The Regenerative Journey with Charlie Arnott

Tommy Herschell is well placed to facilitate workshops that break down the myth that men and boys can't talk about their feelings and problems, given his own experiences as a boy and young man. In this interview he courageously dives deep into his past, from a reliance on alcohol to help douse the pain of various childhood experiences, to now facilitating workshops to help males rewrite their stories of what it is to be a man, and societies expectation of them. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways: Tommy and Charlie met a few years ago in Melbourne at a conference and Tommy’s first trip to Hanaminno was to bring Charlie a couple of bee hives | Pittwater in Sydneys Northern Beaches is where Tommy calls home | He grew up in Tugan, QLD, and had typical boyhood fun in the suburbs and surfing | When he was 10 years old things changed for Tommy when his parents separated - his reaction and way to deal with this was to get into trouble at school and telling tall stories etc | He had anxiety about everything and drinking became a crutch in his late teens | His woodwork teacher inspired him to be a school teacher | He traveled the world with a surf magazine where he met his wife Clare | Tommy doused his problems with alcohol like farmers douse their problem (weeds, pests etc) with chemical poisons | Best mate Bing called him on his behaviour | Tommy says Clare has no filter and see’s the best in people! | She calls him out, and had the courage to help him break his destructive cycle of behaviour | A victim mentality played a big part in his life | MATE - stands for Meet At The End, and is derived from the World War 1 | He realised he needed to do the work he’s doing now, it’s a way to give back and is a kind of therapy for himself | Find Ya Feet was born via the relationship he developed with Bastien Madrill who was dying of an aggressive cancer, Ewings sarcoma. Bastien taught Tommy many things about life and his appreciation of it | Tommy now works in many bush community’s, including Dubbo, Trangie and Narromine, and with Matt Hayden in QLD | The workshops Tommy facilitates explore the concept of ‘men’s law’, and breaks down the myth that men and boys aren’t meant to talk about their feelings and problems they are facing | In 2 hours Tommy Herschell adds a truckload of tools to a blokes belt for when they need that helping hand to start the conversation that ultimately saves lives. He does that by championing vulnerability, role modelling speaking up, and showing a real man puts up his hand for help. This workshop transforms the bloke who thinks it's weak to speak into the champion who knows we go from zero to hero simply by tellin' and owning our story!  ‘We’re allowed to make mistakes...It’s how we come back from those mistakes that makes a man a man‘. Episode Links:  Tommy Herschell - Tommy's website Bastien Madrill story Farmers Friend workshops - Tommy & Charlie working together Matthew Hayden & Find Ya Feet - YouTube 

Charlie attended university with 4th generation dairy farmer Chris Eggert. Whilst they hadn't seen each other since, they picked up right where they left off with a lighthearted and deep dive into Chris's life and regenerative journey. Having grown up on a conventional dairy farm to being regarded as one of the best dairy farmers in Australia, his ability to adapt general regenerative practices is an example of success. His philosophies are driven by logic, courage and positivity that continues the legacy of a family farm any farmer would be proud of. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways :  Chris Eggert is a 4th generation from Wauchope, on the mid north coast of NSW | Eggert Farm (Oxhill Organics) has been certified organic for 20 years, converted in 2000 due to deregulation of the dairy industry | At that time the farm had just been bought from previous generation | Very conventionally run prior to going organic | His mother has built yoga studio on farm and is a very steadying influence on the men on the farm! | The family eats mostly from farm and nearby produce, and focuses on creating a community through food and health | Work was once a chore for Chris and now is relaxing due to his change in attitude | It was once all about production, highly NPK fertiliser dependent, with animal health regimes of hormones and antibiotics | Chris suspects the cause of most animal sickness was from the use of urea on pasture | He was going into battle with his cows every time at milking, now it’s a joy and type of meditation | Easy calving now,  with no vet bills now - in 1999 before transitioning their vet bill was $20k | Improvement in soil takes time, improvement in animal health happens very quickly ‘once you take out the bad stuff’ | Farm biodiversity was not relevant back then | When Chris was young he wasn’t sure what wanted to do for a career | He attended University of New England (UNE) to do a Natural Resource Management degree, and deep down wanted to come back to the family farm | Chris did a Diploma in teaching in the 2000’s and taught casually at local high school to support income while transitioning | Uni taught Chris to work and learn | Deregulation of the dairy industry pushed Chris to change away from his conventional practices and there was a pull towards organic food through a growing demand for products | He went cold turkey and cut out all synthetic chemicals and fertilisers over night | Balanced soil creates healthy cows and the best milk | Chris attended a Holistic Management course run by legend HM educator Bruce Ward | Chris attended many conferences, read many books including Joel Salatin - You can Farm - followed the work of Elaine Ingham, Gary Zimmer and Jerry Brunetti and did lots of experimentation | Chris emphasises the importance of capturing nutrients (ie.manure and urine) in the system, and says he ‘farms vertically not horizontally’, focusing on the health of the soil | The head space of farmers and wellness is not generally of interest to banks and government | Customer understanding of the importance of clean nutritious food is increasing |A farm is a great place for kids to grow up | Chris’s protein and fat measurements are both 20-30% more now then when farming conventionally | He has a number of enterprises- lambs, chickens and pigs -diversity is important not just to the health of the farm but to the mental health of the human inhabitants | "Be you not someone else" | Chris used wood chip mulch to create fungal highways to spread biology throughout his farm via the cows feet Episode Links :  Oxhill Organics  HM educator Bruce Ward  Joel Salatin- You can Farm -   Elaine Ingham - Soil Food Web Biological Farmer - Gary Zimmer   Jerry Brunetti - You Tube  Mara seeds link https://maraseeds.com.au/    

Charlie has interviewed Hamish Mackay many times for his Youtube channel and this interview is a poignant reminder that whilst the principles of regenerative agriculture, and specifically Biodynamics, remain the same, its application and adaption to landscapes and communities is ever changing and definitely on the rise. Hamish takes listeners for a ride into the world of Biodynamics, leaving us with very practical and compelling steps we can take to produce better food and improve the health of our planet. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways : Hamish grew up near Braidwood, NSW on a family sheep and cattle farm | Andrew his brother is his major mentor | Travelled Australia before going home to the farm and Alex Poloinsky visited the farm in 1972. Alex showed him his farm through different eyes | Alex made Hamish aware of his farm in a physical sense, made him aware of soil health | Hamish was also involved in the wool industry and worked at the famous Demeter Bakery in Glebe, Sydney | Change in the agriculture world is slowly happening and now building momentum | The practice of Biodynamics is very easy and is a form of environmental and food security when inevitably we meet challenges in the food production and environment health space | It will be important to have people in the world who are practicing Biodynamics to ensure food security as conventional practices continue to fail | 1960s was the start of change in the dairy industry in Australia | Currently there are many people in agriculture as a result of obligation to their family, rather than because it’s their destiny and are passionate about it | Spiritual science uses scientific methodology to investigate ‘things we can’t see’ | People are becoming more aware of value in organic produce both economically and nutritionally | We need to collaborate, not be competitive, in the regenerative agriculture world | Consumers are ultimately in the position to ‘judge’ the success or otherwise of regenerative farming practices | Regenerative farming is not prescriptive agriculture. That is one if its defining characteristic that sets it apart from industrial farming | The diaries of early white explorers identified that indigenous peoples managed the landscape as a ‘parkland’ like landscape | Bill Gammage in ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, Bruce Pascoe in ‘Dark Emu’ and Joseph Jenkins in ‘The Diary of a Welsh Swagman’ highlighted this phenomena | Our landscape is now a bit like teenagers going through puberty - its chaotic, and the recent Summer bushfires were a reflection of this | The Australian landscape was once managed, prior to white settlement. Now it’s being pillaged. It is ‘managing’ us. Again, the ferocity and complete disruption and destruction of bushfires reflects this | Biodynamic food and pasture is more mineral dense and therefore harder to digest and makes organs work harder (which keeps them healthier) In addition, one needs to eat less of it (and it is also harder to burn which makes it potentially more fire resistant) | Healthy humic aerated soil retains moisture and biology even in a drought | All mental illness has a physiological basis | Current industrial medical system treats symptom, not the cause | Nutritionally dense food impacts positively the social fabric of individuals, families and communities   Episode Links :  Hamish Mackay - Farming Secrets profile Hamish Mackay & Charlie Arnott | Biodynamics Workshops  - 2021 workshop dates will be announced soon. Check back to www.charliearnott.com.au for dates. Martin Royds - farmer and regenerative farming advocate Mulloon institute - a research, education and advocacy not-for-profit organisation Blackthorn Trust  - is a supportive therapeutic environment in which people can recover, grow and develop. Low Tox Life  - Alexx Stuart

Charlie sat with Matt Moran in his restaurant 'Chiswick' in Sydney overlooking his kitchen garden from which herbs and vegetables are harvested to supplement the dishes prepared in the kitchen. It's a great example of Matt's dedication to seasonality, accountability and authenticity in cooking, and highlights his connection to the source of his produce and the farmers which produce it. And being a farmer himself he has kept his feet firmly on the ground despite his successes and critical acclaim. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways : Chiswick, the restaurant Charlie interviewed Matt in, has a rich history, is one of the oldest restaurants in Sydney and was originally a soup kitchen for navy personnel | The Kitchen garden at Chiswick makes its chefs accountable for what’s in season and on the menu | Covid has bought out the best and the worst in people | Matt grew up near Tamworth in the mid 70s then moved to western suburbs of Sydney and still had connections to farming through his family’s farm at Taralga | Matt’s interest in food started in the home economics class at high school because there were 18 girls and only 2 boys in the class! | Started his career in the kitchen at Parramatta RSL | Searched for work in kitchens during early year 11 | First apprenticeship at La Belle Helene French fine dining in Roseville with Chef Michael de Laurence | He loved his work and was besotted with food | La belle Helene cooking technique and refinement | Matt's appreciation of quality was developed at Matt’s second job, at The Restaurant Manfredi - he learnt about the importance of quality produce | His first restaurant was The Paddington Inn 1991 and first chefs hat at age 23 in the same year | One of his secrets to success was to surrounded himself with people smarter than him | He opened ‘Moran’s’ in 1995 & various others before opening his signature restaurant Aria | Turning point was decision to expand to give others (his staff and associates) the opportunity to develop their skills and opportunities | Bruce Solomon is his business partner. It was important to bring different skills to the table. And brings a customers (Non chef) perspective | High stress industry that has a history of suicide | Legacy of working long hours and lack of support. Culture of perfectionism and ‘don’t share your troubles’ | More openness and support now | Rates of suicide and history is similar to farming world | Planning to build farm stay accommodation at his farm near Thurstan similar to Kimo Estate farm stay near Gundagai | Olive oil is best for flavouring not cooking, grape seed best for cooking! | Definitely rest steaks before serving! | Advice for chefs. Don’t do it for the fame and glory. Do it because you're passionate about it. Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life | Matt is a Thankful4farmers ambassador - it’s a charity raising funds through product partnerships to then grant funds to regenerative farmers and associated businesses to promote the uptake of technology, regenerative practices, and enhance community and farming family well being | Matt is a judge of the delicious produce awards | Australia has the best produce in world. Chefs and customers are spoilt for choice and variety of seed stock, such as the variety of heirloom seeds at Diggers gardening club | Whilst the industry is very competitive, chefs are very respectful, supportive and friendly to each other | If Matt could put a billboard near a highway for all to see, he would have the message ‘Be Kind’ on it… Episode Links  : Matt Moran Kitchen Tales - Matt's new YouTube series, Nov 2020 Chiswick Restaurant - Sydney Manfredi Restaurant - Sydney Genevieve Copland - Hospitality Trainer and Assessor   Aria Restaurant - Sydney Kimo Estate -  Farm Stay and venue, Gundagai, NSW Thankful4Farmers - Matt is an ambassador Delicious Produce Awards Lord Dudley Hotel - Sydney Straight from the Source - an online platform where you can search, explore and connect with the source of your produce.

This is the second part of the Charlie's interview with Mick Wettenhall. Charlie caught up with Mick Wettenhall at his property 'Weemabah' at Trangie, NSW to dig into his own regenerative journey. Mick most recently has been progressing research into a little know fungi that has an enormous capacity to sequester carbon in the soil. Mick would rather see an agricultural evolution than an agricultural revolution, highlighting that if we are to support the adoption of regenerative practices it needs to be 'adaptable' to their current farming situations. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways: Dr James White pioneered the research into plants farming microbes back in 2013 |Think big, start small, scale fast | There is a massive potential to sequest carbon in soil, farmers just need to know how | The key to driving a shift in farmers thinking of how they can contribute to reversing climate change is the conscious consumer through their buying choices | ‘Create a product or service that people can patronize to make that difference | ’The only thing missing to rapidly progress the research and uptake of carbon sequesting practices in this space is money | You can’t manage what you don’t measure | Farmers need to be remunerated for the carbon they sequest and nutritious food they grow | Hand held nutrition scanning technology is developing rapidly |Market gets what market wants |Create a demand economy lead by consumers to support farmers to grow more nutritious food |Mick uses a number of Johnson Su compost bioreactors to make  fungal dominant compost which he then makes an extract from to spread on his crops | It is essentially a static pile aerobic compost | Once the thermophilic stage is complete worms are then added (vermophilic) | If the same amount of funds that is currently invested in industrial Ag ‘solutions' was invested in regenerative farming techniques........ | Truth is first ridiculed, then opposed then accepted as fact | Next generation will want to be part of the solution | Mick attended Landmark in his early 30s. It could be called a personal development course, however is so much more...Charlie has completed the course as well | Landmark Forum is essentially 'Holding a mirror up against ones self to help identify why one does the things one does '.... Episode Links :  Aust soil planners group  - Australia's largest sustainable group of farmers. ’Quality Agriculture’ - John Kempf David Johnson  ‘The Great Disruption’  - Paul Gilding  Landmark Forum 

Charlie caught up with Mick Wettenhall at his property 'Weemabah' at Trangie, NSW to dig into his own regenerative journey. Mick most recently has been progressing research into a little know fungi that has an enormous capacity to sequester carbon in the soil. Mick would rather see an agricultural evolution than an agricultural revolution, highlighting that if we are to support the adoption of regenerative practices it needs to be 'adaptable' to their current farming situations. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Mick is an ex-saddle bronc rider | ‘Agriculture needs to be an evolution not a revolution’ | He was conventional farming at Trangie back in early 2000 | Mick highlights the situation agriculture and the human race is in, that of the 'Frog boiling in the pot', the environment and human health is in decline and we are not noticing the rapid decline in both | Mick is farming multi species forage crops and cattle now from a conventional mixed farming and cotton operation prior to him taking over management from his father in-law | The potential to build soil carbon is enormous | The environment is subsiding the cost of food |Family succession was managed by Micks father in law very well, which is not always the experience of farming families | Mick was inspired by a presentation by Tim Flannery in 2006 on climate change | The catalyst for the creation of Soil C Quest was at the Carbon Conference Dubbo 2013 with Mick's good mate Guy Webb | Peter McGee was the microbiologist who had discovered the particular fungi that Soil C Quest are furthering the research on to sequest significant amounts of Carbon in soil | Carbon is lost to the environment when in the presence of air or water | Carbon found in a micro aggregate was determined to be put in there by fungi and consequent research identified that the fungi could increase C levels by 17 times in 10 weeks in this particular case | melanised endophytic fungi | How do we get main stream agriculture to adopt practices to sequestrate Carbon | Soil C Quest (NFP) is developing an Endophytic innoculum seed dressing | The Soil C Quest big break came when Mick was interviewed on the BBC | Horizons ventures become interested and are now the lead investor | Soil Carbon Company created to develop the product The seed application product is applicable to grazing systems and however needs more research required. Episode Links Soul C Quest  Grassroots video - A story about farmers, the soils they work and a piece of powerful knowledge that nearly slipped through their fingers. Grassroots follows Guy Webb and his friends, unlikely heroes on a quest to bring a genuine climate change solution to the world. AFR article on Horizons Ventures & Soil Carbon Co Horizons Ventures - Venture capital firm  Soil Carbon Company

Nicho articulately draws together the many parallels between meditation and regenerative agriculture in this long awaited interview with Charlie's cousin and co-founder of the worlds most used digital meditation platform Insight Timer (20million users). The connections with ones health, sense of purpose and the place from where one observes the film of our own lives in the ' conscious cinema of our mind' are highlighted, and the benefits of meditation as an antidote to the treadmill of life are explored by Nicho and Charlie. A life affirming conversation for those who are grappling with the speed and intensity of our times. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways There are many parallels between the philosophies of meditation and regenerative agriculture | Nicho had a 20 year period of ‘experimentation’ and pushing the boundaries somewhat before finding Vedic meditation 10 years ago | His challenges in that period created learning's that have enabled him to help others | He developed the Insight timer app which today has almost 20m meditators following it,  over 10,000 meditation / yoga teachers and publishers, a 60,000 track library - and counting... more time spent on Insight each day than all other meditation apps, combined | Nicho just didn’t learn to meditate, he learned to teach it and has made it his life’s work to continue to  help others experience a deeper conscious state ‘When people get up in the morning and go straight to fb where is their motivation?’ | Vedic meditation is practiced twice a day for 20 mins‘ | Our physiology is designed to be in a place where it is balanced and engaging purposefully’ | ‘There is no treatment in the world that we might find externally that can actually do a better job | ‘We have gone into the earth to rip up resources to extend life’ | Meditation is about restoring mental and physical and spiritual health through sitting further back in the conscious cinema of our mind, away from the front row of our lives. Meditation builds resilience to life | The soil is an encapsulation of life itself through its complexity, interplay and interdependence | Biodynamics reconnects people to their food, and inspires people to change behaviour | Do as I do, not as I say...setting an example of behaviours for our children is more important than telling them how to be | Treating the symptom is a 'proven failed strategy', were just playing a game of ‘whack a mole’ | ‘Behaviours don’t change until consciousness changes’ | ‘There is creative thinking and solutions out there....... but we’re just sucking up the stuff that’s negative’ | 'You need to go into the dark to appreciate the light’ | Meditation gives you a reminder of who your truly are | The foundation to the human experience is not just all of this individual external validation. The underlying part of where we came from is our universal Experience as it relates to the moment we were created’  Episode Links :  Nicho Plowman - Insight Timer Co Founder and Vedic Meditation Teacher Insight Timer -  free meditation app Harvest - restaurant, NSW  Charlie Arnott - IG  Tim Brown - meditation coach The One Wild & Precious Life -  Sarah Wilson 

In this episode Charlie talks to actress & director Rachel Ward. A little under thirty-three years ago Rachel and her husband Bryan Brown bought a small farm in the Nambucca Valley on the NSW coast. Until recently they had been managing the farm conventionally but the 2019 devastating bush fires launched her onto a very different trajectory… In this frank interview Rachel talks about how the bushfires were a catalyst for change and how since then she has jumped boots and all onto the regenerative agricultural train, implementing significant changes to her farming practices & lifestyle on the way. She is currently compiling a documentary focusing on the regenerative agricultural movement. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.   Episode Takeaways   I fell in love with the Nambucca valley, NSW, 30 years ago | I grew up on a farm in the Cotswolds in UK | Our farm was managed conventionally and recently we have moved to a more Regenerative approach . It’s not important to me that our children or grandchildren take over and live on the farm, more that they have had exposure to it and can make informed decisions about it in the future. |  I am much more excited about farming now that we are managing it regeneratively. | It’s given her a whole new perspective, a holistic perspective on managing her farm, and the more she gets involved, the more rewards there are. | Farmers have a responsibility beyond their own property boundary, especially in regard to the use of chemicals, as it tends to move out of the landscape via water and air to other farms and ecosystems | NMS is a method of propagating native fungi to use to aim the breakdown of wood and lignified grass. | The Call of the Reed Warbler by Charlie Massy changed her life…….it was full of opportunity and hope, and she was completely electrified by it...just seems like a no brainer…| It doesn’t cost a cent to change a paradigm| Matching personal and business values with landscape needs can be challenging | To sell or not to sell my cows, that is the question, as ones emotional attachment to livestock can sometimes stand in the way of the best decisions for the landscape | Rachel is a big fan and appreciates the value of mentors |  Rachel’s neighbours have joined forces and put their cattle together to move them around the combined properties to improve grazing management and soil health | Rachels property is in Gumbaynggirr  country | Regenerative farmers are enthusiastic and ‘alive’ and ignited to the world and their properties | Farmers have a very serious role to play in the saving of the planet | Rachel supports 'eaters' to source and purchase regeneratively grown food, and in doing so contribute to the growth of these practices | The fires of 2019 were a major 'tension event' that was a catalyst for my regenerative journey | Rachel is a member of the Land to Market co-op which verifies  the improvement of  landscape through management by annually measuring biological activity and soil composition. Episode Links  Rachel Ward Rachel Ward a- IG   Allan Savory Ted talk was totally inspiring to Rachel  Allan Savory Institute  Kym Kruse Regen Ag  consultant Call of the Reed Warbler - Charles Massy KLR Marketing  Land to Market

Dr Ron Ehrlich is far from a conventional dentist. After a 'normal' initial training in dentistry, Dr Ron started to connect the dots between oral hygiene, the influence that diet had on the development of the body,  over all human health and the health of the soil in which that food was  grown. Charlie explores with Ron his journey into his holistic approach to dental care and how regenerative agriculture plays a critical role in providing the quality of food necessary to promote good health. Dr Ron also dives into the  topic of 'environmental medicine' and how we can mitigate against various detrimental impacts of chemicals, toxins and electro magnetic frequency radiation. Dr Rons breadth of knowledge provides a compelling perspective on the importance of the connection between dental, human and environmental health. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.  Episode Takeaways The combination of biology, technology, psychology and freedom drew Ron to dentistry | There’s a huge amount of psychology and intimacy in dentistry | It’s a potentially very stressful environment for both dentist and patient with dentistry related vocations ranking 1,2 and 3 for the worst jobs in the world! | The mouth is connected to multiple organs and areas of the body not generally understood nor considered by the conventional dentistry fraternity | There are many parallels between holistic dentistry and regen agriculture in that it treats the causes not the symptoms, and focus on what one is in control of | Ron’s considered and non- confrontational approach to pushing the boundaries of dentistry has been very effective, reflected of one of his mantra’s ‘Get your house in order before being critical of others’ | Ruminant urine is a beautiful thing as it contains plant growth hormones and stimulates the production of plant based  Pseudomonas syringae  bacterium that floats up into the atmosphere and helps to seed rain! |Regen farming practices and outcomes are a no brainer for Ron who sits outside the agricultural world however is very connected to it via his patients mouths | 5 human stressors are environmental, emotional, nutritional, postural and dental | Gut, oral and soil biome are similar in that the more diverse these environments are the more healthy and resilient they will be | The resource isn’t the problem it’s the management of that resource that matters, there needs to be a holistic context for its management | Change will not come from government or professional organisations, they are slow to accept new ideas, they are protective of their own egos and reputations and they lack common sense | Environmental medicine is one of Dr Ron’s areas of study and advocacy - Only, approx. 5 % of environmental chemicals are formally tested | We are exposed to multiple chemicals over our lifetimes, 140,000 chemicals currently in the world increasing by 2-3,000 every year. We are also exposed to moulds, dust, and out gassing of chemicals |...and Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF) radiation could be to the 21 st century what lead in petrol and tobacco was to 20th century | Sleep is our built-in, non negotiable life support system, 7-9 hours a night. Tips for listeners regarding environmental toxicities Check for mould dust mites bedding  No technology before or near bed No electrical currents near bed Computers emit blue light which is in the ultra violet spectrum and impacts our melatonin levels | Building Biologists can help advise on the impacts of EMF in buildings.  Links Dr. Ron Ehrlich –  holistic health advocate, dentist, educator, podcaster and an internationally published author. Sydney Holistic Dental Centre – run in partnership with his brother Dr. Joshua Ehrlich Nourishing Australia  Dr Ron helped found Nourishing Australia with Vicki Poulter, a NFP dedicated to healthy plants, healthy animals, healthy people and a healthy planet The Meter Man - A huge range of innovative farm, agricultural, horticultural meters, probes, instruments, tools and resources from David Von Pein The Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine ( ACNEM)  in Victoria is a good place for health care professionals Low Tox Life Podcast – Alexx Stuart . For families and individuals looking for invaluable info.        

This episode with Murray Prior discusses his unfolding from the corporate sector to becoming a custodian of the land. He is gentle spoken and modest about his farming experience yet his thoughtful and deft practices supports his every word. He opens up about the importance of having good mentors and sharing knowledge with peers, that indigenous cultures teach us to care for the land and not own the land, and that the powers of observation are key to understanding country. To start a dialogue and converse more about topics raised in this podcast, please visit The Regenerative Journey Podcast Facebook Group.  Episode Takeaways:  There was a search for some sort of higher purpose. Something that we could get involved in that frankly, even went past our own lifetimes | The big moment for me was when Charlie (Massy) was with me out in the paddocks. We had this nice moment where we were sitting and he was pointing out different things. He said to me “You know you don’t really own this place” | I’m not a religious person in a traditional sense but tapping into a sense of spirituality for the landscape of the indigenous people who had it before us and get into the feel of the place | I’m 48 years old now and I’m thinking, when this tree is a big tree it will be nearing the end of my time on the planet | I wanted my girls to understand that food doesn’t come in a polystyrene tray with glad wrap on it | One of the things that he does when he comes out is he’ll often go and grab some fresh green Eucalypt and he’ll pull that off as a branch. He’ll teach our girls that if you rub that on your armpit and then rub it on the ground, that’s his way of communicating with his ancestors | One of my big fears is if the girls found out we knew about climate change and knew we did nothing about it | There’s also a part of getting out of nature’s way. I’ve planted thousands of trees but there’s natural regen going on all the time | I think that being relatively new to the industry you don’t have the memory bank of seasons. While you might have some landscape literacy, you don’t have season literacy   Episode Links: Call of the Reed Warbler - Charles Massy Charles Massy - TED talk Regenerative Agriculture Paul House - Ngambri Country Elder Welcome to Country - Paul House  Aboriginal Smoking Ceremony Bruce Pascoe - Author, Ted Talk on Dark Emu Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe  Dark Emu for Kids - Bruce Pascoe Aboriginal Land Council - Explanation and Index of Councils by State The Barn Accommodation, Nguuurruu - Murray Prior’s Farm  Dr Zach Bush - Author, Health Consultant and Environmentalist Hannamino Farm - Charlie Arnott Biodynamics - A Definition Biodynamics - Cow Manure PreparationsMickey Robertson - Glenmore House