Elemental Permaculture in Port Kembla, New South Wales | Business service

Elemental Permaculture

Locality: Port Kembla, New South Wales

Phone: +61 424 241 881

Address: 2/15 Keira St 2505 Port Kembla, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.elementalpermaculture.wordpress.com/

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25.01.2022 Integrate rather than segregate... Permaculture design uses the placement of elements to support each other’s needs and save energy. At Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture Demonstration Site the compost hub is placed to connect to the four season vegetable garden, subtropical food forests, water source, material drop zone and major access path. This design decision allows for efficient energy flows for materials and humans.... Today the Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture students are building a mid Spring slow ferment, mineral dense compost. This mineral dense compost will be used for annual vegetable planting and fruit tree care next Autumn.

24.01.2022 In more tales from Tarrawanna Public School’s Living Classroom, its all hands in the soil on this beautiful blue skied mid Spring day. The Garden Ambassadors were keen to complete the native food forest shelter belt that they had meticulously prepared in Term 3. An active team of students mulched the 18 m long swale and mound earthworks with 300 - 400mm of decomposing wood chip. ... 10 litres of Basalt rock dust was sprinkled into the wood chip and it was watered in with 50 litres of diluted molasses and rainwater. A selection of local, native food and medicine plants were then laid out and planted into the mulched mound. These plants represented 7 layers of a typical forest ecosystem from ground covers to climax canopy trees. Meanwhile, in the four season vegetable garden, the Spring no dig soil building was underway. Manami, with a small and hardworking group of Garden Ambassadors built two 12 metre garden beds. This huge effort, for the mid Spring annual vegetable and herb planting. Great work from this talented team of Garden Ambassadors.

24.01.2022 Warrawong High School’s Living Classroom is a buzz with students working on the winter maintenance tasks. Today, these fine folk are demonstrating the Permaculture Ethics of Earth Care, People Cate and Fair Share. There is laughter and joy as the students work harmoniously in the wonderful winter weather.

24.01.2022 The care of the earth is our responsibility and duty as humans. Ethical resource management, considers the impacts on both the natural world and future generations. Permaculture, is taking the initiative in a time when natural resources are carelessly gambled in the commodity market and recalcitrant publicly elected officials deny climate change and kowtow shamelessly to mining interests.... Sustainable forestry is a legacy project. See how some of the elders of Japan considered forestry...

22.01.2022 The transition from a Permaculture Design Course can be a challenging one with the integration to life back at home. The energy around creating a world of hope, inspiration and possibility by positive change, can be best captured by getting our hands in the soil. So on Friday, 2nd of October, nestled In the sun splashed Berkeley hills, soil building was the order of the day at Warrawong High School’s Permaculture Demonstration Site.... The school holiday program was in full operation as students and staff worked together building the no dig garden beds for a late Spring planting. Our school holiday program, is where we have creatively responded to the needs of our amazing students by working together to build soil and community.

21.01.2022 Permaculture design drawings are a visual representation of a vision developed from permission from traditional owners, mindful observation, open consultation and intuition. These drawings are conceptual, and a useful tool to develop a harmonious assembly of design elements that work with the natural and constructed environment. In the case of Illawarra Sports High School Living Classroom, the Concept Design drawing has sparked the imagination of the students and school community and opened portals of possibility...

20.01.2022 Late autumn afternoon in the vegetable plot at Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture garden.

20.01.2022 In more tales from the Five Islands Secondary College vegetable patch, Wednesday saw the local media WIN news interview some of the wonderful Permaculture crew. After being hit by the full force of a wild east coast low, the garden looked stunning. It provided the ideal context for demonstrating individual and community resilience.

19.01.2022 Meanwhile, down on the coastal edge, the Port Kembla Public School Living Classroom has been a hub of creative activity. On Thursday the 13th of August the Garden Ambassadors were engaged in hands on learning. These enthusiastic and talented young folk were independently applying the Permaculture practices to maintain their garden, complete seasonal tasks and establish new projects.... In exciting news, the south eastern shelter belt and biodiversity garden commenced. The stands of banna grass were chopped and dropped for soil building , roots removed and transitioned with plantings of local coastal native trees and shrubs. Big thanks to local environmentalist and school parent Jess Whittaker for organising and donating the plants. Talking of biodiversity,the Garden Ambassadors have been creating reptile and native insect habitat to integrate on the edges of the four season vegetable beds. These inspirational Garden Ambassadors will be ones to watch over the course of 2020

19.01.2022 Within earshot of the constant humming steel mill, the laughter of the Garden Ambassadors splits the mechanical dissonance surrounding Cringila Public School. It’s early Spring, the skies are clear and the macadamia flowers are vibrating with the industrious sound of bee resonance. So too wth the Garden Ambassadors, their enthusiastic banter sounds as they make a start on the Spring garden practices.... These Garden Ambassadors continue a seventeen year tradition of building mineral dense humic soils. The no dig garden bed building, chopping & dropping of support plants, mulching paths with wood chip, aerobic compost building and utilising soiled chicken coop bedding are the staple practices in the Living Classroom. In turn, the mineral dense vegetables and herbs repeatedly grown and harvested from the garden beds are testament to this earth stewardship practice. Whilst the Garden Ambassador transform this industrial landscape into an thriving Garden of Eden, so too they cultivate their inner garden and grow seeds of hope and possibility...

19.01.2022 It’s a beautiful clear winters day out in Cringila Public School’s Living Classroom. Each fortnight, Permaculture theory is learned creatively and then applied in the seasonal and maintenance practices. Laughter and joy sounds as the Garden Ambassadors work enthusiastically in their Living Classroom.

17.01.2022 At the foot of Hill 60 Port Kembla, lies a garden blooming with endless possibility... After the intense south easterly rain event in the Illawarra, the students were pulling up stacks of Spanish onions. Heading off a possible crop loss, the early harvest ensured the scarlet bulbs were free of mildew and potential rot.... To the delight of students and staff. the mineral rich organic soils in the Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture Site produce consistent bumper crops. While the last of the late winter crops were harvested, a mid Spring planting followed. The new seedlings are pocket planted with screened stable humus compost directly into the no dig beds. Healthy soil, healthy plants and healthy humans.

16.01.2022 Whilst speaking of late autumn, Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture students celebrate the final harvest of eggplant.

16.01.2022 Down in the compost hub of Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture, one could easily mistake the setting for the verdant gardens of Bali. Today, this dynamic team have just completed the final soil building of the long beds. With the welcome Spring rains imminent, the no dig beds will be settled and ready for a late tomato and sweet basil planting next week.... Build the soil and plants will thrive... Here at Five Islands Secondary College the vegetables and herbs are shared with students, staff and the wider Port Kembla community.

15.01.2022 The soilsof Illawarra Sports High School, are typical of the soils found in both the public and private schools thus far. They have been stripped, removed and replaced with industrial and/or building waste, and then capped with clay and lightly dressed with a scattering of sub grade soil. The solution is to mix our own soil blend and then apply our seasonal organic and Biodynamic soil building techniques to the garden beds.... This approach provides a healthy soil foundation, encourages a culture of soil building and counters the potential hazards of industrial fallout for the plant, animal and human kind.

15.01.2022 Day 2 and 3 on the Living Classroom build... Scrape the site level, harvest the soil to create a super soil blend and mark out the garden beds and paths with hydrated lime. From a single set out point, the beds and paths are organised in a ripple pattern. This aesthetically appealing form allows for a smooth flow of movement for people and materials in & out and around the garden beds.... The garden beds of 600mm deep of super soil and paths 300m deep of tree mulch wrap around the art building to soften the harsh 1970’s brick architecture.

14.01.2022 Permaculture at its core is an earth repair kit for extreme natural disturbance. Recovering the natural ground from decades of concrete and steel reduces the heat island effect created by modern building. Ai Illawarra Sports High School in Berkeley, NSW 100m2 of concrete was cut up and removed. ... 50% was reused in the Living Classroom for path paving, 30% cut in 400mm squares and stored for future use and the last 20% of the cracked concrete recycled in Kemblawarra. Imagination and feel guides the function and form. Plantings of clumping bamboo and local rainforest emergents will create a subtropical oasis amongst the brick and concrete banality...

13.01.2022 The Living Classroom Project growing strong in the ‘Gong’ since 2003...join us in supporting kids and school communities in the #Noosa #sunshinecoast #gympie region do the same

13.01.2022 Out in the beautiful early winter day, the magic of the Living Classroom is happening. Warrawong High School’s 7.3 have an excellent day learning by doing as they care for country using the Permaculture practices.

13.01.2022 Working with the edge and valuing the marginal. Restoring an endangered ecosystem on damaged land with high school students is Permaculture in action. Nestled down in the Berkeley Hills, Warrawong High students are creating positive change in their Living Classroom.... The southern boundary of the Permaculture Demonstration Site is part of a the upper catchment of Hospital Creek and in turn, Lake Illawarra. In the spirit of care for country, these students are restoring the Berkeley Brush, whilst meeting the curriculum outcomes. This endangered plant community once stood upon the rich latite soils of the Berkeley Hills which run from the Illawarra escarpment to the coast. This unique ecosystem is now a banal combination of industrial landfill materials, colonised by a cornucopia of exotic pioneer plants, commonly referred to as weeds. These students are using the chop and drop practice to clear the weed species and uncover the landfill material. This will enable them to have a better understanding of the landform in design of this restoration project. They are creating access by shaping contour paths and building tyre stair cases for movement along and up & down the slopes respectively, The Berkeley Brush forest layers can then be planted safely. This planting provides a welcome call to the other living creatures of the forest to return.

12.01.2022 Here the 7.3 students at Warrawong High School care for country using the Permaculture practices in their abundant Living Classroom

12.01.2022 This week in tales from the vegetable patch, we are back at the Cringila Public School Living Classroom. The day was wild with the cold, dry and gusty winds whipping around the Illawarra. However, the established shelter belt of the Living Classroom creates a calm and welcoming microclimate for late winter garden activity. The Garden Ambassadors were busily engaged in both the seasonal Permaculture practices and garden maintenance tasks.... Today’s maintenance activities included chicken care, aerobic compost turning, watering the west facing bamboo clumps and grinding eggs shells to flour for soil mineralisation. The seasonal tasks were painting the South American fruit trees with a Biodynamic tree paste and harvesting some of the mineral dense winter vegetables & herbs. Cringila Public School honours the practice of growing garden to plate produce. The vegetables and herbs are used in the cooking program and the surplus enjoyed by the families of the Garden Ambassadors. Children, demonstrating a simple solution in reducing their carbon footprint.

12.01.2022 Brogo Permaculture Gardens Permaculture Design Course Spring 2020 The Crossing Land Education Centre Bermagui, NSW ... Its Day 7, and these talented group of people are hard at it, drawing up their Spatial Designs on Brogo Permaculture Gardens Spring PDC. Bill Mollison’s Methods of Design are covered as the students use Elemental Permaculture’s design process to develop a set of design drawings. These folk learn some of the fundamental tools to approach Permaculture design and gain the confidence and skills to complete their final design projects. It’s wonderful to see their progress over two days. And five beautiful sets of drawings are produced to support their design decisions. Elemental Permaculture works with the inspirational John Champagne on Brogo Permaculture Gardens Permaculture Design Course. This two week residential course gives the participants an opportunity to be immersed in the many spheres of Permaculture, learn practical design skills to feel confident, and be inspired to go out in the world and create positive change.

12.01.2022 The Permaculture design drawing is a conceptual expression of considered thought, inclusive consultation and intuition. Translating the beautifully rendered drawing to a set out plan is the next step in the design process. A single set out point simplifies the pattern for laying out path and mounds. Here at the Illawarra Sports High School Living Classroom this pattern comes to life for the Annual Vegetable beds and paths.

11.01.2022 What is a gateway? In a Living Classroom, a gateway Is an entrance to a portal of possibility... Ten years ago, the Garden Ambassadors at Cringila Public School planted an avenue of macadamia nut seedlings upon the western edge of their Living Classroom.... It is also where the brutal, cold and dry western winds would beat down and cause havoc to the sensitive South American fruit trees and annual vegetables. Whilst the western winds still blow with unkind ferocity, today the students walk in a cathedral like atmosphere of mature macadamia nut trees. The stillness and calm of this forest can be attributed to the shelter belt plantings of clumping tropical bamboos and native figs. The Garden Ambassadors now harvest thousands of nuts in a year. This nut bounty is processed and shared amongst the school community as both tasty foods and as potted seedlings for home gardens. This macadamia nut variety was collected from a grandmother tree on an abandoned farm on the eastern face of Mt Keira. It was propagated in Thirroul and planted in the Cringila Public School Living Classroom as a possibility. Today, this variety is a staple of nut tree planting in the Living Classrooms of the Illawarra. Living Classrooms, where possibilities are realised...

11.01.2022 Meanwhile, up on the volcanic soils of the Berkeley Hills, Warrawong High School Permaculture Garden is pumping out their own style of mineral dense herbs and vegetables too!

11.01.2022 Its Thursday August 6th, Education Week in NSW schools, and Cringila Public School Living Classroom is buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm. The Garden Ambassadors of 3D are hosting tours and leading the winter activities and the maintenance practices for each class in the garden. The atmosphere was alive with the sound of laughter as the students both discovering and remembering the joy of learning in the garden. From Kindergarten and Year 1 who were visiting for the first time, Year 2 the future 2021 Garden Ambassadors to the the past Garden Ambassadors from Years 4, 5 and 6, fun and enjoyment was had by all.

10.01.2022 It’s a blue skied Thursday morning, on the 14th of January 2021, for the commencement of the Illawarra Sports High School Living Classroom. Stage 1 is the Citrus Guild and the Kitchen Garden. The three citrus are retained, and all vegetation and trellises are removed. The cleared site allows the existing soils to be assessed and structures and services to be accurately identified. ... The pattern for the Kitchen Garden can now be set out and reviewed for function and flow. See more

09.01.2022 At the foot of the Illawarra escarpment, under the watchful eye of Broker’s Nose, the latest Living Classroom is unfolding at Tarrawanna Public School. This caring school community has all the makings of greatness with their Permaculture. The Stage 2 Garden Ambassadors are a powerhouse of energy and spirit as can be seen with the establishment and maintenance of their Living Classroom.... Soil building has been top priority for these young folk. With the approach and now presence of Spring, the mineral dense soil building for both the vegetables and fruit trees is in full swing. What is more exciting and impressive has been the students creation of a fourteen metre swale and mound system. This hand shaped earthworks will support a soon to be planted local native food shelter belt . Inspired from Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture Garden and guided by Jiwah, Tarrawanna Public School will be home to this edible plant community. Look out for a full feature of this inspiring journey...

08.01.2022 Care of the Earth We build soil as we grow food.... Warrawong means windy hill. It is part of the Berkeley Hills, a volcanic intrusion of latite, which runs from the escarpment in the west to the Five Islands at Port Kembla beach in the east.... Warrawong High School Permaculture Garden lies on a north facing bench of industrial waste. Building soil has been a necessity to grow organic vegetables, herbs and fruit. Each Spring and Autumn since 2011 the students honour Esther Deans’ work and build the soil using this no dig method. The paths are heavily mulched with wood chip and activated with diluted molasses and peppered with volcanic rock dust. In this sun kissed mid Spring day, Permaculture students are pocket planting vegetables and herbs in the no dig beds with a compost preparation. The excellent health and vigour of the plants is testament to these biannual practices. When we look after the soil, the soil in turn looks after us.

07.01.2022 Care of the earth... The Strickland State Forest is home to a magnificent arboretum. Planted in the period from 1887 To 1924, a selection of Australian native trees were trialled for forestry.... Today, many of these majestic giants stand over 30m tall with girth’s exceeding 2m diameter. This robust forest is testimony to a past vision of sustainable forestry and generational employment. In this time of human driven climate change, limited availability of local quality timber, antiquated pulp policies for state forests and government endorsed habitat clearing, bioregional forests are needed to meet local needs.

07.01.2022 It’s the July school holidays at the Warrawong High School Living Classroom. A small team of dedicated students are enthusiastically engaged in the winter garden maintenance. Permaculture at its core is caring for country and here at Warrawong High School these students are practicing land stewardship.

07.01.2022 It’s a glorious mid winter morning in the Five Islands Secondary College vegetable patch. The long beds have been prepared with applications of rock dust, stable humus compost and straw. Today, students are pocket planting a second season brassica crop in one of the no dig beds.

05.01.2022 Welcome to the beauty of St Patricks Primary School’s Living Classroom. This verdant cornucopia is a thriving food garden and inspiring leaning oasis. It is, just a hop, skip and a jump south of the chugging and grinding steel mill of BlueScope in Port Kembla. This is where Permaculture has been used to produce a mindful response to the severe environmental impact of heavy industry. St Patricks Primary School’s Living Classroom is a lone beacon of sustainability in the Cathol...ic schools of New South Wales. This learning paradise provides a dynamic environment where children practice sustainability. While they maintain their Living Classroom they develop life long skills to traverse an uncertain future. One of the keys to ongoing success of the Living Classroom Program is the passionate and dedicated work of teacher Mr M. Being an avid Permaculture practitioner and patient leader allows him to support the flourishing growth of both the students and garden plant systems. Adjacent the bountiful subtropical food forest is the outdoor kitchen. If you happen to visit,when the Garden Ambassadors are working in their Living Classroom, you may just be lucky enough to share a tasty wood fired pizza. It is not uncommon for these sumptuous delights to be pumping out of the Continental brick oven. During this mid Spring period the students work harmoniously while they tend the earth and build a positive culture of hope and resilience.

05.01.2022 Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture students enjoying the bounty of mineral dense brassicas. The persistent predation by cabbage moth encouraged an early harvest. From garden to plate, it is a living Permaculture.

04.01.2022 Whilst the Warrawong High School students work in the northern food forests of the Living Classroom, there’s a cornucopia of winter abundance thriving down in the vegetable garden. The soils are alive with earthworms, who have exploded in number since the introduction of biodynamic practices.

04.01.2022 Five Islands Secondary College Permaculture. Autumn brassica abundance down in the vegetable patch. The welcoming autumn rains boost the thriving cabbage plantings.

04.01.2022 Perched on the coastal edge, Port Kembla Public School Living Classroom is a buzz with creative activity. Students learn plant identification skills through interactive play. They then plant out a late winter vegetable and herb crop in their living soil long beds. Here, the experienced Garden Ambassadors support a new classes of students with the finer points of organic growing.

03.01.2022 ...starting from scratch soil building....join us at Welcome to the BIG House for the ABC of soil building...Monday 29th 3:30-5:00pm. All welcome