Sense-Making in a Changing World

In the new episode of Morag Gamble’s podcast, Michael Mobbs shares insights from his 50 + years experience living and breathing environmentalism and sustainability.Starting out as Australia’s first environmental lawyer in 1978, Michael went on to create an off-grid home for his family in the 1990s – right in the heart of Sydney. His passion for sustainability led him to write two books: Sustainable House, and, Sustainable Food.Michael’s off-grid home is featured in Zac Efron’s latest season of Down to Earth on Netflix, and a model of the home is on display in the Powerhouse Museum Sydney. (here's a link to the trailer - Michael is featured in the Eco-Innovators episode)As for the need for climate action, now? Michael says:“The best way through (the climate crisis) is by consuming food that you grow or buying locally grown. And when you grow food, do so with the compost that you create from your food waste. There's no such thing as waste, just a failure of imagination. Don't be without imagination – be with compost, be with the soil, be with plants.”The Sustainable House website with Michael MobbsSustainable House Book by Michael MobbsSustainable Food Book by Michael MobbsI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

This episode of Sense-Making in a Changing World is the final of our 5 part Urban Agriculture series released during Urban Agriculture Month in November 2022.Here, Morag Gamble is joined by Chris Smyth, a coordinator of Community Gardens Australia (WA). They talk about the gardens he co-founded on the Murdoch University Campus, as well as the community gardening movement around the country.Chris, a retired Assoc. Professor and Dean of the School of Media Communication & Culture at Murdoch University, was able to assist students negotiating the university landscape to enable this garden to happen, and link many of the faculties to the project.Community gardens and city farms are places where people come together to grow fresh food, to learn, relax and make new friends.Community Gardens Australia connects and celebrates the growing movement of  city farms and community garden around Australia. It is a community-based organisation linking people interested in city farming and community gardening with each other and other projects. Morag was a founder of this organisation back in the 1990s with just a few dozen projects. Now there are hundreds of active projects. The resources on the website are vast and a go-to place if you are interested in starting a new garden.  All the local coordinators in each state and region are volunteers and love to hear from those wanting to create projects, or from projects that need help. Urban Agriculture MonthThis special Urban Agriculture series on Sense-Making in a Changing World is brought to you by the Permaculture Education Institute in collaboration with Sustain Australia - celebrating growing food in cities and towns for Urban Agriculture Month.Podcast Host: Morag GambleUrban Agriculture Month Ambassador, Morag Gamble, founder of Permaculture Education Institute & teacher of permaculI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

In this episode of Sense-Making in a Changing World, host Morag Gamble speaks with Buttons Testa - the creator of The Mushroomery - a micro mushroom farm she set up in her Brunswick backyard in Naarm (Melbourne) in a 10m2 growing space.The little farm supplies two restaurants and a farm gate from time to time with tasty oyster mushrooms. She is influenced by the ethics and principles of permaculture. She is working on closing multiple loops of waste within her farm. Being a massive foodie she is keen on making farming more visible in the city to create better understanding around food within the urban bubble.Buttons is also inspired to spread the knowledge of how mushrooms grow and what wonderful benefits they can have for yours and the environments health. Fungi is on the precipice of solving many earthly problems from waste to health.Buttons also loves to show how much food can be grown on small marginal plots of land in the inner city. She believes that we will need to localise our food systems in order to transition to a low-energy sustainable future. This is part 4 of our 5 part  Urban Agriculture podcast series celebrating Urban Agriculture Month (Nov 2022)Urban Agriculture MonthThis special Urban Agriculture series on Sense-Making in a Changing World is brought to you by the Permaculture Education Institute in collaboration with Sustain Australia - celebrating growing food in cities and towns for Urban Agriculture Month.Podcast Host: Morag GambleUrban Agriculture Month Ambassador, Morag Gamble, founder of Permaculture Education Institute & teacher of permaculture teachers, is a passionate advocate for urban permaculture and has been deeply involved in creating, supporting and networking projects and programs for 30 years on 5 continents.  She is cofounder of Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane and the Australian Community GardenI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

Landscape Architect and urban farmer, Hilary Hoggett - President of Fawkner Food Bowls in Naarm (Melbourne) -  takes  us on a journey into hyper local food systems. This is part 3 of our 5 part  Urban Agriculture podcast series celebrating Urban Agriculture Month (Nov 2022) Fawkner Food Bowls is a community market garden which grows herbs, vegetables, and seedlings for their very local area. They work with volunteers and community members providing culturally relevant food in a thriving growing space where community can learn about urban food growing through sustainable and regenerative growing practices. They strive to address local food security through growing and distributing food, support social cohesion within their diverse community, and build community resilience in the face of climate change.Fawkner Food Bowls started with two local residents who wanted to grow food on a larger scale than their front yards AND find a family-friendly place to relax, enjoy and meet other locals. Their ideas was supported first by the Fawkner Bowling Club and also by The Neighbourhood Project, an urban placemaking initiative of CoDesign Studio - and it has grown from strength to strength - particularly meeting local food and community needs during the long lock-downs in Melbourne. Urban Agriculture MonthThis special Urban Agriculture series on Sense-Making in a Changing World is brought to you by the Permaculture Education Institute in collaboration with Sustain Australia - celebrating growing food in cities and towns for Urban Agriculture Month.Podcast Host: Morag GambleUrban Agriculture Month Ambassador, Morag Gamble, founder of Permaculture Education Institute & teacher of permaculture teachers, is a passionate advocate for urban permaculture and has been deeply involved in creating, supporting and networking projecI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

This episode is all about keeping bees in our backyards. This is part of our 5 part  Urban Agriculture podcast series celebrating Urban Agriculture Month (Nov 2022).  My guest today is Amanda Collins of Ballarat Backyard Beehives and member of the Ballarat Permaculture Guild. Amanda and her partner Scott became accidental beekeepers ten years ago after being gifted a hive and falling in love with the bees.Since then, their passion for beekeeping has grown into a small apiary of 80 hives, delivering beekeeping courses and undertaking formalised training in beekeeping, training and assessment and Agribusiness. Amanda is the founder of HiveMind Community Apiary, a community apiary established to provide beekeeper training for people at risk of living with a mental illness. The couple are strongly connected to their local community and are advocates for urban farming, verge gardening and sustainability. Urban Agriculture MonthThis special Urban Agriculture series on Sense-Making in a Changing World is brought to you by the Permaculture Education Institute in collaboration with Sustain Australia - celebrating growing food in cities and towns for Urban Agriculture Month.Podcast Host: Morag GambleMorag Gamble, founder of Permaculture Education Institute & teacher of permaculture teachers, is a passionate advocate for urban permaculture and has been deeply involved in creating, supporting and networking projects and programs for 30 years on 5 continents.  She is cofounder of Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane and the Australian Community Gardens Network. Her blog and youtube channel include loads of urban permaculture content and this podcast features many urban agriculture pioneers.I'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

Welcome to this special Urban Agriculture  podcast series celebrating Urban Agriculture Month (Nov 2022). My first guest is Jacqui Besgrove of Pocket City Farms in central Sydney. Back in 2015, they began the transformation of a disused bowling green into a wonderfully thriving community food hub, and they want to contribute to urban farming becoming a normal part of our society and urban fabric.Local sustainable food production close to where the bulk of our population live - and can connect with and learn from - is integral in securing a healthy future for our communities and our planet. Pocket City Farm is about growing local and organic produce, providing education about food and farming, and creating community connection through being a welcoming place full of fabulous programs.Links:https://www.pocketcityfarms.com.au/https://www.pocketcityfarms.com.au/eventshttps://www.facebook.com/pocketcityfarmshttps://www.instagram.com/pocketcityfarms/https://www.linkedin.com/company/pocket-city-farmsGuest: Jacqui BesgroveJacqui Besgrove  is COO at Pocket City Farms and has over 10 years experience working as a permaculture designer as ¼ of Permablitz the Gong!, through her own private consulting practice Earthrise Permaculture and has experience applying permaculture design principles to social enterprise settings with her work at Green Connect. She leads Restorative Ecologies: Permaculture Principles and Practice as part of the UNSW Master of Environmental Management program. She is passionate about urban solutions and promoting permaculture principles and practice within our cities and suburbs to increase resilience and show how much fun radical downshifting can be.Podcast Host: Morag GambleMorag Gamble, founder of I'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

The topic of ethical fashion is in the media this week because the annual Ethical Fashion Guide has been released. But can fashion ever be ethical?My guest on this week’s Sense-making in a Changing World podcast is Shannon Lohr – a leader in the ethical fashion world.Shannon’s career is defined by her efforts to change the fashion industry, promoting a sustainable approach focused on local production, quality materials and timeless designs. She believes how we dress ourselves is connected to the health of the planet.“There is no such thing as perfectly sustainable fashion. Anytime you're making something new, it's going to have an impact,” Shannon says. “It doesn't matter if you make your clothing with organic cotton if landfill is still overflowing with clothing. The real problem is the culture and marketing system that the fast fashion industry uses which tells consumers: buy a dress, wear it that night, throw it to the back of your closet and never wear it again or put it in the trash. That’s what creates an inherently unsustainable fashion industry.” Shannon is the founder and director of Factory45 – an online business school that helps sustainable fashion entrepreneurs consider fashion design and manufacturing in a closed loop way. That means considering the life cycle of a garment beyond its immediate use and what the customer will do with it when they’re done wearing it.She’s also a strong advocate for increasing supply chain transparency through sourcing, localisation and storytelling. She’s been named a thought leader for the future of fashion and was nominated as a “Woman of Note” by the Wall Street Journal.I'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

Seventeen years ago, Rob Pekin decided to radicalise the way we shop for and distribute fresh food. His concept for a new food system was based on community, connection and localisation – and the result is an Australian-wide food systems revolution called Food ConnectBorn and bred on a dairy farm in western Victoria, Rob began to imagine a different kind of food system after he lost the family farm and fell into a depression.“The food connect model started out as a multi-farmer community-supported agriculture project. It was really my attempt as a pretty busted-up dairy farmer, disgruntled with the world and how it worked, saying – well, if I’m going to do something on a solutions side of things, I have to address probably the biggest source of misuse of power, which is in the distribution side of things.”In the latest episode of the Sense-making in a Changing World podcast, I chat with Rob about his journey and the Food Connect vision.  Hear more in this earlier interview with Rob's partner and Food Connect co-creator, Emma Kate Rose. (interviewed on Episode 14)What they’ve created is an is an inspiring  highly networked localised ethical and regenerative  food system -  one that nourishes growers, consumers, producers, the earth and foregrounds indigenous voices.Before we begin, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the unceded lands from which I’m speaking with you, the Gubbi Gubbi, and pay my deep respect to their elders past present and emerging. I’d like to recognise care for country, the waters and biodiversity for millenia.Don’t forget to give the podcast five stars! Rating the podcast helps promote the podcast to others so we can share the stories of permaculture and the amazing people we interview.This podcast is supported by the Permaculture Education Institute.Thanks to Rhiannon Gamble for editing, and Kim Kirkman for the introductory music.I'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

Welcome to this episode of Sense-Making in a Changing World.  I am delighted to be joined by the wonderful Emma Cutting, creator of The Heart Gardening Project and visionary Melbourne Pollinator CorridorThe Heart Gardening Project is a community initiative that joyfully connects humans to nature through street gardening. Emma revels in connecting the dots between different people and fields of expertise through this project and connecting to the world through her street gardening, getting completely covered in dirt and creating positive change.While she grew up on a farm in Northern NSW, Emma is now based in inner Melbourne and is a full-time mum, piano teacher, pianist, verge gardener, amateur plantswoman and amateur naturalist. She get's called many things -  a community pollinator activist - The Bee Lady. She has recently recovered from a 12 year battle with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which she says has helped shape her to be the person she is today. I think she is an extraordinary doer, catalyst and connector.Emma's book, the Melbourne Pollinator Corridor Handbook can be found here - a fabulous resource for people wanting to design for pollinator habitat in urban areas.The Melbourne Pollinator Corridor is an 8km community-driven wildlife corridor that will link 2 large green patches that run along the Birrarung (Yarra River), Westgate Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. It is an Australia-first project that she hopes will create a buzz, and be replicated across the country and beyond. Emma is leading a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for this project. Already they have generated enough for the first hub of gardens. Let's help her create all four hubs across the corridor. Here is the link to donate.This podcast is wholly supported by the Permaculture Education Institute  - we teach  permaculture teachers. Check out this linkI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.

Welcome to the fourth and final part of this special localisation series on Sense-making in a Changing World podcast with internationally claimed localisation activist Helena Norberg-Hodge . We all know that a radical shift in the way humanity is living is essential for our future. Where do we spend our energy as activists to have the most impact possible? Here we explores the concept of Big Picture activism - acting locally and globally simultaneously and what role permaculture can play.  In the first 3 parts we talked about the global economy, localising our food system and the importance of focussing our efforts on building community and restoring ecosystems. Here in part 4 we dive big picture activism. Helena is the founder and director of  Local Futures, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to renewing ecological and social wellbeing by strengthening communities and local economies worldwide. Helena has just released a new film, Planet Local: A Quiet revolution. Her first book Ancient Futures, written in 1991 has been translated into 40 languages and sold over 1 million copies. She’s been the subject of hundreds of articles and written many books, including her latest book, Local is Our Future: Steps to an Economics of Happiness which accompanies her award-winning documentary, also called The Economics of Happiness. Helena’s work spans almost five decades, with support and collaboration from leading ecological thinkers. She has been the recipient of a right livelihood award, also known as the alternative Nobel peace prize and also the Goi Peace Prize. I first met Helena back in 1992 at Schumacher college, and was absolutely inspired by the work that she was doing and subsequently volunteered with her in Ladakh or little Tibet. So again grab your notebook, listen with friends, follow up by watching Helena’s films and delving into her study group materials and localisation action guide, and feel free to share widely.Before we begin, I’d like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which I’m meeting with you todaI'd love to hear from you. Text me here.Support the showSubscribe to this podcast, share widely, leave a comment and a 5 star review to help these stories myceliate far. Check out the Sense-Making in a Changing World podcast website & Youtube channel This podcast is hosted by Morag Gamble, founder of the Permaculture Education Institute - the leading-edge international online school for integrated permaculture design, education, leadership and [pr]activism.⁠ Explore Morag Gamble's Permaculture Educators Program Morag also shares conversations through Our Permaculture Life YouTube, Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas & monthly film screenings.This podcast is broadcast from a solar powered studio in the midst of a permaculture ecovillage on Jinibara & Gubbi Gubbi country.