks for all your lovely comments - your words are greatly appreciated xx