Sunday May the 2nd is International Permaculture Day, and what better way to celebrate Permaculture than meet up with your fellow Permies to chew the fat as it were about all things Permaculture.

We're meeting on Jaycee Island, access behind the CFA shed. To find us just keep an eye out for the Big Benalla Permaculture Banner!

We are planning a communal picnic, so please bring a plate to share, preferably with some nice yummy food on it. I believe there is a Public BBQ on the island, I (Woz) will check and confirm.

BYO Crockery & Cutlery, Drinks, Chairs, Picnic Rug, etc. Children welcome under supervision.

Plan to arrive around 11 for the Meet and Greet part, Lunch will be at 12. Beyond that, there is no real schedule for the day other than just getting to know each other and have some friendly conversations.

COVID - We will run a sign in sheet for tracking if necessary. Please observe the usual COVID precautions. If you are feeling unwell, have tested positive for COVID or are awaiting test results, then for the benefit of all, please stay at home, rest up and get better..

Warwick Bone (Woz)

Do you enjoy getting out in the garden? Do you love growing vegetables? Are you tired of missing out on your favourite packets of seed?

This workshop, on Sunday 26 March from 2 - 4, led by local seed saving expert Kate Holmes, will equip you with all the knowledge you need to get started and grow your freedom through seed saving.

Based on Kate's personal experience and research over the past decade, the information shared will include:
* Why save seed?
* Getting started - what, where & when to grow?
* Keeping it pure - what's in a name? Pollination isolation
* Bringing in the harvest
* Storing your Seed.
Workshop notes will be included and you may even get to take home a packet of seeds to grow.
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Fees:- $45 BP/PcV members ($40 conc), $65 Public ($60 conc).
Places are limited, please send an email to info@BenallaPermaculture.org to secure your place.
Tea/Coffee/Biscuits provided.
COVID safety precautions apply, please bring your mask.
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Please be aware, there is a known feral bee colony on the property a distance away from the workshop area. While the chances of being stung are next to zero, we are advising you just in case you are allergic to bee stings, so you may decide whether or not to attend. 

Warwick Bone and Benalla Permaculture

Permaculture as a design system has been around for over 40 years now, a product of the collaboration between Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.  In terms of strategies and techniques there was very little that was new, in fact Mollison himself is known to have said repeatedly, "There is nothing new in Permaculture!"  Indeed these strategies and techniques have been around for a long time, often centuries or millennia.

What was and still is new about Permaculture is the bringing together of all these strategies and techniques into a Functional Design system. But even then, defining Permaculture is a nigh impossible task.

Some colleagues and I were asked the question, "How would you explain Permaculture to a non Permaculture type person?" It is often said that if you ask five Beekeepers the same question, you will get six different answers, possibly more, and sometimes the same is true for Permaculturists. Discussing this it became evident that there are many viewpoints as to the make up of Permaculture, each predicated on an individual's needs and experiences.

This is of course as it should be. Permaculture is such a flexible design system that it presents what is needed to each situation and thus also presents differing experiences and perceptions to individuals. And therein lies the challenge - how to express such a versatile and powerful concept to those with no Permaculture knowledge or experience.

One of my colleagues then offered, "It's how you think". Hmm.  Ponder.,,  

And that is the key. Permaculture is a design system using Ethics and Principles to formulate a series of Tactics, Strategies and Techniques to achieve the desired result. BUT, it requires a different way of thinking. The world is still following one form of thinking; economy, fossil fuels, compartmentalisation, and so on. To change all that, we need to change our thinking. And that's where Permaculture comes in.
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Permaculture is often seen as a way of gardening, something beyond organic gardening. This is quite understandable as Permaculture started out primarily as an agricultural design system based on observing and using nature's inherent design. Given that life on earth is dependant on energy that ultimately comes from the sun, plants and therefore gardening are a vital link in the chain of converting the sun's energy into a form that we can use - fruit, herbs, vegetables, and so on.

But the Permaculture Design System is capable of much more than that, it can also be used to design tangible structures such as houses, infrastructures such as transport and communications, and intangible structures such as communities and financial systems.

Warwick Bone,
​Benalla Permaculture