You don't need to be old to share your skills and knowledge, nor old to be 'elder' like. In some cultures it takes a lifetimes work to become an elder in others maybe a little less: a body of knowledge to share. There are Primary Schools, High Schools, Universities...
Once a fortnight the butcher shop at Jonai farm is buzzing with youth. I ask the women I meet there if they ever imagined working in a butcher shop, they all say no. So why now I ask? But I already know the answer, I just want to check that I'm right. The answer is...
I have been thinking about our garden design for months. I studied Horticulture at Burnley and completed three wonderful subjects which opened my mind to a broader variety of plants. For a long time Indigenous plants had been my biggest focus and now it is a focus I...
I moved to Melbourne at 18. It was the very best thing to do. The diversity of people there meant that there was someone for everyone. The subcultures to be found in each suburb ensured that eventually I would find my tribe. At the time I was singing in a band playing...
Unlike many other children's films, the story Hayao tells, has a refreshing gentleness. A domestic family scene is the basis for unfolding adventures, which are rich in emotional colour but devoid of the intensity of many action packed children's dramas. Two sisters...
Growing your own food makes for rich culture; it is rewarding, invigorating and full of new experiences. Each year seed sowing is an exercise in hope. You never know if the seeds will sprout, but you hope they will and provide attentive care in the form of watering...
We sometimes think of culture as belonging only to ethnicity. You have culture if you are from an exotic country other than your own. We can perhaps forget that we are all creating culture by our social practices and behaviour. Behavioural repetition, rituals, cycles...
Artemisia and I took the hill ride on our way to a fringe cut. The slow ascent offered views of gardens with lavish thick hedges. Many of the gardens use plants to create privacy and fencing and the overall effect is verdant. Daylesford is positively beautiful because...
After dinner I was full. Very full. So after dinner I went for a walk. A little walk. After dinner the air was cool but not hard. Not very hard. After dinner the sun was saturated. Very saturated. After dinner I grabbed my camera. The one I don't let anyone use. Not...
There has been rain and heavy during the night. It has made a real difference to the depth of our wetland. Plants on the edge only a few days ago are now submerged. Brilliant, fantastic and lucky!
In our mid 20's Ralf and I worked for a revegetation company that specialised in revegetating wetlands both remnant and newly constructed. We established a close friendship with two beautiful passionate young men who wanted to increase and protect habitat biodiversity...
Everywhere I go I crave to see gardens...of any sort: vegetable, ornamental, succulent, shrubby, overhanging foliage and tendril-like branches. Roses or indigenous billowing spreads. My favourite gardens are usually sprawling, a little ethereal, wispy and I tend to...
Our recent farm visit gave me time to observe: The wetland. The new road topping. Worms long, enveloped by nutrient rich soil that have surfaced due to straw bale protection. Rounded newly plastered corners of each window. The tracks left by Kangaroo paws. Aquatic...
Over the past year I have developed a more sophisticated understanding of soil organic matter (SOM) and its role in the amelioration of soils. Organic matter is material from animal residues such as slugs, termites, ants, slaters, worms, beetles and any large animals,...
When I see the cultural trend towards massive concrete drive ways, I wonder why oh why, there exists this lustful relationship with grey. While the trend is not entirely pervasive it is a worrying trend none the less. As there is plenty of grey concrete to share among...
On a recent bike ride I was overjoyed to see the efforts people were making in an attempt to protect their fruit harvest. With possums, white cockatoos and Rosella's all competing for food in the neighbourhood people of all ages were going to extreme lengths to...
At the Lost Trades fair in Kyneton, Victoria, artisans and craftswomen and men are once again celebrated. And you could see from the hundreds and hundreds of people there how much communities crave the slow, the heartfelt, personal, intimate and highly skilled world...
As I pack my book shelf in preparation for our move to Eganstown I came across Masanobu Fukuoka's book "The one straw revolution" and began to read it. Over four days the read felt like a meditation. Masanobu's words had a calming effect and a questioning one. Why...
Ralf's uncle has been tending a family garden allotment for 50 years. The garden is a 15 min walk from his home and is large enough to produce all of the families fresh vegetable needs. It is one of many along a strip of land set aside for community gardening. For...
About six month ago or so I was listening to Radio National's Bush Telegraph as they spoke about a free range pork farm in Central Victoria. The broadcast had an educational focus with the owners of the pig farm wanting to educate others (the listeners) and further...
Rod kindly agreed to let me visit his family farm a few weeks ago when I was in Blampied. I had texted him excitedly saying that I had done a bike ride from my new house in Eganstown to his family property 6km away, a test ride to see if I could purchase my weekly...