Sustainability

COLOURS FROM NATURE with Janelle Schafer

NEW Learn about a range of herbs and shrubs suitable to grow in our local area, that can be used for extracting dye or as weaving materials to create your own dye and fibre garden. We will cover soil preparation, compost maintenance, weed control, planting, cultivation and management techniques for growing these abundant and useful species - a must for those serious about sustainable fashion and basketry. Thu, 17 Feb – 17 Mar | 9 am – 3 pm Full Fee: $250 *Ace program fee: $0 see p. 4 (additional resource fee of $80 for all enrolments)

BACKYARD PERMACULTURE LIVING LABORATORY with Lucy Legan Your backyard may be the most essential learning space for your family. Discover how to use whole-systems thinking strategies to create a living-learning laboratory where children can play, eat healthily and understand nature. Learn how to apply permaculture principles within curriculum guidelines to support homeschooling, nature-based learning or caring educators. 2 Sat, 5 - 12 Feb | 9 am - 4 pm Mullum Concession: $186 Full Fee: $207

COMMUNITY DESIGN AND SOCIAL PERMACULTURE - PDC with Dani Wolff Learn about social permaculture design, supporting humans to be effective and thrive together. Explore ideas around collaborative governance and decision-making, social enterprise, localised community living, integrated permaculture lifestyles. Fri, 11 Mar | 9 am - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118 PERMACULTURE ETHICS, PRINCIPLES AND PATTERNS - PDC with Bunya Halasz What is permaculture and why is it relevant to our world today? How can we integrate the ethics and principles of Permaculture in our daily lives? Explore the foundations of Permaculture, as you learn about the underlying patterns in nature and how comprehending and working with them can support you to live a richer, more easeful life. Fri, 25 Feb | 9 am - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE DESIGN - PDC with James Nash The fundamentals of Permaculture design theory and practice. Explore how the elements of nature - earth, water, air and fire - define the unique conditions and opportunities of any site. Learn how to analyse and map these powerful forces to support you to work with, rather than against them to achieve your lifestyle and production goals. Sun, 27 Feb | 9 am - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

PLANT PROPAGATION AND SEED SAVING - PDC with Bunya Halasz Explore a range of simple plant propagation techniques including cuttings, root division and seed raising to allow you to grow a range of plants for your garden in a simple and cost effective manner. Learn a range of seed saving and storage techniques that empower you to secure the great diversity of food varieties on our planet. Sat, 26 Feb | 9 - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118 SUSTAINABILITY

WATER - SYSTEMS FOR THE HOME AND LANDSCAPE - PDC with James Nash Learn how to work with water in the landscape, exploring theoretical and practical examples of water harvesting, catching, storing and irrigation, changing our mindset from draining to ‘sponging’ water INTO the landscape. We will investigate and visit a range of local and global examples of swales, keylines, earthworks, wicking beds, dams, aquaponics and water biofiltration methods. Sun, 10 Apr | 9 am - 5 pm Byron Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

TREES AND PERENNIAL CROPS - CREATING FOOD FORESTS - PDC with Bunya Halasz Learn how to design, establish and care for your own diverse, tree based food production system in a low maintenance fashion that works with nature’s fundamental processes of land and soil repair. Discover a huge array of fruit and nut trees from around the world that thrive in our warm, subtropical climate including indigenous bush foods. Sat, 12 Mar | 9 am - 5 pm Byron Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

ANIMALS - INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS - PDC with Sharon Gibson Learn how to incorporate animals into the design of your garden or food production system to increase its overall abundance, and optimise the health and productivity of your chickens, cows and other animals. This workshop includes a field trip exploring local animal production systems where we can experience successful integrative animal systems that can be implemented at various scales from the backyard to commercial. Fri, 8 Apr | 9 am - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118 SETTLEMENTS - SUSTAINABLE HOUSING AND APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY - PDC with James Nash Explore some of the latest innovations in green building techniques and materials, site layout, biophilic design, home ecology, house and village design, including tiny houses. Learn how to apply design methods to preserve foods, generate energy and heat, provide domestic drinking water, treat grey and black water, composting toilets and more. Sat, 9 Apr | 9 am - 5 pm Mullum Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

VEGETABLES - INTEGRATED ORGANIC PRODUCTION - PDC with Bunya Halasz Explore a comprehensive range of Organic Gardening techniques including composting, crop rotation, companion planting and natural pest and disease management. Create a ‘no-dig garden’ from local, low cost materials and learn about seasonal planting in the humid Subtropics. Sun, 13 Mar | 9 am - 5 pm Byron Concession: $106 Full Fee: $118

NATIVE PLANT IDENTIFICATION AND BUSH TUCKER with Joey Venables Join us for an introduction into the wonderful world of plant identification and become familiar with some of our local rainforest species and unique bush tucker. In the spirit of fun and inquiry, we will cover some basic and intermediate level botanic terminology, identify rainforest species, plant families, and discover what edible fruits, shoots and roots that are available in this area. Sat, 2 Apr | 10 am - 4 pm Mullum Concession: $111 Full Fee: $123

OPEN GARDEN with Heather Stevenson Visit a thriving urban food garden. Interested in growing your own backyard fruit and veggies, maybe incorporating a couple of chooks? Spend a morning having a good old sticky-beak at Heather’s small kitchen garden. Wander around, ask questions, and get some great advice and ideas for your own food-based garden. Sat, 26 Mar | 9 am - 12 pm Mullum Concession: $50 Full Fee: $55

BUILD YOUR OWN ‘EARTH OVEN’ with Dani Wolff This hands on course will take you through the process of building a back yard oven made from clay & other earthen materials. These ovens can be scaled in size and used to cook wood fired pizzas, breads, crock pots and so much more! Sat & Sun, 2 - 3 Apr | 9 am - 1 pm Mullum Concession: $234 Full Fee: $260

LOW TOX GREEN CLEANING with Laila Helena Learn how to make green cleaning products with simple ingredients that are easily found in your kitchen pantry. In this hands-on course you will create low tox products for different occasions and areas of your house. Helping to reduce the toxic load within the environment and improving everyone’s health. Sun, 13 Mar | 9 am - 1 pm Mullum Concession: $109 Full Fee: $121

NATURAL BUILDING INTRODUCTION with Dani Wolff Come along to learn about various earthen building materials such as Strawbales, Cob, Mudbricks & Lightearth, and learn how to use them in your project. Sat, 26 Mar | 9 am - 3 pm Mullum Concession: $178 Full Fee: $198 GROWING OYSTER MUSHROOMS with Mikaela MacPhail & Bryan Firestone Connect with the alluring world of fungi through the creation of your own take home 10L oyster mushroom bucket! Learn simple low tech methods for home cultivation and the integral role fungi play in this worlds ecology! Sat, 9 Apr | 9 am - 12 pm Mullum Concession: $108 Full Fee: $120

BEEKEEPING with Steve Fowler This workshop introduces potential bee keepers to the delight and fascination of this rewarding hobby. The session covers safety, myth busting, hands-on bee keeping (Steve will bring along a beehive), legal requirements and the most important thing - how to get started! Sun, 6 Mar | 10 am - 6 pm Mullum Concession: $134 Full Fee: $149

COMPOSTING AND WORM FARMING with Lucy Legan Partnering with worms to create healthy soil makes good eco-sense. Learn how to make a worm farm, how to care for the worms and how to work with worm leachate (juice) and castings. The tricks of hot and cool composting will be shared so you have endless food for your worms. Sat, 5 Mar | 9 am - 1 pm Mullum Concession: $97 Full Fee: $108