Believe & Succeed: A Desert Oasis

yen

In the small Northern Territory town of Mataranka, Yen Nguyen has created a swathe of green among red dust and termite mounds.

Situated on Mangarayi and Yangman country, Mataranka is a town famous for two things: its natural hot springs and the 1908 autobiographical novel We of the Never Never, written by Jeannie Gunn. Of the region, Gunn wrote, ‘This is the land of Plenty of Time; Plenty of Time and Wait a While.’

The ‘wait a while’ bit aptly describes the patient approach of Yen Nguyen, who has set up a paradise known as

Yen’s Green Corner, turning the red dust into an abundant permaculture garden. Yen feeds locals and tourists every week through her cafe. Patrons are able to find respite in the shade, wander through her productive patch and eat fresh, organic produce skilfully crafted by Yen into Vietnamese fare. She doesn’t advertise and has never needed to. Word spreads like wildfire around the local caravan parks, with organic produce difficult to find on the road. When told of her cafe’s 4.9-star online review rating, she was completely surprised: ‘Oh! Is that good?’

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Indigenous Knowledge: Milpa Method

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Drawing on the wisdom of Indigenous Americans, the Milpa method of gardening mimics a forest ecosystem to promote fertility and increase resilience.

Adapted from the forest ecosystem by Indigenous Americans over a period of thousands of years, Milpa gardens are an elegant response to the challenges every natural gardener faces; weather, weeds, fertility and pests. The method increases drought and inundation resilience, while promoting natural fertility by recreating the managed forest gardens, the natural habitat of humanity.

North American Indigenous gardener and environmental biologist Mel Landers was seduced by the gardening techniques he encountered following fieldwork with the Urarina people of the Peruvian Amazon in 1969, triggering a lifelong study of the Milpa system.

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Farm My School: Feeding The Future

Costa-Georgiadis

Farm My School is an initiative aiming to transform unused land within schools into regenerative market gardens, to grow community, educate youth and produce affordable nutrient-dense food.

Two men with a vision have built a farm at a secondary school in regional Victoria. Created on a 1.5-acre disused soccer field at Bellarine Secondary College (BSC) in October 2022, the farm was established by local community members in a record 24-hour period.

It’s the pilot project of a newly launched initiative called Farm My School (FMS), which is the brainchild of permaculturists Ben Shaw and James McLennan. The pair partnered with the school community and Bellarine Community Health to bring their plan to life.

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Localisation: Small, Slow And Local

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Author, filmmaker and founder of Local Futures Helena Norberg-Hodge explains how adopting an economic strategy based on the wisdom of indigenous cultures and smaller communities could be the answer to human, societal and environmental issues.

‘Buy local’ campaigns have been prolific over the last couple of years, indicating a growing awareness of the need to support our local communities. But localisation, or more particularly economic localisation, actually goes much deeper than just buying what you need from your nearby and independent stores. Because as paradoxical as it might seem, opting for small, slow and local is a big-picture strategy that can address the root causes of the global environmental and social crises we’ve found ourselves in.

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Sustainable Renovation: When Less Is More

house

This character-filled farmhouse located in southern lutruwita/Tasmania was sustainably renovated to improve circulation and connectivity with the seasons, animals and productive garden space.

When Helen and Ronnie approached Jane Hilliard of Homeful by Designful to renovate their run-down farmhouse, they explained that they were tired of the dark interior, lack of circulation and sense of disconnection from the outside world. Helen and Ronnie’s choice of building designer was not happenstance, for Jane is well known in Tasmania for her ground-breaking approach to building design and commitment to rethinking the way the industry approaches both design and construction.

Jane believes the key to sustainability lies in a deep understanding of the needs and values of the client, balanced against the client’s own understanding of ‘what is enough’ for them. By tailoring the design process in this way, Jane believes we can minimise costs for the client, while also refraining from excessive and wasteful use of resources. The end result for Helen and Ronnie was a beautifully considered renovation which enhanced the vibrancy of their life, while also meeting their budgetary and sustainability goals.

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Bivalve Molluscs: Shellfish Solution

Mussels

Sustainably sourced seafood is hard to find, but the types of shellfish called bivalve molluscs are not only packed full of important nutrients, they’re contributing to the protection and restoration of our precious coastlines.

Seafood is good for us. It’s packed full of protein, vitamins and nutrients that are essential to our health, some of which are hard to find elsewhere. But it seems finding a source of truly sustainable seafood is getting increasingly more difficult.

So how do we get all those great nutrients without harming the environment? The answer could lie in the special class of shellfish known as bivalve molluscs. Bivalve molluscs include oysters, mussels, clams and scallops and are found in the intertidal zones and shallow depths of our oceans, lakes and rivers. They are filter feeders and survive on what is in the waters around them, therefore they require no feeding and they actually clean the waters in which they live.

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Functional Flavour: Edible Shade

shade

Plants are a brilliant low-cost solution for shading your home, so make the most of it by utilising plants that will also feed you.

Longer days and warmer temperatures may signal a time of growth and abundance in the garden, but they can also mean sweltering days and uncomfortably hot nights. What if, instead of turning on the air conditioner, you could keep your home cooler by growing shade- giving edibles instead?

By utilising simple concepts and thoughtful plant choices, not only can you passively cool your house and help to reduce your energy bills (and the environmental cost that goes along with them), you can also enjoy an edible harvest. Growing shade-giving plants, or ‘edible shade’ can be of great benefit in your summer vegetable garden too, keeping young or delicate plants safe from the intense summer sun and helping to keep your soil cool and moist. With plants and growing ideas to suit many different situations, edible shade is an easy and clever addition to your home.

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Planning Your Patch: Useful Bounty

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With some careful planning, observation and know-how, you can turn your vegie patch into a productive garden capable of feeding your family every night of the week.

We all want to harvest our homegrown vegetables from our backyard, but ensuring you have enough variety, quantity and consistency all year round can be trickier than it sounds. Whether you’re growing on acreage or a sunny apartment balcony, there are things you can do – and not do – to ensure you’re getting the most appropriate food out of your available growing space.

The important – and difficult – thing to do is to only grow what you love to eat. Then if we think about clever ways to use your available space, how much and how often to plant certain varieties, but also prioritising the things that are expensive to buy and things which are most likely to be sprayed, then the health and financial benefits of homegrown food will be many and varied.

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