Reskillience

Today’s subject matter is so slippery and mysterious that even my guest, Dr Maya Ward, finds it hard to describe, though she’s swimming in it. It concerns the aliveness of rivers and the rivers inside us; the nature of reality and realms invisible yet objectively real. It’s about catching the whispers and shouts of the world with pen and paper. It’s shamanic, ecstatic and emphatically esoteric. It’s bloody wild – and I suggest bringing your passport because the places this convo will take you are far out. But also, deep within. If you love all things complex, paradoxical and perspective-shifting, I dedicate this episode to you 🙌After we recorded, Maya sent this thoughtful epilogue:We are innately of the world, yet we are also this witness consciousness, experiencing separation. Forgetting, then remembering. “Inside human beings is where God learns”, said Rilke. Does separation itself create the possibility of learning? In my exhibition, on the wall, I have a quote from Robert Bringhurst: “Language is not for talking about the world – that's for dilettantes. Language is for talking with the world.” I wish I'd said that.***Support Reskillience on Patreon!***🧵ThreadsA new old way to introduce ourselvesOriginal meanings of yin and yangThe right ratio between humans and more-than-humanThe role of the artist and poetEcstatic and mystical experiences in natureBuilding beauty and vernacular architectureWhere a lack of trust in the system takes youInitiated vs. uninitiated ways of beingSmall, potent workThird wheeling the love affair between sun and earthAltered state workThe imaginal realmSufi mysticismThe danger of unwitnessed initiationAutomatic/shamanic writingReclaiming ‘esoteric’Acknowledgement of Country spellcasting🧙‍♀️LINKY POOSMaya Ward’s home on the webMaya’s events, workshops & exhibitionsMaya’s book: The Comfort of WaterNature Based Leadership TrainingCERESWilliam WordsworthTyson YunkaportaHenri CorbinCarl JungRudolf SteinerPlatoWouter Jacobus HanegraaffGregory BatesonBook: Songspirals ~ Gay’wu Group of WomenAlfred North Whitehead

Real good fun with this one! Join me and Formidable Vegetable’s kind and charismatic frontman Charlie McGee for a swashbuckling convo about pirate bananas, working the edges, growing up in Arnhem Land, dumpster diving to feed your art, staying in your integrity (while saying yes to flying), the deep discomfort of home ownership and remembering your interconnectedness.🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOSFormidable Vegetable’s home on the webGrow Do It (Charlie & Brenna's hub of ecological goodness) Find secret track Pirate Banana on Formidable Vegetable’s Micro Biome CD, only available in person at gigs!Vandana ShivaBill Mollison & David Holmgren ~ Permaculture One***Become a legendary supporter of the podcast on Patreon***

I tell a story about how Jord and I narrowly avoided getting shot before introducing Tanya Loos – local treasure and legendary naturalist – for a deep and meaningful chat about wild life, and all life. We cover: How to be a nature positive pet owner Are cats evil? How to save a bunch of lives Gardens as habitat The housing crisis facing possums (and other critters) How to recklessly pursue your passion and make it your profession GETTING THE ANIMALS ON THE ARK How to avoid roadkill (even frogs) Bee feelings + monogamous lizards The intersection between conservation, permaculture & animal welfare Patreon Qs 24/7 nature connection Beetle PaceLINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️Tanya Loos’ home on the webTanya on InstagramLiving with Wildlife ~ Tanya LoosDaylesford Nature Diary ~ Tanya LoosTanya on ABC Radio ~ Backyard Critters (every second Friday 9.50am)Paradise Bookshop DaylesfordWild Neighbours ~ Ian TembyCampaspe Valley LandcareGerald DurrellConnecting CountryZoos Victoria Safe Cat, Safe WildlifeAlison PouliotiNaturalist***Support Reskillience on Patreon***Frog sounds care of markushablizel -- https://freesound.org/s/32394/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 THANKS M8

It's the season three finale with me and my man Jordan Osmond!We’re cranking the content couple cringe in this convo which covers our individual intentions for 2025, and chatting them through like a pair of old codgers.Jordan is one half of Happen Films, sharing stories for a more beautiful world, and precisely one year ago we recorded a Reskillience interview which was later to become our first date.Back with new eps in three weeks or less 💥Big love to all the legends supporting the show on Patreon <3

The episode that nearly didn’t happen for reasons almost too embarrassing to share… but what else is the intro for? 🤷‍♀️Today we’re hanging out with CAROLINE PARKER ~ The Cottage Herbalist ~ bigtime girl crush and quite possibly the love child of a 1950s rock star and wiccan goddess.Caroline is an author, speaker, grower, educator, forager, herbalist and award-winning teasmith who is just TOO COOL.We bask in her garden eating elderflower cookies talking about treat-os, herbal speed dating, what to cook when you CBF cooking, the cuppa that Caroline would serve to power hungry pollies and why she’s not a prepper.🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOSCaroline’s witchy little home on the webCaroline aka. The Cottage Herbalist on InstagramCaroline’s book baby ~ The Medicinal GardenCaroline’s upcoming workshops[FILM] The Nettle Dress***Support Reskillience on Patreon!*** Make a garden tea Make herby sauce Make pesto! Make herbal infused oils Make a garden balm Get into the garden! Make time for thyme Yarrow, yarrow, yarrow Make people in power a cup of love Garden with others

After countless requests I present to you: Kat Lavers 🐈‍⬛Wicking buckets, magic bug buttons, interspecies adventures, listener questions and more!Kat and I recorded this convo at her kitchen table, surrounded by ferments and preserves and garlands of dried chilli.At just 1/14th of an acre, Kat's urban homestead The Plummery has been known to pump out 428kg of fresh produce in any given year, meeting almost all the fruit/veggie requirements for two people. I M P R E S S I V E  S T U F F.Kat is a beloved permaculture educator, passionate gardener, and sustainable food system furtherer whose compassion for all living things could fill five football stadiums, whilst also being the poster child for small wonders.You may have seen Kat featured on Gardening Australia, Happen Films, myriad permie/green media channels, and in this one-and-a-bit hour yarn we plumb the depths of her mind, heart and utterly delightful psyche through her list of 10 things. LINKY POOSKat’s home on the webKat on Instagram (which she doesn’t really use)Wildlife Homestead YouTube Channel[BOOK] Once ~ Annie Raser-RowlandReskillience with Annie Raser-RowlandThe Group Work Center ~ Groups + Facilitation training***join the Reskillience community on Patreon***

Are bees a mammal in many bodies?Why do conventional beehives leave bees cold, stressed and defensive?How can beekeepers deal with varroa mite without any chemicals?Do European honeybees even belong in Australia?What is Australia’s best honey and where to get it?All this and more in today’s GLORIOUS conversation with leading natural beekeeper Adrian Iodice. Such a special one folks 🐝🐝🐝LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️The Beekeeping Naturally websiteAdrian on InstaAdrian’s courses & workshopsAdrian’s Kenyan Top Bar hivesAdrian’s YouTube channel – so many how-tosEmbody BeeSave the Bees AustraliaBiodynamics – Tobias MagerTim Malfroy ~ Malfroy’s GoldNatural Beekeeping Australia***Support Reskillience on Patreon!***

If you prefer nature to people, birdsong to screeching tyres and secretly want to crash the economy via mass workplace dropout due to a bird language contagion, you will go absolutely crackers for this convo.Andrew Turbill aka. THE BIRD GUY is here to share his epic and somewhat perilous birding quests for 2025, from stalking Logrunners to sidestepping fascists and recording a full blown predator attack in the sky.F****** fabulous listening for anyone under the spell of birds. Andrew’s 2025 to-do list find out where our local superb lyrebirds (well, at least 1 lyrebird anyway) nest and get an audio recording of the young bird begging or alarm calls get a decent photo of a logrunner build an elevated sit spot platform in the forest spend more time in the forest socialising with songbirds and less time doom-scrolling about the callous and cruel manifestations of psychopaths, narcissists and fascists record audio of a full-sequence aerial predator attack keep my bird baths full 365 days of the year devise a way to dissuade catbirds and fairy-wrens from mercilessly pummeling my windows at dawn throughout spring and summer find someone desperate enough to make some walking-around money to enter 30 years of my naturalist seasonal field observations into a data base or excel spreadsheet so i make some effing sense of them take on a bird language apprentice visit my mum more oftenLINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️Robin Wall KimmererAndrew Turbill’s online nest Andrew on ABC Radio NationalYou were once a Bird Language Samurai, and can be again ~ Andrew TurbillMegalania goanna!!!Jon YoungVoices of birds page on Andrew’s websiteUpcoming Bird Language events + retreats****support Reskillience on Patreon****

If you're sick of ham sandwiches and Love Actually, why not bring spear throwing and possum skinning to Chrissy lunch? Eva and Will of Wild Beings have some cracking ideas for rewilding family gatherings -- and every other facet of modern existence, for that matter.These two intrepid humans lead a radically connected life on/in/with the land, and inspire others to do the same. Tracking, hunting, foraging, tanning, weaving, bush medicine and bird language... this conversation harks back to the OG roots of Reskillience; re-membering that old, wise body of ecological knowledge and running with it... into the shrubbery.🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOSWild Beings’ home on the webWild Beings on InstagramSeasonal Earth Skills Gathering[book] Wild Food Plants of Australia ~ Tim Lowe[book] Wondrous World of Weeds – Pat Collins***Show Reskillience some love on Patreon***

Things to know about this episode:🪶 It was recorded on Lucy's bedroom floor, smushy carpet under-butt and steaming cups of dandy tea in hand.🪶 It’s a day spa for your weary weary soul, the one who yearns for alignment between what you love and what you earn.🪶 It includes a grounding practice & ways to attune to your evolutionary purpose.🪶 It’s kinda like a personal session with a business strategist, social entrepreneur, poet, writer and regenerator… in podcast form.🪶 It’s a brave and nuanced take on capitalism, less about poisoning it with roundup, more about seeing it as part of the garden we humans have grown and can therefore gently, intentionally supplant.❤️ Listen right to the end for a poetry reading.🧙‍♀️LINKY POOS🏡 Lucy’s home on the web🏝️ Lucy’s Instagram📕 Lucy’s book ~ Divine Postal Service​🌕 Lucy’s full moon Substack***Support Reskillience on Patreon (but don’t use the Patreon app cos Apple will charge yo ass a fee. GO DESKTOP)***